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The flavor of the week changes every seven days in college football, as the buzz surrounding Miami and Washington has faded after both teams lost decisively on the road. This week we'll break down a new batch of teams that are destined to fall or who will automatically bounce back following a loss (or so we think).
South Florida (-6 ½) at Syracuse (Noon EST)
The Bulls pulled off one of the biggest wins in school history by knocking off Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium last Saturday, 17-7. Freshman QB B.J. Daniels, a Tallahassee native, threw two touchdown passes in the victory, the first meeting between the schools, as well as Daniels' first career start.
The Orange has won two straight, granted the last victory was against FCS school Maine. The Greg Paulus experiment is going well for Syracuse, with the former Duke guard completing 68.4% of his passes through the first four games.
USF has dominated Syracuse in each of the four lifetime meetings, winning by an average of 26.7 points/game. All four times the Bulls have been favored, including three times by double-digits.
VI capper Joe Nelson says the page has turned for the Orange program, "Syracuse has displayed a solid defense this season and the schedule has been challenging with three Big Ten teams in non-conference play. The offense gained some confidence last week with a win over Maine, as this could be a serious upset opportunity while the public will likely be happy to lay the points going against one of the worst major conference programs of the last few years."
Penn State (-7) at Illinois (3:30 PM EST)
The Nittany Lions slipped up in the rain at home to Iowa last Saturday, 21-10. Penn State committed four turnovers, while not scoring a point the final three quarters. Joe Paterno's team hits the road for the first time this season, battling an Illinois squad who was shut out at Ohio State last week. The Illini was held to 170 yards in the loss, while QB Juice Williams threw two interceptions.
Nelson isn't high on what the Nittany Lions have accomplished so far, "Penn State had an inflated national ranking but has proven nothing with three weak non-conference wins and now a loss at home to Iowa. It was tough conditions for the Lions last week but this is a fairly inexperienced team going on the road for the first time favored against a desperate Illinois team that has pretty good talent and depth."
This is the first of two straight home games for Ron Zook's club, hosting Michigan State next week. The Illini hung around with the Nittany Lions last season in Happy Valley, despite a final score of 38-24. The game was tied at 14 after one quarter, while Illinois trailed by seven heading into the final quarter.
Georgia Tech (-6) at Mississippi State (7:30 PM EST)
The Bulldogs don't look like a bottom-feeder in the SEC anymore, after nearly pulling off a huge home upset against LSU last week. Unfortunately, Mississippi State couldn't convert from the goal-line in the final minute of a 30-26 loss. The Bulldogs are 1-2 in conference play, now starting a stretch of three games against opponents outside of the SEC.
The Yellow Jackets rebounded from the poor showing against Miami to beat up North Carolina, 24-7. The running game bounced back with 317 yards on the ground, while holding UNC to 154 yards of total offense.
Mississippi State held LSU's running game in check, as the Tigers rushed for just 30 yards on 31 carries. In fact, the Bulldogs have allowed just 63 yards rushing combined the last two weeks, if you include the 15-3 victory at Vanderbilt.
Nelson says that the Rambling Wreck is at their best with right amount of preparation. "Georgia Tech was mauled by that same LSU team in the bowl season last year, but Paul Johnson's teams have better success the less time opponents have to prepare for them. Notice that Miami had two weeks to prepare for the Yellow Jackets and shut them down completely, while in a normal week Georgia Tech has beaten Clemson and North Carolina, likely two of the better teams in the ACC," Nelson notes.
The Yellow Jackets beat down the Bulldogs in Atlanta last season, 38-7, compiling 500 yards offensively. Mississippi State turned the ball over four times and did gain over 400 yards, but allowed four Georgia Tech touchdowns on the ground.
You can reach Kevin Rogers via e-mail at rogers@vegasinsider.com
