Saturday, September
21
7:30 pm EST
ESPN
Boston College
2 -0
(Away: 0-0)
-26.5
Miami (#1)
3-0 (Home: 1-0)
If
we only we could win all of our let-down games by 3 touchdowns
... Hey, well this was
last year's shoulda coulda woulda game. And I realize
that this probably means the Canes won't be taking BC lightly.
And it's at home, at night, and on ESPN. But you know
what? I think the Eagles are going to make a game of it.
Will they pull off the upset? Heh, I'm not that
ballsy, but I think they'll keep it interesting for a while.
They've got a solid offensive line and a quality quarterback,
and they should be able to test Miami's secondary. I'll
say even better than Florida did.
Pick: BC
8:00 pm EST
PPV, Gameplan
Houston
2-1 (Away: 1-0)
-36
Texas (#2)
2 -0
(Home: 1-0)
They
make everything bigger in Texas, even the blowouts.
Pick: Horns
3:30 pm EST
CBS
Florida (#10)
2-1 (Away: 0-0)
-4
Tennessee (#4)
2-0 (Home: 2-0)
SEC
title game as usual? Methinks not. Poor Ron Zook...he's
about to feel the retaliation for a whole mess of Spurrier's
wins. I'm not talking about just this game either.
Until they can prove they've not lost a beat, no one is going
to be afraid of the Gators anymore. Florida could lose
4 this year easily on confidence alone.
Pick: Vols
5:00 pm EST
PPV-FL, Gameplan
Dook
1-2 (Away: 0-1)
-44.5
Florida State (#5)
3-0 (Home: 2-0)
I don't
even have a joke here. After four (five?) years of writing
this column, I'm fresh out of Dook jokes. It's a shame,
and I'm just going to slink away into a corner now ...
Pick: Dook
3:30 pm EST
ESPN
-17
Ohio State (#6)
3-0 (Away: 0-0)
Cincinnati
1-1 (Home: 1-1)
Well
it's pretty clear that Ohio State is the class of the Big Ten.
At least at this point. Their dominating running game
more than makes up for a first year starting quarterback, and
their defense is first rate. Unlike us with Miami, OSU
doesn't have any conference foes with a truly high-powered offense
to deal with. I think that Jim Tressel is about to be
a very well liked man in Columbus.
Pick: tOSU
3:30 pm EST
ABC, Gameplan
-2
Virginia Tech (#7)
3 -0
(Away: 0-0)
Texas A&M (#21)
2-0 (Home: 1-0)
Yeah
baby, ROAD TRIP! For the
first time this season, the untouchable freight train that is
Hokie Nation steams out of Blacksburg. Woot woot!
And here we go...
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Move 'em on (Head 'em up)
Keep movin' movin' movin'
Move 'em up (Head 'em up)
Pick: HOKIES!
1:00 pm EST
Northwestern State (I-AA)
3-0 (Away: 1-0)
(no line)
Georgia (#8)
2-0 (Home: 1-0)
northwestern
STATE ... nuff ...
Pick: Georgia
3:30 pm EST
Portland State
2 -0
(Away: 0-0)
(no line)
Oregon (#9)
3 -0
(Home: 3-0)
Seriously,
I've got nothing more to say about these I-AA teams. What's
the point of playing them in week four? Maybe one of them
will actually win this week. Now wouldn't THAT be something?
Pick: Oregon
7:00 pm EST
TBS
Southern Cal (#11)
2 -0
(Away: 1-0)
-3
Kansas State (#23)
3 -0
(Home: 3-0)
What?
How did USC get all the way up to #11? I must have missed
a meeting. As for Kansas
State, the more things change the more they stay the same.
The Cats are 3-0 having hosted and toasted Western Kentucky,
Louisiana-Monroe, and Eastern Illinois. Yes I'll say it:
Rutgers would be 3-0 against that schedule.
And who's going to remember to
look on TBS for college football? This whole game is all
Hoo-ed up from square one...
Pick: Southern Cal
3:30 pm EST
ABC, Gameplan
Notre Dame (#12)
3-0 (Away: 1-0)
-1
Michigan State
2 -1
(Home: 2-1)
Like
I said at the beginning of the year: With a little consistency,
MSU could be really good. Well, through three games they've
been awfully inconsistent. Against Eastern Michigan and
Rice it didn't matter much, but Cal took advantage of the Spartan
mistooks. Notre Dame likely will as well.
