ESPN College Pick Em’s Week 4

September 24th, 2009 by Tyler Merritt

Okay so one fourth of the season is already over with and it’s week four… time for some more picks!

Currently I’m 81.4% correct on ESPN with my PRYORBCSBOUND Entry, but I plan on increasing that percentage with some solid picks over the next few weeks.

First pick – Wisconsin over Michigan State….. Yes as much as I want to pick Michigan State to win this game I’m just not sure… This is really a swing game but I can’t see Michigan State winning this game. I haven’t been all too impressed with Wisconsin but I think they’ll win in Camp Randall with some solid defensive play. Michigan State is in desperation mode as they will drop to 1 – 3 with a loss to Wisconsin but I can’t see the undefeated Badgers losing this one. Wisconsin also has an extremely physical running game that MSU will have problems stopping…

Wisconsin 31 Michigan State 24

Next I have North Carolina over Georgia Tech. I’m picking UNC in this game because of their defense and what they held Georgia Tech to last year. Last year the Tarheels held the Jackets to seven points, GT’s lowest total of the season. GT is coming off a tough loss on the road at Miami and will be looking to rebound at Bobby Dodd Stadium but it’s not going to happen against the Tarheels. Strong Heels defense prevails and the offense scores enough points to win by 10.

#22 North Carolina 24 Georgia Tech 14

California at Oregon could be a trap game for the Bears who had their hands full with the Golden Gophers last weekend, but I’m really feeling this Cal team. Jahvid Best is the Heisman Frontrunner in my opinion and Riley is passing the ball as well as anyone in the country. Autzen stadium is one of the toughest venues to play in the country but the Bears don’t overlook the Ducks in anticipation for USC and they get a solid victory.

#6 California 34 Oregon 21

Miami at Virginia Tech could be the toughest pick of them all this week in most people’s opinions but in my eyes its Miami that takes this game no doubt. Miami has looked extremely impressive so far this season and I can see their offense dismantling Virgina Tech’s solid defense. VT has looked very bland and vanilla on offense and won’t be able to put up nearly enough points on “The U”. Blacksburg is always a tough place to play but Miami will come in and silence the crowd quickly behind Jacory Harris and Greg Cooper.

Oh yeah and isn’t VT like 3 and 25 against top 10 opponents or something? Sounds good to me!

#9 Miami 31 #11 Virginia Tech 17

TCU at Clemson will be a fun game to watch as the ACC tries to gain some rep by beating a notable non conference opponent, unfortuantly for the ACC it won’t happen. Both teams boast great defenses but TCU has one of the best defenses in the country. Oh yeah they also have some guy named Jerry Hughes…. the best pass rusher in the country. The Horned Frogs already beat fellow VT’s instate ACC rival Virgina 30-14, and look to do the same to the Tigers. I don’t see the Tigers winning this one; even though it’s in Death Valley, although they’ll keep it close.

#15 TCU 24 Clemson 17

Pittsburgh at North Carolina State is a tough one to decide but I’m going with Pitt who has looked impressive in a 3-0 start. They look to take control in a wide open Big East and would love to get another win going into Conference play. Runningback Dion Lewis has stepped in for McCoy and looks to carry Pitt on his back. NC State is 2-1 after beating two FCS teams after their season opening loss to South Carolina. Close game but Pitt wins at NC State.

Pitt 20 NC State 10

Notre Dame at Purdue is actually an interesting match-up. You have one of the most inconsitent teams i’ve seen in recent memory – Purdue, against Notre Dame who is pretty good this year. Its in West Lafayette at 8:00 so it will be a tough enviroment for ND; if anyone shows up for Purdue. Purdue has dropped its last two in heartbreaking fashions. A two point loss at Oregon, and a loss to NIU that was just plain nasty. I think Purdue will score a lot of points, and i’m not sure how Notre Dame will react with Clausen’s turftoe and Floyd’s season ending injury. I know its a risky pick and i’ll probably be sorry for it but i’m going with Purdue. Let’s hope their offense shows up.

Purdue 35 Notre Dame 31

Iowa at Penn State is my marque matchup of the week behind Miami and Virginia Tech. The College Gameday Enviroment and the infamous Penn State whiteout always make for a great atmosphere at Happy Valley. Both teams come in very impressive on defense and a bit suspect at offense. Iowa has proven itself more in my opinion with an impressive win over Arizona, and Penn State really hasn’t played anyone worth a damn. Penn State will be looking for revenge as Iowa ending their national title hopes last year in Kennick Stadium. Ultimately the Whiteout effect will prove too much for the Hawkeyes and Penn State will escape with another slim victory in this great series between these two storied, tradition filled  programs.

