NON-BCS Football Week 7 Breakdown
San Diego State versus Air Force
WHY YOU’LL WATCH
These are two good teams without any really bad losses. San Diego State has lost its last two games, to Michigan and TCU. But Michigan is a solid team competing for a Big 10 title and TCU is a club coming off of a Rose Bowl winning campaign last year. Air Force has also dropped a game to TCU and their triple-option offense couldn’t solve the Notre Dame defense last week, losing 59-33. Both schools will be looking to bounce onto the right side of things in this conference matchup. San Diego State had a tough time trying to contain Denard Robinson a few weeks ago. As a dual-threat quarterback, he had a field day against the Aztecs. As the third-worst run defense in the nation, how is this team going to contain Tim Jefferson and the Air Force rushing attack? It doesn’t seem like it will be feasible for them to win. If the Aztecs can somehow make Air Force one-dimensional and make them throw (Air Force is 107th in the country in passing), then San Diego State has a chance. San Diego State is no slouch either. Quarterback Ryan Lindley slings the ball all over the field. He already has 10 touchdowns. Better defense from the Falcons this week increases their chances of a conference victory.
Eastern Michigan versus Central Michigan
WHY YOU’LL WATCH
Two teams vying for MAC positioning from generally underrated programs. Neither team lights any fires in the overall outlook of college football. But they are competitive teams that will now be delving into the MAC conference season. This game is important for both squads. There is no quality win for either of them, but they do each have a win in-conference prior to this meeting. A 2-1 record would look a lot better in a smaller conference than 1-2. Both have trouble scoring, so it will all come down to execution. The difference will be the passing game. Central Michigan’s Ryan Radcliff has nearly 1,400 yards passing and 10 touchdowns. Alex Gillett on the other side has thrown for less than 650 yards and only four touchdowns. Give the upper hand to the Chippewas.
UCF versus Southern Methodist
WHY YOU’LL WATCH
This is a Conference USA tilt that is going to be a dog fight. Both are undefeated in the conference and have good defenses. Central Florida is second in the country in scoring defense after six weeks. That’s pretty impressive considering they share soil with the Gators and the Seminoles. SMU, despite not creating turnovers, has 10 sacks on the year and only give up a little over 200 yards a game. Southern Methodist gutted out an overtime victory over an always-tough TCU team last weekend in overtime. In a lot of ways it was a coming out party for the Mustangs. June Jones has this team on the right track. The numbers will tell you this will be a low scoring affair. The coach that can find a way to help his team score consistently leads his club to victory.
Boise State versus Colorado State
WHY YOU’LL WATCH
To see if Boise can keep scoring oodles of points on its way to victory. The Broncos have not scored less than 30 points all season, and they have not won a game with a margin of victory of less than 20 points. The Boise train just keeps on rolling. Kellen Moore has been his usual record-setting self. He leads the conference in just about every major offensive statistical category. Seventeen touchdowns later, it doesn’t seem like Boise has much to worry about with Colorado State. In reality, they probably don’t. But let’s not count out the Rams just yet. They do have a winning record and already have a win in-conference. Their average defense will be put to the test against Moore and Co. The Rams would be elated to win this game. Not only would they have two wins in the Mountain West, but also a quality win to top it off. Likely? Nope. But they still have to line up and play.
Utah State versus Fresno State
WHY YOU’LL WATCH
This game will prove if the Aggies really are the “Little Utah State That Could.” The early season giveaways by this team are well documented. They finally rebounded with a drubbing of Wyoming last week. No one is entirely sure if Utah State is the quality team that almost scored 63 points against the Cowboys, or the team that goes cold when it’s ahead like it did early in the season. That is why this game is important for the Aggies. They can prove that they are a legitimate team in the WAC and a team that is able to contend with big opponents come bowl season. This is a good spot for them. Fresno State is not a great team that can’t seem to stop anybody. In their defense, they have had a tough schedule. Nebraska, Ole Miss, and Boise State are not easy to face. At the least those games don’t pad your record with wins. It would have helped if the Bulldogs had beaten one of those schools, but they didn’t. Beating Utah State would help boost their resume and put them 2.5 games up in the WAC. The problem is Utah State runs and Utah State scores. The Bulldogs have their work cut out for them.
