I broke some of my own rules last week. I guess I'll have to blame alcohol and the pending nuptuials of some of my best friends. Why else would I have picked Wisconsin and Cincy as road favorites when over 65% of the public was picking them?
But that still doesn't explain why Minnesota was given the benefit of the doubt, backdoor touchdown for the cover on 4th-and-forever at Ohio State which was one for the books. That hurt.
OFFICIAL CFB FOOTBALL PICKS
LAST WEEK: 1-3
THIS SEASON: 10-10
Don't want to fall under .500. So this is a big week.
Colorado vs Texas Under 56
All the factors are in play for a tight slugfest here. 63% of the public is on the Horns. Texas has the look-ahead showdown vs Oklahoma next up on the docket, and it's not like they've played tough games so far (FAU, UTEP, Rice, and Arkansas), all within the state of Texas. Colorado will be discounted for its loss to an average FSU team just a week ago. And the kicker - a fired-up home crowd that's already seen one upset at Folsom Field this season. I would normally say the Buffs give Texas a scare but then I looked deeper. Two of CU's starting OL are out for the season. That might make it tough to punch in some TDs against UT's front 7. Taking the 12 points isn't a bad play here, but I'll take the under.
Oklahoma State -26 vs Texas A&M
The Aggies are just bad, people. So very, very bad. Mike Sherman is another in a long line of pro-type coaches who have no grasp on the college game (Bill Callahan, Greg Robinson, Wannstedt etc). They were lucky to get by ARMY last week! Meanwhile, the Pokes are averaging over 340 yards on the ground alone. A&M gave up 280 on the ground to Army and 255 to Arkansas State earlier this season. This one's on turf for OSU's three RBs who are averaging over 6 yards a pop. It'll get ugly fast.
Tulsa -16 vs Rice
I haven't seen the Golden Hurricane play with my own eyes yet, but I've seen the box scores and heard the stories. This offense could make us forget about the '07 Hawaii team very quickly. In C-USA terms, they have an embarassment of riches on offense and have topped 56 pts in their last three. Rice gave up 341 yds and 4 scores through the air vs Texas two weeks ago, so what will Tulsa do to it here? Rice can throw a bit themselves, don't get me wrong. But that's all the more reason to believe Tulsa's head coach (and ex-Rice head coach) Todd Graham will keep running it up all night long.
Baylor +24.5 vs Oklahoma
I know I said I wouldn't do grades or stars this season, but this would be slightly lower on my scale than the others above. A lot of late money on the Bears here, which is mildly concerning.
Like I alluded to above, this is a classic look-ahead game for the Sooners. With QB Robert Griffin fully at the controls, the Bears have been downright potent on offense. Now give them a home contest vs one of the nation's best with an extra weak to gear up for it. I just can't see OU getting to fired up for this 11am local time kickoff with Texas coming up. Even if it's up late, Mack Brown will rest the starters while Baylor will be playing hard to the final horn. I mean, Baylor only lost by 31 late last season vs OU, when they were in Norman. It won't be that easy this time around. 63% of the masses on road fave OU here too.
But that still doesn't explain why Minnesota was given the benefit of the doubt, backdoor touchdown for the cover on 4th-and-forever at Ohio State which was one for the books. That hurt.
OFFICIAL CFB FOOTBALL PICKS
LAST WEEK: 1-3
THIS SEASON: 10-10
Don't want to fall under .500. So this is a big week.
Colorado vs Texas Under 56
All the factors are in play for a tight slugfest here. 63% of the public is on the Horns. Texas has the look-ahead showdown vs Oklahoma next up on the docket, and it's not like they've played tough games so far (FAU, UTEP, Rice, and Arkansas), all within the state of Texas. Colorado will be discounted for its loss to an average FSU team just a week ago. And the kicker - a fired-up home crowd that's already seen one upset at Folsom Field this season. I would normally say the Buffs give Texas a scare but then I looked deeper. Two of CU's starting OL are out for the season. That might make it tough to punch in some TDs against UT's front 7. Taking the 12 points isn't a bad play here, but I'll take the under.
Oklahoma State -26 vs Texas A&M
The Aggies are just bad, people. So very, very bad. Mike Sherman is another in a long line of pro-type coaches who have no grasp on the college game (Bill Callahan, Greg Robinson, Wannstedt etc). They were lucky to get by ARMY last week! Meanwhile, the Pokes are averaging over 340 yards on the ground alone. A&M gave up 280 on the ground to Army and 255 to Arkansas State earlier this season. This one's on turf for OSU's three RBs who are averaging over 6 yards a pop. It'll get ugly fast.
Tulsa -16 vs Rice
I haven't seen the Golden Hurricane play with my own eyes yet, but I've seen the box scores and heard the stories. This offense could make us forget about the '07 Hawaii team very quickly. In C-USA terms, they have an embarassment of riches on offense and have topped 56 pts in their last three. Rice gave up 341 yds and 4 scores through the air vs Texas two weeks ago, so what will Tulsa do to it here? Rice can throw a bit themselves, don't get me wrong. But that's all the more reason to believe Tulsa's head coach (and ex-Rice head coach) Todd Graham will keep running it up all night long.
Baylor +24.5 vs Oklahoma
I know I said I wouldn't do grades or stars this season, but this would be slightly lower on my scale than the others above. A lot of late money on the Bears here, which is mildly concerning.
Like I alluded to above, this is a classic look-ahead game for the Sooners. With QB Robert Griffin fully at the controls, the Bears have been downright potent on offense. Now give them a home contest vs one of the nation's best with an extra weak to gear up for it. I just can't see OU getting to fired up for this 11am local time kickoff with Texas coming up. Even if it's up late, Mack Brown will rest the starters while Baylor will be playing hard to the final horn. I mean, Baylor only lost by 31 late last season vs OU, when they were in Norman. It won't be that easy this time around. 63% of the masses on road fave OU here too.
