Barely A Chance For Michigan

Anthony Morelli and No. 10 Nittany Lions will light up the Wolverines

College Football Preview: Week 4

> The Red Zone | Tape It Up | Strike The Pose | Breaking The Code

> Williams: Michigan Barely Has A Chance | B.J.: An Open Letter To Karl Dorrell

> Caparell: Honest Steve Spurrier | Blackburn: Alridge About The Bling | Crystal Ball: Predictions

Sept. 20, 2007

By Roland Williams

Special to CSTV.com


	Roland Williams Roland Williams is a football analyst for CSTV and CSTV.com. E-mail here!

One of CSTV's newest analysts, former Syracuse tight end Roland Williams, will breakdown a few of the nation's best games every Thursday and give you his guaranteed winners.

No. 12 South Carolina at No. 2 LSU

Keys To The Game: Obviously the reality is LSU is as advertised. Those guys are the real deal and when I take a look at them they're No. 1 in the SEC in almost every category and among the leaders nationally in many. Those guys are just killer bees. This is going to be a tough game for South Carolina, but LSU has some holes. They're eighth in the SEC in sacks allowed which gives the Gamecocks an opportunity to get at QB Matt Flynn. That might be their only shot at pulling the upset because Flynn has a sprained ankle and won't have Early Doucet. South Carolina has to get at the quarterback and hope the ball bounces their way.

X-Factor: Blake Mitchell. Right now he has to put the ball in the right places against this LSU defense. There's not too much margin for error. Special teams is going to play into this one. LSU is one of the worst teams defending the kickoff in the SEC, so field position is going to be huge.

Prediction: LSU, 35-21.

No. 22 Georgia at No. 16 Alabama

Keys To The Game: Georgia hasn't started 0-2 in the SEC in a long time. To me, their backs are going to be against the wall. We know Nick Saban and Alabama are coming off that big win last week and they're feeling it this week with the game coming at home again. Saban's got the guys believing, drinking the Kool-Aid and it's tough to beat them at their own place. Special teams is going to pay dividends in this one. Alabama has the best punt returner in the SEC in Javier Arenas.

X-Factor: Alabama's special teams and Javier Arenas.

Prediction: I've got this one being a close game, but it's 28-24 in Alabama's favor.

No. 21 Kentucky at Arkansas

Keys To The Game: I think Kentucky believes in themselves. This is the first week they've been ranked in a long time. Andre' Woodson has thrown 257 straight passes without an interception -- a new SEC record. But Kentucky has to be able to stop the run. Arkansas is coming off that defeat last week and they're licking their wounds -- they're not going to be playing around. Mr. McFadden and the No. 1 rushing team in the SEC should continue to run the ball effectively. If they run the ball and keep it away from Kentucky, that's all its going to take to beat the Wildcats.

X-Factor: Casey Dick. They haven't done well throwing the ball this season and this is a big opportunity for him to the pressure of the offensive line because the Wildcats are going to stack the line. He needs to throw the ball down field and help Arkansas come alive offensively.

Prediction: The home team Arkansas takes it in a barnburner, 28-24.

No. 10 Penn State at Michigan

Keys To The Game: Penn State is for real. Their defense is the No. 1 rushing defense in the nation, but what people don't give them credit for is that they're tied for the most sacks. To me, that's a very telling statistic. That means they're doing it on both ends. This team is one of the dark horses in the country. They're not getting their love. The No. 10 ranking is not high enough. This kind of game is going to showcase Penn State football. Michigan still has a name and a victory over the Wolverines is still a nice little mark. I'm looking for Penn State to show up defensively and show out. They're going to give Anthony Morelli so many chances to throw the ball. It's all about probability -- too many opportunities equal too many scores. If Michigan is going to win it, they're going to have to get their passing game going because they can't start with the run. They can't start Mike Hart and build to the passing game. They have to start with the passing game and build to the run.