(40) Missouri and Alabama – For Missouri to spring the upset, they will have to take away something from Alabama. LSU was able to slow down their running game. The same went for Ole Miss. Missouri is built to get after quarterback Blake Sims. Missouri continues to turn out NFL quality pass rushers. Shane Ray led the SEC in sacks with 14, while Markus Golden got 9. The Tigers led the entire SEC with 40 sacks on the season. Playing in the Georgia dome will be helpful to their fast edge rushers, and they’ll have to be effective if they’re going to keep Alabama out of the CFB playoffs.
(30%) Wisconsin and Ohio State – Vegas has Wisconsin as a favorite in this game due to the injury of Ohio State quarterback JT Barrett. How big has Barrett been as he’s grown through this season? He has accounted for 96% of the passing yards for Ohio State…which is expected as the starting quarterback. But he’s also accounted for 30% of the team’s rushing yards. Barrett’s 938 rushing yards were easily second on the team. What the Buckeyes toss out there on Saturday night…is anyone’s guess.
(17) Florida State and Georgia Tech – Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is undefeated as a starter over the past two years but there is something significantly different about his performance in 2014: he’s a turnover machine. Winston has thrown 17 interceptions so far this year, he threw 10 in all of 2013. To put that in perspective, that’s more interceptions than any other quarterback in the power 5 conferences. Georgia Tech can beat the Seminoles. The Yellow Jackets are 4th in rushing yards and 3rd in time of possession. They are not the type of team you want to turn the ball over against because they effectively shorten games.
(0) Seahawks at Eagles – The Seahawks seems to be getting their defense in order just in time. This is what championship teams do as they reach December. In the last three games, the defense has held their opponents to 220 yards of offense on average. Offensively, the Seahawks have rushed for nearly 500 yards (485), and most impressively they have not turned the ball over. The Eagles running game and offense is humming right now as they rushed for 256 yards last week. This game should be a great contest.
(25) Patriots at Chargers – For all of our attention to Tom Brady, and rightfully so, this is the best matchup of quarterbacks this weekend. Charger Phillip Rivers is having a fantastic year. In comparison to Brady, he’s completed a higher percentage of his throws, (69%), has more yards per attempt, and has a higher quarterback rating. Rivers has thrown 25 touchdowns, 3 less than Brady…and has thrown for just 25 yards less than Brady. The Chargers have a good shot at a high seed in the AFC playoffs if they can win this game.