A good first week but could have been better against the spread (Me 9-8, Power Ranks 10-7). Week two shoudl be even better, enjoy.
Thursday, September 4th, 2014:
Arizona (41.75) at UTSA (38.12) (HFA:2), 7:00 pm Fox Sports 1: This one snuck up on me this week with the holiday and other life events but is a welcome addition to a football Thursday to pair with the Seattle-Green Bay game. UTSA comes into this game off a schlacking of Houston on the road in week one. UTSA has talent and seniority and by god Larry Coker can coach. Arizona for their part beat UNLV by 45 and showed that offense under Rich Rod is ready to roll. The big questions here and the ones I am most excited to answer are whether the Arizona defense will be up to snuff and how much of the UTSA showing in week 1 was a Houston team that was meh and how much is a UTSA team that's gonna sneak up on a lot of people throughout the season. Power Pick: Arizona by 1.63 My Pick: Arizona 31-27 Line: Arizona -7
Saturday, September 6th, 2014:
FAU (7.93) at #2 Alabama (41) (HFA:5.45), 11:00 am SEC Network: Alabama moves forward from a challenge againt West Virginia to a challenge against boredom and known Saban rival, bored and over this game Alabama fans. This shouldn't be much of a test for Alabama and won't tell us much about either side in the contest. Power Pick: Alabama by 38.52 My Pick: Alabama 52-16 Line: Alabama -40.5
#4 Oklahoma (55.14)at Tulsa (14.11) (HFA:1.98), 11:00 am ABC/ESPN2: Oklahoma heads to Tulsa who is off a win over rival Tulane in week 1. Oklahoma trashed Louisiana Tech and looked good but we won't really know how that defense is gonna look till it gets tested. Oklahoma should romp again and being on the road shouldn't be too tough two hours up the road in Tulsa. Power Pick: Oklahoma by 39.06 My Pick: Oklahoma 45-20 Line: Oklahoma -24.5
#20 Kansas State (25.66) at Iowa State (19.83) (HFA:4.04), 11:00 Fox Sports 1: Kansas State travels to AMES!!! The place where dreams go to die, both literally and figuratively. Kansa State is a dark horse for many, I'm not so high. I think they're good but infallible no. Iowa State lost to North Dakota State because, they were stupid enough to schedule North Dakota State. Kansas State made the same mistake last year and look where they are now. Power Pick: Kansa State by 1.79 My Pick: Kansas State 24-10 Line: Kansas State -11.5
#24 Missouri (46.22) at Toledo (28.82) (HFA:2.29), 11:00 am ESPN: Missouri heads to Toledo in one of the more striking road trips of the week (and that's saying something). Both teams crushed FCS opponents week one and told us absolutely nothing. Toledo should be one of the best teams in the MAC and some Saturday mornin' MACtion could be in order. Missouri looks like a strong regression candidate but I think they pull out a squeaker in Toledo. Power Pick: Missouri by 15.1 My Pick: Missuori 24-21 Line: Missouri -4
Eastern Washington at #25 Washington, 2:05 pm Pac-12 Net: A rambling sports first for me, I never include FCS versus top 25 matchups but with Eastern Washignton being number two in the FBS poll one point behind North Dakota State I think this is a very good test for Washington.The other thing I won't be doing is putting my power ranks on it because I don't figure a rank for the FCS squads. Eastern Washington should be a better test than Hawaii last year and if Washington isn't rounded into shape this is a loss. My Pick: Washington 42-38
#15 USC (52.85) at #11 Stanford (46.33) (HFA:3.78), 2:30 pm ABC: Normal timed Pac-12 top 15 conference action between the Trojans and Cardinal. Outside of the rankings this is an intriguing matchup, USC upset Stanford late in the year. USC got rid of Lane Kiffin at the helm and brought in Steve Sarkisian who led the Trojans to a dismantling of Fresno State in week 1. USC is one of the most talented starting units in the country but the depth is still feeling the effects of recruiting sanctions. Stanford lost it's defensive coordinator but has a bunch of talent returning in the front seven and a QB-receving corps combo that will surprise many. Power Pick: USC by 2.75 My Pick: Stanford 28-24 Line: Stanford -2.5
#18 Ole Miss (46.97) at Vanderbilt (26.66) (HFA:3.2), 3:30 pm ESPN: Ole Miss heads to Vandy and looks to repeat what Temple did in Nashville. I don't think anything else needs to be said. Power Pick: Ole Miss by 17.11 My Pick: Ole Miss 45-24 Line: Ole Miss -19.5
