College Football Three and Out: Week 8

First and 10: Recapping week 6

Top-10 Bold Prediction: Tennessee knocks off Bama

No dice here, as Alabama demolished the Vols, 49 - 10.  Will anyone in the SEC be able to challenge the Tide?

B1G Bold Prediction: Hoosiers deal Huskers first loss

Indiana fought back valiantly, but a 10-point 4th quarter for Nebraska stymied the Hoosiers.

Buckeye Bold Prediction: Bucks tally 200+ yards on the ground vs stiff Wiscy defense

Ohio State found more success on the ground vs the Badgers than anyone else had this year, but still fell just short of the 200 yard mark.  But the bigger concern for the Buckeyes was the passing game, particularly in the first half, as Wisconsin took a 10-point lead into the locker room.  But OSU made the necessary halftime adjustments, and rallied back to eventually force overtime.  Behind a gutsy performance by Barrett and a strong defensive effort down the stretch, the Buckeyes came out of Mad-town with the win.

Why-not Bold Prediction: Missouri beats Florida

At first, this looked like it was going to be another low-scoring match, and it probably would have been if not for three defensive / special-teams touchdowns for the Gators.  Who knows what would have happened otherwise.  With the win, Florida keeps their SEC East aspirations alive.

Not-so-bold Bold Prediction: Either Illinois or Rutgers notch a conference win

Illinois managed to get their first conference victory, as they beat Rutgers 24 - 7.  The Scarlet Knights, on the other hand, were not so lucky, as they lost to the Illini, 24 - 7.

Week 7 record: 1 - 4

2016 record: 15 - 20

Second and 5: Predicting the future!

Top-10 Bold Prediction: Aggies rack up over 500 yards on Tide

I'm not sure if Texas A&M will be able to pull off the upset (actually, I'm pretty sure they won't), but I do think they'll be able to move the ball on Alabama, especially through the air.  On average, Saban's squad is only giving up 274 yards per game, good for 5th in the country.  But they've had moments of porousness, particularly in games against Ole Miss and Arkansas.  A&M comes up just short in a high-scoring match, while the Crimson Tide survives, 52 - 48.

B1G Bold Prediction: Iowa tops Wisconsin in B1G West clash

The Badgers lost an emotional battle in overtime with the Buckeyes, in their third straight match-up against a top-10 opponent (though it's hard to believe that Michigan State was once ranked that high).  Iowa was looking like they were headed for a disaster of a season early on, but have since righted the ship, at least for now.  This is a must-win game for both of these programs, trying to stay alive in the hunt for a division title.  Wisconsin is the better team, but they are worn out, and I think the Hawkeyes get the better of them in Iowa City, 30 - 25.

Buckeye Bold Prediction: Silver Bullets hold Saquon Barkley under 100 yards

The Bucks were gashed on the ground by Corey Clement last week, and won't have any time off before facing another talented running back in PSU's Saquon Barkley.  Barkley hurt the Buckeyes last year, racking up 194 rushing yards in a losing effort in Columbus.  I think Ohio State builds on a strong second half at Wisconsin last week and zones in on the Penn State running back.  OSU wins, 35 - 13, shutting down #26 in the process.

Why-not Bold Prediction: Horned Frogs spoil Mountaineers' perfect record

This is West Virginia's first real test. and I expect them to fail it.  Of course, it will probably be a shootout, and to be honest anything can happen in that kind of game.  But no matter what happens here, I just can't see the Mountaineers finishing with any less than two or three losses this year.  But if I had to guess, I'd say TCU wins this one, 56 - 49.

Not-so-bold Bold Prediction: Rice wins a football game

The Owls are the last remaining win-less team in FBS, and they finally face a team on their level.  Prairie View A&M comes to town, and Rice should maybe probably win?  This still might be my boldest not-so-bold bold prediction to date.

Third and 3: Checking in on my preseason bold predictions

I made some bold predictions for 2016 back in early September.  Let's see how they're looking at the halfway point of the regular season.

Top-10 Bold Prediction: Alabama misses the playoff

Status: Yellow

Right now, Alabama is undefeated and firmly in the top spot of the AP poll.  They've looked dominant, but obviously college football is unpredictable and a given team's outlook can change in an instant.

B1G Bold Prediction: Michigan Regresses

Status: Orange

The Wolverines lost 3 games in 2015, and like Alabama, are still undefeated.  So for this prediction to materialize, they'd need to not only lose to OSU and whomever they face in the postseason, but drop two others that they really should win.  It's still technically possible, but seems unlikely.

Buckeye Bold Prediction: OSU has a quarterback and running back both eclipse 1000 yards

Status: Green

This prediction is very much alive, as there are actually 3 Buckeyes who could be in reach of 1000 rushing yards by the end of the year.  Weber should easily hit that mark, and Samuel is on pace for 900.  Barrett is also on pace for around 900.  But if he's used as heavily in the run game in conference games down the stretch as he was the last two weeks against Wisconsin and Indiana, then 1000 yards is definitely possible.  It may not be ideal to run the QB that much, but you do what you gotta do to win.

Why-not Bold Prediction: Group of Five team makes the playoff

Status: Orange

Houston looked like a real contender after taking down Oklahoma in week 1, then the Navy game happened.  The Cougars are still ranked fairly high, but would definitely need help to make the final four (not to mention, they still have to play Louisville).  Same goes for Boise State, even if they go undefeated.  The Broncos simply don't have a tough enough schedule to justify a playoff spot, unless we end up with multiple 2-loss Power 5 champs.  Western Michigan is the third team that could also sneak in, if real chaos breaks out.

Not-so-bold Bold Prediction: People disagree with CFP Committee's top 4

Status: Green

It's obviously too early to know this for sure, but I don't see any reason why people won't be displeased no matter who the committee picks.

Fourth down: Hand it off to Weber.