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WAYNE ROOT
Pinnacle---Stanford (Pac 12 game of the Year)
USC is a perfect 2-0 and looked great against Arkansas St and Idaho, (hahaha). Such a tune-up. Those contest were no test for QB Cody Kessler and his corral of talented receivers. First of all, USC is no stranger to losing to the Cardinal. This is the biggest game each season for Stanford as it is used as their biggest recruiting tool in the SoCal market. Stanford is very capable on offense and can move the ball and score. That's all you need to win in the Pac 12. The Trojan defense is just not there and their offense alone with Cody Kessler is very over-rated. The game-plan falls right into our lap. Stanford will establish the run thus eating up yards and the clock while wearing down a defense with average talent and no depth. Stanford's defense is above average and should not have any problem keeping this game in hand and very possibly coming away with an outright win. Root is the best at underdogs winning games outright. Stanford brings out "key" leadership on both sides of the ball and after USC's 2 cupcake wins to start the season, they may not know how much more difficult Stanford is to play and come out flat and having to play catch-up themselves. TAKE STANFORD
Inner Circle---Texas (Shocker of September)
Texas knows how to deal with a loss and deals it swiftly. After the Notre Dame loss, both offensive coordinators were demoted from calling plays. After the Rice game where Texas was out gained 462-277, the AD (who hired HC Strong) was fired by the school President. This may really light a fire under head coach Charlie Strong ( who was not a choice by the big Texas boosters). Let's face it, Strong's job is the hottest "hot-seat" in the country. So it's time to play hard-nose Charlie ball against this 3-0 Cal team. They must put pressure on QB Jared Goff. That will be a formable task. But Saturday's game is more about desire, focusing and playing hard; something Strong is usually good at giving that attitude to a team. It's guaranteed that his team will put forth their best effort in this contest. They may have letdowns later this season but not one Saturday. The Cal defense is their Achilles Heel. QB Jarrod Heard for the Longhorns will be the difference in this game now with some experience of playing a game under his belt. Cal will discover that no matter what all the press clipping say about this Texas team this week, they will have a very difficult time getting out of Austin with a win, let alone with a point spread cover as a road favorite, TAKE TEXAS
Perfect Play---Purdue
Not only is the first time in school history that Virginia Tech has played in the State of Indiana, but this is QB Brenden Motley's first career road start. The game plan will be an easy one for Purdue's defense. The Hokies will run almost every play. Coach Beamer will play it safe and safe is rarely good enough. Especially as an 6 point road favorite. Maybe that's why he continues to average 5 to 6 losses a year recently. He has plenty of running backs but none that are great. Purdue's QB is the real deal. Austin Appleby, has the great arm but does make some mistakes. He needs to limit his turnovers. It's difficult to handicap T.O.'s but in this case, plan on the opportunistic Hokies to try to bang him up in the backfield. The biggest Hokie loss is all-everything middle linebacker Andrew Motuapuaka which should help the Purdue passing situations. Purdue will play fast on offense, no huddle and limit Beamer's substitutions. The Boilermakers will try to force Va Tech to early mistakes and force him to throw the ball; something Motley's not very proficient at doing. This is the "key" game for Hazell's program and he's looking for that win for his much needed stamp of approval from the fans. A big game for sure. TAKE PURDUE
No Limit---Notre Dame
How does one this rate? A close game where Notre Dame barely came out alive against Virginia or 2 Georgia Tech wins where they defeated Alcorn St and Tulane? We'll side with the home underdog and trust as a small underdog that they will come to play and win at home. For Notre Dame, CJ Prosise replaces Tarean Folston at running back after his torn ACL and DeShone Kizer replaced QB Malik Zaire. Both players have experience and are capable. Meanwhile, we'll attack the line value. The Fighting Irish knows that this is their only true test for the season so everything has been built around this game since last season. They'll be ready. TAKE NOTRE DAME
Millionaires---UCLA
This may be somewhat unprecedented in that 2 good quarterbacks are starting and both are true freshmen.
