Two weeks down and unlike the years past, there is no clear cut BCS Buster to speak of. Take a look at the polls this week and you won't see Northern Illinois, Bowling Green or Fresno State anywhere.
So, as we head into week three, the question is who can emerge to be that candidate this time around? Well, our best best is looking to the MAC as both Northern Illinois and Bowling Green have gotten off to fast starts. However, the Falcons will be tested this week.
As we head into our six-pack of games for week three, let me remind you of my record so far: 10-3.
That's right, I was a perfect 6-0 last week and it will be fun to see how this all goes down as conference season awaits us all.
BCS Buster Week 3 Games:
Virginia Tech at East Carolina (Saturday, Sept. 14 at noon ET on FoxSports 1): Va Tech isn't the Va Tech we've come to know and love under Frank Beamer and this game is at one of the most underrated venues not in the BCS category. Add in an explosive offense at the hands of Shane Carder and you've got an interesting combo for an upset in the making. If you are the betting kind, my suggestion is taking the points in this one.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 33, East Carolina 30
Tulsa at Oklahoma (Saturday, Sept. 14 at noon ET on ESPN2): The Sooners aren't in shambles and Tulsa looked better last week. However, the question about OU is if they can handle the attack Tulsa can throw and run at them. OK, I'm having a bit of fun, but seriously, this game should be interesting and if the Golden Hurricane want to compete for a C-USA title this year a good showing here would certainly help. Expect this to be tight for three quarters until the Sooners kick it into high gear in the 4th quarter.
Prediction: Oklahoma 41, Tulsa 27
Marshall at Ohio (Saturday, Sept. 14 at 8p.m. ET on ESPNNews): Welcome to the underrated game of the week. Ohio looked like junk against Louisville, but you'll have that against one of the nation's best QB's and teams, right? Marshall on the other hand is sneaky good and are certainly an under the radar team at this point in time. Expect this to be an interesting matchup of offensive fire-power as well. Ohio's Tyler Tettleton looked better (not good enough though) against North Texas last week, while Marshall's Rakeem Cato has already thrown for six touchdown passes to go along with nearly 500 yards through the air. What will be interesting to see here is if Ohio can handle a truly balanced attack as Marshall has nearly as many yards on the ground as through the air so far this season. Give the advantage to the team from Athens as they are at home in this matchup.
Prediction: Ohio 33, Marshall 28
Bowling Green at Indiana (Saturday, Sept. 14 at noon ET on ESPNU): The Big Ten has some massive BCS level games this weekend, but this matchup shouldn't be overlooked at all. Indiana's bowl hopes could rest squarely on winning this game and pulling an upset over Missouri the next week. Too bad the Falcons do the one thing Indiana can't—play defense. For me, that's the difference in this matchup as both teams can put points up on the board, only one can stop the opposition so far and BGSU has done it against "high-flying" offenses before in Tulsa and Kent State.
Prediction: Bowling Green 37, Indiana 33
Fresno State at Colorado (Saturday, Sept. 14 at 2p.m. ET): Colorado has looked like a competent football team, and that's a complement if you catch my drift. Fresno State already took down a BCS opponent this season, but doing so on the road would be a huge feather in the cap of the team I think has the best chance to bust the BCS this season. They've looked good doing it so far this season, but coach McIntyre on the other side knows what it's all about facing the Bulldogs that's for sure. This one will be really interesting, but my gut tells me Derrick Carr is too much for the Buffs defense.
Prediction: Fresno State 44, Colorado 33
Troy at Arkansas State (Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7:30p.m. ET on ESPNU): For my money, this is the most intriguing of all the BCS Buster games and not just because it's the only conference game out there. It's because it's also the best quarterback battle out of all of them. Corey Robinson of Troy has been super accurate so far this season, completing 92.2% of his passes so far. That is simply insane. On the other side side is Adam Kennedy who didn't back down in the face of Auburn's defense last week, rushing for 74 yards and throwing for 272 more. The winner of this game announces themselves as Sun Belt contenders early on and are in good position to take it all the way through the end of the season.