#8 Michigan State (44.46) at #3 Oregon (63.3) (HFA:4.31), 5:30 pm FOX: The marquee game of the weekend is Michigan State's visit to Oregon. Michigan State boasts Pat Narduzzi and a defense that was best in the country at stopping offenses against Mark Helfrich and an offense that was good at being succesful but just a tick off the old Kelly offenses. It's cliche but Mariota and Cook are the keys to this game. Mariota's running ability and the ability to make smart decisions with the football should keep Oregon on the field and give their defense positive field position. Cook got better every week last season and by all accounts showed flashes of some great traits and continued growth against Jacksonville State. If Michigan State can force Mariota into mistakes and Cook can beat a talented secondary through the air Michigan State has all too real chance to win. Power Pick: Oregon by 23.15 My Pick: Oregon 38-34 Line: Oregon -13.5
San Jose State (12.33) at #6 Auburn (67.47) (HFA:4.84), 6:00 pm ESPN2: San Jose State goes to Auburn and I don't think we see a second straight team hang around on the plains in the first half. Power Pick: Auburn by 59.97 My Pick: Auburn 66-13 Line: Auburn -32
Editor's Note: This is as far as I got before the Thursday game, look for the rest later tonight or tomorrow morning. 7:00 pm 9/4
East Carolina (16.31) at #9 South Carolina (56.47) (HFA:4.85), 6:00 pm ESPNU: South Carolina disappointed week one when visiting Texas A&M just romped a young Gamecock secondary. East Carolina presents a slightly lesser threat. ECU is set for their first big test after beating NC Central last week but just doesn't have the talent or experience to put too much of a scare into Spurrier, et.al. Power Pick: South Carolina by 45.01 My Pick: South Carolina 41-13 Line: South Carolina -16
#19 Arizona State (45.26) at New Mexico (1.38) (HFA:1.95), 6:00 pm CBSSN: New Mexico hosts Airzona State in the battle for, well, 1/4 of the southwest bragging rigths, maybe? Arizona State should romp here and get their young players on both sides of the ball another week of getting comfortable as the bigger games continue to loom on the horizon. For New Mexico keeping it close for three quarters would be a step in the right direction. Power Pick: Arizona State by 41.92 My Pick: Arizona State 38-3 Line: Arizona State -25
Michigan (34) at #17 Notre Dame (39.43) (HFA:4.79), 6:30 pm NBC: Michigan and Notre Dame face off in their annual rivalry game that is about to end because Notre Dame says so... ok? Michigan looked, dare I say it, competent on offense. And the defense whipped up a strong performance versus App State but Notre Dame will be a much stronger test. Everrett Golson is back at the helm for Notre Dame and that is the difference in this game. Power Pick: Notre Dame by 10.22 My Pick: Notre Dame 35-34 Line: Notre Dame -4
BYU (20.17) at Texas (30.96) (HFA:5.33), 6:30 pm Fox Sports 1: This game was much clearer after the games ended last week and then... everyone on the Texas offense got hurt, suspended or concussed. I still think the Texas defense is improved enough under Smart to shut down BYU but this isn't the coast it was a couple days ago. Power Pick: Texas by 16.12 My Pick: Texas 24-21 Line: BYU -1
Virginia Tech (31.69) at #5 Ohio State (42.2) (HFA:5.55), 7:00 pm ESPN: Virginia Tech travels west to face off against Ohio State. The Buckeyes were sloppy week one against Navy and it to Barrett and company time to work into for but they pulled away late and have enough talent to be close to what they would have been with Miller. Bud Foster will have a stingy defense as always and the DBs should grow into wonderful players but they are still very young and raw. I think Ohio State wins a slogfest that gets twitter screaming about the game getting set back. Power Pick: Ohio State by 16.06 My Pick: Ohio State 20-14
San Diego State (17.92) at #23 North Carolina (33.99) (HFA:3.53), 7:00 pm ESPNEWS: North Carolina looked bad against Liberty into the second half but figured it out in the third and left them in the dust. Against San Diego State they need to show that that is an anomaly and not that this team has trouble getting up on game day. Power Pick: North Carolina by 19.6 My Pick: North Carolina 24-10 Line: North Carolina -15
Memphis (18.21) at #7 UCLA (60.91) (HFA:3.83), 9:00 pm Pac-12 Net: Memphis won 62-0 over Austin Peay but UCLA presents a much tougher test. UCLA shoudl romp even with the offensive line issues that flared up in a very ominous way against Virginia. If they can control Memphis and start a meaningful matruation of the line then this will be a very good UCLA team. Power Pick: UCLA by 46.53 My Pick: UCLA 35-13 Line: UCLA -23.5
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