NCAA 2011 Week 3 picks

With the Top 25 complete, let's get right to it...

Thursday, Sept 15
#11 LSU Tigers at Mississippi State Bulldogs:  The Bulldogs might pull the upset, but I expect LSU to bear down and get serious, just like they did against Oregon. LSU

Friday, Sept 16
Boise State Broncos at Toledo Rockets:  Boise State got an extra week to prepare for this one, and they should win easily.  BOISE STATE

Iowa State Cyclones at UConn Huskies:  The Cyclones are still high from their upset over Iowa, and the Huskies aren't barking too loudly.  IOWA STATE

Top 25
#1 Stanford Cardinal at Arizona Wildcats:  Arizona is struggling, while the Cardinal continue to shine with Luck under center.  STANFORD

#3 Wisconsin Badgers at Northern Illinois Huskies:  Easy win for the offensive mighty Badgers.  WISCONSIN

#4 Oklahoma State Cowboys at Tulsa Golden Hurricane:  The Cowboys will outshoot, outrun, outscore, and outlast Tulsa.  OKLAHOMA STATE

North Texas Mean Green at #5 Alabama Crimson Tide:  You almost have to pity North Texas.  They start the season getting slaughtered by Florida International and it just goes downhill from there.  ALABAMA

Tennessee Volunteers at #6 Florida Gators:  I figured Tennessee's winning streak would end when they began conference play, and they picked a tough opening opponent.  FLORIDA

Idaho Vandals at #7 Texas A&M Aggies:  Easy win for the Aggies.  TEXAS A&M

#8 Ohio State Buckeyes at Miami Hurricanes:  Just in time, the Buckeyes get four players back, half of those who sat out the first two games.  Miami won't be pleased to see them.  OHIO STATE

Troy Trojans at #9 Arkansas Razorbacks:  A strong win here, but strength of schedule isn't likely to help the Razorbacks.  ARKANSAS

#10 Texas Longhorns at UCLA Bruins:  The Bruins are stronger than I thought, but a win here would be quite an upset.  I'm not biting.  TEXAS

#12 Michigan State Spartans at Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  The Irish fall to 0-3 as the Spartans continue their roll through non-conference opponents.  MICHIGAN STATE

Navy Midshipmen at #13 South Carolina Gamecocks:  Navy's running game seems to have run aground, giving South Carolina plenty of ways to capsize them.  SOUTH CAROLINA

Eastern Michigan Eagles at #14 Michigan Wolverines:  Another in-state rivalry game for the Big Ten, but this one won't end up like the Iowa clash last week.  MICHIGAN
#15 West Virginia Mountaineers at Maryland Terrapins:  Despite an extra week to prepare, I don't the Terrapins will pull off the upset.  WEST VIRGINIA

Arkansas State Red Wolves at #16 Virginia Tech Hokies:  The Hokies aren't going to climb in my Top 25 until they face REAL opposition!  VIRGINIA TECH

#17 Auburn Tigers at #19 Clemson Tigers:  Auburn will be everyone's choice, but watch out for Clemson.  I'll pick the visiting Tigers, but the hometown one is hungry, too.  AUBURN

#18 Houston Cougars at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs:  This one might be closer than Houston would like, but their unbeaten record should remain intact.  HOUSTON

Washington Huskies at #20 Nebraska Cornhuskers:  The Cornhuskers have a chance to gain some Top 25 ground with an impressive win against the Huskies.  NEBRASKA

#22 Washington State Cougars at San Diego State Aztecs:  This will prove whether the Cougars are the real deal.  San Diego State has a good team, and the Cougars have to face them at home.  An impressive win here solidifies the Cougars' claim on the Top 25.

Stephen F Austin at #23 Baylor Bears:  Baylor waited a week for this?  This victory won't even help them in Top 25 rankings.

Central Florida Golden Knights at #24 Florida International Golden Panthers:  The Panthers will prove that they are the toughest "middle tier" Florida football power with this win.  FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL

Missouri State at #25 Oregon Ducks:  This game could even HURT Oregon's Top 25 ranking, especially if lower teams impressive against FBS opponents.  BAD scheduling here.

Big Ten
Penn State Nittany Lions at Temple Owls:  The Nittany Lions want a chance to get into the Top 25 and regain their footing after last week's embarrassing loss at Alabama, but Temple can be tricky.  I think Penn State will win, but this one could be dangerously close.  PENN STATE

Pittsburgh Panthers at Iowa Hawkeyes:  Lord knows Iowa should win, and they'll want a win after their loss to the Cyclones, but Pitt doesn't look as bad as predicted.  Watch out here.  IOWA

Southeast Missouri State at Purdue Boilermakers:  This should be a strong victory, and give the Boilermakers hope for the recovery of their ailing quarterbacks.  PURDUE

South Carolina State at Indiana Hoosiers:  A winnable game for Indiana, who has hung in there against FBS opponents.  INDIANA

Miami Ohio Redhawks at Minnesota Golden Gophers:  Minnesota should win this game.  I figure they were shocked enough last week to wake them up.  MINNESOTA

Northwestern Wildcats at Army Black Knights:  Northwestern marches over the Cadets.  NORTHWESTERN

Arizona State Sun Devils at Illinois Fighting Illini:  My Illini have had two strong victories, but they played weak teams.  This is their first real opposition, and they won't prevail.  ARIZONA STATE

GAME OF THE WEEK:  #2 Oklahoma Sooners at #21 Florida State Seminoles:  The Seminoles are claiming that they have returned to greatness this year, and this is a chance for them to prove it.  I don't think anyone outside Tallahassee really expects Florida State to win, but if they can play Oklahoma close, they might impress.  Their defense will be challenged here.  If they can stay sharp and keep watch over the speedy Oklahoma offense, they might lose by less than two touchdowns.  OKLAHOMA

The rest
Ole Miss Rebels at Vanderbilt Commodores:  Ole Miss doesn't look as good as I thought, while Vandy is having a good run.  I think the Commodores will make the most of the momentum they've built.  VANDERBILT

Kansas Jayhawks at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  Kansas is 2-0 against weak opponents.  This is Tech's time to go out there and gain a big win.  GEORGIA TECH

Syracuse Orange at USC Trojans:  The Trojans end Syracuse's winning streak, and it should be easy.  USC

Utah Utes at BYU Cougars:  Both of these teams have failed to impress so far this season, so this game is crucial.  I think the advantage lies with BYU, as Utah has more external pressure, as they are expected to win this game and compete for the Pac-12 title.  BYU in a stunner