Last time out: 1-4-1 overall, 0-3-1 CFB, 1-1 NFL.
Season record: 3-8-1 overall, 2-6-1 CFB, 1-2 NFL.
I need to turn this around. The issue, you see, isn’t that I’m losing a bunch of games, I’m just losing the games that I pick in here, and some of them are stupid. Maryland, you have to be kidding me. The Terps had the ball starting inside Temple’s 20-yard line twice last week and both times managed not to score, including on two 1st and goals. Then the Chargers… Really? Showing up to a game without a kicker? That isn’t a good recipe to win. Had I known they were going to use their punter to kick field goals I would have stayed far away from that game. Back to work now, please let this be a good week. Here’s a couple of winners (hopefully).
College Football Picks:
#10 Utah vs. USC (+4) Friday, 9 p.m.
Here is the thing, Friday night games in the PAC-12 terrify me. You never know what can go down, upsets happen almost weekly it seems on the West Coast on Friday nights. The games are always bizarre. What I do know is, both of these teams went to BYU early on in the season. Utah handled the Cougars very easily while the Trojans lost in OT last week. Utah has a very good defense and USC has looked inconsistent with a freshman at quarterback. I love the Utes in this game, even though it falls on a Friday night.
The Pick: Utah -4
#4 LSU vs. Vanderbilt (+24) Saturday, 12 p.m.
Vandy has not looked great coming out of the gate 0-2, but they have played a tough schedule. LSU meanwhile has looked sharp for the most part, especially in its road win over Texas two weeks ago. This isn’t your classic LSU team either that grinds it out. LSU has opened the playbook and has let Joe Burrow sling it so far this season, and the Tigers have looked great. This is quite the spread, we are talking three touchdowns and a field goal here, but I am not a fan of the Vanderbilt offense and I don’t think the defense can slow Burrow and the air at-
tack down.
The Pick: LSU -24
#10 Oregon vs. Stanford (+10) Saturday 7 p.m.
Oregon has been a mixed bag so far this year, but so has Stanford. Oregon probably should be 3-0 at this point, but they blew their opening game against Auburn late. Stanford, meanwhile, looked like it had one of the top defenses in the country to open the year but has looked abysmal since in back-to-back losses against the aforementioned USC and UCF.
The Pick: Oregon -10
#7 Notre Dame vs. #3 Georgia (-14) Saturday 8 p.m.
Talk about a big-time game. This is going to be a good one, or at least that’s what most think. There is a reason that spread is this far apart for these two top 10 teams, Georgia can flat out ball, but the jury is still out on the Irish. Georgia has had a pretty easy schedule so far, so this is going to be a good test for them, but the defense looks good and it looks like it can be elevated to another level if needed. Meanwhile the Dawgs running game looks dangerous lead by D’Andre Swift and last week Jake Fromm looked to get in a rhythm throwing the ball. Notre Dame, by the looks of their schedule, should not have been tested, but they were in Week One by Louisville where they were helped out a lot by turnovers and sloppy play. Don’t expect Georgia to give away free points. This will be a good one in Athens and I think most of the game will be close, but the Bulldogs will tire the Irish out by the time the fourth quarter rolls around and blow it open late. (I also suspect we might see this line drop at least ½ a point.
The Pick: Georgia -14
NFL Picks:
There aren’t too many lines that jump out at me this week. A lot of injuries have caused some interesting lines and most, including myself, have no idea what to expect. However, there is one game that catches my eye.
Los Angeles Rams vs. Cleveland (+3) Sunday 8:20 p.m.
Yes, the Browns blew out the Jets last week on Monday night, but they only put up 23 points against the depleted Jets defense who were using at least three or four backups for most of the game. Outside of one chunk play touchdown, the Browns struggled to move the ball down the field. The O-Line has also looked like a problem to start the year. I like the Rams in this one who have looked good on both offense and defense.
The Pick: LA Rams -3
