Last week two top five teams fell. Whats in store in Week 10? Here’s one bold prediction for every top 25 team in college football in Week 10.
See Also: How did the Week 10 bold predictions turn out?
It looked like there would be plenty of fireworks entering Week 10. The first slate of games hadn’t ended before that hope was exceeded. There were upsets, escapes and the usual unpredictabilities unique to every college football Saturday. Every week we take a stab at predicting the biggest games and the biggest surprises.
You win some and you lose some. Week 10 was no exception. Perhaps the biggest correct prediction of the weekend came during #Pac12AfterDark when Washington speedster Dante Pettis returned his ninth career punt for a touchdown. That was the bold prediction for the Huskies this week.
Alongside it in the win column were Iowa State’s Allen Lazard outpacing Devon Sills, the national leader in receiving touchdowns as well as yet another 100 yard day on the ground for Khalil Tate. Ohio State being held to half their scoring average? That was also predicted right here.
There were some major whiffs when it came to upsets. We called for upsets of Oklahoma, Miami and Auburn. All three won fairly comfortably, save tedious moments in Bedlam. Mississippi State didn’t top 60 points, rather they barely snuck by UMass. Lastly, Michigan State silenced Saquon Barkley. He tallied 131 all-purpose yards, not the called for 250.
Overall a pretty good week. Here’s the Week 11 bold predictions for every team ranked in the Top 25.
Bold Prediction: This one ends in regulation. No overtimes doesn’t sound all that impressive, but the Wildcats have played in three straight overtime games. This one is close, but despite being tied in the fourth quarter the final whistle ends the game, for once.
Bold Prediction: Arden Key has three sacks. Much has been made of the offensive resurgence in Baton Rouge but Key has his eyes at first round draft selection. Consider this his chance for an impressive outing against one of the worst offensive lines in the SEC.
Bold Prediction: There are no lead changes. The Wolfpack have been through the ringer over the last several weeks and have been beat up. Boston College is a solid program, but they aren’t Clemson or Notre Dame. NC State takes an early lead and doesn’t give it up, coasting to a relatively uneventful victory,
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Bold Prediction: David Montgomery tops 200 yards rushing. The Cyclones sophomore running back has been the little engine that drives their offense. He’s been held under 50 yards just once this season and has topped 100 yards four times. This will be the biggest day of his season against an Oklahoma State defense that can’t stop anybody.
Bold Prediction: The Iowa offense comes back to earth. 55 points last week was just weird. and it’s not going to happen again. This game is going to be low scoring and very Big-Tenish. Nathan Stanley is held in check and Akrum Wadley grinds away for a touchdown or two, not five.
Bold Prediction: Luke Falk gets benched again. Why? Because Mike Leach doesn’t make any sense some times. Coming off a three touchdown, 337 yard passing day Falk might be in for a rough start. When that happens Leach has already proven to have a quick trigger and is more than willing to call on backup Tyler Hilinski.
Bold Prediction: Upsets allow UCF to creep into the Top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings. Can you imagine the perfect doomsday scenario for the Playoff? Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame and UCF? Four Power 5 conferences left out in the cold? As the 2-loss teams keep piling up the Knights chances at a Cinderella run grow and grow.
Bold Prediction: Cam Phillips catches two fourth quarter touchdowns. Phillips went off against a talented Miami secondary, catching seven passes for 101 yards. He’ll be the difference in a close win over the Yellow Jackets, showing up when he’s needed most.
Bold Prediction: The Bulldogs turn Alabama over three times. If anyone is going to upset Alabama, it’ll be Georgia. Mississippi State is a one trick pony on offense, but their defense is capable of making big plays.
Bold Prediction: Overtime in Stillwater. Coming off a heartbreaking loss in Bedlam it would be understandable for the Cowboys to come out of the gates a bit slow. Iowa State is not pushover and they’ll make Mason Rudolph pay for any early mistakes, putting Oklahoma State in an early hole they’ll be lucky to escape from.
Bold Prediction: Saquon Barkley goes berserk, topping 300 all-purpose yards. He was held in check by a strong Michigan State unit, but Rutgers is an entirely different animal. Barkley has his best game of the season. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is when you find yourself on SportsCenter reruns for the next week.