#5 Penn State 24 Iowa 17

Washington at Standford is another tough game where I had an extremely tough time deciding. I haven’t had the treat of seeing Standford in action at all this year so I’m leaning with Washington since I’ve seen them play a tough game with the Bayou Tigers, and knock off the #3 USC Trojans. They are led by Jake Locker who is the “Tebow of the West”, and a stout defense that should hold the Cardinal’s running game to minimal damage.The Huskies win on the road.

#24 Washington 38 Stanford 17

Last but not least we have Texas Tech visiting the Houston Cougars. The Cougars captured national attention when they pulled off an impressive upset of Oklahoma State on September 12th. The Red Raiders are coming off a tough loss to Texas in Austin and are looking to prove themselves with a win over a ranked team. I can’t see this happening though as the Cougars look very impressive offensivly and should be able to play enough defense to grind out a win against Texas Tech.

#17 Houston 45 Texas Tech 31

Now that I have made my selections I will now share my confidence.

10. Penn State over Iowa

9. Miami Fl. over Virginia Tech

8. California over Oregon

7. Pittsburgh over North Carolina State

6. Wisconsin over Michigan State

5. Washington over Stanford

4. TCU over Clemson

3. North Carolina over Georgia Tech

2. Houston over Texas Tech

1. Purdue over Notre Dame

Well those are the picks for week 4. Hopefully I can get my percentage up and earn some more points to further my lead against everyone else in the group! I’m a bit worried with all the away teams I’ve picked this week but I’m going with my gut feeling and my educated guesses and I think I’ll do pretty good.

Anyways until next time!

- Tyler Merritt

- GO BUCKS!

Posted in Ohio State | No Comments »

A new concept for the blog…

September 23rd, 2009 by Tyler Merritt

I’ve recently been thinking of a way of how to expand the blog into further frontiers and one that stood out to me was Twitter, and perhaps a weekly show or something of the sort.

I just made a twitter account and it will be active mostly on gamedays with updates on my thoughts and interesting scores etc…. Pretty much anything that interest me at the time.

You can visit that here http://twitter.com/cfngameday .

I also want to do a weekly show or something like that…. I’m not sure how I can pull this off but I am open to ideas… something along the lines of Sports Center or something slightly based off of something like that.

Anyways I’ll keep you guys updated and look for some more posts coming very soon!

- Tyler Merritt

- GO BUCKS!

Posted in Ohio State | No Comments »

My Week 3 Big Ten Recap

September 20th, 2009 by Tyler Merritt

I just got done posting my Week 3 Big Ten Recap on Bleacher Report, Look forward to some posts coming on this blog this upcoming week, If I get the time.

Anyways here is the link! Enjoy.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/258570-big-ten-recap-week-3

- Tyler Merritt

- GO BUCKS!

Posted in College Football Overview, Ohio State, Recaps | No Comments »

College Football Ramblings Week 3

September 20th, 2009 by Tyler Merritt

Another wild weekend of College Football and I haven’t been this confused in a while.

A week after my Buckeye’s lost a heartbreaker USC continues their habit of losing to a much less skilled Pac 10 team…

Does this mean that Ohio State is horrible for losing to USC and should of destroyed them?

No, not in my opinion… USC does this every year and it usually causes a great Trojan team to go to the Rose Bowl to play a Big Ten team they have no business playing, and it’s always a slaughter.

Washington hasn’t recieved enough credit as well, they’ve had the atheletes and now that they have a good coach they should be back to a Washington were used to seeing.

Another major question is What to make of the ACC?

Before this weekend I thought they were the second worst conference ahead of the Big East but they earned some major respect with their out of conference wins. Virginia Tech over Nebraska (Which really was Nebraska’s game), Florida State just plastering BYU who was #7 in the nation, and Miami moving up to #9 in the nation, which sets up a great match-up in Blacksburg as the Hurricanes visit the #12 Hokies.

However, the ACC also suffered big losses as Maryland lost to Middle Tennessee State for the second straight season, and Virginia lost to Southern Miss. The ACC can’t keep affording to lose to no name teams, they’ve been struggling with FCS teams as well. I don’t know what to make of the ACC right now but they are playing decent and fun to watch football. Keep an eye on Miami.

A lot of questions were answered in the Big Ten this week, mostly good but a few bad.

Ohio State bounced back from the heartbreaking loss to USC with an impressive offensive and defensive performance against Toledo. Most people may say “Oh wow, how impressive” but in reality Toledo was no pushover, and some experts even predicted Toledo to contend with Ohio State, or even upset them. Thankfully Ohio State didn’t have a slump after a huge game, and held a very potent Toledo offense to zero points. Yes, Toledo’s offense was potent as they scored 54 on Colorado, and 31 on Purdue. I can say with confidence that Ohio State’s defense has surpased most’s expectations and looks like a Championship Caliber defense.

