BACK TO TOP

Michigan at Michigan State

GAME TIME:	12 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC (regional)
LAST MEETING:	1998 -- Michigan 29, Michigan State 17
SERIES:	Michigan leads 60-26-5

Two years ago the "College GameDay" crew went to East Lansing, and Charles Woodson and Marcus Ray ripped the Spartans' hearts out with a convincing victory, 23-7. Two years later, the stage is set again in East Lansing, with both teams being undefeated.

One difference about this year's Michigan State team is its maturity level. The Spartans have a great deal of leadership, confidence and character, attributed to some of the growing pain the program has experienced. The freshmen and sophomores on the past teams are now juniors and seniors. That experience has paid huge dividends for the Spartans. They are not making mental mistakes like they did in the past. The Spartans need to continue that trend of mistake-free football against a great Michigan team.

The Wolverines are playing as well as anybody. Their defense continues to improve. Any defense played four straight option attacks before facing Drew Brees and a wide-open passing offense, and handled all five. As he is showing, Michigan's Jim Herrmann is one of the best defensive coordinators in the nation.

The game will come down which quarterback will continue to play well. Unsung Bill Burke has made great decisions all year for Michigan State and hasn't hurt his team with interceptions or miscues. Tom Brady has been flawless in running the Michigan offense.

The Spartans will have to beat man-to-man coverage of Todd Howard and James Whitley, otherwise Michigan can do some tricky things if it is allowed to play straight-up man on the corners. Just ask Brees and the Purdue offense.   BACK TO TOP

--->

Purdue at Ohio State

GAME TIME:	3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC (regional)
LAST MEETING:	1996 -- Ohio State 42, Purdue 14
SERIES:	Ohio State leads 31-10-2

Purdue needs to shake off a difficult week, losing its first big test against Michigan. Coach Joe Tiller and some of the players said this week that the team's confidence was rattled a bit, and it started against Northwestern when the Boilermakers didn't win as convincingly as they had hoped.

They dropped 13 balls against Michigan and had a lot of miscues. The Boilermakers have gone back to the drawing board this week, saying, "Now we know what it takes. Let's go out and execute." They have another opportunity to go into a hostile environment and see how they can perform.

Purdue's offense should give Ohio State's defense fits. The Boilermakers will spread them out with four receivers and one back. Just when you think the Boilermakers are only a pass-oriented offense, they will run the power game with J. Crabtree.

Ohio State's defense has struggled all year with motivation, tackling and leadership. Each week the Buckeyes think things will change, but now they are five games into the season. The difference in this game will be Brees throwing the ball and Crabtree running. I think Purdue will upset Ohio State in Columbus.   BACK TO TOP

Georgia at Tennessee

GAME TIME:	7 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN
LAST MEETING:	1996 -- Tennessee 29, Georgia 17
SERIES:	Tennessee leads 16-10-2

Both teams have yet to play their best game. Georgia leads the SEC in rushing, which is a big surprise. Equally surprising has been the lack of a Georgia passing gamet. Quarterback Quincy Carter is trying to break in some young receivers, and it has slowed their passing game down.

The Vols, on the other hand, can't get their running game going, even with most of their offensive line back, plus Jamal Lewis. Because Tennessee has yet to develop another receiver besides Cedric Wilson, I think teams are able to focus on taking out Wilson and the Vols' running game.

Wilson leads the team with 29 receptions, but the second-leading receiver, Eric Parker, only has eight. Until another receiver can step up and be a consistent threat, defenses won't respect the passing game, and it will be difficult for the Vols to run. Tee Martin needs to throw the ball more effectively to other receivers before the Vols can get Lewis going on the ground.

Last year the Vols had Shawn Bryson catching the ball out of the backfield to go along with the running game. They had Peerless Price, Jeremaine Copeland and Wilson. You couldn't defend their weapons. This year they haven't shown the same arsenal.

Playing against Georgia's athletic defensive front, the Vols will have a tough time running again. They will have to throw the ball effectively to someone besides Wilson to soften up the defense and open up some running lanes.   BACK TO TOP