David BrodyIllinois at Ohio State
Illinois has been inconsistent this year. After starting the year off with a near upset of a solid Missouri team they went on to beat both Penn State and Wisconsin. Back-to-back losses to Iowa and Michigan have left them unranked but they could still be the toughest team Ohio State has played so far. Expect Ohio State to blitz against quarterback Juice Williams frequently to try and prevent him from getting comfortable. Williams has already been injured a couple times this season and may get nervous under pressure. Running back Rashard Mendenhall is one of the most underrated running backs and has put up nearly 200 yards on the ground in each game of the past two weeks. Unfortunately, Ohio State statistically has one of the best defenses in the nation and will probably limit both Williams and Mendenhall to pretty modest numbers. The Ohio State offense, on the other hand, has quietly put up solid and pretty balanced numbers throughout the season. Granted, they have not played any especially difficult defenses but Illinois has been giving up 355 yards a game and its doubtful their defense will be able to keep their team in the game. As long as Ohio State does not look ahead to rival Michigan next week, they should be able to put up another win.
Auburn at Georgia
Both of these teams have stumbled at some point during this season but are starting to pull it together. Georgia suffered its losses against South Carolina in week 2 and Tennessee in week 6. The loss to Tennessee was especially rough given that the final point differential was 21 points. But two weeks later they were able to pull off a legitimate win over Florida. Auburn played LSU close a few weeks back and suffered a heartbreaker in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, I think they are going to suffer another close loss to Georgia this week. Georgia’s quarterback Matt Stafford has been showing a lot of poise and maturity over the season and will show once again that he’s a strong leader for this Georgia team.