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| Hypnotizing, right? |
My picks last week were about as pretty as Maryland’s uniforms Monday night. Some people liked them, but overall they just were kinda tough to look at. A 6-4 effort isn’t terrible, but it was disappointing. I got burned by picking with my heart too much. My dad’s favorite team, my mom’s favorite team, and my brother’s favorite team all lost.
Have I learned my lesson? Probably not. A lot of these teams are still tough to judge after one week. I see some crazy numbers in week one, and I wonder: was it a fluke? Was it simply a result of playing a lesser or greater opponent? Or was what I saw last week a sign of things to come? We'll find out I suppose. Unfortunately, I’ve never felt less confident about a week of picks. A lot of these could go either way. Here goes nothing.
The locals
Arizona at #9 Oklahoma State (Thursday)
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| The gray jerseys weren't bad, but I wasn't a fan of the random dark patches. Anxious to see what's next. |
It’s a rematch of the 2010 Alamo Bowl, a game that Oklahoma State won handily 36-10. OSU might be better now than they were then, but I’m not sure about Arizona.
The Wildcats are missing their top corner, Jonathan McKnight. OSU, on the other hand, comes in mostly healthy. The Cowboys’ defense looked sharp against Louisiana as the first string didn’t allow a touchdown. Their offense looked strong, too, despite three Brandon Weeden interceptions, two of which were taken back for touchdowns. The only downside may have been the underwhelming uniform combination. Did anyone else think the dark spots on the gray jerseys were sweat stains? But, I suppose you don’t want to bust out your favorite uniform combo for Louisiana-Lafayette, do you?
It’s a short week for Oklahoma State, but it’s a short week for Arizona, too, and the Wildcats are on the road. OSU has more talent. Even though Nick Foles is a great QB for Arizona, I don’t see Weeden throwing three interceptions in consecutive weeks. OSU should be just fine on Thursday.
The pick: OSU 38-20
Bonus OSU uniform prediction: gray helmets, black jerseys, gray pants. They’ll look like the Raiders with a splash of orange.
Tulsa at Tulane
Tulsa looked like the NFC Pro Bowl team last week. I’m talking about their uniforms, not how they played. Kidding aside, TU gave its best effort, but was completely outmatched against the top-ranked Sooners last week. Now, they’re used to the fact they don’t have Damaris Johnson, and they’re taking on a Tulane team that defeated FCS foe Southeastern Louisiana 47-33. I think G.J. Kinne will lead TU to more points than Southeastern scored against the Green Wave. This week should be a good confidence builder for Tulsa.
The pick: Tulsa 40-24
Dancing with the (Sun) Devils
#21 Missouri at Arizona State (Friday)
Arizona State dominated UC-Davis 48-14 last week. I won’t give the Sun Devils too much credit for blowing out an FCS team, but I will give them credit for taking care of business and executing well. ASU had over 500 yards of offense and didn’t allow a touchdown until they called off the dogs in the fourth quarter.
Missouri, meanwhile, didn’t exactly look crisp in a 17-6 win over Miami (OH), but the Redhawks were a 10-win team a year ago. As for this week, going on the road at night is a tall task. Weak opponent or not, ASU was clicking last week. Tough trip for Mizzou.
The pick: Arizona State 24-21
Bring your ponchos
Notre Dame at Michigan
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| For whatever reason, Notre Dame just plays better when Rees is under center. |
Both of these schools had weather delays last week. Michigan saw its game called early. Notre Dame probably should have. Maybe the skies opened up in South Bend because someone upstairs couldn’t watch another moment. 500 yards of offense? That’s good. Five turnovers, many of them in the red zone? That’s how you lose games. Notre Dame came in with high expectations, but sloppy play has them searching for respect. The Irish hope that replacing underachieving quarterback Dayne Crist for the less athletic yet more poised Tommy Rees will fix the offense. Michigan wasn’t expected to be great this year as Denard Robinson learns a new offense, but the Wolverine QB had a field day against the Irish last season. Brady Hoke should probably just turn him loose. Against my better judgment, I’ll give Brian Kelly the benefit of the doubt and say he cleans up the mistakes this week.
The pick: Notre Dame 30-27
The game away from the game
BYU at Texas
I wonder what the conversations among the athletic directors and presidents will be like during this one. I bet they won’t be talking much about the action on the field. Will Texas AD DeLoss Dodds be trying to convince BYU AD Tom Holmoe that the Big 12 is the place to be, or will he be asking him about the future of playing as an independent? Or will they both be talking about how awesome it is to have television deals with ESPN? As for the game itself, Texas ran the ball pretty well last week. Granted, that was against Rice, but the 506 yards of offense were still encouraging. BYU played well as the Cougars rallied to get a tough win at Ole Miss. I think Texas is just a little better, however, and the ‘Horns are at home.
The pick: Texas 27-21
The only showdown of two ranked teams
#3 Alabama at #23 Penn State
Yeah, they’re both ranked, but I think the gap in talent is pretty significant. Alabama just has to avoid the early haymaker (kick return for TD, pick six, long offensive TD of some sort) that gets the crowd into it. If they can do that, their defense should keep Penn State in check and Trent Richardson should have a big game.
The pick: Alabama 31-17
Shot at redemption
#12 South Carolina at Georgia
Georgia dropping out of the Top 25 after losing to Boise State seems a bit harsh to me, but it’s early and the Dawgs have a chance to get right back in this week. This is a really important game for Georgia because its SEC slate does NOT have Alabama, LSU, or Arkansas. Translation: win this game, and the Bulldogs' biggest obstacle to the SEC title game is Florida. It’s not that easy, though. Mark Richt’s seat is getting really hot, and many are wondering if he’s lost this team.
South Carolina trailed early last week against East Carolina, but ended up blowing out ECU 56-37. The Gamecocks can really score, but they can’t afford to start slow in Athens.
Two things: First, it’s tough winning on the road anywhere in college football, but especially in the SEC. Second, Georgia is at a tipping point as fans are really starting to scream for Richt’s head, and I wonder if that affects the team’s confidence.
It’s tough to pick a team with internal turmoil, but it’s also tough to pick against Georgia at home, as long as they ditch those all-red jerseys. South Carolina is a three-point favorite. I'll take the home 'dog.
The pick: Georgia 27-24
Welcome to the Pac-12
Utah at USC
As much as we’d like to talk down about USC’s unimpressive 19-17 win over Minnesota, Utah didn’t exactly blow away Montana State last week with a 27-10 victory. USC might not be as strong as it was under Pete Carroll, but the Trojans will be stronger than Utah in this game, Utah’s first Pac-12 conference tilt.
The pick: USC 35-24
Changing of the Guard?
#16 Mississippi State at Auburn
Auburn escaped last week against Utah State, but the Tigers are definitely missing all the NFL talent they had a year ago. Mississippi State, meanwhile, is on the rise. Vick Ballard was very impressive against lowly Memphis, as he rushed for 166 yards on just 10 carries. Mississippi State will march into Jordan-Hare Stadium and end the Tigers’ 16-game winning streak.
The pick: Mississippi State 30-21
Token FCS Game of the Week
#4 Northern Iowa at #16 Stephen F. Austin
Northern Iowa almost upset in-state FBS foe Iowa State last week, as the Panthers fell 20-19 in Ames. SFA, meanwhile, scored 82 points last week… against McMurry. Yeah, I don’t know where McMurry is either. UNI gets on the board with a big road win.
The pick: Northern Iowa 34-30
Here’s to hoping for a week with more exciting games and less crazy uniforms… and a few more wins for myself.
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