Walters Football Site: NCAA Football Tournament: Sweet Sixteen

Sweet 16 - West

What is this?
Since NCAA Football desperately needs a playoff, why not create one? Sixteen teams were chosen (11 conference winners and five at-large bids) and placed into brackets. Dan Biggio, Sim Lucien and I will take a look at each game and decide who we think will win the game. The team that moves on to the next round will be the team that gets two votes to win out of the three predictions. The predictions for each game will be posted during the time listed for each contest (i.e. Michigan-Houston will be posted 10:30 Friday).

#1 Michigan (11-1) vs. #8 Houston (10-3).
Friday, 10:30 ET

Walt's Take:
I know the other analysts picked Michigan in a rout, but I can see this being a game where Houston actually has a lead in the third quarter, and the announcers start talking about the biggest upset in walterfootball.com NCAA Football Playoff history. The Wolverines have a bad habit of playing down to their competition; remember, they nearly lost to Ball State earlier this year. I'm taking Michigan to win � by the slimmest of margins.

Michigan 18, Houston 17.

NCAA Dan's Take:
Conference USA champion Houston has a tough draw here with the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan has the skilled position players everyone will recognize: Chad Henne at quarterback, Mike Hart at running back and Mario Manningham as a standout wide receiver. But where Michigan dominated other teams all year long is in the trenches. Michigan's offensive line consistently provided protection for Henne and opened up holes for Hart to run through. Their defensive line wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks in the Big 10. The Cougars are a nice story this season, but they will not test the Wolverines.

Michigan 47, Houston 17.

Sim's Take:
I'd like to say this will be an entertaining game, but it won't be. Michigan is just flat out better than Houston. To the Cougars: Thanks for stopping by.

Michigan 44, Houston 14.

Mike's Take:
Houston lost to Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern Miss. How in the world would they beat Michigan?

Michigan 45, Houston 3.

Public Poll:
Michigan 94%

Winner: #1 Michigan
Michigan 39, Houston 13.

#4 Arkansas (10-3) vs. #5 Auburn (10-2).
Friday, 7:00 ET

Walt's Take:
I remember the first meeting between these two squads like it was two months ago. I went to the bar for my sister's 21st birthday party the night before, and had way too much to drink. So, I was laying on my couch when this game was on, and it felt like Alien was going to pop out of my stomach. I didn't even care that the Razorbacks were pulling off an unbelievable upset; I was worried that the Grim Reaper was going to come whisk me away at any moment.

There's no moral to this story, so let me make my pick. I think Arkansas caught Auburn in a look-ahead situation; the Tigers had Florida the following week, and actually won that contest. It's tough to beat a team twice in one year, so I like Auburn to avenge one of its two defeats.

Auburn 24, Arkansas 20.

NCAA Dan's Take:
These two teams met in early October, with Arkansas pulling off a surprise 27-10 upset of the Tigers in Auburn. Arkansas surprised people all season long in the SEC, making it to the conference championship game. The Hogs lost their last two games, a close one to LSU and then 38-28 to Florida. For Arkansas, it is all about controlling the line of scrimmage, and running the football behind Darren McFadden, who racked up over 1,500 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

Tommy Tuberville's Tigers are a typical Auburn team: tough, physical and hard to score against. Auburn's two losses were by fairly substantial margins, against Arkansas and then in November to the Georgia Bulldogs. I expect this to be a great game. Auburn will stack the box and attempt to make Arkansas win this game through the air. I expect a pretty low-scoring and hard-fought affair. I like Auburn to come out on top this time around though.

Auburn 16, Arkansas 13.

Sim's Take:
This SEC showdown will be the best game of this round. This game is exactly why I rarely pick a team to beat the same team twice. Auburn will get its revenge. Both teams deserve to be in this playoff due to great seasons. Auburn's only losses were to Arkansas and an upset against Georgia, and they were the only team to beat Florida. The Razorbacks played the Gators well in the SEC championship. In the end, I think Auburn's defense will play a lot tougher, especially against the run, than in the first meeting of these SEC West powers.

Auburn 24, Arkansas 21.

Mike's Take:
Finally, we have two teams in one game deserving of a playoff. Auburn didn't get a fair chance when playing Arkansas before because they didn't know what to expect, while squads like Florida did. Brandon Cox and Kenny Irons make up for Darren McFadden's 150-yard game.

Auburn 28, Arkansas 24.

Public Poll:
Arkansas 64%

Winner: #5 Auburn
Auburn 23, Arkansas 20.

#3 USC (10-2) vs. #6 Boise State (12-0).
Saturday, 7:00 ET

Walt's Take:
I'm really glad USC lost to UCLA. Not that I hate USC � I just wanted to see some more BCS controversy. If only there were a playoff; then I could cover these games for real.

