Beerman's Picks by Ben Shapiro, 8/22/02
Each week this season, I will be posting a column previewing the upcoming
weekend's Big East and Top-25 match-ups. All rankings are from the
ESPN/USA
Today Coaches Poll . I don't pick winners (that's too easy), I pick against
the spread . All picks are for entertainment purposes only.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you another autumn of glorious gridiron
action. It's the sport of kings. Better than diamond rings. Football!
Thursday, August
22
7:30 PM EST
Comcast / Fox Sports Net
Colorado State 0-0 (Away: 0-0)
-2.5 Wahoo State 0-0 (Home: 0-0)
Sonny Lubick may not have the NFL experience,
but he's got better. He's got a history of winning ball games. Here we are in week zero, and this is almost a must win for
CSU. Their first four games are @ UVA, Colorado, @UCLA, and then home against
CUSA favorite Louiseville. Ouch. That's unsafe at any
speed. But this should be a pretty good Rams team, and if they
can manage some wins early, they could be in the hunt for a big bowl
at the end. Virginia...well...who knows? Optimism still abounds
in the early stages of Le règne de Groh. They've got paper talent,
but it's woefully young. So young, in fact, that much of it is
still at Fork Union! This could be a loooooooooooong year in Hooville. Picked 8th in the ACC media poll, a winning record would
be a real accomplishment for this squad. Too bad they're going
to have to wait until September to get started...
Pick: CSU (outright!)
Friday, August
23
8:00 PM EST
ESPN
Fresno State 0-0 (Away: 0-0)
-7 Wisconsin (#23) 0-0 (Home: 0-0)
Wisconsin, they've got the guns to score
some points. Especially on the ground. Solid RBs make up
for lack of depth at WR, especially after one of the finer WRs in the
nation (Lee Evans) blew out a knee in their spring game. This
is a good year for the Badgers to be strong on the ground. To
say they've got questions on defense is putting it nicely. It
isn't everyone who can manage to get absolutely rolled by Indiana, but
Wisconsin managed it last year. On the plus side, there's nowhere
to go but up! Fresno State had their day in the sun, and now they're
back to being just another ho-hum WAC team. Much of what was a
very good offense is gone now, and that will take some time to replace. Pat Hill is a good coach tho, and he'll have his Bulldogs contending
in the WAC again ... just don't expect any noise on a national scale.
Oh, and Wisconsin has a score to settle...
Pick: Whisky
Saturday, August
24
8:30 PM EST
-22.5 Florida State (#4) 0-0 (Away: 0-0)
Iowa State 0-0 (Home: 0-0)
Oh good. Just what the
nation needs. A motivated Seminoles team. Iowa State would
be wise to place a few land mines in the corn fields and just hope for
the best.
Pick: F$U
7:45 PM EST
ESPN
Arizona State 0-0 (Away: 0-0)
-21.5 Nebraska (#8) 0-0 (Home: 0-0)
Speaking of motivated powerhouses, when's
the last time anyone saw Nebraska tank at the end of a season like that? I'd offer up my preview, but I think we all know it by heart. Run run run, pass somewhat effectively when necessary, and smother the
opponent on defense. Lather, rinse, repeat. Arizona State is
still struggling for an identity under 2nd year coach Dirk Koetter. There are a ton of question marks on both sides of the ball, and it
will be a struggle even for a bowl game this year.
Pick: UNL
2:30 PM EST
ABC
Texas Tech 0-0 (Away: 0-0)
-6.5 Ohio State (#12) 0-0 (Home: 0-0)
Texas Tech. Now there's a
legitimate sleeper pick. They won 7 games last year and are returning
20 starters. If they can simply play at a consistent level in
2002, they're going to make some Big XII powers very nervous. They play a tough schedule, with Oklahoma, Colorado and aTm all on the
road (not to mention this game!) so a Big XII title is probably out
of the question ... probably... Ohio State is loaded. Everywhere.
Well everywhere except QB. Still if they can get past Texas Tech
it will be the middle of October before they face another serious threat. That's plenty of time to establish someone under center, and the Bucks
could shoot at an MNC if things break right for them.
Pick: tOSU
4:30 PM EST
New Mexico 0-0 (Away: 0-0)
-12.5 N.C. State (#25) 0-0 (Home: 0-0)
The Pack is my ACC dark horse this year. They've got a terrific and now experienced QB in Philip Rivers, and
some real talent on defense to keep them in games. Games at UNC
and at Clemson will be the difference makers. If they can take
advantage of an early soft schedule to sort out some running game issues,
10 wins is not out of the question. New Mexico should be a good case
study for the differences between the ACC and the Mountain West. They're remarkably similar to UVA this year, with some good young talent
at way too many key positions. They lack depth and they lack experience. They play a WAC schedule though, and .500 is a reasonable expectation.
Pick: NCSU
Sunday, August
25
2:30 PM EST
ESPN+
Arkansas State 0-0 (Away: 0-0)
-37 Virginia Tech (#16) 0-0 (Home: 0-0)
To quote CollegeFootballNews.com: "ASU
was extremely close to a winless season last year and this year's team
doesn't look all that much better right now ". That
sums it up nicely. They'll be lucky to win a I-A game at all this
year. Some folks seem to be down on this as an opening game ... and
I'll admit it's somewhat of a stinker. But you know what? It think that's perfect !
See, next weekend we host LSU. It's going to be ... quite simply
... HUGE. That means the tailgate has to count . We
need to walk into that stadium and collectively be just a hair's breadth
away from mob hysteria. There will be no time for working out
the kinks with the tailgate grill. No place for "So how's the
new baby?" or "Did you hear that so-and-so got married?". No chance
to make a bookstore run to pick up something inadvertently left at home. No sir. Not for me.
I've got work to do.
So that's what this game is for. Don't worry about ASU. Find yourself a nice spot to park in for this year, and say "hi" to
those tailgate buddies it's been so long since you last saw in person. Stop by the Tech Bookstore to buy a new Gobble Shaker or pick up a few
new T-shirts. Play a relaxing game of beer pong. Listen
to Bill and Mike's pregame show. Get to the stadium early, walk
around the South End Zone concourse if they'll let you, and see what
there is to see. Figure out the best way to smuggle your preferred
libation to your seats. Help the cheerleaders get their timing
down with the "Let's Go!" ... "Hok-ies!" chant alternating from one
side of the stands to the other. Pull out your handy new
roster
and figure out who's who in this year's lineup. Support our Hokies,
but don't hurt yourself. Reacclimate yourself to another fall
of Hokie football in leisurely fashion, and have fun.
Just remember that next week ... next week is for real...
Pick: Hokies!
Last Season: 143-150-2TV Game of the Week: Ohio State vs.
Texas TechUpset Special: Colorado State over France
Voice of the Fan Archives
TSL Home
