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© CedarBendDrive
There are a few big contests in college football this week. Let's take a best guess at who the winners will be.
Michigan State 24, Ohio State 17: Michigan State has had a very good season, winning every game but their first, a seven-point loss on the road at Cal. The fact that they go to play the Buckeyes at home gives them an edge, as does the fact that OSU has had offensive struggles all year. They've scored a combined 36 points their last two games against Wisconsin and Purdue, who are 53rd and 59th, respectively, in scoring defense in the nation. Meanwhile, the Spartans come in ranked 25th in that category, allowing less than 17 points per game. Even with Terrelle Pryor now running the show, Ohio State has been anything but explosive. And then there's the Javon Ringer factor. Michigan State is clearly comfortable handing it to him 40 times per game, and he leads the nation in rushing yards and touchdowns.
Texas 42, Missouri 31: Texas' defense held the Oklahoma offense to 35 points, and Oklahoma State held Mizzou's offense to 23, which was less than half their season average. Missouri's loss to OSU opened up some familiar questions about Tigers coach Gary Pinkel, and rightfully so, but we already explored that in a previous post. The glaring weakness for both teams, though is pass defense. Texas is ranked 109th and Missouri is 113th – and there are only 119 teams in D1, or FBS or whatever it's called. However, Texas makes up for that with the third-best run defense in the land, and against a Tigers team gained all of 64 yards against Ok. State, most from Chase Daniel, that's trouble. Because Mizzou only ran the ball four times in the second half that game, and if they fall behind and start the same pattern, it will be easier for Texas to focus on only bringing pressure on Daniel, causing disruptions in their passing game.
