Weekly Picks

Thursday Night

Middle Tennessee 29, Western KY 13 - These teams are terrible and this game's gonna be ugly, but somebody has to. They have to.

Oregon 44, Cal 24 - Cal was having a decent little year until last week's trip to Seattle; I don't see the Bears bouncing back with a trip to Eugene. LaMichael James and Darron Thomas will have big games tonight - Fightin' Ducks roll.

Friday Night

Boise State 30, Fresno St. 20 - I've adjusted this pick a little from my early lean. I like Fresno to put up a bit of a fight. It'll be closer than people are thinking and the Broncos will look uncomfortable almost all night. Little Carr's having a solid season and might take the Bulldogs close, but Kellen Moore will be almost perfect in the fourth, sealing the Boise win.

Saturday

West Virginia 42, UConn 17 - Holgo's Hillbillies are looking to make statements. They made up for the LSU loss by shellacking Bowling Green and would love to keep the hurt rolling into this week's Big East opener. UConn had a shaky start and is coming off a loss to Western Michigan; they need this win to start piecing things back together. They won't get it.

Oklahoma 27, Texas 19 - I'd LOVE to see Texas win this game. I went back-and-forth on the 'Horns so much this summer, I'd feel a little validated with a UT win, even though I eventually did settle on OU. I still don't think the Longhorns can do it, though, and the Sooners will prove too much to contain in Dallas. You gotta love the RRR!

GA Tech 40, Maryland 30 - I don't see Maryland being the team that will stop Tech's offense. Orwin Smith is averaging a ridiculous 15 ypc and the passing game has clicked in every game so far. Maryland has been regressing since the opening weekend, following the opening win over Miami with two loses and a lackluster win over an FCS team. That kind of effort won't be enough for the Terps to stall the Jackets; come Saturday night, the nerds are gonna be 6-0./gag

LSU 31, Florida 13 - No Brantley? No chance. Hell, they barely had one with Brantley.

Missouri 27, Kansas St. 26 - The Tigers, fresh off their decision to start breaking up with their conference, are ready to make a statement. The better they look, the more attention they'll get from other suitors, like maybe a certain handsome gentleman from the southeast... Anyway, look for Mizzou to end K-State's run at four games...but the 'Cats will certainly make it interesting.

Arizona State 24, Utah 17 - My new adjective: Vontazious.

Arkansas 33, Auburn 31 - I'd like to think Malzhan learned his lesson last weekend: run the ball, rest your D, win games. But his hubris will be his undoing. The Hawgs won't be able to slow the Tigers early, and he'll just gash away and gash away, leaving Roof out to dry when the Arkansas O hits the field. It'll be close - and a little crazy - but Petrino comes out on top.

Northwestern 34, Michigan 27 - Denard just had quite the breakup. I already had the Wildcats picked to win here, but the drama made me even more confident of the pick. Sorry, UM, but actually competing for a B1G title is still a year or two off. Dan Persa out-passes Shoelace in the suburbs.

Texas A&M 31, Texas Tech 23 - I like A&M. I do not really care for Texas Tech. I guess that's it. Then I found five dollars...

Tennessee 27, Georgia 18 - Here's a change-up from my early leans. I was in a fever of Homer-ism Monday night when i made those picks. Now that it's time to lock it in, though, I'm gonna keep it real. Richt-ball won't quite get it done and Aaron Murray has not looked sharp enough to carry us to a win on the road. Look for a costly turnover by #11 late to make all the difference.

Nebraska 40, Ohio State 20 - The Huskers are a little angry after that beat down in Madison.