Wednesday
7:00 PM ET ESPN2: Rutgers 4-3 @ South Florida 4-3 (-10.5) - The Scarlet Knights might be only 4-3, but they're 1-1 in conference play, which means they're still in the hunt for the Big East title (sad, I know). Their offense is highlighted by sophomore Mohamed Sanu, who is a jack of all trades as he can play a little bit of QB, RB, and WR. Frosh QB Chas Dodd is set to start again over sophomore Tom Savage, who has battled injuries this season. For South Florida, they have to hope that the B.J. Daniels that played against Cincinnati last week, shows up again this week. Last week he was 13/16 passing for 286 yards, 2 TDs, and 0 INTs, while also gaining 35 yards rushing and scoring 2 TDs on the ground. The Scarlet Knights have won 4 of the last 5 against the Bulls.
Scarlet Knights Offense: 299.6 ypg (109th), 4.6 ypp (108th), & 28.6|PERCENT| 3rd Down (116th)
QB: FR Chas Dodd - 136.2 ypg, 7.4 ypa, 52.7|PERCENT| comp., 5 TDs, & 3 INTs
QB: SO Tom Savage - 89.0 ypg, 6.3 ypa, 52.1|PERCENT| comp., 2 TDs, & 3 INTs
RB/WR: SO Mohamed Sanu - 40.9 ypg rushing & 4 TDs; 48.7 ypg receiving & 2 TDs
RB: SR Joe Martinek - 40.4 ypg & 3 TDs
WR: WR Mark Harrison - 40.7 ypg & 3 TDs
WR: FR Jeremy Deering - 35.9 ypg & 1 TD
Bulls Defense: 342.7 yards/play (41st), 5.0 yards/play (32nd), & 36.5|PERCENT| 3rd Down (38th)
Run: 127.6 ypg (37th), 3.6 ypc (33rd), & 3 TDs
Pass: 215.1 ypg (64th), 6.6 ypa (41st), 58.6|PERCENT| comp. (62nd), 11 TDs, & 8 INTs
Bulls Offense: 323.7 ypg (95th), 5.4 ypp (65th), & 31.2|PERCENT| 3rd Down (111th)
QB: SO B.J. Daniels - 155.6 ypg, 7.7 ypa, 58.9|PERCENT| comp., 6 TDs, & 10 INTs; 32.1 ypg rushing & 4 TDs
RB: SR Moise Plancher - 51.9 ypg & 4 TDs
RB: SO Demetris Murray - 53.0 ypg & 2 TDs
WR: SR Dontavia Bogan - 67.0 ypg & 2 TDs
WR: SO Evan Landi - 37.6 ypg & 1 TD
Scarlet Knights Defense: 324.0 yards/game (29th), 5.2 yards/play (42nd), & 30.1|PERCENT| 3rd Down (10th)
Run: 135.1 ypg (44th), 3.9 ypc (45th), & 7 TDs
Pass: 188.9 ypg (28th), 6.8 ypa (57th), 60.0|PERCENT| comp. (74th), 8 TDs, & 5 INTs
Thursday
7:30 PM ET ESPN: Georgia Tech 5-3 @ #22 Virginia Tech 6-2 (-13) - The Hokies are right where they want to be in the ACC... undefeated. Senior QB Tyrod Taylor is 4th in the nation in QB passer rating (171.14) and hasn't thrown a pick in his last 3 games. He can also hurt you on the ground as he leads the team with 65.9 rushing ypg. Sophomore RB Ryan Williams (hamstring) is finally starting to get healthy and contribute to the offense. Last season he was 5th in the nation in rushing ypg (127.3). They'll be facing a Yellow Jackets team that has to win this game, if they want to remain in the hunt for an ACC Coastal crown. Their triple-option offense is led by senior QB Joshua Nesbitt, who passes and runs for over 80 yards a game. They also have three RBs who average over 25 ypg rushing. They can't fall behind early because they only average 13.1 pass attempts per game (2nd fewest) and Nesbitt hasn't been accurate at all this season (38.2|PERCENT| completion). Their defense will have to play better against the run than they did last weekend, when they gave up 236 yards on the ground to Clemson. The Hokies have won 4 of the last 6 in this series.
