Game Previews: Marshall, Rice, NIU, Ball State, WMU and UTSA

2:00 PM Northwestern Oklahoma State at UTSA: The UTSA Roadrunners are 3-0 on the season and look to make it 4-0 versus D-II Northwestern Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon. The Roadrunners have played the weakest schedule of any team in the FBS in their inaugural season. The Roadrunners are led by quarterback Eric Soza who has 580 yards passing on the year. With 7 of their final 8 games versus WAC schools, the Roadrunners better win as many of these games as possible. UTSA should win fairly easily.

2:00 PM Connecticut at Western Michigan: This is a matchup between UConn of the Big East and Western Michigan of the MAC. The UConn Huskies are 2-1 on the year with a 10-7 loss to North Carolina State sandwiched between wins over UMass and Maryland. The Huskies have one of the worst offenses in the nation with the 111th rated passing attack and the 101st rushing attack. The Huskies could easily be 1-2 but their strong defense giving up only 10.3 points per game saved them in the Maryland game. Western Michigan is 1-2 on the year with their only win coming versus FCS foe Eastern Illinois. The Broncos are led by quarterback Alex Carder and the 25th ranked passing offense in the nation. While only 1-2, the Broncos have actually outscored their opponents on the season 27-24. This is the third meeting between the two schools with both teams pulling out a win in the series. WMU pulled out the most recent meeting last season 38-31. Expect this to be a very close game that comes down to the 4th quarter with UConn pulling out the win 31-28.

3:30 PM Marshall at Rice: This is a matchup between Marshall and Rice in a Conference USA opener for both teams. The Marshall Thundering Herd is a passing juggernaut led by quarterback Rakeem Cato and his 1222 passing yards and 8 touchdowns. The Thundering Herd struggles to run the ball and relies on Cato and his strong arm to the tune of 36.7 points per game. The Marshall defense is the Achilles heel for the program giving up 40 points per game and at least 24 points in every game of the season capped by 69 points allowed to West Virginia. The Rice Owls also enter at 1-2 but feature a more balanced offense that passes for 208 yards per game and rushes for 204 yards per game. The Owls score 28.7 points per game with at least 24 points scored in every game this fall. The Rice defense is even worse than Marshall's giving up an FBS 3rd worst 43 points per game. This is the third overall meeting between the two schools with Marshall owning a 2-1 record versus the Owls. Expect lots and lots and lots and lots of scoring. Both offenses should have their way with the opposing defenses and could make for quite the wild game. Rice will give Marshall everything they can handle Saturday afternoon but should come up just short. Marshall 55-42.

3:30 PM Kansas at Northern Illinois: After coming up just short in their previous meeting with the Jayhawks, the Northern Illinois Huskies get another shot in the return engagement with Kansas. Northern Illinois struggled on offense in the opening game with quarterback Jordan Lynch struggling to fill the shoes of Chandler Harnish. Lynch has found his footing and is leading the Huskies in passing as well as rushing. Lynch has accounted for 10 touchdowns in 3 games this season. Facing the 1-2 Kansas Jayhawks who are playing great defense, scoring points will be very important. Kansas 24-21.           

                             

4:30 PM South Florida at Ball State: This is a matchup between South Florida of the Big East and Ball State of the MAC. The South Florida Bulls enter this game at 2-1 with a loss to Rutgers on national television being the most recent game. The Bulls have a strong passing game led by quarterback BJ Daniels who has passed for 830 yards and rushed for another 124 yards on the season. The Bulls have been solid on defense with the exception of letting Nevada run all over them in the 32-31 win in week 2. The Ball State Cardinals are also 2-1 but coming off of a nice win over Indiana by the score of 41-39. The Cardinals are a running team with 262 yards per game on the ground but only 209 yards passing. Ball State is finding the end zone on a regular basis with 35 points scored per game with a low of 27 versus Clemson. This is the second overall meeting between the two schools with South Florida dispatching of the Cardinals quite easily last fall. Expect Ball State to give South Florida a better game but fall short in the upset bid. South Florida 35-21.