Guest Post: College Football Marquee Matchups Week 8

The college football season is marching right along as week eight is already upon us. There is another great weekend of college football on tap with several key conference showdowns scheduled for Saturday. Let’s take a closer look at some of the marquee matchups. #6 LSU Tigers at #20 Texas AM Aggies – The Texas A&M Aggies will get another dose of life in the SEC when they host the LSU Tigers this Saturday afternoon. Both teams enter this contest 2-1 in conference play and will look to keep pace with Alabama and Mississippi State in the SEC West standings. With two contrasting styles of play being showcased in this game, something will have to give. LSU has relied on its stout defense all season long while the Texas AM Aggies average 47 points per game, good for fifth in the country. LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger will have to pick up his play as the season progresses as LSU is unlikely to continue winning games in the manner they have, especially on the road. Texas A&M will rely on its freshman quarterback, Johnny Manziel, to continue his impressive play. Last week against Louisiana Tech, Manziel threw for 395 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception while also running for 181 yards and another three touchdowns. If Manziel is able to duplicate even half of his performance from a week ago, the Aggies have a great shot at pulling off the upset at home. #9 South Carolina Gamecocks at #3 Florida Gators – South Carolina and head coach Steve Spurrier continue to struggle against SEC West teams as the Gamecocks lost another heartbreaker last week to the LSU Tigers 23-21. While that defeat was hard to swallow, the Gamecocks are still in control of their destiny in the SEC East, and will need to focus all of their efforts on beating the Florida Gators this Saturday afternoon. This game against South Carolina is the start of an important stretch of the season for the Gators. If Florida is able to knock off the Gamecocks this week, they will face the Georgia Bulldogs next week with a chance to secure their spot in the SEC Championship game. With so much on the line this Saturday, expect the Gators to put forth their best effort and not get caught up looking ahead to next week. The Gators’ chances of winning the SEC East will be helped by the expected return of five players from injury this week. Center Jon Harrison, left tackle Xavier Nixon, linebacker Jelani Jenkins, guard James Wilson, and defensive end Dominique Easley are all expected to play against South Carolina this week. #18 Texas Tech Red Raiders at Texas Christian Horned Frogs – Fresh off of their 49-14 thumping of West Virginia, the Texas Tech Red Raiders will travel to Fort Worth to face the Texas Christian Horned Frogs. Quarterback Seth Doege rebounded nicely after throwing three interceptions against Oklahoma two weeks ago to complete 32 of 42 passes for 499 yards and six touchdowns against the Mountaineers. TCU’s freshman quarterback, Trevone Boykin, also rebounded nicely last week after struggling two weeks ago. In his first collegiate game, Boykin threw three interceptions against Iowa State as TCU went on to lose the game 37-23. However, with a full week of practice under his belt, Boykin was much improved last week against Baylor as TCU rolled to a 49-21 victory. Boykin will certainly face much better competition this weekend in the form of the Red Raiders, so it will be interesting to see how he progresses as the team continues to move on after the dismissal of quarterback Casey Pachall. #4 Kansas State Wildcats at #17 West Virginia Mountaineers – Thanks to West Virginia’s loss last week at Texas Tech, this game has lost some of its luster. However, with Geno Smith and Collin Klein continuing their excellent play, this game will feature two of the better quarterbacks in the country and two potential Heisman trophy finalists. Smith’s Mountaineers certainly struggled last week as the senior QB was only able to manage 275 yards and one touchdown against Texas Tech. West Virginia will hope a return to the friendly confines of Morgantown will help the Mountaineers’ defense, which has been one of the worst units in the country this season. Kansas State enters this game fresh off of a 27-21 win at Iowa State last week. Klein had another typical day at quarterback for the Wildcats, only throwing for 187 yards but adding 105 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns. Klein has proven he is nearly impossible to stop near the goal line with the ball in his hands, and the West Virginia defense will certainly have its work cut out for itself Saturday night.