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The UnTouchable Report (Weeks 3-4)

Article By: NCAA Dynasty League

The UnTouchable Report

A rundown of the week's hottest games.





....................WEEK 3....................

#7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish #11 Michigan State Spartans

1-0 wj5811

1-0 (0-0 B1G) Weasel

BACKGROUND One of the few coaches that has played in every season in the history of the NDL, WJ is now in his 6th season as Notre Dame's head coach, amassing a 45-21 record in the process. He's scheduled himself a slate of big games this season, including this one at Michigan State against fellow veteran Weasel and his dynasty. He slipped by Illinois in Week 1 35-29 which doesn't look like much on paper, until you realize brwnbear and Illinois knocked off RanDawg and Houston (no easy feat). The Spartans easily handled Florida Atlantic in Week 1 and look to put themselves into position to jump into the Top 10 in the polls with a win here.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR Notre Dame is going to come out with a balanced attack of rushing and passing. RB Cierre Wood rushed for 200 yards against Illinois but a lot of that was due to an 83-yard TD scamper. Still, look for Wood to get the call often, especially if the Irish find themselves controlling the tempo of the game. Coach WJ gave true freshman Gunner Kiel the start at QB and looks to be comfortable with him; Kiel hit 6 different receivers while throwing 2 TDs and only 1 INT in his first college football game. Weasel's also got a new QB in East Lansing, as he enters his first season in 9 NDL seasons with somebody other than Kirk Cousins as the starter for the Spartans. Andrew Maxwell looks eager to take that position, throwing for 345 yards and 4 TDs in his first start. The Spartans are definitely a pass first, run second type team and will look to spread the field on offense.

THE UNTOUCHABLE PREDICTION This game has the potential to be a shootout and therefore both coaches will need to focus on their defense to come up with big plays. And with the duo of Manti Te'o and Ishaq Williams at linebacker for the Irish, I think Maxwell will be flustered all game.



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Miami Hurricanes UCLA Bruins

2-0 (1-0 ACC) OutRage

1-0 (0-0 PAC-12) UclaMac

BACKGROUND Two relatively new coaches off to two relatively good starts. OutRage and the Hurricanes really have a chance to make some noise heading into the meat of conference play if they can knock off UCLA and then Ole Miss in Week 4. Coach Mac heads into his 4th season with his beloved Bruins and has a relatively easy schedule until the end of the season, but shouldn't look past this game.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR OutRage loves running the ball with RB Mike James, who's gotten the handoff more than 20 times in each of the two games he's played so far this season. Despite the heavy workload, if you take out an 80-yard long he had against Boston College, he's only averaging 4.5 yards per carry. QB Stephen Morris is doing a decent job of bailing him out but it's the Cane defense, having already recorded 6 sacks and 5 picks, that's keeping Miami on the right side of the ball. The Bruins will also pound the ball on the ground often, as RB Johnathan Franklin decided to forgo the NFL Draft to return for his senior season. Franklin thundered for 147 yards and 3 TDs against New Mexico so expect for him to lead this game and carry the load whenever possible.

THE UNTOUCHABLE PREDICTION The Bruin D-line will shut down James, while Franklin has a field day with Miami's. Bruins win soundly.



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OTHERS TO WATCH FOR:

#15 Florida Gators 1-0 (0-0 SEC) Daw1git

#24 Texas A&M Aggies 0-1 (0-0 SEC) swellvermin

-- The Aggies were embarrassed at home by the Badgers. Can they start conference play on a high note?



#6 Florida State Seminoles 1-1 (0-0 ACC) chuskerpride

#9 USC Trojans 1-0 (0-0 PAC-12) rworkman83

-- After dropping the season opener to Marshall, the Seminoles will need a statement game if they want to stay in the national title race.





***UPSET ALERT***

Navy Midshipmen 1-0 doc1424

#20 Connecticut Huskies 1-1 (0-0 Big East) driccio21

-- These two coaches played for 7 consecutive seasons while Doc was at Pittsburgh. Doc got the better of Dave during that time, winning 4 of those 7.







....................WEEK 4....................

#9 USC Trojans #22 Stanford Cardinal

1-0 (0-0 PAC-12) rworkman83

1-1 (0-0 PAC-12) iRoccafella

BACKGROUND Both teams head into the season with high expectations of meeting again in the PAC-12 Championship. USC mounted an amazing 4th-quarter comeback against Texas Tech ( :( ) that proved, at least temporarily, that they can close out games. Stanford, however, dropped the opener to an Oklahoma team with a new coach and still needs to find their tempo this season.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR Both teams head into this game with one glaring issue: quarterback. Matt Barkley for USC shows he can play under pressure, but knocks down a few hurdles on his way there. Barkley threw 6 picks against the Red Raiders before staging that comeback. Brett Nottingham for the Cardinal seems more apt to hand off to Stepfan Taylor than to throw the ball. In two games, he's yet to record a TD and he's thrown 3 picks. Taylor's picked up the slack, however, rushing for 340 yards and 3 TDs so far this season. Look for Taylor to get the call often. If Nottingham does throw, it'll likely be on third down and to either one of his tight ends or a HB swing or screen pass; Cardinal wide receivers have yet to record a reception this season.

THE UNTOUCHABLE PREDICTION Barkley will struggle again with his INTs while Taylor finds his way through the Trojan defense. Stanford gets the road win and these two teams do not meet again in the postseason.



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#15 Florida Gators Tennessee Volunteers

1-0 (0-0 SEC) Daw1git

2-0 (0-0 SEC) Wasted Memory

BACKGROUND Another early big conference game sees the Gators heading to Knoxville for an ever-important divisional matchup. The Volunteers are coming off a huge win against Oklahoma State while Florida has yet to play anybody of value. Daw1git is in his third season as Florida head coach, amassing a 22-6 record so far. Wasted Memory is still searching for his first winning season here in the NDL but is off to a promising start this year.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR We've seen what Coach Daw1git can do with Jeff Driskel at QB the past two seasons and this season will be no different. Driskel is Florida's primary weapon and with a slew of wideouts, including Solomon Patton and Frankie Hammond, he will look to the air more often than not. Driskel is also one of the league's most efficient QBs and is a early Heisman candidate. The Volunteer defense will need to find a way put pressure on him throughout the game if they want a chance of slowing him down. Tennessee QB Tyler Bray is also a very prolific quarterback. He's already thrown for 552 yards this season while hitting 8 different receivers. But don't expect Bray to be the only threat; RB Marlin Lane has trucked for 226 yards already but it took him 50 rushes to get there.

THE UNTOUCHABLE PREDICTION If the defenses don't come to play, this could turn into a shootout. Ultimately, Daw's experience will get him the W.



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OTHERS TO WATCH FOR:

Kansas State Wildcats 1-0 (0-0 Big 12) brett11253

#10 Oklahoma Sooners 2-0 (0-0 Big 12) Block M

-- These two teams sit atop the Big 12 right now and the winner will gain momentum heading into conference play.



#12 Michigan Wolverines 0-0 (0-0 B1G) plasma1896

#7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1-0 wj5811

-- Two veteran coaches, two storied programs, this one has all the makings to be a classic down in South Bend.



***UPSET ALERT***

Wake Forest Demon Deacons 0-0 (0-0 ACC) yougoogelizer

#6 Florida State Seminoles 1-1 (0-0 ACC) chuskerpride

-- Did I mention Florida State lost to Marshall?

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