Mid Major Game of the Week:
Wyoming vs. Utah
The fact that this game is featured as Game of the Week is conducive to the type of week it is in college football. But ... the matchup is not that bad. Utah needed a big effort from its defense to pull out a win last week against Air Force, and Wyoming looks to contain Utah QB Terrance Cain, who struggled against a blitzing Air Force defense last week, and finished with a season low 167 yards passing. As of late, a bright spot for Wyoming has been the play of its defense, holding opponents to 23 points per game over the last two games. Sophomore Brian Hendricks is a beast. He had 23 tackles last week against Air Force and was named MWC defensive player of the week. The Cowboys have a strong linebacker unit, but must get it going on offense and special teams in order to avoid playing catch-up this week.
Best Mid Major vs. BCS:
Central Michigan vs. Boston College
This is an intriguing matchup because CMU could very well be ranked in the top 25 if they pull this one out. Boston College has a had a good season, and could win out with remaining games against weaker ACC opponents. So ... back to Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour. The key matchup in this game is going to be LeFevour against the Boston College defense. LeFevour has guided the Chippewas to seven straight victories after an opening loss to Arizona, and is clearly having the best season of his career. He has thrown 16 TDs and rushed for another 9. Given that BC has issues with pass defense, a big game for LeFevour could mean a win for the Chips. A victory would put them in great shape at 11-1 heading into the MAC title game.
Here's your chance now show us what you can do:
The Marshall-UCF game is actually an important one in the Conference USA this weekend. Marshall is still vying for the East Division title, while UCF is more concerned about bowl positioning. Marshall running back Darius Marshall is the nation's second leading rusher as well as the focal point of the Thundering Herd's offense. The Herd can win when he has a bad game, but that puts a lot of pressure on QB Brian Anderson, who is still learning as he goes. Darius Marshall ran for 109 yards against Va. Tech and 82 against West Virginia. However, UCF is one of the rare C-USA teams that can win with defense. The Knights lead the league in rushing defense, and held Miami to only 70 rushing yards two weeks ago. In order to satisfy UCF's hopes of a low-scoring game, they must contain Darius Marshall to under 100 yards.
Mid Major Picks of the Week:
Houston 38 SMU 21
UTEP 20 UAB 31
Central Michigan 24 Boston College 28
Marshall 24 UCF 21
Western Michigan 17 Kent State 28