Let’s start with the Jaguars this week. They finally won a game! Barely… But they won. If Trevor Lawrence doesn’t throw for 300+ yards I don’t see this team winning another game. His margin for error is one of the slimmest in the league. But I don’t even really want to talk about the game. While I think they’ll win two in London, I’m already looking at the offseason. The Jaguars need to clean house. I can’t with the toxic Baalke energy, I can’t with the toxic Pederson energy. Shad Khan is the man for getting this stadium deal done, for keeping the Jags in Jacksonville, and wanting to build up the area, but man he seems so clueless in football. If the GM or the HC get fired from Jacksonville I promise no other team would hire them as a GM or HC. Unacceptable. It’s time to build a structure, a culture of sorts. The Jaguars tried that with Tom Coughlin, hiring him to be the EVP, but it just wasn’t a good fit. Lock that in, let them hire a GM, let them hire a HC. Not my original idea but the Jaguars really should look at hiring Tony Boselli. Boselli is the only Jaguar HOF member. He is still very passionate about the Jaguars and regularly appears on a Jax radio station. Get him in the building and throw out Baalke like he’s Jazz getting thrown out of the Fresh Prince mansion. As for my Head Coach wishlist, I have two that immediately come to mind, and they couldn’t be more different. Ben Johnson seems to run an amazing offense in Jacksonville. Is he a leader of men, or is he another one of those failed coordinators that aren’t meant to head coach? This next name is very polarizing. He flamed out of his last job and seems like a control freak. But, let’s be real, the Jaguars have been so bad for so long, that beggars can’t be choosers. The Jaguars need to at minimum interview Bill Belichick. He’s the greatest coach of all time and despite his GM flaws, his militant attitude, and his questionable offense, I’m in for the upside. Other the Johnson and Belichick, I’m sure other names will emerge. Bobby Slowik and Klint Kubiak seem dope as good OC’s and I’m sure they’ll eventually be head coaches. Mike Vrabel and Aaron Glenn, while not offensive base could very work as well.
Now for my beloved Scarlet Knights. Saturday was rough but in a way encouraging. It somewhat felt same ole Rutgers coming up short, failing on some ridiculous plays. The deep ball hitting the helmet, the 1st and goal run which looked like a touchdown, but was ruled short, and in 3 plays couldn’t get a yard and turned it over. It was a rough watch. But even shooting themselves in the foot, Rutgers lost 14-7. We take on Wisconsin this week which will be no easy task. They are down their starting quarterback, but honestly, their backup looks better than the starter. They might not have a bellcow running back, but they still have their physical offensive line, and a stable of average backs which they rotate. I worry about the size on Rutgers defense, getting out physicaled on Saturday. It’ll be more key than ever to truly sustain some drives to give the defense some breaks. 9 of Rutgers 33 possessions against power 4 schools have resulted in a 3 and out. 27.3% will not cut it vs Wisconsin, let’s move the chains and have OC Kirk Ciarrocca get back in his bag. I had a confidence for VaTech and Washington, that confidence has been lowered for Nebraska and Wisky, but the Nebraska game did pleasantly surprise me. Wisky might be too big on the offensive line for Rutgers, but we will CHOP, and we will compete.
Falcons -2 – HIT!
Missouri +2.5 – Miss.
Jaguars -3 – Push.
2024 NCAA 3-5
2024 NFL 4-1-1
NCAA 111-115-5
NFL 146-119-11
258-234-16
Seahawks Niners Over 48.5
Thursday night overs can seem scary on the short week, but we are off of a 36-30 Thursday night game last week! I see this one playing out very similarly. The Seahawks defense is banged up especially on the DLine. Look for the Niners to have their way on the ground. But I also look for them to have their way in the air. Yes, the Seahawks have two great corners but their single high cover 1 style let the Niners score 31 and 28 last year. Brock Purdy’s career high of 368 yards is actually vs this Seattle defense. Shannahan will scheme open his guys and I look for Purdy to have a big bounce back after back to back 55% completion games. On the Seattle side, Geno Smith is playing great ball and their last four games he’s averaging 43.5 pass attempts per game. While I think they get Ken Walker a little more involved, the Seahawks and their trio of receivers have been getting a lot of looks. The Seahawks have yet to score under 20 points this season and I see that trend continuing this week. They’ll have to match shot for shot with me projecting the Niners to score four touchdowns. I see this game in the 50s.
Bowling Green -3 v Northern Illinois
Lights Camera MACtion! Northern Illinois went to South Bend and beat Notre Dame, but I got Bowling Green winning the MAC this season! They lost by a combined 13 points at Penn State and at Texas A&M and lost to a solid group of five Old Dominion. But those games don’t matter anymore now that we are in conference schedule season! The Connor Bazelak to Harold Fannin connection has been A+ as he’s averaging 10 catches 152 yards and a touchdown vs FBS opponents. Northern Illinois has a good corner in Ja Byrd but Fannin looks like a premier MAC receiver. Bowling Green will face NIU at an opportune time, as NIU’s star running back Antario Brown looks like he’ll play but he’s fairly banged up. With him limited, I think Bowling Green’s offense wins them this game.
Oregon +3 v Ohio State
Despite being 5-0 and looking stronger the last three weeks, the pulse of the Oregon fans are they expected more. They expected a better Dillon Gabriel who came in as a Heisman favorite. In comes an Ohio State team who had a super light OOC schedule and has looked dominant vs two lower Big Ten teams. I see quarterback as a big Oregon advantage. Will Howard got ran out of Kansas State, and it’s because he’s an average thrower and an average runner. He’s a big dual threat body, but I don’t think he’s the sharpest in the air. We’re going to game six and he has yet to face an ounce of pressure by an opponent, now he has to go to Autzen which is one of the more hostile environments. Ohio State might be superior talent wise everywhere else outside of quarterback. Coaching and mentality, two things harder to quantify, are a big Oregon advantage. Corner Denzel Burke admits you “shake a little more” in these spots, OLineman Josh Fryar said “I don’t like it on national television. If you get messed up, everybody knows.” Look I love the honesty, and maybe I’m reading too much into PREgame comments, but this really fits my Ohio State narrative. Ryan Day isn’t a high level coach and motivator, and under him Ohio State, with all their resources, have come up short too many times. This is college’s most expensive NIL roster and I think these kids feel the pressure of being all-in. Dan Lanning will fire the boys up, Dillon Gabriel is completing 77.8% of his passes despite the fans not thrilled with him, and Oregon takes care of business at home.
Jaguars +1.5 v Bears
The London Jaguars take on the Bears this weekend. The Bears won two in a row, and Caleb looks better, but he faced two bottom five pass defenses. Now … the Jaguars are another bottom five pass defense, but I think the Jaguars offense found confidence last week. The Colts and the Bears run a similar defensive scheme, afterall Bears HC Eberflus came from Indy, and Indy replaced him with a guy who would keep things very similar. I look for the Jags to attack with Brian Thomas Jr similar to how they attacked last week. For all the negative stuff I give Doug Pederson, he knows how to scheme cover 3. We now take a rookie Caleb Williams who’s averaging 14.5 on the road all the way to London where the Jaguars do this every season. I expect a rookie moment or two, and I’m sure there will be a greatness moment or two by him. Ultimately, I think the Jags offense will be too much for Caleb to lead his team to match their points.
Thank you,
Goose
Kowal's Korner 
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