I pick 10 games every week. Usually these will be the 10 closest lines. Sometimes relevant matchups may be swapped in lieu of the closest lines if it is a game I (or the fellas I do this pick em with) want to talk about. Below are my picks and a few comments on week two. At the bottom I will keep a running tab of my record so we can all see how well (or bad) I do. A few rules to keep in mind: Money Line favorites are worth less points than betting with or against the spread. Outright upsets are worth the most points. Sometimes as a matter of gamesmanship, you may see me play for the points instead of the pick, but I will try to note that in my preview. Disclaimer: these lines are off of ESPN at the beginning of the week.
Missouri (-6) at Kansas:
Truly *chef’s kiss* to start the weekend with a Friday night
rivalry. These teams hate each other. As I type this, Kansas just dropped a
hype video blaming Missouri for the American Slave Trade. I wish this was an exaggeration.
There is hate, and then there’s bleeding Kansas hate. Missouri is a team who
has feasted off weak schedules the last few seasons, but early road games are
tough. I am a Midzou truther, but I don’t see a lot to love from the Jayhawks
even as the home team.
My Pick: Midzou -6
Arizona State at Texas A&M (-14):
Ah yes, another double-digit spread. Truthfully, I am down
on TAMU. I think they are the most likely preseason top 10 team to drop out of
the AP Poll at some point this season. I did not think they looked good week
one, but what does Arizona State have to latch onto? Sam Leavitt is with Satan
himself in Baton Rouge. Cam Skattebo is entering year 2 with the New York
Giants. I guess we will see what Dillingham can pull out his hat.
My Pick: TAMU -14
Oklahoma (-5) at Michigan:
This is a tricky game. Michigan had to cheat, erm I mean, yeah
cheat, to beat Western Michigan last week. They looked atrocious. Oklahoma on
the other hand rolled. But -5 is a deceptive line. I know it’s on the road and
the Big House is a tough road environment. Sometimes Michigan doesn’t just have
a twelfth man, they have a whole officiating crew. I am choosing to not
overthink this one. Oklahoma good Michigan bad. Maybe the football gods will
extract some revenge. Maybe Vegas will make us all look like fools.
My Pick: Oklahoma -5
Mississippi State (-1.5) at Minnesota:
A lot of chatter about Kamario Taylor. Impressive week one
win over Mississippi College for Women (a real school with a student body that
is only 97% women). I am a big PJ Fleck guy. I have been rowing the boat since
his Western Michigan days. They play tough defense and road environments are
tough for anybody. Especially a guy making his first road start. Does Minnesota
get snow in September? Truthfully, I don’t have a lot of feel here, but I would
love to see a Brandon Walker crash out. This is another one of those picks
where maybe picking the home dog is worth the potential points.
My Pick: Minnesota ML
Alabama (-10) at Kentucky:
I was all over this game in the preseason. I thought
Kentucky could surprise some early teams. I thought they had something at QB,
and Alabama has been soft the last few seasons. And then Kelon Russell went out
there and made the Crimson Tide offense look a whole lot more like Deboer’s Washington
offense.
My Pick: Kentucky +10
Arizona at BYU (-7.5):
The Big 12 is so close together. 7.5 is a weird spread at
just over a touchdown. BYU has been known to play close games and even drop
some games they should not have. Another game I do not have a huge feel for.
My Pick: Arizona +7.5
Tennessee (-13.5) at Georgia Tech:
For my full thoughts, go read my week 2 preview of this
game. Georgia Tech looked bad and their offensive line looked squishy. I expect
Tennessee to lean on the hoggmolly’s on the line of scrimmage and put pressure
on Mendoza. I do think this has the potential for another Big Orange stadium
takeover.
My Pick: Tennessee -13.5
Ohio State at Texas (-1.5)
Game of the week. I live in Houston so would love to see
some upset Longhorn fans. This could be huge for either loser. Suddenly their
back is against the wall for the rest of the season. Texas is going to have to
prove it to me before I start believing they can hang with the national title
front runners.
My Pick: Ohio State ML
Iowa State at Iowa (-14)
Iowa state is bad and Iowa tends to pour it on once a year
against the cyclones.
My Pick: Iowa -14
Arkansas at Utah (-12.5)
Another game with not a lot of feel to it. Truthfully, I don’t
know what to expect from Utah now that Kyle Wittingham is not the coach. They
were rather disappointing last year. Arkansas has been disappointing for a
decade. I don’t really feel comfortable picking the hogs until proven otherwise
and their week one performance did not inspire confidence.
Utah -12.5)
Season Record: 9-5