I warned in the previous post that the days where it seems
like there are no MAJOR games, have proven to be some of the best college
football Saturdays of all, and this last Saturday was no exception! For the 1st week in years, there were zero games that featured ranked opponents. But none of that mattered. From a game
winning play that shouldn’t have counted, to a double overtime thriller,
college football fans had to be truly satisfied! With plenty of good, you must
have plenty of bad and we definitely saw both sides this weekend.
MOST IMPRESSIVE
LOUISVILLE
We all thought an ACC quarterback would be at the top of the
Heisman race, but I don’t think many of us thought it would be Lamar Jackson.
After scoring 13 touchdowns in the first 2 games of the season, he clearly
leaped to the head of the list. He has been nothing short of spectacular,
proven by being only the 2nd player EVER to win back to back Walter
Camp player of the week awards. His passing is much improved and he has had no
issues spreading the ball to a talented group of receivers. Bobby Petrino continues
to show he is an OFFENSIVE GENIUS as Louisville continues to pile up points.
Both he and Lamar Jackson will have a chance to show they are a true contender
this weekend when College Gameday and Florida State comes to town. Speaking of Petrino…
ARKANSAS
Regardless of living in Arkansas, I am in NO WAY a fan of
the Razorbacks but a road win against a team many picked to win the BIG 12
can’t go unnoticed. Of course it looked like they would blow a 13 point lead
when TCU came back and took the lead in the 4th quarter, but
Arkansas was able to block a field goal after a TCU touchdown was overturned
and force overtime. Now I thought TCU should have went for it on 4th
down in the 2nd overtime as Kenny Hill had pretty much done what he
wanted in the 2nd half, but they didn’t and it came back to haunt
them when Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen scored on a keeper on 3rd
and goal. A play here or there and this game goes a different way, but these
are the kind of games you expect Arkansas to lose. However they showed some
major toughness down the stretch and for that, I was impressed.
TENNESSEE
I’ll still never pick Tennessee to do anything positive but
I won’t lie, I was impressed by this win! On a HUGE stage playing in front of
the biggest crowd college football has ever seen, they showed up against
Virginia Tech. After a slow start and being down after the 1st
quarter, they dominated the rest of the game in every way. This was the team
that many people picked to win the SEC East. Joshua Dobbs bounced back to score
5 touchdowns and the defense played fast and aggressive, forcing turnovers to
turn the game around.
LEAST IMPRESSIVE
CLEMSON
What the hell is up with Clemson?? Specifically their
offense. This was a team lead by a guy many picked to not only win the Heisman,
but also be the 1st quarterback drafted in the 2017 NFL draft.
Clearly, their offensive line has had some struggles, but you still expect them
to be able to move the ball consistently. They’ve struggled for 2 weeks
straight trying to get the ground game going and Deshaun Watson has made some
questionable decisions with the ball. His receivers not attempting to make
plays sometimes definitely doesn’t help him out. The defense has been solid but
they allowed Troy to score 2 touchdowns in 5 minutes in the 4th
quarter on Saturday. This terrible showing caused them to drop from 2 to 5 in
the latest AP poll. They must shape up quick as the competition will only get
stronger.
GEORGIA
After an impressive win against North Carolina in Week 1,
most thought Georgia would only improve upon that showing. However, they
appeared to take a step back against Nicholls State only winning 26-24. Jacob
Eason played very well against UNC but also took a step back as he was replaced
by Greyson Lambert late in the game. Despite all of their talent, it didn’t show
itself on the field a lot Saturday. They didn’t dominate the line of scrimmage
as expected and Nick Chubb was contained. If Georgia wants to make a move to
win the East, they need to show considerable improvement right away as they
open SEC play this Saturday.
TEXAS TECH
I’m convinced that Texas Tech doesn’t practice defense. They
allowed 68 points and allowed ONE player to score 8 touchdowns. Now Kellen
Ballage is good, but I don’t think he’s 8 touchdowns in one game good! Texas
Tech has the offense to beat any team in the country but when your defense
gives up touchdowns like open layups, it’s tough to do. I feel sorry for
Patrick Mahomes. When I watch him, I remember how great Johnny Manziel was his
last year at A&M. He was phenomenal but his defense cost them game after
game. Mahomes is CLEARLY of the best football players in the country and no
matter what he does, he can’t get his defense to equal what he does on offense.
As much respect as I have for what Kliff Kingsbury has done at Texas Tech, he needs
to get his defense together or otherwise go be a coordinator somewhere else.
WEEK 3 PICKS
After going 5/6 last week, we only went 1/4 in week 2. With
a HUGE week upcoming, I’m excited to not only pick these games but watch them
play out.
MICHIGAN STATE (12) VS NOTRE DAME (18)
After losing to Texas, this is a must win game for Notre
Dame if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. They bounced back nicely
against Nevada after realizing that Deshone Kizer is the best quarterback for
them. We don’t much about Michigan State at all, with the exception that they
had a rather unimpressive opening win against Furman. A bye week helps them
correct some errors as they have to travel to Notre Dame Saturday. This game
could really go either way but if Michigan State wants to keep pace in the BIG
10 race they have to win this game and it starts on defense.
MICHIGAN STATE 27
NOTRE DAME 23
TEXAS A&M (17) VS AUBURN
With all the big games Saturday, I think this one flies
under the radar. An important game for two teams needing big wins. Texas
A&M already has a good win on the road against UCLA, and Auburn played well
against Clemson in week 1. Both of these coaches have been rumored to be on the
hot seat unless some major improvements happen this year. They were both
impressive in their week 2 wins and Auburns defense will have to be ready for
the offensive firepower that the Aggies will present. It seems Coach Malzahn
has finally settled on a quarterback in Sean White who has shown he could make
accurate throws downfield. Texas A&M brings in one of the best secondary’s
in the SEC which will make his job tough. This game could honestly go either
way and even though it’s in Auburn, I think Texas A&M simply has more
playmakers.
TEXAS A&M 34
AUBURN 24
OREGON (22) VS NEBRASKA
Both teams enter this contest 2-0 and needing a big win
before conference play starts. This win would do a lot for Nebraska, who’s lead
by former Oregon State coach Mike Riley. He has a lot of history with the
Ducks, though it’s not actually good history as his Oregon State teams lost 7
straight to Oregon. Now he comes in with a team full of weapons that he feels
is more ready to compete. Oregon’s defense is again struggling this season and
will need to correct itself in this one, specifically on stopping the run. The
offense has been bigtime as usual. Royce Freeman and Dakota Prukop have played
great football so far and I expect it to continue against Nebraska. It’s
against my beliefs to ever pick a team lead by Tommie Armstrong to win a game.
OREGON 38
NEBRASKA 20
OHIO STATE (3) VS OKLAHOMA (14)
One of the marquee matchups of the day! Ohio State travels
to Oklahoma in what should be a very exciting game. However, I don’t think it
will live up to the hype! For one, I think Baker Mayfield is overrated. He’s
good, but I think he’s been exposed in big games. Oklahoma NEEDS this win. They
could win the BIG 12, but a 2 loss BIG 12 champion probably won’t make the
playoff. Why does Oklahoma need this win so much? They already lost. Who ‘d
they lose to? Houston. Who’s Houston’s coach? Tom Herman. Tom Herman came from
Ohio State. Do you not think Tom Herman didn’t give his boy Urban Meyer a call
and give him alllll the inside info he could handle? Come on now! Not only is
Ohio State the better team, but they have the best player on the field in JT
Barrett. Unfortunately this one won’t be as close as you might think.
OHIO STATE 37
OKLAHOMA 17
FLORIDA STATE (2) VS LOUISVILLE (10)
This should be an exciting game featuring a lot of points. A
Louisville victory would definitely put them on the map and let the rest of the
country know they are contenders. It would also bring Bobby Petrino back to the
national spotlight! A place he’s craved since the motorcycle scandal that ended
his tenure at Arkansas. Florida State may have the most talent in the
conference, but going against this bigtime offense without their top safety
Derwin James will be a major challenge. Lamar Jackson has been unstoppable so
far this season, so FSU’s defense will need to be very disciplined against him.
Deondre Francois has been good so far for the Seminoles, but I have major
questions about their offensive line, and this will be a MAJOR road test for
him.
LOUISVILLE 41
FLORIDA STATE 39
ALABAMA (1) VS OLE MISS (19)
It’s crazy to think with how dominant Alabama has been over
the last 7 years, that they are on the verge of being beaten by one team for
the 3rd straight year. Huge Freeze has seemed to have Nick Saban’s
number lately and he looks to keep it going. Ole Miss has seemed to relish the
challenge of going up against Alabama. They have the talent and the quarterback
in Chad Kelly who can help them do it again. Their defensive line is one of the
best in the SEC and will surely test Alabama quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Blake
Barnett. Alabama is striving for perfection this year and the last time they
had a highly anticipated game was week1 against USC. The result was a 52-6
beating. I don’t expect that this week as Ole Miss needs to recover from the
mistakes they made after blowing a big lead against Florida State. I have no
idea why, but I think they can.
OLE MISS 31
ALABAMA 27
So here we have another one of those “stay on your couch”
days in college football! Big games all day, and plenty of excitement to come.
It’s always crazy making these picks so early on because most of these teams are
major unknowns right now! Obviously, I don’t care about that. I love dissecting
what I think a team can be and watching them on Saturday to see it unfold! And
this Saturday should be another eye opening weekend in college football!
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