CFB FFwd/Rew Week 3

by David Kaplen (headChopper) Last Updated 2013-09-14 04:06:21

Welcome to Rewind/Fast Forward. Each week in this article I will hand pick several games and watch them through. Sometimes the box-score can lie and the only way to know the truth is by actually watching the game..or reading an article of someone who did. That is me. I will break down my observations of the previous game and what impacts it could have on the following week and even the entire year moving forward.
This week with the Vegas trip and all surrounding activities, I did not get a chance to sit down and watch any single game through. However I was able to watch portions of numerous games and here are some thoughts.

• Rewind Wow, what a display by Georgia in this one. Totally surprised me that they could do these things offensively against a beast of a defense like South Carolina. Gurley may be the best RB in the nation. However Aaron Murray was the star of this game for the Dogs. USC looked rather impressive on offense also, especially the Lattimore look alike, Mike Davis, who put on a show of his own.

• FFwd Georgia is off this weekend but USC gets Vanderbilt. Vandy is not a stout defensive team, having already surrendered a 39 point game to Ole Miss this year. I would expect to see a heavy dose of Mike Davis and he is really the safest option in this game. Connor Shaw isn’t trustworthy right now and when he does throw he is spreading it around to multiple receivers.

• Rewind Great game for BYU QB Taysom Hill. Definitely a name to watch in future weeks. He tore up the UT defense on the ground with 259 rushing yards. Just for good measure, RB Jamaal Williams tacked on another 182 yards. Basically Texas was a complete sieve on rushing defense. The Texas offense was very average although what stood out was Johnathan Gray grabbing 13 carries, the most of any of the big 3 RB’s they have.

• FFwd BYU is off, so keep the Hill QB play in your back pocket till next week. As for Texas, they play at home vs. Ole Miss. Ole Miss can score and Texas can’t stop people. Watch out for Jeff Scott to get off and also possibly Bo Wallace to get a few extra run plays called his way from the QB spot. Be aware that David Ash is questionable in this one with an injury so a bigger burden could fall on the running game. Last season Malcolm Brown torched Ole Miss in this game, this year it could be Johnathan Gray doing the damage. For his price I think he makes for a nice play this weekend.

• Rewind ND/Michigan was the game of the night in Vegas for many of us for different reasons. It played out slightly different than I thought it would in that I didn’t expect ND to be able to drive to efficiently against Michigan. But they did, and they gave the Wolverines a run for their money. Meanwhile the combo of Gardner to Gallon was unstoppable and they needed every bit of it as the running game is stuck in mud for the most part. Toussaint is an average back and it wont be long before highly touted recruit Derrick Green takes his place in the lineup.

• FFwd Michigan gets a breather in this game facing Akron this week. I would expect Gardner to Gallon to hook up once or twice before the blowout and this may be an opportunity to establish a running game that is not good vs. big schools. My plays in this would be limited to Gardner and Gallon though and not risking anyone else.
  Notre Dame travels to Purdue for their annual meeting. Purdue has not looked good this year at all and ND continues to impress me on offense. If this game is even remotely competitive, which it could be due to the fact that it is at Purdue and it is a rivalry game, then Tommy Rees could put up more big numbers. If Rees is putting up big numbers then TJ Jones, DaVaris Daniels and tight end Troy Niklas are all in play.

• Rewind A couple of things I learned watching this game were this; Christian Hackenberg is young, but has the potential to be very very good and the Penn State running game is looking more like a committee right now. Hackenberg puts the ball on the money when he wings it and has some solid WR’s. I don’t know if his stardom will come this year, but if not then next year for sure. Penn State’s goal line back is Zwinak, but after that he is losing value as it appears that Belton is coming in on 3rd downs and passing downs and 2 minute drills. They both lost some carries today, even early on, to Akeel Lynch.

• FFwd Penn State vs. UCF is interesting. Penn State isnt great defensively and the combination of Blake Bortles and Storm Johnson has been very good for UCF thus far. They could be nice, high upside plays, against Penn State. I would avoid the Penn State running game until it clarifies itself a bit more and someone separates themselves. If I risk anyone its Zwinak because he atleast gets the goal line work in most cases. Hackenberg makes for an intriguing play against a decent defense. I’m probably sitting on him for a couple more weeks and see if he continues to progress but I wouldn’t blame someone for playing him this week at a discounted price. Be careful though as UCF as had a good defense over the years and has only given up 7 points this year total in 2 games.