I'm not a domer fan in the slightest,
but I really like what Willingham has done with this Notre Dame
team so far. They may not have the greatest athletes in
the world, but they're playing smart offense and aggressive
defense and doing just enough to win ball games. Keep
it up, and they should take down the Spartans this week also.
Pick: ND
10:00 pm EST
FoxSportsNet
Wyoming
0-3 (Away: 0-2)
-30
Washington (#13)
1-1 (Home: 1-0)
It's
another choose-your-own-score game for Washington, as Wyoming
is essentially Rutgers in a ten-gallon hat.. At least
this year they are.
Pick: UDub
12:00 pm EST
ESPN
Utah
2-1 (Away: 1-1)
-9.5
Michigan (#14)
2-1 (Home: 2-0)
Michigan
just couldn't overcome their own errors last week, and it ultimately
cost them the game. Now Lloyd Carr is a good coach, and
I can't imagine he'll let his team dwell on this loss for too
long. The Big Ten is still very winnable, and the Rose
Bowl that comes with it.
Utah is
one referee screw job away from 3-0 right now. While
no great shakes, they could upset the Wolverines if they take
this one for granted.
Ha! Who am I kidding?
Utah at the Big House? Not bloody likely ...
Pick: Michigan
12:00 pm EST
ESPN+, Gameplan
Louisiana Tech
2-1 (Away: 0-1)
-14.5
Penn State (#15)
2-0 (Home: 2-0)
I stand
corrected.
Pick: Nits
12:30 pm EST
FoxSportsNet
N.C. State (#16)
4-0 (Away: 1-0)
-1.5
Texas Tech
2-1 (Home: 1-0)
This
is a pretty good match-up, showcasing two teams likely to be
playing on or about New Years Day. N.C. State has been
a scoring machine under Philip Rivers, and the defense hasn't
been half bad either. Texas Tech got rolled by Ohio State
in their opener, but then again OSU has been eating spread
offenses for lunch all year. This could be one of those
45-42 ballgames, and should make for terrifically entertaining
viewing.
Pick: NCSU
12:00 pm EST
ESPN2
Arizona
2-0 (Away: 0-0)
-6
Port Chester U. (#17)
4-0 (Home: 3-0)
I just
found out that Revenge Of The Nerds was filmed at Arizona.
That may be old news for some of you, but for me it vaults them
instantly into "favorite Pac Ten team" status. Maybe the
'Cats can finish the job that Northern Illinois began.
Pick: Cranes
5:00 pm EST
Montana State
2-1 (Away: 0-1)
(no line)
Washington State (#18)
2 -1
(Home: 2-0)
So
as great as the Pac-10 is going this year, they stand at 0-2
in their big match-ups against the Big Ten. And no, Cal-MSU
was not a "big" match up. Washington State fell victim
to the same hobgoblin that haunts most every spread-type offense.
And inability to run the ball prevented them from controlling
the clock, gaining short yardage, and allowed the opponent to
drop 7 men into coverage. It's a gimmick offense, and
it rarely wins the BIG game.
Not that I'm implying there's anything
big about Montana State...
Pick: Wazzou
3:30 pm EST
ABC, Gameplan
Colorado
1-2 (Away: 0-0)
-11.5
UCLA (#22)
2-0 (Home: 1-0)
Proof
that I read deep into my ESPN.com articles:
Bonus big-school stat: [then]
Nineteenth-ranked Colorado not only got pounded 40-3 at home
by USC, if you count sacks as passing plays, rather than as
negative rushes as college statisticians do, Colorado rolled
up one net passing yard.
One net passing yard. Next
person who complains about Grant Noel, Bryan Randal, or both
of them. Just think about that. One net passing
yard.
Pick: UCLA
7:00 pm EST
Troy State
1 -2
(Away: 0-2)
-17
Iowa State
3 -1
(Home: 2-0)
OK,
I'll admit that second half comebacks against Florida State
and now Iowa have been very impressive. If Iowa State
expects to contend in the Big Twelve, however, they're going
to have to stop falling into 24-0 holes.
Pick: ISU
12:00 pm EST
ESPN+, Gameplan
Rutgers
1-2 (Away: 0-0)
-25
Pittsburgh
2-1 (Home: 1-1)
With
any luck, UPitt will use this game to get their offense in gear
for the rest of the season. Eking out wins against the
likes of UAB isn't doing anyone a bit of good.
Pick: UPitt
7:00 pm EST
Temple
0-3 (Away: 0-0)
-14.5
South Carolina
1-2 (Home: 1-1)
Can
Temple pull off a win against a floundering Gamecocks squad?
Only The Shadow knows...
Pick: USC
