Post by trnyerheadncough on Sept 7, 2016 14:01:21 GMT -5
Well, from the penthouse of week 1 to the outhouse of week 2, I have 12 games on the slate. Most of which couldn't carry the jock of 8 or 9 of the games from week 1. But, we persevere and make our picks. Here's hoping the leaders can come back to the pack and everyone else is left in my dust.
First...this week's movie quiz. A little homage to a great one who passed not too long ago...
"What's your name?"
"Well, my name is Jim, but most people call me........Jim."
"Ha....ok Jim, since you are my guest, and I am your host, what's your pleasure? Whatchu like to do?"
"Oh, I don't know...play chess.....screw...."
All Saturday games this week, ladies and gents. Good luck to everyone.
SATURDAY GAMES
North Carolina State -5 @ East Carolina. The Wolfpack started out the season amassing over 500 yards in offense defeating both William AND Mary, which is always tough. East Kackalacky didn't beat North Carolina. Didn't beat South Carolina. Didn't beat themselves in that other state, East Carolina. No...they whipped up the least known...Western Carolina. The Pirates ran up a hair under 800 yards of offense, so this should be fun. I normally don't like to pick against the ACC boys in games like this, but I like the Jack Sparrows at home. Maybe they'll only lose by a field goal. Pirates.
Penn State +6 at Pittsburgh. A renewed rivalry with plenty of hate. The Nittany Lions beat a pesky Kent State team 33-13 which was 16-13 at the half to start the year undefeated. Pitt seemed rather pedestrian in beating Villanova 28-7 in a game that welcomed back James Conner, who has overcome a knee injury and cancer to lead the team. Narduzzi showed his defensive chops, holding the Wildcats to 105 yards in the first half and 174 total. That's pretty good, I don't care who you are. Panthers.
Utah State +16 1/2 @ Southern California. How do the Trojans rebound from the ass whipping they took at the hands of the Tide? Can Walt recover his swagger? For Utah State, two words. Devante Mays. 208 yards on the ground, 3 touchdowns in a rout of Weber State. Granted, that's Weber State. Not enough highlights for the prophylactics to mention in this, but that spread is more than two touchdowns. I think the Trojans win, but what the hell....I'll take a flyer with all of those points. Aggies.
Kentucky +17 @ Florida. In an epic meltdown, with under a minute to go before halftime, the Wildcats scored again to go up 35-10 against Southern Miss. Thirty seconds later, they led 35-17. Thirty minutes after that, they'd lost 44-35. Undoubtedly, Mark Stoops has to be feeling a little heat. I think the goal for this team to start the year was to make a bowl game, but with this loss, I have difficulty seeing 6 wins on the schedule that you can point to and say, yep...they got that one. This isn't one of those games either. However, despite the protestations of certain Gator posters on this board, it isn't as if the Lizards were dominating. My eyes may have deceived me, but I could have sworn the score said 10-7 in the 4th quarter in the matchup between UF and UMass. I think the Gators are better than Kentucky, and will win the game, but I don't think they have it worked out in Hogtown yet, and 17 is a lot of points, especially if Kentucky can get pressure on Del Rio. Wildcats.
Northern Illinois +15 @ South Florida. Tough break for NIU, losing in triple overtime to Wyoming, and now they take their hangover to Tampa, where they play the Bulls of USF, who might be a sneaky good team this year. Considering the slate is pretty dismal, I decided to include this one to give a brief nod to some G5 teams. Once again, a boatload of points make the Huskies an enticing pick, but I'm a believer in the boys along the I-4 corridor. Bulls.
Arkansas +7 1/2 @ TCU. A couple of teams who gave their fans a heart attack or two this last weekend. The pigs needed every bit of it as they scored late to comeback and beat Louisiana Tech, 21-20. TCU found itself in a major shootout against South Dakota State (say what!?!?!?), but Kenny Hill, of TAMU fame, was pretty good...33/49, 439 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 INTs and ran for 45 yards and 3 other scores, ho hum...tra la la. That proved too much as the Horny Toads pulled away late with some clutch shooting from the perimeter, 59-41. Patterson is a defensive guy, and although they gave up 41 points, they held the Jackrabbits to 128 on the ground. Arkansas, conversely, didn't have a hundred yard rusher. Say what!?!? Hornies.
Iowa State +15 @ Iowa. This game is on here because it is a rivalry, and I needed a little more Big 12 representation on the list. But lesbihonest...this one is a stretch. Iowa State lost last weekend to the powerhouse Northern Iowa. But hey, when you have 4 turnovers, that happens. But, at the same time, since 2000, this game has been decided by more than 15 points only 4 times. Nobody is expecting a whole lot out of Iowa State. The problem is...I don't either. Hawkeyes, but watch this one be 16 points.
