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| Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel will have to play the best game of his young career if the Aggies hope of upsetting Alabama. (Brett Davis) |
Kansas State continues to roll through their schedule raking up big win time and time again. However, they may be without their Heisman favorite quarterback when the travel to Fort Worth to take on TCU. Collin Klein suffered an apparent head injury during the third quarter of the Wildcats' 44-30 win over Oklahoma State last week. Head coach Bill Snyder has been mum on Klein's status, but he will certainly have his team well-prepared and ready to play. TCU has had their ups and downs this season, but come into Saturday's showdown off their best win of the season. The Horned Frogs went into Morgantown and beat West Virginia 39-38 in double overtime. Freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin came up with big throws junior wide receiver Josh Boyce and senior tight end Corey Fuller when he need to. TCU will need another big game out of Boykin and his offense if they hope to upset Kansas State.
Prediction: Kansas State 38 TCU 27
4. #21 Mississippi State (7-2) @ #7 LSU (7-2) - 7:00 EST, ESPN/WatchESPN
Mississippi State used a cupcake schedule to start the season 7-2. Their last two games have exposed this reality as the Bulldogs got blown out by Alabama and Texas A&M. Junior quarterback Tyler Russell had 15 touchdown passes to only one interception in the first seven wins, but had only own touchdown and two interceptions in the two losses. The Bulldogs defense has struggled as well. They gave up 38 points in each of the loss and a combined 1,107 yards. LSU comes into this game off an emotional loss to rival Alabama. The Tigers need to put the loss behind them because they are still in the BCS picture. On offense, LSU has began to find its identity. Junior quarterback Zach Mettenberger has steadily imporved and freshman tailback Jeremy Hill has emerged as the team's top back. The Tigers defense continues to be their foundation.
Prediction: LSU 24 Mississippi State 10
3. Penn State (6-3) @ #16 Nebraska (7-2) - 3:30 PM EST, ABC/ESPN2
Penn State doesn't have a postseason to play for, but they can play spoiler to some conference rivals. The Nittany Lions have gotten much better from the start of the season having won six of seven. Senior quarterback Matt McGloin has surprisingly emerged as one of the Big Ten's best quarterbacks. Freshman tight end Kyle Carter has been his top target, but is questionable to play after missing last week's game due to injury. Junior wide receiver Brandon Moseby-Felder stepped up to fill the void and may need to do so again this week. Nebraska is in the Big Ten Legends division driver seat, but was lucky to beat Michigan State last week. Junior quarterback Taylor Martinez is one of the best dual threat quarterbacks in the country. In the win over the Spartans, he had four combined touchdowns, but also three interceptions. Sophomore running back Ameer Abdullah has had three straight 100-yard rushing games.
Prediction: Penn State 27 Nebraska 24
2. #11 Oregon State (7-1) @ #14 Stanford (7-2) - 3:00 PM EST, FOX
These are very similar teams. Both have strong, physical defenses and have had surprising replacement quarterbacks emerge to play well. Oregon State surprisingly started the season 6-0. Last week, the Beavers rebounded from a tough loss at Washington to beat Arizona State at home. Junior quarterback Cody Vaz was called into duty when Sean Mannion was injured. This big game will be just the fourth start of his collegiate career. Similarly, Stanford freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan will make his first career start in this game. He played well last week coming in for Josh Nunes, but that was against Colorado's defense.
Prediction: Stanford 20 Oregon State 17
1. #15 Texas A&M (7-2) @ #1 Alabama (9-0) - 3:30 PM EST, CBS
Alabama is coming off a physical, emotional win over rival LSU. Now, they must focus on not having a letdown against one of the SEC's best offenses. Texas A&M has a solid first year in the SEC largely due to the phenomenal play of freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel. His 2,527 passing yards are second most in the SEC, and he leads the conference in rushing with 922 yards. His 31 total touchdowns tops the league as well. However, Manziel did only rush for 27 yards and had three interceptions in the Aggies loss to LSU. He will have to play much better if they hope to had top ranked and undefeated Alabama. The Crimson Tide's defense is vicious, and they have a Heisman caliber quarterback as well in AJ McCarron.
Prediction: Alabama 27 Texas A&M 24