Bold Prediction: J.T. Barrett throws four more interceptions. Barrett had one interception on the season before he tossed four against Iowa. He’s a big play passer, but sometimes those big plays are negative plays. He’s going to have another awful day in another major game and Michigan State will not miss their opportunities to cash in.
Bold Prediction: Sparty knocks off another Big Ten giant. Could Michigan State be the surprise College Football Playoff participant this season. It feels like someone always leaps from the bottom (MSU was ranked No. 24 after Week 9) to the middle of the race. Why not Michigan State?
Bold Prediction: Sam Darnold picks up a pair of rushing touchdowns. Darnold isn’t a dual threat guy by any means, but he’s not a statue in the pocket. He has three rushing touchdowns on the season. He’s the offensive catalyst for the Trojans and will look to get them going however he can, even if it’s on the ground.
Bold Prediction: Auburn upsets Georgia. The Tigers are favored over the Bulldogs. That means Vegas knows something. They know that despite the two losses, Auburn is one of the most well-rounded teams in the nation. Jarrett Stidham cranks it up and puts up an impressive outing to set up Auburn for a massive Iron Bowl.
Bold Prediction: Dante Pettis returns another punt for a touchdown. It’s getting to the point where this isn’t very bold anymore. Pettis has four punt return scores in nine games this season. He already owns that all-time record, so what’s one more for good measure?
Bold Prediction: Wisconsin is held under 300 yards of total offense. Iowa shut down two of the best offenses in the Big Ten, Penn State and Ohio State. They’re going to limit Johnathan Taylor on the ground, and outside of him the Badgers haven’t proven to have much of an offense at all.
Bold Prediction: Malik Rosier completes less than 40 percent of his passes. He completed just 10-of-21 passes in victory of Virginia Tech. The Hokies defense is excellent, but the Irish might be even better. If the Irish get ahead early he’ll have to take to the air and that doesn’t bode well for the Hurricanes.
Bold Prediction: Kenny Trill reemerges with five touchdown passes. Kenny Hill burst on the national stage with a 500 yard, three touchdown game against South Carolina for the Aggies in 2014. He’s got some gunsligner in him and he’s going to need to find it if the Frogs have any chance of outgunning the Sooners.
Bold Prediction: The Oklahoma defense allows eight more touchdowns. It’s obvious at this point that the Sooners aren’t the most complete football team, but they are ridiculously fun to watch. They’re going to get their points this weekend, but won’t have the luxury of taking their foot off the gas.
Bold Prediction: Kelly Bryant doesn’t throw a touchdown pass. Bryant is a capable quarterback, but he might be the fourth or the fifth best player on his offense. The Tiger rushing attack is going to have a field day against a woeful Florida State unit leaving Bryant with a rather unimpressive stat line but Clemson’s ninth win of the season
Bold Prediction: Jake Adams averages more than eight yards per carry. Adams will enter Week 11 with the third best yards per carry average in the nation (8.7) behind only Bryce Love (9.6) and Khalil Tate (11.4). At this point it doesn’t matter how good the Miami front seven is, Adams is going to break off a couple of chunk plays.
Bold Prediction: Nick Saban’s team looks mortal. The injuries to the linebacker position are starting to mount and it’s going to be a learning process as new faces take on bigger roles. The Bulldogs aren’t going to beat the Tide, but they will keep it close and make things interesting.
Bold Prediction: Jake Fromm throws two picks too many. The narrative that Georgia can’t throw the ball is ridiculous, but it’s based out of a legitimate concern. We haven’t seen the freshman passer have to win the game by himself. A bad day for Fromm, a road environment and a swarming Auburn pass rush will lead to a Playoff-altering upset.
Next: Latest 2018 NFL Mock Draft after Week 10
Once again college football fans are in for a treat. There will be three games featuring top 10 matchups you won’t want to miss. No. 1 Georgia takes on No. 10 Auburn (Upset Alert!), No. 3 Notre Dame plays No. 7 Miami and No. 6 TCU travels to No. 5 Oklahoma. There are a dozen other intriguing games outside of that, all-but setting up another chaotic Saturday.