GAMES OF SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER
6:
7:45 pm EST
ESPN
-7.5
#1 Oklahoma
1-0 (0-0 Big XII)
Alabama
1-0 (0-0 SEC)
Bama hung tough with
Oklahoma last year, but barring another QB injury I don't see it
happening again. With any luck Mike Shula can actually bring
some stability to Red Tide Nation, but I think an upset here is
just to much to hope for.
Pick: Okie
8:00 pm EST
ABC, GamePlan
#18 Florida
1-0 (0-0 SEC)
-14.5
#3 Miami
1-0 (0-0 Big East)
Game of the day.
Without a doubt. So when's
the last time Miami blew a game when they were favored by two TDs
at home? Hellifiknow, but the Canes were not terribly
impresive against LaTech last week. Yes, I know they were
sitting on a nice lead. Yes I know they were mostly just trying
to not get hurt. But I didn't see anything from Gore or Berlin
to make me believe that they're going to step right up and play
like McGahee and Dorsey did ... not right away at least.
Now shutting down San Jose State
doesn't exactly "wow" this prognosticator either, but at least the
Gators played well in doing it. So I'm going out on a limb.
Not only am I picking U of F to cover, I think they win outright.
Pick: U of F
8:00 pm EST
ABC, GamePlan
BYU
1-0 (0-0 MWC)
-21.5
#5 USC-West
1-0 (0-0 Pac 10)
Classic let down game.
BYU will make it interesting, you'll see.
Pick: BYU
1:00 pm EST
James Madison (I-AA)
1-0 (0-0 Atlantic 10)
off
#9 Virginia Tech
1-0 (0-0 Big East)
Well they're at least
a good I-AA team, and won't hurt our SOS too badly. Nope,
they were picked to finish 5th in their conference.
Well we'll take any exposure we can get. Even ESPN Regional
counts for something, right?
Nope, I'm not even sure the Jumbotron elected to pick this one
up.
Well it's important to get our younger players real game reps
before we face a tough defense like Texas A&M!
Nope, Vick is serving a suspension.
Well JMU is local, and will bring more fans than some MAC
patsy.
Nope, JMU returned 1,200 of their allotted tickets unsold.
Hey, a win's a win!
OK, now we agree on something! :)
Pick: VT
7:15 pm EST
ESPN2
Fancy Turtles
0-1 (0-0 ACC)
-14.5
#10 Florida State
1-0 (1-0 ACC)
DeKalb, Ilinois is the
place where good dreams go to die.
Tallahassee, Florida is the place where
dead dreams go to get defiled. This one isn't going to be
pretty folks.
Pick: F$U
12:00 pm EST
ABC, GamePlan
-7.5
#11 N.C. State
1-0 (0-0 ACC)
Weak Forest
1-0 (0-0 ACC)
One of these teams is
for real. Hell, maybe both of them. Water cooler talk
is that The Deacs may be less than embarrassing this year ... and
I don't mean that in a "Dook returns 20 crappy players from last
year's crappy team" kind of way. Weak should float near .500,
and with a break or two could end up in back to back bowls.
N.C. State is just hoping they can pull
out a win here. Ohio State looms large or the horizon...
Pick: NCSU
7:00 pm EST
Kent State
1-0 (1-0 MAC)
-29
#12 Pittsburgh
0-0 (0-0 Big East)
Whether Rod Rutherford
starts or not, expect the Panthers to kick in the windows on Kent's
season right from the get go.
Pick: Pitt
10:00 pm EST
TBS
-11
#13 LSU
1-0 (0-0 SEC)
Arizona
1-0 (0-0 PAC 10)
See, now I've got to
give Nick Saban some credit. He's been down on the Bayou for
what, about 3 or 4 years now? Since then they've taken a trip
to Blacksburg, and now to Tucson. Frankly, it's unheard of
for SEC contenders to play tough road games. Oh, and hopefully
he can beat up on John Mackovic for us...