BYU +3 1/2 @ Utah. The Holy War. Boom shacka lacka. Mormons came through for me last week, beating Arizona like I said they would. If only all the other teams followed my wishes. 17th year quarterback Taysom Hill was very solid, 21/29 for a couple hunnert and a TD, but the story was Jamaal Williams, who toted it 29 times for 162 yards. Utah shut out Southern Utah 24-0, but that probably didn't disclose a whole bunch. They came through for me the first time...I'm riding with them again. BYU.
North Kackalacky -9 @ Illinois. Even though the Tar Heels lost to the Bulldogs, they had a 10 point lead at one point and were rolling pretty well. You can see the talent on that team, in my very humble opinion. Illinois won their first game against Murray State, 52-3. I know very little about Illinois...but I like what I saw out of North Carolina. ACC team again...why not? Tar Heels.
Virginia Tech +11 1/2 v. Tennessee. A NASCAR race between the two squads. VT scuffled with Liberty for a quarter and a half before pulling away, but I wasn't impressed. Might be the 4 turnovers the Hokies surrendered. But I like what Fuentes is building, but I don't know whether they can hang with the Vols. Granted, the Vols suddenly put this game into play the way they stunk up the joint against Appalachian State, which they very easily could have lost. I'm not sold on Dobbs as a thrower, but he's got good legs, and the Vols can run it. The Hokies only gave up 90 yards on the ground to Liberty, and 2.9 ypr. Is 11 1/2 enough? Man...I don't know. This is a toughie. I'll go ahead and pick the Volunteers, assume the Appy game was a wake up call as opposed to a reason for panic.
Texas Tech +3 @ Arizona State. I know basically nothing about either of these teams. I do know that Tech has Pat Mahomes, who was 30/43 for 483 yards and 4 TDs in blowing out Stephen F. Austin. Arizona State blew out Northern Arizona...but here's what's doing it for me. The Sun Devils gave up 369 passing yards. I'll take the guy who can throw it all over the yard. Oh...and the points, thank you very much. Texas Tech.
Virginia +24 1/2 @ Oregon. I'm not sure what else needs to be said here except that Virginia lost last week to Richmond by more than 2 touchdowns. The score at one point was 30-7. Bronco Mendenhall has a long way to go. Ducks.
First...this week's movie quiz. A little homage to a great one who passed not too long ago...
"What's your name?"
"Well, my name is Jim, but most people call me........Jim."
"Ha....ok Jim, since you are my guest, and I am your host, what's your pleasure? Whatchu like to do?"
"Oh, I don't know...play chess.....screw...."
All Saturday games this week, ladies and gents. Good luck to everyone.
SATURDAY GAMES
North Carolina State -5 @ East Carolina. The Wolfpack started out the season amassing over 500 yards in offense defeating both William AND Mary, which is always tough. East Kackalacky didn't beat North Carolina. Didn't beat South Carolina. Didn't beat themselves in that other state, East Carolina. No...they whipped up the least known...Western Carolina. The Pirates ran up a hair under 800 yards of offense, so this should be fun. I normally don't like to pick against the ACC boys in games like this, but I like the Jack Sparrows at home. Maybe they'll only lose by a field goal. Pirates.
Penn State +6 at Pittsburgh. A renewed rivalry with plenty of hate. The Nittany Lions beat a pesky Kent State team 33-13 which was 16-13 at the half to start the year undefeated. Pitt seemed rather pedestrian in beating Villanova 28-7 in a game that welcomed back James Conner, who has overcome a knee injury and cancer to lead the team. Narduzzi showed his defensive chops, holding the Wildcats to 105 yards in the first half and 174 total. That's pretty good, I don't care who you are. Panthers.
Utah State +16 1/2 @ Southern California. How do the Trojans rebound from the ass whipping they took at the hands of the Tide? Can Walt recover his swagger? For Utah State, two words. Devante Mays. 208 yards on the ground, 3 touchdowns in a rout of Weber State. Granted, that's Weber State. Not enough highlights for the prophylactics to mention in this, but that spread is more than two touchdowns. I think the Trojans win, but what the hell....I'll take a flyer with all of those points. Aggies.
