Oh, I'm a loser, huh? You're the loser if you're betting these picks.
San Jose State (+3) at San Diego State
SJSU-SDSU… Why am I picking this game? Because I think this match-up plays the Spartans' hands, that's why. (Pop quiz: Do you know which one that is?)
San Jose historically stinks, but it's actually playing some solid football right now. The Spartans have won big the past two weeks, and they hung tough with Stanford in their opener. Also, San Jose is holding opponents to about 100 yards per game on the ground, which is the focal point of the San Diego offense.
Pick: Sparty West outright.
Kansas at N. Illinois (-9.5)
Woeful Kansas put a scare into TCU last week. If you think Charlie Weis has turned around that dire situation because of that, cool your jets.
The Horned Frogs fumbled the ball away three times in that game. The best the Jayhawks could do – at home – with all those gifts is keep it within two scores? Kansas is still Kansas.
Northern Illinois is one of the most consistent mid-major programs in the college football, so I expect the Huskies will just continue to get better as the season progresses.
Pick: Massacre in DeKalb.
Arizona at Oregon (-24)
Twenty-four points. That's an enormous line for two Pac-12 teams that are 3-0.
The Wildcats have received enormous credit for waxing Oklahoma State from everyone except Vegas. The linemakers have good reason to be skeptical.
The Cowboys ran roughshod over the 'Zona D in their meeting. But for turnovers and penalties, the Wildcats' 21-point margin of victory could have been flipped.
I'm anticipating that the Ducks will get whatever they want offensively and blow Arizona's doors off in the Wildcats' first road contest. In a nationally televised game, Chip Kelly will lay on the gas.
Pick: Oregon by 40.
Miami, FL at Georgia Tech (-14)
This ain't your typical version of The U. Miami is just flat-out bad. I can't see the Hurricanes slowing Ga. Tech's rushing attack, and the Yellow Jackets will be motivated after seeing the underside of Miami's boot last season.
That's a long-winded way of saying this is a play against Miami as much as it is a play on the Yellow Jackets.
Pick: Nerds by 5 pi.
Oregon State (+10) at UCLA
I'm taking a bit of a flyer here, but I couldn't find five games that I liked that well.
OSU had the week off, so Mike Riley's team should be fresh. How's that for analysis?
Pick: Beavers, I guess.
(Last Week: 2-3; Overall: 8-7)
