Five bold predictions for Sugar Bowl between Texas and Washington

We make surprising predictions for the game.

The College Football Playoff is just around the corner. The No. 3 Texas Longhorns (12-1) take on the No. 2 Washington Huskies (13-0) in the late game of the four-team playoff.

There are plenty of narratives surrounding the game. Among them is that Texas might not have the secondary to hang with Washington. That may be true, but isn’t our feeling on the game.

Many point to the Longhorns’ No. 93 pass defense in college football. The team surrenders 240.8 yards per game through the air. The Washington Huskies’ pass defense is worse. The Huskies rank an abysmal No. 120 out of 130 FBS defenses allowing 263.2 passing yards per game.

The Washington offense, however, will be the toughest test Texas has faced this season. The Huskies tower over college football with the No. 1 passing offense in the country at 343.8 yards per contest. Texas ranks No. 18 in pass offense with 286.8 yards per game.

The game could come down to which squad can slow the opponent’s passing game or get more from their own. Let’s predict that and more in our five bold predictions for the game.

5 bold predictions for Alabama’s Rose Bowl matchup against Michigan

What are your bold predictions for Alabama’s Rose Bowl matchup against Michigan?

In about three weeks, Nick Saban will lead the Alabama Crimson Tide into Pasadena for their College Football Playoff semifinal against Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl.

The contest between the two heavyweight programs is sure to draw one of the largest audiences in college football history. With a spot in the national championship on the line, the stakes are high.

It is hard to imagine this game not delivering an instant classic, but we have seen some semifinal matchups not go as planned, with one team dominating the other.

As we continue to anticipate the marque matchup, let’s take a look at five bold predictions for Alabama’s Rose Bowl matchup against Michigan.

NFL Network analyst predicts Alvin Kamara will catch 20 passes vs. Lions

Maurice Jones-Drew’s Week 13 bold prediction is Alvin Kamara will be the third NFL player to ever catch 20 passes in a game.

Former NFL running back and current NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew predicted New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara will catch 20 passes on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. This was a part of the network’s Week 13 bold predictions and that is definitely a bold call.

Only two players in league history have ever reached 20 catches in a game (Terrell Owens set the single-game record with 20 against the Bears in 2000; Brandon Marshall broke that record with 21 in a loss to the Colts in 2009). This likely won’t happen if only because Kamara will still be tasked with also running the ball.

Kamara’s career-high in catches and combined touches are 15 and 31. He’d have to eclipse that to make Jones-Drew’s bold prediction come true. Whether it comes true aside, his prediction speaks to the workload Kamara might have to see on Sunday. He caught 13 and 12 passes in games earlier this season, and injuries at wide receiver might force Derek Carr to funnel even more targets Kamara’s way.

Jamaal Williams hasn’t seen much work since returning from injured reserve and the Saints are down some receivers. 20 catches might be extreme, but the offense very well could run through Alvin Kamara versus the Lions.

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Five bold predictions for Texas against the Houston Cougars

The Texas offense could take off this week against Houston.

It’s Houston week for the Texas Longhorns following a deflating loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. Continue reading “Five bold predictions for Texas against the Houston Cougars”

Texas Football: Five bold predictions for the Alabama game

Will Ewers connect on the deep ball against Alabama?

The matchup between No. 11 Texas and No. 3 Alabama is viewed as one of the top college football games of the year. Continue reading “Texas Football: Five bold predictions for the Alabama game”

5 bold predictions for the epic showdown of Alabama vs. Texas

Alabama vs. Texas is a must-watch game with major College Football Playoff implications. See 5 bold predictions for the matchup.

Alabama versus Texas is one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2023 season. The Longhorns are looking to avenge themselves after losing last season’s matchup against Alabama by a final score of 20-19.

In order to knock off Alabama, Texas will have to win in the trenches and eliminate Jalen Milroe’s dual-threat capabilities. This means Texas will have to prevent Milroe from using his legs as much as possible.

While that will be the emphasis, it will be interesting to see if Texas’ secondary can prevent Alabama’s wide receivers from making one, too many plays on Saturday night. The same can be said for Alabama’s secondary working to neutralize Texas’ explosive receiving core.

Roll Tide Wire makes five bold predictions for Alabama vs. Texas.

