Week Two - Right Where We Left Off

After an exciting first week (featuring a double overtime battle between Buffalo and Temple), I'm 3-1-1. I've also started taking nominations for the 2006 Maurice Clarett trophy. Leading the pack now is Tarell Brown of Texas, but there's still plenty of time for Miami players to get nominated. On to the picks . . .

Colorado State -2 Colorado (@ Denver)

Note to Colorado coach Dan Hawkins. Take a lesson from Gary Barnett; strippers and beer impress recruits. Losing to I-AA teams does not. Not to harp on an embarassing loss, but Colorado collapsed in the second half worse than the Red Sox pitching staff in August. I think that the loss to Montana State was a gut check for the Buffs, and they'll go into this week's game against in-state rival Colorado State looking for redemption. The only thing that worries me is this quote from Colorado co-captain Brian Daniels "Nobody is going to be betting on the Buffs anymore. We like the underdog situation." Uh, Brian, make that one person. Colorado wins this one outright over a tough Rams team that held Weber State to -39 yards rushing. I don't know how this is possible, and with fraud charges pending against three CSU players, I don't believe it for a second. Coach Hawkins gets his first win as Colorado head coach and everyone celebrates with soda and ice cream.

ARMY -6 Kent State

You know those matchups between Kent State and Army never go well for the Golden Flashes . . . (and if you picked up on the thinly veiled double entendre there - you know me too well).
Both teams lost last week, with Kent State getting shutout by Minnesota 44-0, and Army losing to Arkansas State by 8. With neither team scoring a TD last week, and Army only mustering 164 yards of offense, this one could be a repeat of last week's Buffalo - Temple matchup. I like Kent State to beat the spread. Its about time KSU fights back against servicemen.




Rutgers -11 ILLINOIS

Yes, you read that right. Rutgers is favored by 11. Just last week, I was singing the praises of RB and Heisman Hopefull Brian Leonard. How did Leonard do in his first game? 6 attempts, 25 yards, 0 TDs. Not the big splash he or Rutgers was hoping for. If the Scarlet Knights want to beat Illinois in the Rutgers home opener this week, Leonard will have to string together a number of better games. Not to mention, the backup QB for Illinois is nicknamed "Juice." Here's helpful hint for Isiah "Juice" Williams. If you plan on having a successful football career with the nickname "Juice," please don't buy a white Ford Bronco. Just a suggestion. Illinois should give Rutgers a hard time this week and I see them beating the spread. Wait, Ron Zook is the coach of Illinois? Nevermind, I'll take Rutgers to cover the 11 points.

Iowa -18.5 SYRACUSE

Syracuse is bad. QB Perry Patterson threw for 45 yards last week. 45 yards! Iowa's Drew Tate nearly matched that with one pass last week. Ok, maybe I'm putting too much stock in statistics. I asked my friend B what he thought about the 'Cuse's chances this season. His response? "Man, they suck." I'll agree with B. Iowa covers the spread; Syracuse makes it 11 losses in a row.

TEXAS -2.5 OSU

Outside of the USC - ND game in November, this might be the biggest game of the season in terms of BCS and National Championship rankings. That being said, I applaud Texas coach Mack Brown for suspending star CB Tarell Brown , but I hope he doesn't get sick of hearing "Troy Smith to Ted Ginn on the touchdown" on Saturday. Not that it would matter much anyway. Few people can keep up with Ginn, and with Texas' secondary taking a hit this week, I don't expect to see anyone keeping up with him this week. Look for Ginn to have a big game, but chances are it will be Anthony Gonzalez and Brian Robiskie who wreak havok on the Texas defense. I'm taking Ohio State to win this one, forcing coach Jim Tressel to admit that he'll give the Buckeyes his vote for number 1 this week.

Those are the picks, see you next Thursday.