UCLA true freshman quarterback Josh Rosen entered the season under lofty expectations, while BYU’s first-year passer Tanner Mangum was relatively unknown outside of Provo until Heisman Trophy candidate Taysom Hill went down for the season. Rosen presents a mighty challenge to the Cougars defense. He’s completed 50-of-77 passes for 574 yards and four touchdowns to one interception for a 142.1 passer rating. This is the first ranked opponent for Rosen so he'll have to maintain his Bruins' average of 35.5 points a game. With one of the best offensive lines in the Pac 12, mission accomplished. TAKE UCLA
Pinnacle---Stanford (Pac 12 game of the Year)
USC is a perfect 2-0 and looked great against Arkansas St and Idaho, (hahaha). Such a tune-up. Those contest were no test for QB Cody Kessler and his corral of talented receivers. First of all, USC is no stranger to losing to the Cardinal. This is the biggest game each season for Stanford as it is used as their biggest recruiting tool in the SoCal market. Stanford is very capable on offense and can move the ball and score. That's all you need to win in the Pac 12. The Trojan defense is just not there and their offense alone with Cody Kessler is very over-rated. The game-plan falls right into our lap. Stanford will establish the run thus eating up yards and the clock while wearing down a defense with average talent and no depth. Stanford's defense is above average and should not have any problem keeping this game in hand and very possibly coming away with an outright win. Root is the best at underdogs winning games outright. Stanford brings out "key" leadership on both sides of the ball and after USC's 2 cupcake wins to start the season, they may not know how much more difficult Stanford is to play and come out flat and having to play catch-up themselves. TAKE STANFORD
Inner Circle---Texas (Shocker of September)
Texas knows how to deal with a loss and deals it swiftly. After the Notre Dame loss, both offensive coordinators were demoted from calling plays. After the Rice game where Texas was out gained 462-277, the AD (who hired HC Strong) was fired by the school President. This may really light a fire under head coach Charlie Strong ( who was not a choice by the big Texas boosters). Let's face it, Strong's job is the hottest "hot-seat" in the country. So it's time to play hard-nose Charlie ball against this 3-0 Cal team. They must put pressure on QB Jared Goff. That will be a formable task. But Saturday's game is more about desire, focusing and playing hard; something Strong is usually good at giving that attitude to a team. It's guaranteed that his team will put forth their best effort in this contest. They may have letdowns later this season but not one Saturday. The Cal defense is their Achilles Heel. QB Jarrod Heard for the Longhorns will be the difference in this game now with some experience of playing a game under his belt. Cal will discover that no matter what all the press clipping say about this Texas team this week, they will have a very difficult time getting out of Austin with a win, let alone with a point spread cover as a road favorite, TAKE TEXAS
Perfect Play---Purdue
Not only is the first time in school history that Virginia Tech has played in the State of Indiana, but this is QB Brenden Motley's first career road start. The game plan will be an easy one for Purdue's defense. The Hokies will run almost every play. Coach Beamer will play it safe and safe is rarely good enough. Especially as an 6 point road favorite. Maybe that's why he continues to average 5 to 6 losses a year recently. He has plenty of running backs but none that are great. Purdue's QB is the real deal. Austin Appleby, has the great arm but does make some mistakes. He needs to limit his turnovers. It's difficult to handicap T.O.'s but in this case, plan on the opportunistic Hokies to try to bang him up in the backfield. The biggest Hokie loss is all-everything middle linebacker Andrew Motuapuaka which should help the Purdue passing situations. Purdue will play fast on offense, no huddle and limit Beamer's substitutions. The Boilermakers will try to force Va Tech to early mistakes and force him to throw the ball; something Motley's not very proficient at doing. This is the "key" game for Hazell's program and he's looking for that win for his much needed stamp of approval from the fans. A big game for sure. TAKE PURDUE
No Limit---Notre Dame
How does one this rate? A close game where Notre Dame barely came out alive against Virginia or 2 Georgia Tech wins where they defeated Alcorn St and Tulane? We'll side with the home underdog and trust as a small underdog that they will come to play and win at home. For Notre Dame, CJ Prosise replaces Tarean Folston at running back after his torn ACL and DeShone Kizer replaced QB Malik Zaire. Both players have experience and are capable. Meanwhile, we'll attack the line value. The Fighting Irish knows that this is their only true test for the season so everything has been built around this game since last season. They'll be ready. TAKE NOTRE DAME
Millionaires---UCLA
This may be somewhat unprecedented in that 2 good quarterbacks are starting and both are true freshmen.
UCLA true freshman quarterback Josh Rosen entered the season under lofty expectations, while BYU’s first-year passer Tanner Mangum was relatively unknown outside of Provo until Heisman Trophy candidate Taysom Hill went down for the season. Rosen presents a mighty challenge to the Cougars defense. He’s completed 50-of-77 passes for 574 yards and four touchdowns to one interception for a 142.1 passer rating. This is the first ranked opponent for Rosen so he'll have to maintain his Bruins' average of 35.5 points a game. With one of the best offensive lines in the Pac 12, mission accomplished. TAKE UCLA
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