Photo Courtesy: Randall Chancellor
By DaVince “Dino” Wright
College Football this Week
All of the North Texas football schools that we cover are pretty much bowl eligible. SMU is 5-3, TCU is 6-2 and UNT is 7-1. This week will be huge for football because there are so many teams that have 5 wins and adding one more puts them in bowl games at the end of the year. My Games of the Week are: #9 Vanderbilt vs #20 Texas and #18 Oklahoma vs #14 Tennessee. Tune in because you don’t want to miss this Saturday’s football games.
Game Info
#10 Miami Hurricanes (6-1) vs SMU Mustangs (5-3)
Saturday – November 1 – 11:00 a.m.
TV: ESPN
Gerald J. Ford Stadium – Dallas, TX
SMU is a good team that can’t play 4 quarters. Once this team plays a solid 4 quarters they will be back to where they were last season. Last week they dropped an easy one to Wake Forest on the road 13-12. They are 3-2 in their last 5 contests and a win at home would put them in a good place making them bowl eligible for the season. Miami is a good team that plays solid on the defensive side of the ball. SMU will need to establish the run and not rely on throwing passes on 1st down. ESPN has the Hurricanes with a 70.0% chance of winning on the road. I’m taking Miami by 14!
Final Score
#10 Hurricanes – 34
Mustangs – 20
Game Info
Navy Midshipmen (7-0) vs UNT Mean Green (7-1)
Saturday – November 1 – 11:00 a.m.
TV: ESPN2
DATCU Stadium – Denton, TX
Last week UNT had a ball in North Carolina thrashing Charlotte by 34 points. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker passed for 608 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception on the road. This week UNT is home and Navy’s running game will be on the forefront. Navy wants to run the ball, and everyone knows it. ESPN has the Mean Green with a 78.1% chance of winning at home this week. I’m taking UNT by 13! They are the better team. Navy is undefeated in the American Conference right now. UNT needs the win to get into that top spot in the conference!
Final Score
Mean Green – 27
Midshipmen – 17
Game Info
#9 Vanderbilt Commodores (7-1) vs #20 Texas Longhorns (6-2)
Saturday – November 1 – 11:00 a.m.
TV: ABC
DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium – Austin, TX
Both teams are 4-1 in their last 5 contests. Both teams have really good quarterbacks leading their schools, however Texas won’t have their starter Arch Manning (concussion). That means back up QB Matthew Caldwell is the man. This game will come down to how well the quarterbacks play. The quarterback that starts off slow and has an ill-timed turnover will probably lose this one. The safe thing to do is run the ball. Keep an eye on running back Quintrevion Wisner. He will be the x-factor for the Longhorns at home. ESPN has the Longhorns with a 70.5% chance of winning at home. I’m not sure if I believe that because the Longhorns offense makes me nervous. I’m taking Vandy by 10!
Final Score
#9 Commodores – 31
#20 Longhorns – 21
Game Info
#18 Oklahoma Sooners (6-2) vs #14 Tennessee Volunteers (6-2)
Saturday – November 1 – 6:30PM
TV: ABC
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville – TN
The SEC conference is all jumbled up at the top! You have 2 teams that are undefeated in conference right now and 7 teams with 1 or 2 losses in the SEC right now. The winner of this game can gain some traction in the standings. Tennessee has won 4 of their last 5 games only losing to Alabama on the road. Their last win was against Kentucky by 22 points. Oklahoma has won 3 out of their last 5 games with wins over Auburn, Kent and South Carolina. This game will come down to the 4th quarter. The team that creates the most turnovers will win this one. ESPN has the Volunteers with a 63.33% chance of winning at home. I’m taking the Vols by 10!
Final Score
#14 Volunteers – 31
#18 Sooners – 21