Yellow Jackets Offense: 402.1 ypg (49th), 5.8 ypp (37th), & 38.4|PERCENT| 3rd Down (70th)
QB: SR Joshua Nesbitt - 84.3 ypg, 6.6 ypa, 38.2|PERCENT| comp., 7 TDs, & 3 INTs; 81.4 ypg rushing & 8 TDs
RB: SR Anthony Allen - 86.5 ypg & 5 TDs
RB: SO Orwin Smith - 32.8 ypg & 3 TDs
RB: JR Roddy Jones - 28.1 ypg & 3 TDs
WR: SO Stephen Hill - 20.6 ypg & 2 TDs
Hokies Defense: 336.4 yards/game (33rd), 5.2 yards/game (42nd), & 35.3|PERCENT| 3rd Down (28th)
Run: 136.0 ypg (45th), 4.4 ypc (77th), & 8 TDs
Pass: 200.4 ypg (44th), 5.9 ypa (15th), 48.5|PERCENT| comp. (2nd), 12 TDs, & 10 INTs
Hokies Offense: 424.6 ypg (32nd), 6.6 ypp (17th), & 42.1|PERCENT| 3rd Down (45th)
QB: SR Tyrod Taylor - 200.3 ypg, 9.7 ypa, 63.9|PERCENT| comp., 15 TDs, & 3 INTs; 65.9 ypg rushing & 3 TDs
RB: JR Darren Evans - 55.4 ypg & 9 TDs
RB: SO David Wilson - 52.9 ypg & 3 TDs
RB: SO Ryan Williams - 38.3 ypg & 4 TDs
WR: JR Jarrett Boykins - 64.6 ypg & 5 TDs
WR: JR Danny Coale - 39.9 ypg & 1 TD
WR: JR Dyrell Roberts - 37.0 ypg & 2 TDs
Yellow Jackets Defense: 354.3 yards/game (53rd), 5.3 yards/game (50th), & 40.2|PERCENT| 3rd Down (71st)
Run: 162.3 ypg (75th), 4.3 ypc (74th), & 15 TDs
Pass: 192.0 ypg (32nd), 6.5 ypa (34th), 59.1|PERCENT| comp. (68th), 8 TDs, & 6 INTs
Friday
8:00 PM ET ESPN2: UCF 6-2 (-2.5) @ Houston 5-3 - This game will go a long way towards helping decide who wins each division of Conference USA. The Knights are leading the Eastern divisions by only 1 game over East Carolina, while the Cougars are tied for the lead in the Western division with SMU. Neither Central Florida nor Houston has faced Southern Miss, who has one of the better offenses in the conference, so nothing has been decided yet. Knights frosh QB Jeff Godfrey is a duel threat with 125.8 ypg passing and 49.3 ypg rushing. Their defense is what makes this team so difficult to defeat. In 6 of their 8 games, they've held their opponent to 14 points or less. As for the Cougars, they've started to right the ship, after they loss their Heisman hopeful QB, Case Keenum to multiple injuries. Frosh QB David Piland has started the last four games with 277.0 ypg, 11 TDs and 3 INTs. Junior RB Byrce Beall has been the one mainstay, leading the conference in rushing TDs (12) and rushing for the second most ypg (79.8). The home team has won 3 in a row in this series.
