Sunday, November 4, 2012

Dallas Cowboys @ Atlanta Falcons

Scouting Report for Dallas Cowboys(3-4) vs. Atlanta Falcons (7-0)
November 4, 2012-Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA

Cowboys: Last week's game against the Giants had everything. It had the Cowboys down by 23 early in the second quarter. Then the Boys battled back to take the lead. The G-Men retook the lead. Afterwards, Dez Bryant had a winning touchdown catch. But the referees reversed their call and New York held off Dallas 29-24.

The running game never had a chance. When a team rushes for 19 total yards, it's not hard to see why Dallas lost. Tony Romo (31-62, 437 YDS and 1 TD) overcame 4 interceptions to get the Cowboys a chance to win. Bryant and Miles Austin had a slow start themselves, but finished the game with a combined 14 catches for 248 yards. Jason Witten was also strong with 18 catches for 167 yards.

Rob Ryan's defense did as good as a job given the circumstances. All in all, the Giants only scored one offensive touchdown and were limited to 5 field goals. Danny McCray (3 tackles) got the only interception of Eli Manning.

Falcons: Atlanta is the only undefeated team in the league for a couple of reasons. They play well on both sides of the ball. Plus, the coaching staff seems to be dialing up the right plays at the right time. All that was evident when they beat the Eagles 30-17 on the road.

Matt Ryan threw only 29 passes, but missed only 7 times. As a result, he amassed 262 YDS and 3 touchdowns. Julio Jones made 5 of those catches for 123 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter. Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers amounted for 118 of the Falcons 146 yards on the ground. All of that is a product of why Atlanta held the for 32:55.

The Falcons defense didn't force a turnover. However, they did force former Michael Vick in to 14 incompletions. Atlanta was able to hit Vick 5 times resulting in 3 sacks. Thomas DeCoud had 9 tackles (2 for losses) and 1 sack.

What to watch for: The Cowboys are playing their 3rd nationally televised night game this season. Their last performance was on Monday night when the Bears defense capitalized on Dallas' miscues. But that was at home. Their first game was on the road when the beat the Giants on opening night. We'll have to see which team actually shows up.

Conclusion: Jason Garrett has been criticized for not running the ball enough. Dallas only rushed the ball 17 times and the Giants were able to stifle them. That and the fact they were trailing by 4 possessions early in the second quarter was reason enough to rely on the passing game. At any rate, how the Cowboys perform in the next four weeks will determine if Garrett will have a job.

That doesn't mean that they have to win. It just means that Dallas needs to set the benchmark with solid play against Atlants. With 3 out of 4 of their upcoming games against their own division, now is the time to get back to winning football.

Prediction: Falcons by 17.


Friday, November 2, 2012

TCU @ West Virginia

Scouting Report for TCU Horned Frogs(5-3) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers(5-2)
November 3, 2012- Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown,WV

TCU: Of all the things that have happened to the Horned Frogs this season, having a two game skid shouldn't be one of them. While the Frogs lost 36-14 to Oklahoma State on the road, there were many positives that can be taken away from that experience.

Trevone Boykin (21-40) only passed for 185 yards, but he did help give TCU an early 14-0 lead. After their last touchdown, the offense never could sustain their momentum. TCU had 109 YDS total offense on their first 4 drives, their final 11 drives averaged only 19.2 yards. As a result, they had a missed field goal and two interceptions.

The Frogs' defense had a pretty decent day. Elisha Olabode returned an interception for a touchdown from 11 yards to open the scoring. However, they allowed 421 yards in total yards to the Cowboys which didn't help matters. All in all, Oklahoma State scored only 3 touchdowns, yet yielded 5 field goals to Quinn Sharp.

West Virginia: To say that the Mountaineers have had a tough stretch is a massive understatement. Since they were idle last week, West Virginia has had a lot of time to let their 55-14 loss to Kansas State stew.

It was pretty evident that the Wildcats defense had Geno Smith's number. Smith went 21-32 for 143 yards passing the entire game. It took 272 attempts for Smith to throw his first interception and only 7 attempts after that for his second pick. The ground game was stifled for 88 yards. Tavon Austin was a bright spot with a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second and a 5 yard pass from Smith in the 4th.

The defense had no answer for Heisman front runner Collin Klein as he was able to pass for 3 touchdowns and rush for 4. The secondary was caught for a surprise when Klein did most of his damage through the air as he was able to find 6 different receivers.

What to watch for: Ever since West Virginia has entered conference play they have allowed 53 PPG. Which it is imperative for the Horned Frog defense to look at the game that was played a couple of weeks ago to see how they can slow down the Mountaineers' dynamic offense. The offense for TCU should be in good hands if Boykin (probable:knee) is able to go.

Conclusion: During both teams losing streaks, the Mountaineers have lost by an average of 38 points while the Horned Frogs have lost by 7.5. Given the circumstances, this game should be close. For one thing, both these Big XII newcomers are conference champions in their own right (West Virginia-Big East, TCU-Mountain West). The other factor would be that a win makes one of them bowl eligible. With the Horned Frogs remaining schedule (vs Kansas State, @ Texas and vs Oklahoma), they will need to strike the Mountaineers while they are in this predicament.

Prediction: West Virginia by 7.


