Real Kato Blog: 2011 October

Michigan plays Purdue; N.C. State plays Florida State.

Games to Watch on Saturday

#18 Michigan plays Purdue at noon on ESPN2. But even we Michigan fans will be keeping an eye on this week's Game of the Week, #11 Michigan State against #14 Nebraska on ESPN. Meanwhile N.C. State plays Florida State on ESPNU... looks like I'll have a lot of split-screening going on to watch all these games.

At 3:30 we get #9 Oklahoma against #8 Kansas State on ESPN. That would have been Game of the Week if I cared more about the Big 12. Meanwhile there's Illinois vs. #19 Penn State on ABC/ESPN2. The game formerly known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, Florida vs. #22 Georgia, is on CBS. This game still has relevance even if both teams are slightly down this year. Navy plays Notre Dame on NBC; we'll see if Navy still has ND's number. Wake Forest against UNC on ESPNU might be a good game too.

Your primetime slate has #5 Clemson vs. Georgia Tech or #6 Stanford vs. USC (regional coverage, sigh), as well as #15 Wisconsin against Ohio State. All of these should be fun to watch.

Michigan Game Prediction: Michigan 38, Purdue 28. Purdue's defense looked good against Illinois but I'm hoping Michigan figures out that they need to run away from Purdue's talented nose tackle Kawaan Short and instead attacks the edge against Gerald Gooden, a 235-pound defensive end, or Ryan Russell, a redshirt freshman playing at the other DE spot. Meanwhile on defense I think Michigan's defensive line may struggle a bit, but Mattison will stack the box against the run and force Purdue to try to pass. There'll be a breakdown or two and Purdue will score some points, but I think Michigan maintains a lead for most of the game.

N.C. State Game Prediction: N.C. State 31, Florida State 34. Ugh. It's hard to pick against the Wolfpack in this one because N.C. State has been improving and Florida State isn't as formidable as people thought they'd be. But N.C. State has struggled to defend the pass and that's FSU's strength. With FSU playing at home, I think NCSU falls just short. Hopefully this will be a jinx though.

I'm 13-1 in predictions, by the way, with my only miss being the Michigan-MSU game.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

College Football Recap: Week 8

Monday, 2011 October 24 - 10:59 pm

Michigan was idle; N.C. State gets a solid ACC win; several big upsets among top teams.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

College Football Week 8 Games to Watch

Saturday, 2011 October 22 - 11:02 am

Sorry, I know I'm late with this week's installment. Michigan is idle this week; N.C. State plays Virginia.

Games to Watch on Saturday

At noon, your best bet looks to be UNC vs. #7 Clemson on ESPN. #23 Illinois plays Purdue on ESPN2, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see an upset here. The rest of the early games are kind of yawners.

At 3:30 PM, the N.C. State game against Virginia is on ESPNU. #1 LSU plays #20 Auburn in a big SEC game on CBS, though Auburn is struggling a bit and LSU has looked dominant. #22 Georgia Tech plays Miami (FL) on ESPN.

At 7:00, #21 Penn State plays Northwestern on BTN in an intriguing matchup... Penn State's defense has looked very good but the offense has looked terrible, and with NWU it's largely the other way around. At 7:30 USC plays Notre Dame on NBC; that game is always entertaining.

At 8:00 this week's Game of the Week is on ESPN with #6 Wisconsin taking on #16 Unnecessary Roughness University... er, Michigan State, that is. MSU's defensive end William Gholston is suspended for this game due to his dirty play against Michigan, so Wisconsin benefits from Michigan's misfortune, whee. #25 Washington is having a surprisingly good year; they play #8 Stanford on ABC.

N.C. State Game Prediction: Virginia's a hard team to figure out; they've squeaked by with narrow wins against awful teams (overtime against 1-6 Idaho? WTF?) but then last week they found a way to beat Georgia Tech. They've racked up plenty of yards on opponents only to squander the scoring opportunities. Will those mistakes continue against N.C. State? Signs point to yes. I like the Wolfpack in a mild upset and a high-scoring game: N.C. State 42, Virginia 37.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

College Football Recap: Week 7

Monday, 2011 October 17 - 11:14 pm

Michigan State wins dirty over Michigan; N.C. State was idle.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

College Football Week 7 Games to Watch

Saturday, 2011 October 15 - 3:21 am

Michigan has a big game against Michigan State; N.C. State is idle.

Games to Watch on Saturday

At noon, obviously the UM-MSU game is the game to watch, and this week's Game of the Week; it's on ESPN. #11 Michigan is 6-0 and #23 Michigan State is 4-1; this game is crucial in the Big Ten Legends division, and it's the last chance for Michigan's seniors to get a win against the Spartans. Oh sure, you could watch #20 Baylor play #21 Texas A&M on FX, but you won't unless you live in Texas. There are several other games involving teams who have something to prove: Penn State playing Purdue on BTN, North Carolina playing Miami FL on ESPN3.com (WRAL locally), and #15 South Carolina playing Mississippi State on the SEC Network (WNCN's alternate feed, if you get it). Oh, ESPN2 has Indiana against Wisconsin; the only question in that game is whether Wisconsin will score more than 70.

At 3:00 Florida State plays Duke on ESPN3.com. Heather Dinich at ESPN called this one an upset win for Duke, but I doubt it. At 3:30, your best bet is probably #6 Oklahoma State against #22 Texas on ABC/ESPN, an important Big 12 game. #1 LSU plays Tennessee on CBS, but Tennessee football just isn't very exciting these days. Ohio State plays #16 Illinois on ABC/ESPN; Ohio State is suffering badly lately but this one might be stay pretty close, as I'm sure Ron Zook will find a way to screw things up.

