Since the season is just starting, there are no idiot of the week nominees quite yet. Though on a side note, I am watching Drumline for the second time in two nights. It makes me wonder how I couldn't go to a school with a football program (or at the very least, a proper marching band - sorry Colonial Brass).
Oh, that's right. I went to GW where 30% of the student body are white Jews from NY/NJ and have no rhythm and another 30% are too busy sitting in the library all week. I would have given anything to see the drum section of the Colonial Brass take on the Xavier band at the 50 yard line. Oh, that's right. We don't have a football field in downtown DC. Also, its nice to see what Nick Cannon's career was like before he decided to flush it all away with a giant MARIAH tattoo on his back. I'm getting married in May, and I'm pretty sure I'm not getting LAUREN tattooed anywhere on my body. Congrats on finding someone as crazy as you are, Mimi.Lets go to the picks
MISSOURI -8.5 Illinois
Why not start things off with what could be the biggest game of the week? Mizzou features one of the top WRs in the country in Jeremy Maclin, and not one, but TWO guys named Chase (QB Chase Daniel, and TE Chase Coffman)!
Illinois has Juice Williams at QB, and I'm not dumb enough to make jokes about football players named Juice.
Illinois is also the home of Senator Barack Obama who evidently is running for president. Who knew? From what I hear, he can give a pretty good speech and rally people around him. He's no Ted Kennedy, but really, few are. Hey, Ron Zook, maybe you can book him for the pre-game on Saturday night.
Can Mizzou build on the success of last season? Was their #4 ranking a fluke? Is this Illinois team closer to the 9-4 record of 2007, or the 2 win seasons of 05 and 06? Did I really make an OJ and Obama reference in the same paragraph? The answer to these questions will all be a lot more clear on Sunday morning.Can Missouri win this game? YES THEY CAN! Can they cover the spread? YES THEY CAN! Have I used enough Obama gimmicks in this pick? YES I HAVE! Its just too bad Hillary didn't get the nod this week - I would have had to pick the Tennessee game. Seriously, did she steal Bruce Pearl's wardrobe?
I'll take the Tigers to cover the spread.
TX A&M -19 Arkansas State
The Aggies rode on the shoulders of Jorvorskie Lane during the last two years, to the tune of 35 TDs and 1500+ yards rushing. His presence is a big question mark on Saturday as A&M takes on the always dangerous Red Wolves of Arkansas State.
Okay, seriously? I don't even believe I wrote that. This is one of those opening games of the season that teams schedule to A) make sure their offense is fine tuned, or B) they don't mind opening the season on the road and they could use a nice paycheck from a bigger program. As lopsided as this game looks on paper, Arkansas State did stay close with Texas in last season's opener, and they do return QB Corey Leonard. Unfortunately for the Red Wolves, Leonard had nearly a 1:1 TD to INT ratio last season, and the Aggies aren't a team that you can make too many mistakes on. Granted, its week one, so who really knows?
I think A&M should have no trouble covering the spread.
VA Tech -9.5 ECU
The Pirates return the favor of last year's opener by hosting the Hokies to start the season, though I'm sure this year won't bring quite the same emotion to the game. ECU comes into this game riding an explosive performance by RB Chad Johnson in the upset of Boise State in last year's Hawaii Bowl, and the Pirates have serious thoughts about returning to the post-season in search of two straight bowl wins. VA Tech meanwhile has clarified their questions at QB, but who will Sean Glennon throw to? Many are also wondering which Branden Ore we'll see this season. The one who torched opponents for 16 TDs and 1300+ all-purpose yards in 2006, or the one who had 9TDs and only broke 100 yards rushing once in 2007.
Personally, I think this season will be a good one for VA Tech. With the memory of an on-campus tragedy no longer hanging directly over their heads, I think they'll be able to make a lot of noise not only in the ACC, but on the national scene as well. Unfortunately for the Hokies, this ECU team will be running down strong C-USA opponents all season. While I think VA Tech will ultimately win this one, I'll take ECU with the points for stupid decision number one of the year.
FLORIDA -34.5 Hawaii
This is not one of the 6 games that Hawaii will win this year. Tim Tebow is too good, the Gators are too strong on defense, and the combo of a new head coach and QB for the Warriors is a bad match against a team looking to prove it is worthy of BCS title consideration.
Hawaii QB Brent Rausch said that when he called his parents to tell them he won the starting job after transferring from The College of the Desert (Go Roadrunners!), "My family found out before I did. My pops was crying. My mom was crying." Sadly for the Rausch family, I think there will be a lot of that this weekend. I'm going with the Gators to cover.
RUTGERS -5 Fresno State
I don't live there anymore, so I no longer have to defend NJ. In fact, if St. John's had a football team . . . Wait they DO have a football team? And they're NATIONALLY RANKED?
Sorry I had to get second source confirmation on that. Turns out there's another St. John's in Minnesota. Phew.
Anyway - Rutgers has a new look to it this season, and I'm not just talking about the stadium. RB and Times Square Billboard favorite Ray Rice has gone to the NFL, and the Scarlet Knights are replacing him with Mason Robinson or Kordell Young, who combined for 20 carries last season. That should be nice.
On the other hand, Fresno State has a QB that can match Mike Teel in Tom Brandstater, an offensive line that can easily man-handle Rutgers' young DL, and a TE in Bear Pascoe (his name is BEAR for crissakes!) that was one of the best run blockers in the country. Couple all of that with the fact that the Bulldogs have a phenomenal RB in Ryan Matthews, and I don't think things look so great for the Scarlet Knights on Monday. I'll take Fresno State with the points. So much for staying loyal to the Garden State. Sorry, guys.
That's it for now. Until next week . . .
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