6 bold predictions for Vikings 2023 season

Going into the 2023 season, these bold predictions are bound to come true (we hope) via @TheRealForno

The 2023 NFL season kicks off this weekend and the Minnesota Vikings open against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, September 10th at noon central.

When we take a look at the Vikings in 2023, there are multiple angles to look at. They certainly aren’t going to go undefeated in one-score games like they did going 11-0 in the 2022 regular season. That is the biggest talking point among analysts, but they also don’t talk about that same regression going positive.

As we look ahead, here are the six biggest bold predictions for the Vikings 2023 season.

ESPN 2023 predictions: Saints’ easy schedule could lead to No. 1 seed in the NFC

ESPN’s bold predictions for 2023 suggest the New Orleans Saints’ easy schedule (on paper) could lead Dennis Allen’s team to the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC:

Well that’s interesting. ESPN senior NFL national reporter Dan Graziano broke down his predictions for all 32 teams going into the 2023 regular season, and he sees a scenario where the New Orleans Saints are competing for the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC. That’s pretty high praise.

But here’s the catch: Graziano doesn’t see the Saints getting there for their own merits. Their very-favorable schedule is an advantage other teams around the conference don’t enjoy, with an abundance of unproven rookie quarterbacks and squads that weren’t exactly impressive last year. If the Saints do reach the postseason, Graziano is suggesting they won’t go much further after running into more formidable opponents:

“Please don’t get this twisted. I do not believe the Saints will be the best team in the NFC. I do not think they’re in that conversation with the Eagles, 49ers, Cowboys, Seahawks and others. But they do play in the NFC South, and their schedule is — on paper, at least — cream-cheese soft.

New Orleans plays four games against teams whose current projected starting quarterbacks are rookies (Texans, Colts and Panthers twice). It plays three games against teams whose current projected starting quarterbacks are first-year starters (Packers and Falcons twice). The rest of the Saints’ schedule includes just three quarterbacks who finished last season in the top 15 in Total QBR (Giants, Lions and Bears). They play seven games against teams that finished in the bottom seven last year in defensive efficiency and only two (Buccaneers and Patriots) that finished in the top 12.

The Saints believe that they’ve upgraded at quarterback with Derek Carr and that their defense is still among the league’s best. If they’re right, they should be able to pile up more wins than an offseason assessment of their overall roster might predict. And with the Eagles playing in a division with two other 2022 playoff teams, and the Niners likely getting challenged by the Seahawks in the NFC West, the Saints could sneak in as the conference’s top seed when all is said and done.”

Objectively speaking, the Saints are in a better spot than those Super Bowl contenders. They’ll be fighting off two teams in their division without quarterbacks (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons) and a third NFC South rival that’s installing a new coaching staff and first-year passer. Comparatively speaking, New Orleans has the best chance of earning the division crown.

Here’s the part where we take issue with Graziano’s take on those NFC powerhouses. The Saints beat two of them last year, outscoring the Seattle Seahawks 39-32 and burying the Philadelphia Eagles (without superstar quarterback Jalen Hurts, we’ll admit) 20-10. The 49ers couldn’t even score two touchdowns on them and needed help from Andy Dalton to beat the Saints in Francisco 13-0. Dallas won their last meeting in 2021 with Taysom Hill throwing four interceptions.

If Carr can play better than guys like Hill and Dalton while the New Orleans defense meets its usual standards, they can compete with any of those teams. They’ve done it before. That’s the expectation for Dennis Allen and his coaching staff and players. They’ve got no room for excuses after upgrading at quarterback and keeping their best players on the roster this summer. If Allen can’t win games and get this team to the playoffs with such a weak schedule drawn up for them, that has to be the end of the line for him. Hopefully things go as well as hoped and the Saints won’t have to search for a new head coach in three or four months.

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6 bold predictions for Chiefs rookies ahead of training camp

Our @goldmctNFL gets bold with a few predictions for #Chiefs rookies in 2023 prior to the start of training camp.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ rookies selected in the 2022 NFL draft made an outsized contribution to the team’s Super Bowl LVII win.

That’s not typically the norm in the NFL. As a result, it may have left some unrealistic expectations for the team’s incoming class of rookies via the 2023 NFL draft and undrafted free agency.

We’re leaning into some of those unrealistic expectations, pushing for the ceiling for some of those rookies for the 2023 NFL season. Here’s a look at six bold predictions regarding the rookie class with training camp on the horizon: