Week 2 College Football Picks
Posted by deaconcat08 on September 8, 2010
I got off to a solid start this season posting a 6-4 mark, including a 5-0 record in my top 5 picks. Pay particular attention to my confidence intervals in these columns, as I am generally a lot more accurate with my top 3 or 4 picks than I am my bottom 3 or 4. These spreads are based on the current lines according to the World Sports Exchange, and they are ordered based on my personal confidence in each.
Pick # 1: Rice (+2.5) vs. North Texas- I made a living betting against Rice last season, but I’m going to change things up this week picking them to win here. The Owls looked relatively good last weekend against Texas, and the Mean Green shouldn’t be favored over anybody in Division 1-A. I can’t believe this line has actually gone up from 1.5 to 2.5 points in favor of North Texas
Pick # 2: California (-8.0) vs. Colorado- Before people start believing that Colorado football is back, please realize that they beat up on a horrible Colorado State team that is in the midst of a rebuilding year. The Golden Bears are better than the Buffs and should win comfortably at home here.
Pick # 3: Washington (-13.5) vs. Syracuse- The same thing said about Colorado above can be said about the Cuse. They had an impressive road win last week, but they beat a horrible team that is one of 5 or 10 worst in 1-A. Meanwhile, Washington is a rock solid squad at home and should dominate the Orange on Saturday.
Pick # 4: Ohio (-7.0) vs. Toledo- After Temple’s narrow escape against Villanova in week 1, you got to make Ohio the favorite to win the MAC East. The Bobcats are the much better team than Toledo should win by a lot more than 7 here at home.
Pick # 5: Auburn (-2.0) vs. Mississippi State- Playing on the road in the SEC is usually a tough challenge, but the Bulldogs were a miserable 1-5 last year versus 1-A opponents in Starkville. This year’s MSU squad is probably worse than that one; meanwhile, Auburn may end up being a major sleeper in the SEC West.
Pick # 6: Tennessee (+12.5) vs. Oregon- Everyone’s high on the Ducks after their 72 point victory last Saturday, but Tennessee looked pretty good as well winning by 50. A cross country road trip into a tough SEC environment will make this a close game.
Pick # 7: South Florida (+15.5) vs. Florida- It’s interesting that everyone is talking about how great Saturday’s big games are (Tenn vs. Oregon, OSU vs. Miami, Bama vs. PSU, and USF vs. Florida) but the lines aren’t very close in any of them. I think that you will at least see 1 or 2 of those games come down to the wire, and based on Florida’s lackluster performance last week, they appear prime and ready for a good scare.
Pick # 8: Georgia Tech (-13.5) vs. Kansas- If North Dakota State can win at Kansas by 3, then Georgia Tech can win by 30. I’m really not sure if playing this year’s Kansas squad is a step up from the Jackets first week opponent South Carolina State.
Pick # 9: West Virginia (-13.5) vs. Marshall- The Mountaineers have won the last four “Friends of the Coal Bowl” by 17 or more points, and that streak should continue here, as Marshall looked horrible last week against Ohio State.
Pick # 10: Texas Tech (-24.5) vs. New Mexico- After last week’s abysmal performance at Oregon, one has to think that Mike Locksley’s short and turbulent stitnt as Lobos head coach is winding to a close. Texas Tech only has to be half as good as Oregon to cover this spread with ease.
Last week’s record: 6-4, Overall Record: 6-4