Thursday, September 08, 2011

College Football Predictions - Week 2

Coming off a 7-5 week with a 2-0 record going with underdogs, I believe that I can improve to a .750 winning clip from now until the end of the season.  And I will go on record as saying that TCU will not allow another game that the opponent scores 50 points.  Without any further ado, the picks...

1.  #3 Alabama (-10) at #23 Penn State - Watch the Alabama defense.  In the opener against Kent State, the Golden Flashes had negative yardage in rushing for the entire game.  They won't hold the Nittany Lions to negative yardage but will shut down the running game and win going away.

2.  Notre Dame (-3) at Michigan - This game could go either way.  I believe that the Fighting Irish are still over-hyped, but Brady Hoke hasn't got the players yet to stiffle offenses.  I believe that Notre Dame and their pride show up this weekend.

3.  #12 South Carolina at Georgia (+2.5) - This pick will upset my good friend Jennifer who was born and bred in South Carolina, but Georgia hung around with a better Boise State team.  And playing in Athens will give the Bulldogs a boost.  That and all the rumors about Mark Reich will propel the Bulldogs to beat a Gamecocks team that didn't look like they wanted to play last week.

4.  Arizona at #9 Oklahoma State (-14) - Arizona fields an extremely young team, especially on the Offensive Line.  Oklahoma State looks like they want to prove that they are the team to beat in the state.  Look for these two future conference foes not to have a close game.  And a hint to Oklahoma State:  burn those fugly Grey uniforms.

5.  #16 Mississippi State at Auburn (+6) - I see a close game.  Mississippi State must be licking their chops with the way Utah State ran the ball last week against the Tigers.  However, the Auburn defense is way better than Memphis.  Also another factor keeping this game close will be a couple of players on the Bulldogs looking forward to next week's battle against LSU.

6.  Oregon State at #8 Wisconsin (-17) - How is it that a team that lost at home to that perennial power, Sacramento State is only a 17 point dog to Wisconsin?  Am I missing something here?

7.  BYU (+7) at #24 Texas - The road warriors of this season so far, the Cougars go into Austin and keep it close.  The Longhorns coming off a 5-7 season are ranked because of their name.

8.  #21 Mizzouri at Arizona State (-7) - This game shows why being ranked isn't the biggest thing in the world.  The #21 ranked Tigers are a touchdown underdog to an unranked team.  The reason?  Look at Missouri's win last week over Miami (Ohio).  That was putrid. 

9.  Nevada at #13 Oregon (-22.5) - Do you think that Oregon is going to be a little frustrated after their loss last week?  I do.  This game will show why the WAC and MWC aren't considered big boy conferences.

10.  Cincinnati (+7.5) at Tennessee - I am still trying to figure out why Tennessee is favored by over a touchdown here.  Maybe the boys in Vegas can't get the memories of the Bearcats last season out of their minds.  Take the Bearcats and the points.

Extra Games:

11.  Utah (+10.5) at USC - Those Trojans looked like world beaters last week with the 3 point win vs. Minnesota last week, didn't they?  Give me the Utes with Norm Chow and the 10.5 points.

12.  Iowa (-5.5) at Iowa State - A game near and dear to my heart.  The Hawkeyes of Iowa should be able to take down the Cyclones by 14 points at least.  It also might be the last time that the Hawkeyes ever play a Big XII opponent, seeing that the Big XII is melting down.  And this game isn't the biggest thing in Ames right now.  That would be Iowa State threatening to sue Texas A&M to keep the Aggies in the Big XII.  I see a big distraction.

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