Anyway, in honor of the Trojans losing to the Bruins, I'm going against them here. Both teams have dynamic offenses that should be able to score on every possession, but I'm counting on Pete Carroll to make a coaching blunder. Maybe he'll run LenDale "Dominos Pizza" White on a key fourth-and-one.

Boise State 41, USC 38.

NCAA Dan's Take:
USC has to be disappointed at the prospects of being a 3-seed. After beating Notre Dame soundly at home the week before, the Trojans lost a tough one in the Rose Bowl to rival UCLA. This cost Pete Carroll's team a chance to be ranked No. 2 in the country. Consequently, they have drawn the 6-seeded team, Boise State.

The Broncos have averaged more than 39 points a game and more than 400 yards of offense. They will score against USC � Jared Zabransky will not be intimidated by the Trojans. But USC has plenty of playmakers of their own. John David Booty picked up the baton from Matt Leinart and threw for 25 touchdowns and nearly 3,000 yards this season. Booty was helped out all season long by a couple of terrific wide receivers, including Dwayne Jarrett, among the tops in the nation. Look for a high-scoring affair, and a closer game than Pete Carroll would like. USC is a more battle-tested team, however, so I look for the Trojans to prevail in this one.

USC 38, Boise State 30.

Sim's Take:
I'd love for this to be a good game, but it won't be. Boise State has a great offense, and underrated defense and was a surprise to dominate the WAC despite former head coach Dan Hawkins taking the Colorado head-coaching position last year. But USC is a juggernaut. They maybe without Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Matt Leinart, Dominique Byrd, several offensive linemen, Darnell Bing and other stars, but they are never without stellar backups waiting for their shot at glory. Quarterback John David Booty is have a very good first year as starter. He is getting a lot of help from receivers Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett.

The Broncos' offense isn't even enough to hang with USC in a shootout.

USC 38, Boise State 28.

Mike's Take:
USC will be fired up after a letdown against UCLA. They'll beat a Boise State team that won't know what hit them.

USC 35, Boise State 20.

Public Poll:
USC 77%

Winner: #3 USC
USC 37, Boise State 30.

#2 LSU (10-2) vs. #7 BYU (10-2).
Saturday, 10:30 ET

Walt's Take:
I'd give BYU a legitimate shot to pull an upset if it were playing one of the other top seeds. But there's no way they'll beat LSU. I think the Tigers have a great to win this whole playoff; I'm a huge admirer of JaMarcus Russell and his defense.

LSU 38, BYU 17.

NCAA Dan's Take:
The LSU Tigers are a team nobody should want to face in this postseason. The Tigers have been flat-out dominant in 2006, led by starting quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Russell had an impressive season, throwing for 27 touchdowns on nearly 2,800 yards. The Tigers lost two games to very good SEC opponents this year, including a tough 7-3 loss at Auburn and 23-13 on the road in Florida. LSU's defense is downright stingy, surrendering only an average of 12.5 points per game.

BYU's offense put up some impressive numbers this year, as John Beck threw for more than 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns. BYU steamrolled nearly everyone in the Mountain West conference. But BYU will meet their match against a tough, hard-nosed LSU Tiger team out of the SEC. LSU's margin of victory was 20 in the 2006 campaign, highly impressive playing in this conference. The money matchup in this one will be to see how the potent BYU offense fares against a stout LSU defense. Most likely it will not be pretty for BYU.

LSU 37, BYU 10.

Sim's Take:
The battle of the cats will turn into a Cougar declawing and mauling by halftime. LSU is the better team, period. The defense can shut down anything BYU wants to do. As long as JaMarcus Russell plays like he's started for two years, LSU will cruise to victory.

LSU 35, BYU 6.

Mike's Take:
LSU is one of the better teams in the country right now. No one wants to play LSU right now, especially BYU.

LSU 28, BYU 10.

Public Poll:

Winner: #2 LSU
LSU 35, BYU 11.

NCAA Football Tournament 2007
Brackets:
Championship / Final Four
Elite Eight - East / Elite Eight - West
Sweet Sixteen - East / Sweet Sixteen - West

NCAA Football Tournament 2006
Brackets:
Championship / Final Four
Elite Eight - East / Elite Eight - West
Sweet Sixteen - East / Sweet Sixteen - West

NCAA Football Tournament 2005
Brackets:
Championship / Final Four
Elite Eight - East / Elite Eight - West
Sweet Sixteen - East / Sweet Sixteen - West

NCAA Football Tournament 2004
Brackets:
Championship / Final Four
Elite Eight - East / Elite Eight - West
Sweet Sixteen - East / Sweet Sixteen - West