The Citadel at No. 6 Ole Miss: 56 – 0 – Ole Miss wins (Ethan Tavel)
The No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels will take on The Citadel Bulldogs today at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Currently, ESPN analytics give Ole Miss a 99% chance of winning this matchup.
Ole Miss is currently on a two-game winning streak. The Rebels shut down No. 13 Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., with a convincing 34-26 win to establish themselves as playoff contenders. Then, they took down South Carolina in Oxford, 30-14.
The Citadel has a 4-5 record and a 3-3 conference record. The Bulldogs won their last game, where they cruised past VMI 35-24. All of Citadel’s wins are in dominant fashion: 40-13 over Samford, 28-10 against Chattanooga and 38-14 win over Valdosta State. Citadel has proven they can dominate other teams; the only issue with this resume is that all those teams are at the bottom of the conference.
No. 8 BYU at No. 9 Texas Tech: 31-24 – Texas Tech (Will Wright)
This Saturday, BYU rolls into town with its perfect record on the line against a Texas Tech team that has quietly built itself into a legitimate Big 12 powerhouse. Both teams sit near the top of the conference standings, but the Red Raiders are favored at home, setting the stage for a game that could define the Big 12 title race and maybe even shake up the playoff picture.
For BYU, this season has been all about resilience. The Cougars have not been the flashiest team in the league, but they have been one of the toughest to put away. A handful of their wins have come after trailing late, showing that head coach Kalani Sitake’s team does not fold easily. Freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier has been the breakout story of the season, giving BYU a spark with his poise and mobility.
Texas Tech, on the other hand, looks like a program that is finally living up to its potential. Head coach Joey McGuire’s team is physical, balanced and confident. The Red Raiders’ defense has been one of the best in the Big 12, especially against the run, which poses a direct challenge to BYU’s ground-heavy approach. If Tech’s front seven can control the line of scrimmage early, it could force Bachmeier into uncomfortable passing downs and that is when the Red Raiders’ pass rush tends to feast.
The biggest question in this matchup might be how BYU handles the early storm. Lubbock is a brutal place for visiting teams, and with ESPN’s College GameDay in town and a fired-up home crowd, Texas Tech will almost certainly come out fast. BYU’s defense will need to hold strong early and force the game into a grind. The longer the Cougars can hang around, the more the pressure will shift to the Red Raiders, who have not faced many close finishes this season.
Still, Texas Tech looks like the more complete team right now. Their defense is deep, their offense is clicking and they have been nearly unbeatable at home. BYU will fight, as they always do, but the physicality and energy of the Red Raiders should be too much over four quarters.
No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 19 Missouri: 32-21 – Texas A&M wins (Delaney Smith)
The Aggies are one of four undefeated Top 25 teams, and that will continue in Week 11 against the Missouri Tigers.
Last week, Missouri lost their starting quarterback, Beau Pribula, to a season-ending ankle dislocation. This week, they will start true freshman Matt Zollers who entered the game against Vanderbilt and threw for 138 yards and a touchdown after Pribula went down.
However, Zollers is going up against the No. 3 team in the country. The Aggie defense is slightly inconsistent, allowing an average of about 23 points per game. Quarterback Marcel Reed and the Texas A&M offense will be the ones to get it done.
Two weeks ago, Reed and the offense put up 49 points on LSU in Death Valley at night. Reed threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns, along with rushing for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
Texas A&M is on the road in Colombia, Mo., but the Aggies will get the job done to reach 9-0.
LSU at No. 4 Alabama: 42-17 – Alabama wins (Wilson Engeriser)
The revered “Nick Saban” bowl has lost some of its luster this season due to LSU’s downward spiral. Ole Miss beat the Tigers 24-19 in Week 5 and following that loss LSU rattled off an additional two losses to Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.
On the flip side, Alabama has only been improving each week with the players seeming to have eased into their roles. As of late, they have been playing their best football, mainly because of quarterback Ty Simpson’s electric passing attack. This season he has thrown for 20 touchdowns and only one interception and cemented himself firmly in the Heisman conversation.
LSU’s defense has lost a considerable edge since the beginning of the season. While they still have individual playmakers like Harold Perkins Jr., Mansoor Delane and Whit Weeks, the Tigers defensive unit has given up 80 points in their past two losses, compared to 71 points in their first six games.
Heisman hopeful Garrett Nussmeier’s stock has diminished substantially and the LSU offense has looked tepid at best. They rank outside of the Top 50 in most statistical categories. Outside of their FCS win against Southeastern Louisiana, they have only been scoring about 21 points per game.
LSU’s struggles has led to the firings of their head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. The shakeup will most likely not result in a saved season and is more of a desperate attempt to build towards the future.
With a dominant victory this weekend, Alabama should push their record to 13-2 against LSU in their last 15 matchups. Alabama’s offense and defense has been firing on all cylinders as of late, while LSU has been falling apart with poor squads on both sides of the ball and administrative drama.
