3 Michigan at #10 Penn State

12:00PM Kickoff on FOX (11/11)
Current Records:
Michigan: 9-0 (6-0 Big Ten)
Penn State: 8-1 (5-1 Big Ten)

Kicking off the noon slate with a bang: Top 10 match up, Big Ten title hopes rest on this game, College Football Playoff hopes also rest on this game. With Michigan lets focus on the facts (I won’t be going into the allegations of sign stealing), This is a Michigan team that allows less than 10 Pts. a game on defense, the most they allowed was 13 Pts last weekend to Purdue. Not only is their defense arguably the best in the nation, but they have a top 10 offense too scoring over 30 Pts a game (52 Pts the highest against Minnesota & Indiana). J.J McCarthy is having an excellent season as the starter and he has an even better running game to fallback on with Blake Corum and Donavan Edwards as a 1-2 punch. The negatives against the Wolverines (besides the sign stealing stuff) is their strength of schedule. This is Michigan’s first ranked opponent all season long and it has taken till week 11 to happen, their best win on the season is over UNLV who are 7-2 on the season. Penn State had their first real test of the season against Ohio State a few weeks ago, a game where they hung tough for a bit but in the end their offense could do nothing against the Buckeye Defense. Since losing to the Buckeyes, Penn State has won two straight games (including a a way to close for comfort win over Indiana), and their offense is performing just like it should have against OSU. Drew Allar has really taken the next step since that loss. Both Michigan and Penn State are similar on both sides of the ball; both have Top 10 defense, both have offenses that can move the ball with a solid QB and dynamic running game to compliment it. Schedule wise the edge goes to Penn State, having the experience of playing Ohio State goes in their favor (Michigan plays them in two weeks), but the fact Michigan has been so dominant over literally every single team they have played can’t be looked past. I am going Michigan in this game, the solidify their Big Ten title hopes, with OSU looming, and make their case for the #1 ranking during the next CFP rankings Tuesday.

9 Ole Miss at #2 Georgia

7:00PM Kickoff on ESPN (11/11)
Current Records:
Ole Miss: 8-1 (5-1 SEC)
Georgia: 9-0 (6-0 SEC)

Like Michigan vs Penn State, Ole Miss vs Georgia has huge implications for the SEC and the CFP beyond, with both teams looking to solidify their positions of make one last push into the conversations. I honestly think this game is even more like Michigan vs Penn State besides the implications, both teams have solid offenses, solid defenses, one team playing a Top 10 team and lost (Ole Miss and Penn State), while the other really has coasted along the first two months of the season (Michigan and Georgia). Both QBs on Georgia and Ole Miss have been having great seasons, Jaxson Dart (2,467 Yds & 16 TDs | 4 INTs) and Carson Beck in his first year as a starter (2,716 Yds & 16 TDs | 4 INTs), very similar stat lines there. Both teams have played in a few close games that they ended up winning, Auburn for example game both teams a handful (Ole Miss won 28-21, while Georgia won 27-20). Unlike Michigan however Georgia has played ranked teams and come out on top, beating then ranked #20 Kentucky, last weekend beating #12 Missouri (they also have #13 Tennessee next weekend). Ole Miss has two ranked wins as well, handing Tulane its only loss on the season back in week 2, and the Land Sharks were in an offensive explosion of a game with LSU winning that 55-49. I am going with my gut here though, I like Ole Miss to shock the SEC and CFP rankings by upsetting the Bulldogs in a tight game. I think both teams come into this game ready to play, but Lane Kiffin has not been doing as much of his “trolling” this week, and Kirby Smart has a lot of bulletin board material for his team with OSU being ranked #1 again, but I don’t think thats enough. Ole Miss by 3.

-Wil Weddington (@Wil_Weddington)