CFB Week 13 Friday

FLORIDA STATE @ NC STATE - 8 PM

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Florida State handled business in their last home game of the season.

But now they go back out on the road. (One of these losses is Stanford)

Not only are they going on the road... but they're playing a team that's given em problems in recent years.

On paper, Florida State should have no problems at all lighting the scoreboard up in this game. This is the worst NC State defense we've seen in several years.

Look at these numbers from their last 4 games. Maybe we cut em a little bit of slack on account of their opponents... but this is ugly. S Ronnie Royal III returned from injury for the Miami game but it didn't matter much. They got smoked. (He only missed 1 game GT)

NC State's defense gives up huge plays left and right... and Florida State's been one of the most explosive offenses in the country. NC State also causes zero havoc. Florida State could very easily put up 40 points in this game. The question is... can they stop NC State from hitting em with explosives right back?

Florida State's defense is a tough unit to get a read on. They've had some crazy ups and downs.

Florida State's defense has looked pretty solid the last couple weeks... but we can't forget the Miami and Pitt game where they kept giving up huge plays left and right.

This NC State offense has homerun hitters. Between CJ Bailey and Logan Smothers, they can rip off a huge play at any second. Both original starting guards are back. RG Spike Sowells Jr. is back from injury. He had been out since Week 7. LG Anthony Carter Jr. also had been out since Week 7 and is now back. Also FSU main CB Ja'Bril Rawls out for season. True Freshman starting in his spot.

I would love to take NC State, but I truly can't trust them to make a stop. So as long as the weather's fine (slight chance of rain), I think the way to go here would be over 61.5.

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HAWAII @ UNLV - 10:30 PM

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Loser of this game is out of the Mountain West Championship race. Remember, Hawaii's the only team in the conference with the tiebreaker over San Diego State.

I know this graphics makes it look like this is a somewhat close matchup... it isn't. Hawaii should piece this defense up.

Micah Alejado has absolutely caught fire. Remember, he had an ankle injury earlier in the season. Since he got healthy, he's been hanging huge numbers on everyone. Hawaii's averaging 39 PPG during this span.

Rainbow Warriors just put the best team in the conference down 38-6.

Now you might be saying "Kyle UNLV's got great numbers against the pass in their last couple games"... but they played a broken Colorado State team and Utah State, who mostly runs the ball.

Let's not forget the two games before that... when UNLV actually saw QBs who can throw the ball. They got torched through the air.

Remember UNLV plays indoors... Hawaii's coming off a bye week. They're gonna score in this game.

So can UNLV score right back? Hawaii's defense has been good this year. But I'm not sure if I trust em to go to Las Vegas in the dome and stop this offense.

I will say... UNLV's last two home games weren't all that impressive though. They didn't cover the number in either of these games. In fact, they lost outright to New Mexico. Hawaii's defense is better than both these teams.

It really comes down the the status of Jet Thomas. UNLV has the best RB in the Mountain West conference. He didn't play in the Utah State game and it was noticeable. We've seen Hawaii's defense get run on badly a few times recently. If Jet Thomas plays in this game, I would imagine UNLV can hold onto the football for long stretches. It's a hamstring injury... he's listed as questionable.

If Jai'Den Thomas doesn't play in this game, I think Hawaii wins. If he plays, it would still be Hawaii at +3... but I like it a lot less. Hawaii always gets a big turnout in LV. (Called the 9th island).