Saturday, a.m.
Think of the quarterbacks. Pretty much, that will tell you much of what to believe about Sunday's game.
Oh, let's be honest. You can go a long way toward deciding any game by examining the quarterbacks. Heck, the NFL is a quarterbacks' league.
But this time, it really will help you decide whether the Bucs can beat the San Francisco 49ers Sunday. After all, one quarterback (Jimmy Garappolo) is starting again, and the other one (Jameis Winston) is starting over.
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You want subplots? How will the Bucs' secondary hold up to Garappolo, who has won eight of his 10 starts in the NFL. And how will the Bucs' offensive line hold up against a fierce 49ers' pass rush?
Yeah, yeah. We all want to see how Winston does under his new coach (Bruce Arians). But the 49ers' defensive front looks a lot like Cleveland's, and the Browns defensive line took the lunch money from the Bucs' defenders. It'll be interesting to see if how much the Bucs can run, as well.
On the other side of the ball, the Bucs' secondary was the leakiest in the NFL last year. It's looked better in the preseason, to be fair.
So who wins? And where does it lead? Frankly, I have the Bucs' win total at six this season. But this should be one of them.
Prediction: Bucs 23, 49ers 20.
USF at Georgia Tech: The Bulls have lost eight in a row, and you can argue over which has been the most embarrassing. Tech isn't as good as Wisconsin, but neither is USF.
Prediction: Georgia Tech 20, USF 16.
UT-Martin at Florida: The Gators shouldn't have a lot of trouble with UT-Pushover unless they suffer from the same turnovers that cost them against Miami. But Florida is generally focused against teams such as UT-Run-It-Up.
Prediction: Florida 54, UT-Martin 3
Louisiana-Monroe at FSU: The Seminoles have fallen a long way in recent seasons, but not this far.
Prediction FSU 13, Louisiana-Monroe 10.
Miami at North Carolina: The Hurricanes lost to Florida, but they were more competitive thab most would have thought. They should get past the Tar Heels.
Prediction: Miami 24, North Carolina 13.
UCF at FAU: Did the Knights win the national championship yet?
Prediction: UCF 41, FAU 10
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