Kentucky +17 @ Florida. In an epic meltdown, with under a minute to go before halftime, the Wildcats scored again to go up 35-10 against Southern Miss. Thirty seconds later, they led 35-17. Thirty minutes after that, they'd lost 44-35. Undoubtedly, Mark Stoops has to be feeling a little heat. I think the goal for this team to start the year was to make a bowl game, but with this loss, I have difficulty seeing 6 wins on the schedule that you can point to and say, yep...they got that one. This isn't one of those games either. However, despite the protestations of certain Gator posters on this board, it isn't as if the Lizards were dominating. My eyes may have deceived me, but I could have sworn the score said 10-7 in the 4th quarter in the matchup between UF and UMass. I think the Gators are better than Kentucky, and will win the game, but I don't think they have it worked out in Hogtown yet, and 17 is a lot of points, especially if Kentucky can get pressure on Del Rio. Wildcats.
Northern Illinois +15 @ South Florida. Tough break for NIU, losing in triple overtime to Wyoming, and now they take their hangover to Tampa, where they play the Bulls of USF, who might be a sneaky good team this year. Considering the slate is pretty dismal, I decided to include this one to give a brief nod to some G5 teams. Once again, a boatload of points make the Huskies an enticing pick, but I'm a believer in the boys along the I-4 corridor. Bulls.
Arkansas +7 1/2 @ TCU. A couple of teams who gave their fans a heart attack or two this last weekend. The pigs needed every bit of it as they scored late to comeback and beat Louisiana Tech, 21-20. TCU found itself in a major shootout against South Dakota State (say what!?!?!?), but Kenny Hill, of TAMU fame, was pretty good...33/49, 439 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 INTs and ran for 45 yards and 3 other scores, ho hum...tra la la. That proved too much as the Horny Toads pulled away late with some clutch shooting from the perimeter, 59-41. Patterson is a defensive guy, and although they gave up 41 points, they held the Jackrabbits to 128 on the ground. Arkansas, conversely, didn't have a hundred yard rusher. Say what!?!? Hornies.
Iowa State +15 @ Iowa. This game is on here because it is a rivalry, and I needed a little more Big 12 representation on the list. But lesbihonest...this one is a stretch. Iowa State lost last weekend to the powerhouse Northern Iowa. But hey, when you have 4 turnovers, that happens. But, at the same time, since 2000, this game has been decided by more than 15 points only 4 times. Nobody is expecting a whole lot out of Iowa State. The problem is...I don't either. Hawkeyes, but watch this one be 16 points.
BYU +3 1/2 @ Utah. The Holy War. Boom shacka lacka. Mormons came through for me last week, beating Arizona like I said they would. If only all the other teams followed my wishes. 17th year quarterback Taysom Hill was very solid, 21/29 for a couple hunnert and a TD, but the story was Jamaal Williams, who toted it 29 times for 162 yards. Utah shut out Southern Utah 24-0, but that probably didn't disclose a whole bunch. They came through for me the first time...I'm riding with them again. BYU.
North Kackalacky -9 @ Illinois. Even though the Tar Heels lost to the Bulldogs, they had a 10 point lead at one point and were rolling pretty well. You can see the talent on that team, in my very humble opinion. Illinois won their first game against Murray State, 52-3. I know very little about Illinois...but I like what I saw out of North Carolina. ACC team again...why not? Tar Heels.
Virginia Tech +11 1/2 v. Tennessee. A NASCAR race between the two squads. VT scuffled with Liberty for a quarter and a half before pulling away, but I wasn't impressed. Might be the 4 turnovers the Hokies surrendered. But I like what Fuentes is building, but I don't know whether they can hang with the Vols. Granted, the Vols suddenly put this game into play the way they stunk up the joint against Appalachian State, which they very easily could have lost. I'm not sold on Dobbs as a thrower, but he's got good legs, and the Vols can run it. The Hokies only gave up 90 yards on the ground to Liberty, and 2.9 ypr. Is 11 1/2 enough? Man...I don't know. This is a toughie. I'll go ahead and pick the Volunteers, assume the Appy game was a wake up call as opposed to a reason for panic.
Texas Tech +3 @ Arizona State. I know basically nothing about either of these teams. I do know that Tech has Pat Mahomes, who was 30/43 for 483 yards and 4 TDs in blowing out Stephen F. Austin. Arizona State blew out Northern Arizona...but here's what's doing it for me. The Sun Devils gave up 369 passing yards. I'll take the guy who can throw it all over the yard. Oh...and the points, thank you very much. Texas Tech.
Virginia +24 1/2 @ Oregon. I'm not sure what else needs to be said here except that Virginia lost last week to Richmond by more than 2 touchdowns. The score at one point was 30-7. Bronco Mendenhall has a long way to go. Ducks.
a shaky nod to iowa. 
