NCAA Football Week 3 picks

Thurs Sept 13
Boston College Eagles at Wake Forest Demon Deacons:  Both of these teams have shown up well in non-conference play so far, but Boston College certainly seems to be the stronger team.  How much will home field help the Demon Deacons?  Not enough, I fear.  BOSTON COLLEGE

Fri Sept 14
Georgia State Eagles at Memphis Tigers:  Georgia State has been impressive so far, but their opponents aren't as strong as those of Memphis.  The Tigers led Navy for most of the game last week, and that's no small feat.  MEMPHIS

Sat Sept 15
Top 25
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide at Ole Miss Rebels:  Bama heads into conference play, and the Rebels are their first target.  Ole Miss has looked good so far this season, but the Tide will prove too much for them.  ALABAMA

BYU Cougars at #2 Wisconsin Badgers:  Some pundits at ESPN are predicting a BYU upset, but we know what they think of the Big Ten.  The Badgers play a bruising style of "beat 'em, exhaust 'em, run over 'em" that the leaner Cougars will not be able to overcome.  The Badgers defense needs some work, so BYU will score (perhaps as much as 20 points), but Wisconsin will rarely punt this game.  WISCONSIN

#3 Oklahoma Sooners at Iowa State Cyclones:  The Cyclones couldn't generate much offense against Iowa.  Their defense showed life, but that defense won't be able to stop the powerful Sooners.  OKLAHOMA

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes at #15 TCU Horned Frogs:  TCU doesn't have much of a defense, so they won't be able to stop this barnstorming offense of the Buckeyes.  TCU has a strong offense, so they may nearly keep pace with the Buckeyes in the first half, but Ohio State makes great corrections at halftime, so TCU will find themselves shut down and overwhelmed.  OHIO STATE

East Carolina Pirates at #5 Virginia Tech Hokies:  The Hokies know they need to win each and every game to have a shot at the playoffs, so that journey starts here.  The Pirates defense can be tough, but their offense is a bit lacking, which gives the Hokies their opening.  VIRGINIA TECH

UC Davis at #6 Stanford Cardinal:  Do I really need to state my pick for this one?  STANFORD

#7 LSU Tigers at #24 Auburn Tigers:  Ooh, this one should be exciting! LSU has certainly played better, but as we have seen in recent years, Auburn can be a real terror at home.  Will that terror transform into a win?  It might, but I'll give LSU the edge.  Regardless of the winner, this will be a close game.  LSU

#8 Boise State Broncos at Oklahoma State Cowboys:  This is the first real test for both teams.  Never underestimate Boise State, but the Cowboys KNOW that.  Their experience being burned by the Broncos could help them prepare, but the Broncos always have a couple of tricks up their sleeves.  BOISE STATE

#9 UCF Golden Knights at North Carolina Tar Heels:  No contest.  North Carolina is really down, while UCF shows the same power they possessed last season.  UCF

Kent State Golden Flashes at #10 Penn State Nittany Lions:  Easy game for the Lions.  PENN STATE

Eastern Washington (FCS) at #11 Washington State Cougars:  Ditto for the Cougars.  WASHINGTON STATE

New Hampshire (FCS) at #12 Colorado Buffaloes: It seems to the Pac-12's turn for their ranked teams to play FCS.  COLORADO

San Jose State Spartans at #13 Oregon Ducks:  Although the Ducks play a FBS team, it may seem like they are playing a FCS team.  OREGON

#14 West Virginia Mountaineers at NC State Wolfpack:  Don't Mountain Men hunt wolves?  These will, and they'll bag a few of them, too.  WEST VIRGINIA

Northern Iowa (FCS) at #16 Iowa Hawkeyes:  The only ranked Big Ten team to play FCS, this game should end with a Hawkeyes victory.  IOWA

Vanderbilt Commodores at #17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  Vandy looked sharp last week.  Not sharp enough to beat the Irish, but they may make it a closer game than people expect.  NOTRE DAME

#18 Houston Cougars at Texas Tech Red Raiders: Houston will roll because Tech has no defense.  Tech's offense will keep pace for a while, but gradually the Cougars will pull away.  HOUSTON

 #19 Duke Blue Devils at Baylor Bears:  Baylor has started this season better than they started last season, but now their schedule gets tougher.  Their flaws will show now.  DUKE

Alabama A&M (FCS) at #20 Cincinnati Bearcats:  CINCINNATI

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at #21 Georgia Bulldogs:  The Bulldogs get a breather after last week's battle with South Carolina, not like they need it.  GEORGIA

Temple Owls at #22 Maryland Terrapins:  This should be the easiest non-conference game on Maryland's schedule.  MARYLAND

Louisiana Ragin Cajuns at #23 Mississippi State Bulldogs:  Another easy Sun Belt opponent for the SEC.  MISSISSIPPI STATE

#25 Arizona State Sun Devils at San Diego State Aztecs:  Definitely the most challenging opponent among the ranked Pac-12 teams, San Diego State can be tough.  Well, they have a history of being tough, but they are defying that history so far this season.  ARIZONA STATE

Big Ten
Troy Trojans at Nebraska Cornhuskers:  If Nebraska plays like they did in the second half against Colorado, they'll win this game.  If they play like the first half, it'll be more of a challenge.  NEBRASKA

Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Kansas Jayhawks:  Rutgers couldn't do anything against Ohio State.  Kansas broke a seven-year road drought.  Can the Jayhawks make it two in a row?  They just might.  KANSAS in an upset

Ball State Cardinals at Indiana Hoosiers:  Ball State showed real balls against Notre Dame last week.  They could give Indiana fits.  When backed to the wall, though, Indy reaches into their bag of tricks, and I don't think the Cardinals defense is that clever.  INDIANA

SMU Mustangs at Michigan Wolverines:  The Wolverines found offense against Western Michigan.  If that offense resurfaces, SMU doesn't stand a chance.  MICHIGAN

Miami Ohio Redhawks at Minnesota Golden Gophers:  If the Gophers don't overly inflated egos over their defeat of Fresno State, they should be able to handle the Redhawks fine.  MINNESOTA

South Florida Bulls at Illinois Fighting Illini:  The Illini have looked pretty good so far, but now they face a stingy defense.  Their offense needs to start well to allow their players to gain confidence.  That's something the Bulls will not allow.  SOUTH FLORIDA

Missouri Tigers at Purdue Boilermakers:  Now we know how bad Purdue's team is.  So does Missouri.  MISSOURI

Akron Zips at Northwestern Wildcats:  In a normal year, Northwestern should win this easily.  The Wildcats have been playing poorly, though, so the Zips might get the upset.  I'll go with the home team, here, but watch out!  NORTHWESTERN

Other Games of Interest
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Army Black Knights:  The Warriors come to the mainland, where they typically struggle.  This year's squad is strong, though, and I think they'll do better.  The noontime start won't be quite so upsetting, as they are arriving in New York a day early.  HAWAII

USC Trojans at Texas Longhorns:  Both of these teams need a win to redeem themselves from embarrassing losses.  USC showed little offense last week, while Texas continued to struggle against pathetic Tulane.  USC has a better history of improving themselves mid-season, so I think they'll recover better, but this one could go to the Longhorns.  USC