Knights Offense: 376.5 ypg (61st), 5.7 ypp (44th), & 51.0|PERCENT| 3rd Down (11th)
QB: FR Jeff Godfrey - 125.8 ypg, 8.3 ypa, 63.6|PERCENT| comp., 4 TDs, & 4 INTs; 49.3 ypg rushing & 5 TDs
RB: JR Ronnie Weaver - 79.8 ypg & 10 TDs
RB: SO Jonathan Davis - 33.2 ypg & 1 TD
WR: SR Brian Watters - 41.5 ypg & 1 TD
WR: SR Kamar Aiken - 38.5 ypg & 1 TD
WR: JR A.J. Guyton - 33.4 ypg & 2 TDs
Cougars Defense: 391.1 yards/game (78th), 5.4 yards/play (59th), & 48.3|PERCENT| 3rd Down (115th)
Run: 194.3 ypg (98th), 4.6 ypc (89th), & 17 TDs
Pass: 196.9 ypg (38th), 6.5 ypa (34th), 53.1|PERCENT| comp. (14th), 11 TDs, & 10 INTs
Cougars Offense: 468.6 ypg (15th), 6.4 ypp (22nd), & 56.8|PERCENT| 3rd Down (3rd)
QB: FR David Piland - 277.0 ypg, 7.1 ypa, 58.6|PERCENT| comp., 11 TDs, & 3 INTs
RB: JR Bryce Beall - 79.8 ypg & 12 TDs
RB: JR Michael Hayes - 47.5 ypg & 8 TDs
WR: JR Patrick Edwards - 79.9 ypg & 8 TDs
WR: SR James Cleveland - 76.0 ypg & 4 TDs
Knights Defense: 279.9 yards/game (9th), 4.4 yards/play (7th), & 41.9|PERCENT| 3rd Down (84th)
Run: 102.6 ypg (13th), 3.1 ypc (14th), & 7 TDs
Pass: 177.3 ypg (16th), 5.7 ypa (9th), 52.8|PERCENT| comp. (12th), 10 TDs, & 7 INTs
Week 9 Leaders
Passing:
1. Landry Jones (Oklahoma) - 32/46, 453 yards, 4 TDs, & 0 INTs vs Colorado
2. Ryan Tennehill (Texas A&M) - 36/50, 449 yards, 4 TDs, & 1 INT vs Texas Tech
3. Ryan Mallet (Arkansas) - 27/44, 409 yards, 3 TDs, & 0 INTs vs Vanderbilt
4. Diondre Borel (Utah State) - 24/38, 399 yards, 2 TDs, & 0 INTs @ Nevada
5. Austin Davis (Southern Miss) - 30/48, 388 yards, 2 TDs, & 2 INTs vs UAB
6. Brad McGuire (Lousiana Lafayette) - 25/39, 384 yards, 2 TDs, & 1 INT @ Ohio
7. Ryan Lindley (San Diego State) - 16/32, 365 yards, 3 TDs, & 2 INTs @ Wyoming
8. Jordan La Secla (San Jose State) - 22/35, 361 yards, 3 TDs, & 0 INT @ New Mexico State
9. Alex Carder (Western Michigan) - 31/53, 360 yards, 3 TDs, & 2 INTs vs Northern Illinois
10. Kyle Padron (SMU) - 18/32, 354 yards, 1 TD, & 0 INTs @ Tulane
Rushing:
1. Roy Helu Jr. (Nebraska) - 28 carries, 307 yards, & 3 TDs vs Missouri
2. LaMichael James (Oregon) - 36 carries, 239 yards, & 3 TDs @ USC
3. Lance Dunbar (North Texas) - 30 carries, 215 yards, & 3 TDs @ Western Kentucky
4. Orleans Darkwa (Tulane) - 29 carries, 193 yards, & 0 TDs vs SMU
5. Denard Robinson (Michigan) - 27 carries, 191 yards, & 3 TDs @ Penn State
6. Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina) - 29 carries, 184 yards, & 1 TD vs Tennessee
7. Michael Dyer (Auburn) - 21 carries, 180 yards, & 1 TD @ Ole Miss
7. Ronnie Weaver (Central Florida) - 30 carries, 180 yards, & 2 TDs vs East Carolina
9. Zach Line (SMU) - 23 carries, 177 yards, & 2 TDs @ Tulane
10. Gregory Ray (Memphis) - 23 carries, 176 yards, & 1 TD vs Houston
Receiving:
1. Denarius Moore (Tennessee) - 6 catches, 228 yards, & 1 TD @ South Carolina
2. Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma) - 9 catches, 208 yards, & 3 TDs vs Colorado
3. Aldrick Robinson (SMU) - 5 catches, 182 yards, & 1 TD @ Tulane
4. Jordan WHite (Western Michigan) - 14 catches, 180 yards, & 1 TD vs Northern Illinois
5. DeMarco Sampson (San Diego State) - 7 catches, 175 yards, & 2 TDs @ Wyoming
6. Randall Cobb (Kentucky) - 12 catches, 171 yards, & 1 TD @ Mississippi State
6. Jeff Fuller (Texas A&M) - 11 catches, 171 yards, & 2 TDs vs Texas Tech
8. Greg Salas (Hawaii) - 11 catches, 168 yards, & 0 TDs vs Idaho
9. Dwayne Harris (East Carolina) - 9 catches, 146 yards, & 1 TD @ Central Florida
10. Jeff Maehl (Oregon) - 8 catches, 145 yards, & 3 TDs @ USC