AP Poll rankings once again are applied. After last week's predictions, my record on the season is now at 83-15. I only pick straight up; so yeah, that can help explain the great record. I'm sure if I picked against the spread, my record would be a ton worse. But since I don't really like to bet on games, I don't really do that. This will be sort of a limited week for me in terms of number of games I'll be picking, just 23 games. Anyway, here's my picks for the top 25 teams for this week.
#22 Clemson at #1 Florida State
Revenge is still obviously the theme for Clemson, but my thoughts on this game have changed some now that we now Florida State QB and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston was suspended for the entirety of this game for allegedly shouting obscenities while standing on a table on the FSU campus. He allegedly said "Fuck her right in the pussy." I'm usually not the judgmental type, but Jameis seems to get himself surrounded in some type of controversy quite often. With Jameis out, the Noles will turn to backup Sean McGuire. . I think the Tigers will keep this one closer now that they won't have to deal with Jameis, but I also think the Noles have enough talent around Sean McGuire to at least keep this one close enough to pull it out at the end. I just don't trust Clemson; sorta the way I don't trust the Arizona Cardinals like I said in my NFL predictions blog for this week.
My Call: Florida State 24, Clemson 20
#2 Oregon at Washington State
Beating Oregon requires three characteristics... being physical, being able to run the ball and an ability to play some defense. Unfortunately for Wazzu, they strike out in all three phases and they'll strike out on the field against the Ducks as well. Sure, QB Connor Halliday could end up with some gaudy stats at the end, but the Cougar defense will get lit up like a Christmas tree. I bet Marcus Mariotta will watch the 4th quarter from the sidelines.
My Call: Oregon 59, Washington State 28
Florida at #3 Alabama
An exciting conference opener for Florida resulted in a somewhat controversial three overtime 36-30 win over the Kentucky Wildcats. They'll have to be much improved in a week if they expect to take out the Crimson Tide on the road. Anything's possible, but I just can't see so much improvement happening. The Gator secondary should do a decent enough job on WR Amari Cooper and as a result, limit QB Blake Sims, but T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry will do plenty to take the pressure off Sims and the Gator offense won't have enough offense to pull this one off. Competition for Bama should be better than it was against Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss, but they'll walk away 4-0.
My Call: Alabama 34, Florida 17
#4 Oklahoma at West Virginia
In what could turn out to be a better game than a lot of experts expect, a better looking Mountaineer team that won at Maryland and gave #3 Alabama all they wanted will look to make a major statement at home with a win over Big 12 favorite Oklahoma. There's no doubt the Mounties can put up some points and that they should be spurred on by what should be an excited home crowd in Morgantown, but can they get enough stops defensively to pull off the upset? I'm gonna say not quite. The Sooner defense should be able to do that while Travor Knight comes up with his best effort of the new season to this point to help OU escape a rabid Milan Puskar Stadium.
My Call: Oklahoma 38, West Virginia 31
#6 Texas A&M at SMU
38 points? What the hell happened against Rice, Aggies? Putting up less than 50 in a game should be considered a disappointment for you guys! Eh, seriously, it didn't matter that they were a little out of it in that one and it wouldn't matter if the same applied here. SMU is just THAT bad, so much so that now former head coach June Jones just re-signed. Texas A&M can name their score here and they'll come out a little more focused in this one.
My Call: Texas A&M 52, SMU 7
Mississippi State at #8 LSU
For Mississippi State to go into Baton Rouge and come out with a win, they're going to need a Heisman type of performance from QB Dak Prescott. Dak is built like a bulldozer at 235 pounds and thus far, he has shown a lot of improvement as a passer. While he's got a ton of athleticism and is tough to bring down, this will be his first real test of the season. No disrespect intended to UAB, Southern Miss and South Alabama, but none of those teams have anywhere near the type of defense he'll be matched up against in this one. I wouldn't be flat out shocked if the Bulldogs scratched and clawed their way to a victory here, but until I see it, I won't believe they'll do it. LSU has proven themselves as a consistent top tier SEC team. Mississippi State has shown itself to be solid but not spectacular in the Dan Mullen era. Give me LSU till Mullen's team shows it can win a game like this.