6:30 brings us Virginia Tech vs. Wake Forest on ESPN3.com. This should be an interesting game; I think Wake Forest is for real this year, and VT is vulnerable. Florida plays #24 Auburn on ESPN at 7:00; Northwestern plays Iowa on BTN.

ABC is choosing to air NASCAR instead of football in primetime, so the evening matchups are not spectacular. If you wait until 10:15, you can watch #9 Oregon playing #18 Arizona State on ESPN in a key Pac-12 game.

Michigan Game Prediction: Michigan 24, Michigan State 17. This game is extremely hard to predict, but this game always comes down to rushing, and Michigan has the edge in that department this year. I think Denard Robinson will be careful to avoid interceptions, that MSU will have trouble establishing a running game, and the Michigan defense will get two sacks and two interceptions. I also think Kirk Cousins will pass for over 250 yards, with over 100 going to B.J. Cunningham. But in the end, barring major mistakes, Michigan should be able to churn out a victory. Some may point to MSU's highly-rated defense, but that defense has racked up statistics against inferior competition to date. MSU may be the best defense Michigan has faced, but Michigan is the best offense MSU has faced too. It'll be a great matchup.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

College Football Recap: Week 6

Monday, 2011 October 10 - 11:49 pm

Michigan rallies to beat Northwestern; N.C. State holds off Central Michigan.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

College Football Week 6 Games to Watch

Friday, 2011 October 7 - 10:16 pm

Michigan plays another night game; N.C. State tries to regain its footing against Central Michigan.

Games to watch on Saturday

At noon, we start right off with this week's Game of the Week, as #3 Oklahoma takes on #11 Texas on ABC. I'm not sold on Texas yet, but maybe they'll keep this one close for a while. At least I hope so, because there aren't many other compelling matchups at noon... the Minnesota-Purdue kitten fight on ESPN? Florida State vs. Wake Forest on ESPN3.com? Eh.

At 3:30 N.C. State plays Central Michigan on ESPN3.com. We get #17 Florida against #1 LSU on CBS... this game doesn't quite have the luster it once had. Miami FL takes on #21 Virginia Tech in the race to avoid going 0-2 in the ACC; that's on ABC/ESPN. Iowa plays Penn State on ABC/ESPN; that might be one to keep an eye on as both teams are struggling to prove their legitimacy.

At 7:00 #12 Michigan travels to Northwestern; that game is on BTN. #10 Arkansas plays #15 Auburn on ESPN; I feel like I should care about that game but I kinda don't.

At 8:00 Ohio State plays #14 Nebraska on ABC. A few months ago most probably thought this would be the game of the year; now we'll see if Ohio State's pathetic offense can score any points at all against Nebraska's recently-exposed defense. Nebraska, it would not hurt my feelings if you stomped Ohio State into the dirt. Just sayin'.

Michigan Game Prediction: Michigan 44, Northwestern 27. I think Northwestern gets a few big plays but they don't have the horses to keep Michigan's running game in check.

N.C. State Game Prediction: N.C. State 27, Central Michigan 10. This game features the #101 rushing offense vs. the #103 rushing offense, but I think State's defense picks up a score off a turnover. I'm not confident at all about this prediction, what with State's inconsistency, but Central Michigan is a pretty terrible team too.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

College Football Recap: Week 5

Sunday, 2011 October 2 - 9:48 pm

Michigan stomps Minnesota 58-0; N.C. State struggles against Georgia Tech, but makes the score respectable with some garbage-time touchdowns.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

College Football Week 5 Games to Watch

Saturday, 2011 October 1 - 12:25 am

Games to watch on Saturday

#19 Michigan takes on Minnesota at noon on BTN to open its Big Ten season. Minnesota is having a disastrous season so this might get ugly for them quickly. A more intriguing game is #24 Illinois vs. Northwestern on ESPN2. Dan Persa is set to return at quarterback for Northwestern, and Illinois might have a battle on its hands. #14 Texas A&M also plays #18 Arkansas in a game which will have some regional interest; that's on ESPN.

The games get more interesting at 3:30. Ohio State plays Michigan State on ABC/ESPN, in the game of "which offense can implode first". The alternate regional game on ABC/ESPN is N.C. State against Georgia Tech... of course there'll be plenty of people around here watching that one. Auburn plays #10 South Carolina on CBS; Arizona plays USC but I don't know where that'll be televised.

At 6:00 there'll be a very important ACC game as #11 Virginia Tech plays #13 Clemson, on ESPN2.

The prime time games include #3 Alabama vs #12 Florida on CBS. And this week's Game of the Week is #7 Wisconsin against #8 Nebraska on ABC, which features Russell Wilson having a dazzling season vs. the Nebraska defense, which is largely healthy for the first time this season.

Michigan Game Prediction: Michigan 48, Minnesota 10. Some are predicting that Minnesota's defense can keep this game competitive, but I'm not buying it. Michigan might rush for 500 yards and never have to put up a pass against Minnesota's woeful front seven.

N.C. State Game Prediction: Georgia Tech 38, N.C. State 20. I think Tech's defense is too much for N.C. State; meanwhile N.C. State's patchwork defense will have trouble keeping Tech out of the end zone.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

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