The offense on the other hand looked great against Toledo, but i’m not sure how much you can take away since Toledo’s defense was a joke. The playcalling was satisfying though, and Terrelle Pryor made some excellent throws along with a few minor mistakes. Dane Sazenbacher continues to remind me of Anthony Gonzalez, and the runningbacks all looked pretty solid. It was great to see Terrelle’s ex-highschool teammate Jordan Hall get some reps at runningback, and he proved that he is deserving of the carries he recieved. I’ll post more in my recap that I will be posting sometime later on this week.

Minnesota looked impressive in their closely contested loss against The Jahvid Be…. (wait oops) The Cal Bears. The Gopher’s did their best to defend TCF Bank Stadium in it’s innagural season, and almost upset the #8 ranked Bears. Eric Decker continues to impress me, and honestly is one of my favorite players in college football. While the score may not indicate it Minnesota had all of the momentum with about 6-7 minutes left in the game, until Cal converted a 3rd and 12 for a thirty something odd yard gain. Cal drove down the field and put the pressure on Minnesota, and unfortunatly Weber threw an interception giving Cal a “Golden” oppurtunity to put another seven on the board. Well played Bears, you showed you can play with the big boys, Hopefully you can play with USC as they come to TCF Bank Stadium next year.

Michigan State looked to bounce back after a demoralizing loss to CMU against Notre Dame in Southbend where they have been quite successful. MSU almost defeated the Irish turning the ball over in the redzone in the final minute, as they lost 33-30. Hopefully the Spartan’s season doesn’t fall apart in a John L. Smith fashion, but I can’t see that happening under Coach Dantonio. One thing that did stand out to me in this game was Golden Tate’s touchdown celebration as he dove into the Spartan Band after scoring a touchdown. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg-76xzGABE

Purdue looked inconsistent as usual after the close loss to Oregon, and I can see their season fall apart after they lost to NIU this weekend. We’ll see how they do against Notre Dame.

Penn State looked alright against Temple, it’s hard to tell how good they are.

Iowa had a solid nonconference win over Mike Stoop’s Arizona Wildcats. This was a classic Big Ten Defense against a highpowered Pac 10 spread offense team. The Hawkeyes improved to 3-0 and won 27-10.

Michigan looked good against EMU for what its worth, Forcier is still recieving high praise as the Reincarnation of Christs from the Michigan Fans.

Northwestern disappointed me with a loss to Syracuse in the final seconds by fieldgoal, I thought they would be better than last year but the defense isn’t getting it done.

Indiana is still surprisingly undefeated, haven’t really watched them since the opening game where they looked aweful though.

Wisconsin proved that it can blow out a team, never thought they were capable of that.

The Big 12 looked good except the Loss that should of been a win for Nebraska. I still can’t beleive they gave up the game to Virginia Tech in that manner. Heartbreaker.

The SEC looked alright, I wish they would schedule more tough nonconference games.

Florida didn’t destroy Tennesee which was a major suprise to me as I expected them to win by 40+. So I was unimpressed.

Anyone who said the Mountain West was good was obviously let down as Utah lost to Oregon, and BYU was slaughtered by FSU.

Oh yeah, before I forget…

If I were handed a Heisman Ballot at this moment it would look something like this…

1. Javhid Best

2. Colt McCoy

3. Tim Tebow

4. Daryll Clark (He would move up if Penn State played someone worth a damn out of the Conference)

5. Eric Berry (The best defensive canidate at the moment)…

I’ll be posting predictions and etc. later on in the week, for now it’s time to Go watch my Fantasy football team get another win!

Until Next time…

Your host of College Football Now

- Tyler Merritt

- GO BUCKS!

Posted in Analysis, College Football Overview, Heisman Talk | No Comments »

First Post!

September 20th, 2009 by Tyler Merritt

Welcome to College Football Now, my new blog that will serve as a front for my opinions and articles on College Football.

I have been watching College Football all my life and you could call it one of my biggest passions.

The Ohio State University is the only school I could ever see myself rooting for and a large portion of my articles will have to do with the Buckeyes.

However, I will also be posting articles that have to do with the Big Ten Conference and anything else I find interesting in College Football.

I am extremely excited to get this Blog going and I hope anyone who reads it finds it insightful and interesting.

Hopefully you’ll find it fun to read, because I had a blast composing it.

You can find some of my more well thought out articles on Bleacher Report I’ll provide a link to my profile.

http://bleacherreport.com/users/151530-tyler-merritt

Anyways until Nexttime

- Tyler Merritt

P.S. – GO BUCKS!

Posted in Ohio State | 1 Comment »