My Call: LSU 35, Mississippi State 24
Eastern Michigan at #11 Michigan State
Oregon ran Sparty off the field in the 2nd half of that showdown in Eugene. MSU sat around this week undoubtedly pissed off about it. They'll get to take out their frustrations on an Eastern Michigan team that is just God awful. I wouldn't be surprised if the Spartans aren't initially into this game after the Duck game kinda fell apart on them, but it won't matter. They can name their score in what will be a blowout over a very overmatched team.
My Call: Michigan State 49, Eastern Michigan 0
Troy at #13 Georgia
Georgia is coming off a tough loss to South Carolina on the road. If they were playing a team with any kind of pulse this game, they could be vulnerable. Good news for them is Troy is not such a team. Like Michigan State, I wouldn't be too surprised if they started this game out a little slowly just because their minds may still be on that game with the Gamecocks that I'm sure they feel they let slip away, but they'll eventually get into it and run all over the Trojans. No contest here.
My Call: Georgia 52, Troy 3
#14 South Carolina at Vanderbilt
And sometimes when a team is coming off a big win like South Carolina is, you think there's a possibility they could be vulnerable the following week if they were playing a team with some sort of pulse. Look what happened to Southern Cal in Chestnut Hill against Boston College after the Trojans won a big game at Stanford the week before. Like Georgia though, good news for the Gamecocks is Vanderbilt seems to be back to the pre-James Franklin days. James Franklin had that program very competitive, but he took off for Penn State and it seems like any fighting spirit from the Commodores took off with him. South Carolina could come out of the gates slow, but this is a bad looking Vandy team. Even if they show up half drunk, South Carolina should cruise.
My Call: South Carolina 34, Vanderbilt 6
Indiana at #18 Missouri
Mizzou is a team nobody's really talking about too much. They've been solid the last two weeks in wins over Toledo and Central Florida. Now they get to take on an Indiana team looking for redemption after the Hoosiers dropped a wild one against Bowling Green by a score of 45-42. No redemption here for Indiana. They have a defense that won't be able to stop Missouri from doing what they want when they want and while the offense may put up some points, they won't put up enough points to keep up in this one.
My Call: Missouri 52, Indiana 28
Bowling Green at #19 Wisconsin
Can the Falcons make it two in a row over the Big 10? It'll be a tougher task this week in Madison against the Badgers. Although Wisconsin came out dead against Western Illinois, remember they were coming off a heartbreaking loss to LSU in Arlington. This time, they'll be fully rested and ready to go coming off a bye week. Expect the Badgers to come out stronger in this one and take Bowling Green behind the woodshed. The MAC doesn't get this one against the Big 10. Melvin Gordon ought to be able to run wild in a rout.
My Call: Wisconsin 45, Bowling Green 20
Virginia at #21 BYU
Gotta admit Virginia has really surprised me so far. Beating Louisville 23-21 proved to me that perhaps their close loss to UCLA wasn't a fluke. They'll have to take their act on the road this week to Provo to take on a Brigham Young team off to a 3-0 start. Good news for UVA is they were horrible a year ago and yet still managed to beat BYU 16-14. I do think their defense can keep them around in this one. However, I just think the Cougars will find a way to get a little bit of payback on their home field. The Cavs make them earn it though.
My Call: BYU 24, Virginia 16
Miami (FL) at #24 Nebraska
Back in 2001, the Miami Hurricanes were the toast of college football. They went undefeated en route to their fifth national championship, which was their last one. Nebraska was the victim in the national championship game in a complete shellacking by a 37-14 score in a game that could have been even worse on the scoreboard had the Canes really wanted it to be. That was also the last time these two teams played one another on the football field. The stakes won't be nearly as high in this one nor are the teams nearly as good, but it's a chance for both teams to pick up a solid non-conference victory in hopes of gaining momentum for the rest of the season. Honestly, I have no idea which way to lean on this one. Both are very similar teams who will lean on their star running backs. For Miami, it's Duke Johnson. For Nebraska, it's Ameer Abdullah. In a flip of the coin, I'll take the Huskers just because it's in Lincoln. If the Canes win, they can thank me for not jinxing them.
My Call: Nebraska 27, Miami 24
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