Thursday, September 12th, 2013:
#24 TCU at Texas Tech, 6:30 pm ESPN, TCU heads to Lubbock this week after a win over Prairie View A&M. Texas Tech comes it at 2-0 on the year with wins over SMU and SF Austin, and Kingsbury is off to a good start. Casey Pachall is out for TCU after breaking his arm last week but Boykins should be a more than serviceable replacement. Tech should make strides each week but year one portends to be a bit rocky for the Red Raiders. Winner: TCU ATS: Texas Tech +3.5
Saturday, September 14th, 2013:
#5 Stanford at Army, 11:00 am CBS Sports Network, Army isn't very good once again but this is a cross country early game for Stanford and that alone could keep it closer than expected. Stanford took care of San Jose State in the first game of the season last week, but they won't have much trouble with Army this week. Winner: Stanford ATS: Army +29.5#7 Louisville at Kentucky, 11:00 am ESPN, Just another in a long line of truly "difficult" games for Louisville. Kentucky should improve under the tutelage of Stoops but it won't be this year and it won't be in this game. Teddy Bridgewater is the real deal but he won't get to show it against a good defense until late in the season or the bowl game. Winner: Louisville ATS: Louisville -13
Akron at #11 Michigan, 11:00 am BTN, Akron travels to the Big House to play a Michigan team straight off a prime time in against Notre Dame. Akron is a bottom of the league MAC team and Michigan can lay claims to best in the Big Ten at the moment, but this game feels like a close one for two quarters before Michigan pulls away. Winner: Michigan ATS: Akron +38
Tulsa at #14 Oklahoma, 11:00 am ESPN2, Tulsa is expected to be one of the best teams in the revamped Conference USA but they won't have the firepower to bust the Oklahoma defense. Oklahoma's offense is still a work in progress but Blake Bell gets his first start and we'll see if his athleticism brings a new dynamic to the offense. Winner: Oklahoma ATS: Oklahoma -24
#16 UCLA at #23 Nebraska, 11:00 am ABC, UCLA travels east for an 11:00 game which is a concern for the Bruins, cross country games in general are hard enough but playing a game at 9:00 am to your body is always a tricky situation. This game should mirror last years game in style of play, however and that is a good thing for fans because it should mean 60 minutes of offenses going back and forth trading blows. The Huskers defense showed some life last week against Southern Miss, while UCLA took it to Nevada but this will be the best and truest test for either team in this young season. Winner: Nebraska ATS: Nebraska -4
#1 Alabama at #6 Texas A&M, 2:30 pm CBS, The game of the week, and one of the most anticipated games of the year kicks off at 2:30 in College Station this Saturday. A rematch of the Aggies thrilling upset last season that ruined a perfect season for the Tide. There are two major differences with this season's iteration of the game, first off the Alabama offensive line is not quite as good as least years world beaters and showed significant growing pains week 1 against Virginia Tech. Secondly, the A&M defense is young and got knocked around by Rice. This game will come down to whichever unit can better take advantage of the others weakness, and I believe more in the talent on Bama's line than on the Aggie's defense. Winner: Alabama ATS: Texas A&M +8
Tennessee at #2 Oregon, 2:30 pm ABC, Tennessee travels to Oregon to take on a Ducks' team that may have taken a half step back on offense but is still supremely dangerous. Tennessee on the other hand does not have the offensive firepower to keep up with this team. Winner: Oregon ATS: Oregon -27.5
Nevada at #10 Florida State, 2:30 pm ESPN, Nevada comes to Tallahassee for a paycheck and a loss but they should be improved this season but this won't be the game to showcase that. The main focus on the FSU side will be Jameis Winston's encore performance. Winner: Florida State ATS: Florida State -33
#19 Washington at Illinois, 5:00 pm BTN, Washington heads to Chicago this week to take on the surprisingly 2-0 Fighting Illini of Illinois. Washington impressed week one with a throttling of Boise State and gave the appearance to taken that much anticipated step up in the Steve Sarkisian era. Illinois has been better behind improved play of Scheelhaas and a new offense. I think Washington is too much for Illinois but the future looks better for both than a few weeks ago. Winner: Washnington ATS: Washington -10
#4 Ohio State at California, 6:00 pm FOX, Ohio State heads west to take on a California team that won't resemble the team they beat last year in the Horshoe. This years Cal team under Sonny Dykes runs the Air Raid and Groff has had a fine start to his debut season at QB. Ohio State is by far the more talented team in the game, but much like last seasons game this one will be closer than expected. Winner: Ohio State ATS: Cal +16
Kent State at #8 LSU, 6:00 pm ESPNU, Should be another cake walk for LSU as they get Kent State in town, in fact the most interesting thing in this game is to see Dri Archer against elite talent on the other end. Winner: LSU ATS: LSU -37
Vanderbilt at #13 South Carolina, 6:00 pm ESPN, South Carolina is coming off a tough loss to Georgia on the road, but much like Georgia last week the Gamecocks come back home to face a conference foe. Vanderbilt had a rough week 1 again this season with a close loss to a conference foe, this week South Carolina gives them another tough test. Winner: South Carolina ATS: South Carolina -13.5
#21 Notre Dame at Purdue, 7:00 pm ABC, I think Notre Dame is gonna whoop up on Purdue but I've thought that the last two seasons and Purdue has had chances to beat Notre Dame late in both of those games. This season's Purdue team however doesn't have an offense and ND is very strong on D so, third times a charm I guess. Winner: Notre Dame ATS: Notre Dame -20.5
#25 Ole Miss at Texas, 7:00 pm LHN, Ole Miss travels to Texas to face a team that last year put up 66 points on them, and last week gave up mondo yards to BYU on the ground. Ole Miss is undoubtedly better this season than last and Texas has shown weakness especially defending the option. With a new defensive coordinator in the much maligned Greg Robinson, I don't think anyone knows what to expect out of Texas. Winner: Ole Miss ATS: Ole Miss +2.5
Western Michigan at #17 Northwestern, 8:00 pm BTN, Western Michigan is really bad again this season and Northwestern looks poised for it's best in a great while and this one shouldn't change our opinion of either. Northwestern's two headed monster should be able to put up points in bunches and that's a good sign. Winner: Northwestern ATS: Northwestern -31
#20 Wisconsin at Arizona State, 9:00 pm ESPN, In one of the best under card games of Bama-A&M week Wisconsin heads west to take on the Sun Devils in a late night brawl. This one should be a contrast in styles between the spread 'em out Sun Devils and the Power-I based Badgers. The key in this one will be how Wisconsin handles the heat and tempo of the ASU offense and how disruptive Will Sutton is to Melvan Gordon and James White when Wisconsin is on O. Winner: Wisconsin ATS: Wisconsin +5.5
Oregon State at Utah, 9:00 pm FOX Sports 1, I added this match-up into this weeks picks because it intrigues me, because of it's implication for the Pac-12. The results of this game will give us a much better idea of what the second tier of the Pac-12 will look like. Oregon State was in that position last season but early stumbles have brought this season's Beavers under question but Utah has started strong and poses a serious threat for the first time in since joining the Pac-12. Winner: Utah ATS: Utah -3
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