Pick: LSU
4:00 pm EST
ESPN2
Marshall
1-0 (0-0 MAC)
-19
#14 Tennessee
1-0 (0-0 SEC)
Mega kudos to Tennessee
to actually scheduling this game. Marshall is not only a pretty
good non-BCS team, but the Herd is also in direct competition with
Tennessee for many recruits based both on geography and a complete
and utter lack of anything remotely resembling academic admissions
requirements.
Pick: Vols
12:30 pm EST
JP Sports, Gameplan
-3.5
#15 Wahoo State
1-0 (1-0 ACC)
South Carolina
1-0 (0-0 SEC)
On the one hand Matt
Schaub is out. On the other, USC-South beat a directional
Louisiana school by a whopping 14-7 last week. That's a great
moral victory for Bustle's boys, but unless Lou was just putting
a new wrinkle in his "we're awful" scheme, the Cocks could be in
trouble.
Pick: Wahoo State
2:30 pm EST
NBC
Washington State
1-0 (0-0 PAC 10)
-5.5
#16 Notre Dame
0-0
Year two of the Willingham
era. Hooray. I can barely contain my excitement.
whoop whoop...
Pick: ND
3:30 pm EST
ABC, GamePlan
-7.5
#19 Auburn
0-1 (0-0 SEC)
Georgia Tech
0-1 (0-0 ACC)
Well that was fun.
From MNC contender to single TD favorites over a team expected to
contend for last place in the ACC.
Pick: Aubbie
12:00 pm EST
ESPN +, GamePlan
Buffalo
0-1 (0-0 MAC)
-36.5
#23 Iowa
1-0 (0-0 Big 10)
Not to be lost in the
hubbub of your more traditional National Championship, it's also
important to stay aware of those few proud souls who take the road
less traveled. Those that dare to suit up and get creamed.
Those that understand that every bully must have a target.
Those that realize that that are two winners in a high-low game.
The Buffalo Bulls got a terrific start on their quest to earn the
National Chumpionship that eluded them by such a small margin in
2002, when they managed to get under the hurdle that is perennial
contender RUTSgers. They play a softie this week in Iowa,
but they would be well served to not look past the Hawkeyes to next
week's matchup against I-AA Colgate. Cross-divisional games
can be anathema to a National Chumpionship run!
Pick: Iowa
12:00 pm EST
ABC, GamePlan
Boston College
0-1 (0-0 Big East)
-9.5
#25 Penn State
1-0 (0-0 Big Ten)
Fredo evidently forgot
that football games go 60 minutes. But like all things Big
East, that matter little. No longer will we have to count
on something better than mediocrity from the school that brings
nothing more to the table than the nation's 3rd largest concentration
of TV sets, all turned to anything but college football
And if struggling against Temple actually moves Penn State up into
the top-25, maybe we ARE going to win the MNC!
Pick: BC
1:30 pm EST
-1.5
Syracuse
0-0 (0-0 Big East)
North Carolina
0-1 (0-1 ACC)
"...what does it
prove to slap around North Carolina? The Heels may prove to be among
the five worst teams in any BCS conference, just a notch above the
Rutgers, Kansas, [and] Indiana clubs." - Chris Fowler
Sad as it is, this game is a milestone
on the way to a National Chumpionship no less important than last
week's RUTSgers-Buffalo tilt. It's tough for those schools
that slave under the burden of regular bowl monies to regularly
compete for the title of "Chump", which makes it all the more impressive
when they can pull it off.
Pick: UNC
OTHER TOP 25 & BIG EAST
GAMES:
#2 Ohio State(-31.5) vs.
San Diego State Kansas State (off) v. McNeese StateHouston Georgia (-30) v. Middle Tennessee StateWisconsin (-25) v. AkronPurdue (-10.5) v. Bowling GreenArizona State (off) v. Northern ArizonaWest Virginia (-8.5) v. East CarolinaTemple (off) v. VillanovaRutgers (+19) @ Michigan State
