These are based on the choices given for the football pool I'm in. They sometimes don't include the most obvious games, but the goal is so each entrant must do some research/guessing themselves rather than relying on “expert” picks.
NORTH TEXAS VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC
ARKANSAS STATE VS UL MONROE
TCU VS San Diego STATE
UCLA VS WASHINGTON STATE
NEBRASKA VS OSU
LSU VS FLORIDA
MISSOURI VS KANSAS STATE
TEXAS A&M VS TEXAS TECH
MICHIGAN VS NORTHWESTERN
ARIZONA VS OREGON STATE
LOUISIANA TECH VS IDAHO
NAVY VS SO MISSISSIPPI
VIRGINIA TECH VS MIAMI FLA
GEORGIA VS TENNESSEE
ARKANSAS VS AUBURN
ARIZONA STATE VS UTAH
ARMY VS MIAMI OH
PENN STATE VS IOWA
OKLAHOMA(-9 ½) VS TEXAS
NORTH TEXAS VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC: Florida Atlantic has one of the worst offensives in the nation and is dead last in the Sun Belt conference, but North Texas gives up 498 yards per game. With North Texas’ Brandon Akpunku being second in the conference for tackles for loss and QB Derek Thompson coming back from an injury I’m going with North Texas.
ARKANSAS STATE VS UL MONROE: I think this could go either way but ASU hasn’t allowed 100 yards rushing yet this season and they played (but lost) against big schools such as Virginia Tech and Ilinois. They performed well in these games on the road. ULM played tough opponents too, such as Florida State , TCU and Iowa but their defense didn’t hold these teams like ASU did. Even though they’re on the road I’m picking Arkansas State.
TCU VS SAN DIEGO STATE: It looks likely that TCU will be joining the Big 12, which is great because they’ll be playing a lot of good Texas teams, and of course Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. It will be a tougher schedule than the Mountain West conference and will go a long way in proving and improving their game and the Big 12 is happy to have them. ( See Boise State , it’s not so hard.) I would love to pick San Diego State , but while TCU’s defense isn’t as strong this year the problem is defending against the pass, not the run. San Diego State ’s strength in running back Ron Hillman and TCU held him to 54 yards last season. If SDSU’s QB Ryan Something can connect with his receivers consistently through the game they may make it happen, but TCU will be tough to beat so I’ll go with them.
UCLA VS WASHINGTON STATE: This one could be an upset, UCLA is stopping the run but not stopping the pass so well. They beat Oregon State but also allowed 287 passing yards and passing is Washington State ’s strength. Washington isn’t great at defending against the run and that’s UCLA’s strength. In looking at the games Washington State lost they just can’t stop the run effectively. With that I pick UCLA. I struggled with this one but am trying not to succumb to subconsciously rooting for the underdog.
NEBRASKA VS OSU: Uh, Nebraska.
LSU VS FLORIDA: I don’t know of anyone not picking LSU, so I might as well join the bandwagon. But seriously, Florida got killed last week by #3 Alabama . Florida is good but LSU is ranked #1 for a reason.
MISSOURI VS KANSAS STATE: Missouri has a balanced attack which means they can run the ball or pass it effectively. They also are ranked 17th in the nation in defending against rushing. Their passing defensive sucks but Kansas State does a lot more rushing than passing. I don’t like that Missouri has lost their only two road games, but they only lost by 10 against then 1# Oklahoma . I think I’ll go with the underdog, what the heck.
TEXAS A&M VS TEXAS TECH: Another tough one, since Texas A&M rank LAST nationally against the run I’m guessing Texas Tech will pass the ball a lot. I think Texas Tech could pull it off but I unconfidently pick Texas A&M.
MICHIGAN VS NORTHWESTERN: This is a tough call, but from what I’m reading it will be very difficult for Northwestern’s defense to shut down Michigan’s offense led by Denard Robinson. This will be an offensive shootout but Michigan is on a roll, I go with Michigan .
ARKANSAS VS AUBURN: It will be interesting but Arkansas is at home and heavily favored and they’ve beaten ranked teams. Arkansas .
ARIZONA STATE VS UTAH: ASU is tough and I don’t see an upset here.
ARMY VS MIAMI OH: Army, I guess.
PENN STATE VS IOWA: This is a toss up, with the Big Ten’s penchant for playing lower ranked teams early in the year it’s hard to tell. But since Penn State played Alabama and didn’t embarrass themselves I will go with them.
OKLAHOMA (-9 ½) VS TEXAS: I’m going with Texas to beat the spread. Not sure why!
Games I’m Most Likely to Watch If I Don’t Have Anything Better to Do
This section lists the games I’ll likely watch if I don’t get distracted by something else. I have A.D.D., so it’s not that I don’t want to watch these games but sometimes my brain has other ideas. NEBRASKA VS OSU: I just have to.
MICHIGAN VS NORTHWESTERN: I want to see how Northwestern Dan Persa does. Should be a good game. Games I Will Not Watch If I Have Anything To Say About It*
These are the games I have no interest in whatsoever and would find more torturous to watch than taking up stamp collecting.
ARMY VS MIAMI (OH): Miami just never does anything I expect. Win when they shouldn't, lose when they shouldn't...who knows?
*These are always subject to change because football can be as unpredictable as a herd of cats and any game could become unexpectedly interesting...also, I often do not have control of the remote.
This That Annoy Me This Week
This is the section where I talk about the stuff annoying me this week related to college football...or not.
Ohio State Drama: While the Ohio State players and coaches who played by the rules struggle, Tressel and Pryor collect NFL checks. Oh, I know they're "suspended" but whatever.
Irrelevant History: When an article mentions how one team has dominated the series against another team…in the 1950’s. (Or the 90’s or 80’s…ancient history.) This is meaningless chatter that can throw you off if you’re just skimming a story to glean information. Annoying.
The End
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