A look at the schools that are overlooked by the ESPNs of the world.


Friday, September 21, 2012

Week 4 Previews: UAB, UMASS, Miami OH, Bowling Green, UTEP, and Tulane




12:00 PM UAB at No. 16 Ohio State: This is a matchup between UAB of Conference USA and #16 Ohio State of the Big Ten. UAB enters this game at 0-2 with losses to Troy and South Carolina to start the season. The Blazers have looked good passing the ball while having the 117th ranked rushing attack in the nation. The Blazers scored 29 points in the season opener but could not find the end zone in a 49-6 loss to the Gamecocks. Ohio State enters this game at 3-0 with a hard fought 35-28 win over California being their latest conquest. The Buckeyes are the Braxton Miller show with the quarterback passing for 611 yards and rushing for 377 yards and accounting for 12 Buckeye touchdowns on the season. This is the first meeting between the two schools. This is a warm up game for the Buckeyes with games versus #21 Michigan State and #25 Nebraska looming in the weeks ahead. Expect Ohio State to struggle slightly but roll once Miller gets on a roll running the ball. Ohio State 55-7.
                               
12:00 PM Massachusetts at Miami (OH): This is the first conference game on the FBS level for the Massachusetts Minutemen in the MAC. They are facing the Miami OH RedHawks. UMass enters this game at 0-3 with losses to UConn, Indiana, and Michigan by an average of 48-6. The Minutemen have improved in every game being shut out in the opener, scoring 6 in the second game and then scoring 13 versus Michigan last Saturday. The Minutemen are ranked in the bottom 5 in passing offense, rushing offense, scoring offense, and scoring defense on the season. The Miami OH RedHawks enter this game at 1-2 with losses coming versus Ohio State and Boise State on the season. The RedHawks are an average passing team but are the 3rd worst rushing team in the nation with 52.7 yards rushing per game. This matchup comes at the perfect time for the RedHawks with 7 of their last 8 games after this one in conference. Expect to see UMass' best performance of the season but still come up short losing 31-14 to Miami OH.      

12:00 PM Bowling Green at Virginia Tech: This is a matchup between Bowling Green of the MAC and Virginia Tech of the ACC. Bowling Green is coming in at 1-2 with losses to Toledo and Florida while pulling out a win over Idaho this season. They are facing a Virginia Tech team that is steaming after a poor performance versus Pitt to knock them out of the top 25. Expect the Hokies to come out on fire and really put their foot on the throat of the Falcons early in the blowout win. Virginia Tech 42-17.
                               
12:00 PM UTEP at Wisconsin: This is a matchup between UTEP of Conference USA and Wisconsin of the Big Ten. UTEP enters this game at 1-2 with losses to Oklahoma and Ole Miss while beating rival New Mexico State last week. The Miners have been bad on offense but got on track versus the porous New Mexico State defense in their lone win. The Wisconsin Badgers are 2-1 but do not look very good so far winning two games by a combined 7 points and scoring only 16.3 points per game with a low of 7 points scored in the loss to Oregon State. This is the first meeting between the two schools. Wisconsin is in desperate need of finding out their offensive identity with the running game struggling and preseason Heisman contender Monte Ball averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Expect this to be a grind it out affair with the Badgers slugging their way to a 28-14 win at Camp Randall Stadium.
                                               
12:00 PM Ole Miss at Tulane: This is a game that is better if you do not think about. The Ole Miss Rebels are 2-1 with a loss to #14 Texas while the Tulane Green Wave are 0-2 losing both games by double digits. The Rebels should be able to get some good work in offensively that will be beneficial for SEC play while Tulane struggles to stop the balanced attack of the Rebels. Ole Miss 38-6.
                                                

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