Another upset weekend! And this time Utah State had nothing to do with it!
For my picks, I went 3-2. Overall, I'm 26-9. One of my upsets was right, so if you're betting on these (which not a lot of people read these so you're probably not), hopefully you're making money! Nailed the LSU upset, swung and missed on the Texas/OU game.
What We Learned
One thing we learned is where everyone is in the BCS standings. Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Kansas State, and Notre Dame. All of these teams will have the opportunity to play some big games and possibly lose them. The one with the easiest schedule is Notre Dame, who is a lot more physical than many people thought. Given the current positions of teams, they're my hopeful for the BCS championship and knocking off whichever SEC team is there. Thanks a lot, Seminoles.
Ohio State and Ohio are 14-0 for far this year. When's the last time that happened?!
Michigan State was a little ahead of themselves this year. They're now a mediocre 4-3 and 1-2 in Big Ten play.
Oklahoma still has a fighting chance to squeek out the Big 12 title. I think they're better than K-State overall and if they make it to the championship game with them, I think the Sooners pull it out this time.
Sorry fellow Ute fans...Utah has a lot of problems. While no one expected them to be 6-0, nobody thought they'd be 2-4...and that with a narrow win against BYU. Going 0-3 in a big-boy conference hopefully serves as a wake-up call: playing and reloading (especially at the QB spot) in a BCS conference isn't easy. It's a lot easier when you're the big fish in a little pond. Move to a big pond with big fish and you take some hits on food. I think in 3 years they'll learn how to be consistent. Until then, be ready to look at some records you haven't seen for a while. And BYU fans...you still don't know how this works until you actually play in a big-boy conference.
Oregon's schedule gets considerably tougher the second half of the year. I've banged on Oregon, but if they go undefeated, they deserve the shot at the BCS championship. The problem is they've played 5 of their 6 games at home with a young QB. Playing on the road is different. Even against WSU, they were outplayed and up by only 4 going into the half against a team they should have slaughtered. The Ducks eventually got their act together and pulled out the huge win, but my point is playing on the road is a lot tougher than people think in college football. Especially when that includes road trips to ASU, USC, and Oregon State. I'd rather see Notre Dame or FSU in the NC game, but if Oregon goes undefeated, they've earned it.
The SEC is really good: Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina, LSU, Alabama, Georgia....wow. South Carolina's loss doesn't speak to them being a bad team. They've got a lot of tough games on their schedule.
Games to Look Forward To
Oregon at Arizona State. This will be a good road test for the Ducks against an ASU team who has played well at home. If ASU gets off to a great start, this one may go down to the wire.
Purdue at Ohio State. I'm a little nervous about this game, just because Purdue seems to have OSU's number. OSU is the better team and I'll pick them to win, but not by much.
LSU at Texas A&M. Good road test for the tigers, especially after that emotional win against the Gamecocks.
South Carolina at Florida. I expect the Gators to come out with the win, especially after South Carolina's tough time with LSU on the road and Florida's somewhat easy-win against Vandy. Plus Florida's at home.
Nebraska at Northwestern. Nebraska is the better team with better players, but they've struggled on the road, particularly Martinez. Northwestern is off to a great start so far and could pull out the upset.
BYU at Notre Dame. Just kidding...Notre Dame's gonna kill the Cougars.
Michigan State at Michigan. Rivalry games are always tough, especially against 2 struggling teams determined to rebound this year. Watch for Michigan State to do a better job at containing the mobile Robinson than they did against OSU's Miller.
Texas Tech at TCU. Time for TCU to step up! This is a great game to do it. I think Tech comes out with the win.
Kansas State at West Virginia. These teams rankings have flip-flopped in the last couple weeks. Watch for West Virginia to come back with a vengence and take out K-State for the upset.
My Big 5 Picks
- Ohio State over Purdue (thank goodness it's a home game)
- West Virginia upsets Kansas State
- Texas Tech beats TCU on the road
- Florida beats South Carolina
- LSU over Texas A&M on the road
Not a ton of great games, but the ones that are will be pretty good. Have a great week!
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