Week 3 - Time for Temple

Yes, Ladies and Gents - the week you've all been waiting for - Rosh Hashanah and the first Temple football pick. I'll kick it to Jesse Martineau for the preview:

OK, before you get the wrong idea about Temple football due to their recent loss to Villanova, let me set the record straight. First of all, Temple is the 2nd best team in the entire Philadelphia area (there are only 2 teams) and by far the best team within the city limits (Nova is in the suburbs). You have to remember, Temple plays its home games at the (75% empty) home of the Philadelphia Eagles! Additionally, the loss to Villanova isn’t bad at all. I mean, they are a perennial Big East (basketball) power and they are currently ranked #2 in the country (for division IAA). So if I was Penn State, I’d be terrified.

We'll get to my thought on this in just a bit, but first - Bonehead of the Week!

I hate to do it, but I'm nominating Joe Paterno. This week, at a press conference, JoPa was asked if he reads criticism of him or his team. His response:

You guys don't seem to understand. I don't read anything about us. I get the paper. I go to the bathroom. I take the paper in there and I scan it. The first thing I do is look at who died. All right. Second thing I look at are headlines. Something that says, 'Paterno is the Greatest,' I read it. If it says I'm a bum, I don't even look at it."

Its a good thing I don't write for a newspaper, or that Joe has a laptop. We'll leave it at that.

On to the picks:

Purdue -13 NO Illinois

This is an easy one. The spread says NO Illinois, and I'm not going to argue. Purdue with the points it is!


Penn State -29.5 Temple

Ah, yes, the annual game between the in-state rivals. This storied matchup pits the powerhouse of Happy Valley against the top team in downtown Philadelphia. The Owls have vastly improved since going 1-11 in 2006, and have a scorching-hot 9-16 record over the last 2+ seasons.

Did I sell you on Temple yet? I hope so.

Sadly, I don't even believe what I'm writing. The Owls may be better this year, but they have lost to PSU by an average score of 41-1 in their last three meetings. I'm encouraged by the 24 points they scored against Villanova last week, but this Penn State team is out to win a national title this year, and I don't think JoPa will take his foot off the gas until the 4th quarter. By that point,it will (sadly) be too late for Temple - even on Rosh Hashanah. The question is, can Penn State win by 30? I think they can, and I think they will. I'm taking the Lions giving the points.


Oklahoma -16.5 Tulsa

Oklahoma QB Landry Jones doesn't quite have the skill set - or sex appeal - of Sam Bradford. [side note - my ESPN College Football pick 'em team is called "Bradford Your Health." Ha! Isn't that clever?] What he does have is an experienced offense playing a game in front of a crowd that will be boisterous to say the least. The Golden Hurricane brings the 10th ranked offense in the nation into Norman. However, take it from someone who has been there - it isn't easy to score at the University of Oklahoma. Pow! I'm on FIRE! Though I think the Sooners win this game, I don't totally trust Jones to keep pace with Tulsa's G.J. Kinne. I'm taking the Golden Hurricane getting the points in this one.


Maryland -6 Middle Tenn. State

Yikes. There was a time when Maryland would have been favored by 26 against MTSU. A time when losing by 39 to Cal would have been unheard of. A time when Coach Ralph Friedgen could have eaten his weight in Krispy Kreme donuts. Sadly, the Terps lost by 39 to Cal in week 1, had to go to overtime last week to be James Madison (?), and after losing more than 86 pounds since
October of last year, Friedgen looks to have replaced the "fried" in his name with "broiled" or "baked."

No? Not a fan of weight-loss jokes? Forget you - what do you know from funny?

For the Terps, times have clearly changed. I'm not even sure that my relatives that went to Maryland are happy about the Terps' chances this week. While Maryland showed signs of life last week, they did give up an astounding 52 points on the road. Nobody beats us in our house? I hope you guys have help. I'm taking Maryland, but only because they're giving six. Anything more than a TD, and I'd be siding with the Blue Raiders.


Kentucky -13.5 Louisville

The Rick Pitino Challenge. I'm going to let you make your own joke here - go ahead, I'll wait.




Kentucky comes into this game having blanked Miami of Ohio. Louisville beat Indiana State by 20. Both teams had fairly weak opponents, but I have to give the upper hand to the Wildcats.
Louisville's QB Justin Burke wasn't especially impressive in the starting role, throwing 2 picks and no TDs. He'll be up against a defense that allowed just two 3rd down conversions and zero touchdowns. It looks like he'll have a harder time scoring in Lexington than . . . well, you already made that joke. The Wildcats bring a balanced offense, and should have no problem handling Louisville, and if the offense is capable enough, this one could get as messy as a hasty . . . no - no Pitino jokes. I'm keeping it clean for the kids. I'll go with Kentucky giving the points.

Before I go, I've been challenged by reader Jeff Lerner this week. Feel free to pick any five games against the spread, and you could be featured here next! Here are Jeff's Picks of the Weak:

North Carolina -7.5

Georgia +1.5

Maryland -6

BYU -7.5

Purdue -13

Until next week . . .