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Beerman's Picks O' the Week
(for Thursday, 9/3 through Saturday, 9/5)
by Beerman - posted 9/3/98Each week this
season, I will be posting a column previewing the upcoming weekend's Big East and Top-25
matchups. All rankings are from the ESPN/Coaches Poll. Picks are
against the spread, and are for
entertainment purposes only
This week: Seems that here are more quality matchups this season in week one than in
recent years’ past. This is a good thing. Management approves. Now … let’s
get ready to rummmmmmmmmmmmmmbbbllllllle!
(Note from Will: Netscape users may notice a bizarre usage of
bold type in the following article, for which I apologize. I tried to remove the
bold type, but was unsuccessful)
Thursday, September 3
Top-25 Contests:
#19 Wahoo State (even) at #22 AUBURN
(2nd Annual Ronald Curry Memorial Commitment Bowl)
With loss here, Cavaliers likely headed for 0-11 season.
Pick: Virginia
#25 Arizona (-19) at HAWAII
Arizona QB controversy resolved when Ortege Jenkins fails to
return from the Magnum P.I. reality tour.
Pick: Arizona
Saturday, September 5
Top-25 Contests:
#1 Ohio State (-10) at #12 WEST VIRGINIA
Is OSU a legit #1? Will the 5-year cycle reassert itself in Morgantown? If WVU wins or
evens keeps it close, they would do wonders for the credibility of the Big East. In a rare
flash of genius, Don Nehlan has all Mountaineer helmets repainted to resemble
Michigan’s at half time. OSU proceeds to cough up the ball on their first three
possessions of the second half. When asked to defend the move, Nehlan replies "Hey !
They’re our colors too yah know !"
Final score WVU: 28, OSU 24
Pick: ‘Eers
#3 NEBRASKA (-44) vs. UAB
Starters expected to see more playing time in this, Nebraska’s final tune-up
before the regular season.
Pick: Nebraska
#5 Michigan (-5½) at #24 NOTRE DAME
In a surprise move ND Coach Bob Davie revokes the scholarships from all 5th-year
seniors, citing their age and inability to contribute towards the long-term future of the
program.
Pick: Michigan
#9 ARIZONA STATE (-6½) vs. #17 Washington
UDub is a good team, but bad things happen to good teams in the desert. ASU
doesn’t have to deal with UCLA this year, and could be a possible MNC contender
before all is said and done.
Pick: ASU
#10 Tennessee (+1) at #14 SYRACUSE
Year 1 A.M. (After Manning) doesn’t start off well for the Vols. Game played
outdoors after the Carrier Dome melts due to orange overload.
Pick: Syracuse
#11 NORTH CAROLINA (-19) vs. Miami(OH)
I personally don’t think UNC’s gonna be this good two years in a row. Top-25
? Sure, I’ll buy that … #11 ? Nah … and an ugly opener against a decent MAC
team should get things pointed in the right direction.
Pick: Miami
#13 PENN STATE (-9½) vs. #21 Southern Mississippi
In 1993, Southern Miss. upset a heavily favored Florida State squad in their season
opener. Of course Brett Favre is in the NFL now, and JoePa is rarely caught napping.
Pick: Penn State
#16 Colorado State (-2½) vs. Colorado @ Denver, CO
Bigger, stronger, and faster, CSU is the better team this year and, after coming back
from 16 down against MSU last week, they know it. It’s been a while since the Rams
have won a game in this series … look for them to really pour it on if they get a
chance.
Pick: Colorado State
#18 GEORGIA (-33½) vs. Kent
Georgia should be good this year, and there are some high school teams out there that
could beat Kent, but I will (almost) always pick against a 30-point spread.
Pick: Kent
#23 Michigan State (-1.5) at OREGON
As soon as Colorado State realized that MSU can't throw
the ball any better than Army, they completely shut down the Spartan running game. This week the Ducks have the benefit of a weakness already
exposed ... and posses a team good enough to take advantage of it.
Pick Oregon
Other Big East Contests:
VIRGINIA TECH (-9½) vs. East Carolina
Time to bring the ruckus!
Pick: Virginia Tech
MIAMI(FL) (NL) vs. Eastern Tennessee State University
Miami will win by about 30 points, and we’ll be hearing all week "The Canes
are back, baby!"
Pick: Miami
PITTSBURGH (NL) vs. Villanova
Dumb, dumb, dumb. After posting their first winning season in nearly a decade, UPitt
has lots of holes to fill if they want to begin a real winning tradition. So what better
way to get that started than by playing a (sort-of) conference rival … who just
happened to be the #1 team in I-AA at the end of last season … in your opener?
Pick: Villanova
GEORGIA TECH (-13) vs. Boston College
"Experts" want to pick BC ahead of us in the Big East? Fine … if
they’re that good, I expect them to open up some whupass on the Jackets. (Wake Forest
is the ACC dark horse this year … not GT)
Pick: Boston College
TOLEDO (-12½) vs. Temple
Temple may be better this year than usual … but not this early in the season.
Toledo was a bowl-caliber team last year, and they are the early favorites to win the MAC.
Pick: Toledo
RUTGERS (NL) vs. Richmond
In anticipation of jump to a "Private Ivy" not-for-profit football
conference, Rutgers to test waters of I-AA competition.
Pick: Rutgers
Things to Look For
Game of the Week to Watch: Ohio State at West Virginia
Upset Special: Southern Mississippi over Penn State outright.
Last week: 2 - 2
Season to Date: 2 – 2
Upset Special: 0-0 |