SMU @ UCF

Scouting Report for SMU Mustangs(4-4) vs. Central Florida Knights(6-2)
November 3, 2012- Bright House Networks Stadium, Orlando, FL

SMU: After defeating the Memphis Tigers 44-13, the Mustangs have won 3 out of 4 games in Conference USA. The Ponies also have their first consecutive winning streak and are hoping to extend it on the road.

Garrett Gilbert (25-35, 353 YDS and 1 TD) has continued his success with the run and shoot offense. While he did turn the ball over again, at least this time it was not an interception. Gilbert also had 2 touchdowns on the ground. Zach Line had another 100 yard game (127 YDS & 1 TD on 23 carries). Darrius Johnson (9 catches 141 YDS) had a 70 yard reception that led to a touchdown (Gilbert from 2 yards out in the 3rd). Der'rick Thompson(52 yards receiving and 1 TD) had two big catches in the game.

SMU's defense apparantly had no hangover from their previous game against Houston. Despite allowing one touchdown, the defense forced 3 fumbles and recovered two of them and limited the Tigers offense to 2 field goals after that.

Central Florida: The Knights traveled to a hostile Marshall crowd and silenced them with 54-17 victory. Currently, UCF has won their last 4 games. Also, they've their last 3 out of 4 at home.

Marshall led the game only once. After the Thundering Herd connected on a field goal in the first quarter, Quincy McDuffie answered on the ensuing kick-off with a 97 YD return for a touchdown. The Knights scored another 20 points before Marshall scored again. Blake Bortles (15-21, 277 YDS) overcame two 1st half interceptions by throwing 2 touchdowns. One of those passes went to Latavious Murray (156 YDS on 16 carries)who had 3 additional touchdowns on the ground. McDuffie had another kickoff return (98 YDS)for a touchdown to open the second half

The defense couldn't force the Herd in to a turnover. Rakeem Cato (298 YDS)of Marshall outgained the Knight passing offense by 8 yards, their ground game couldn't get going (66 total yards). UCF was able to sack Cato 4 times.

What to watch for: While both offenses have been clicking as of late, it will be up to the defenses to make a statement. SMU has forced 11 turnovers in the last two games. If the Mustangs can capitalize on turnovers like they have been, then they will be 3-0 against future Big East schools.

Conclusion: This game is not about who has the better record. This isn't about who's got the longest winning streak. What this game will be about is which team will still have their momentum when the dust settles. Both sides of the football for UCF and SMU have been doing well. Which means that there is a very good possibility that the game could come down to field goals. With Margus Hunt on the field, that could be dangerous for the Knights (2 blocked PAT's last week). If McDuffie is able to play (left game in the 3rd quarter), the Knights may not have to worry about that.

Prediction: UCF by 6.


Arkansas State @ North Texas

Scouting Report for Arkansas State Red Wolves (5-3) vs. North Texas Mean Green(3-5)
November 3, 2012- Apogee Stadium, Denton, TX

Arkansas State: The Red Wolves went in to Lafayette and knocked off the University of Louisiana 50-27. The defending Sun Belt conference champions will play their 3rd road game in 5 weeks.

Arkansas State's offense scored 6 points in the first quarter off of 2 Brian Davis FGs (5 total). Ryan Aplin (21-31, 269 YDS & 1TD) and the offense got going in the second quarter pushing the lead to 20-0. David Oku (22 carries, 83 YDS) had a 5 YD TD run and Rocky Hayes (3 carries, 86 YDS)had a 57 YD run of his own in the 3rd to keep Louisiana Lafayette honest on defense.

Had it not been for the Ragin' Cajuns 5 turnovers (3 interceptions, 2 lost fumbles), it could've been a loss for the Red Wolves. Arkansas State scored 27 points more as a result. Tausean Holmes, Chaz Scales and Chris Stone each picked off Terrance Broadway. However, the defense did give up big plays that resulted in 14 quick points for Louisiana.

North Texas: After Middle Tennessee was crushed on the road against Mississippi State the week before, the Blue Raiders got even against the Mean Green at home(38-21).

UNT never seemed to get into a rhythm the whole game. After the first play on offense, the Mean Green lost Brelan Chancellor for the season with a broken collarbone. Derek Thompson(17-29, 221 YDS, 1 TD) was picked off 3 times. The Mean Green trailed 31-0 at the 13:48 mark in the 3rd quarter before they got going. However, Antoinne Jimmerson (16 carries, 85 YDS) rushed for 2 touchdowns and Brandin Byrd added 87 yards on 16 carries to help North Texas on the ground.

The defense gave up big plays. Middle Tennessee was able to pull off scoring plays of over 15 yards on all but one scoring drive. Marcus Trice was one of the bright spots for UNT with 7.5 tackles (3 for losses).

What to watch for: The Mean Green has not scored in the first quarter in the last 3 games. The last time they did, was against Florida Atlantic on the road. The last time at home resulted in a 14-7 loss to Troy the week prior. If they are to win, the Mean Green need to do so through their offense.

Conclusion: There is a lot riding on this game. North Texas will need to win the 3 of their next 4 games to become bowl eligible. But winning all of them will help. If Louisiana-Monroe loses their next game (vs. Louisiana-Lafayette) and Arkansas State wins, the Sun Belt will be a toss up. Both teams will hope to shore up their respective defenses if this game is to be close. The Mean Green will need to play 60 minutes to win this game. They will also need to stymie the Red Wolves' fast paced offense if they are to have a great homecoming game.

Prediction: Arkansas State by 13.