College Football 2008 Week 1, Part 3: Even More Picks
I guess I don’t remember the lesson I learned last year…and the year before that….and, you get the point.
Every year I learn the hard way that I should just stick to my games I like best and leave it a lone. While that idea sounds so good on paper I always leave out a few games I wanted to pick and usually pick ones where my mind may have changed. In future weeks you’ll be reading this stuff on Fridays but this week is a little different and I’ll get to that at the end of this article.
In any event there are some real decent games considering its just week one and while we’ve already covered a whopping 15 of them why not kick the season off in grand style and see just how far we can push this thing. I know my readers love my picks, whether it’s because its helping them out or because it gives them material to fire away at me with starting Sunday (and yes, the new forums should be running by then), either way it’s all free all the time right here.
So lets get started, or shall I say finished, or is it actually let’s start finishing…whatever, I’m picking some more games.
Virginia Tech -9 1/2 at East Carolina (Saturday 8/30/08 12 EST) 2 Units
I am going to personally thank all of the members of the media and my fellow writers that compose what is known more commonly as the blogosphere for gifting me points in this game. Everyone is on ECU and perhaps I’m just missing something. ECU played VT tough last time they met, very tough in fact with a much bigger spread, but they didn’t even get a whiff of an idea as to how they could crack Bud Fosters defense. Foster’s lunch pail crew, and really Beamer Ball in general, have become as much of a part of top tier D-1 football as the traditional powers like Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, etc. Who would have thought we would ever be mentioning the Hokies in the same sentence with those teams but we do on an annual basis. I can’t say the same about Skip Holtz and his Pirates so I’m laying the wood and feeling pretty comfy about it with 2 units.
Colorado -11 at Colorado State (Sunday 8/31/08 7:30 EST) 1 Unit
Colorado continues the rebuilding process with the coach who made Boise State a household name, Dan Hawkins, running the show. The Buffalo were greatly improved last year and were competitive a lot more often than they had been of late. On the other side of this rivalry the Rams have been on a downturn which finally marked the end of the Sonny Lubbick era at the end of last season. While Sonny had to go he still deserved better than the treatment he got in the end. I just think what we have here are two programs headed in opposite directions and I’m leaning towards CU in this one.
Bowling Green +13 at Pittsburgh (Saturday 8/30/08 12 EST) 1 Unit
I am on record as saying that Pitt has the best running back in the country in LeSean McCoy. I am also on record as saying that I have seen Panther coach Dave Wannestadt coach himself out of much better situations than this. While Pitt is a lot of people’s “sexy” surprise pick in the Big East I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid. The Falcons should be pretty good this year and 13 is a mighty big number. To be honest while many think ECU is the upset special this week I think it’s Bowling Green at a tidy +450 on the money line. Throw in that the Panthers are 1-4 against the spread in their last 5 at home and BGSU is 4-1 against the number in their last 5 overall and I feel good taking this generous amount of points.
Kansas State -26 1/2 vs. North Texas State (Saturday 8/30/08 7:05 EST) 2 Units
When I think of Kansas State and out of conference games I think of them looking like a team running down hill with a full tank of momentum. When I complete the picture I see them running down hill against a team that looks a lot like North Texas Sate. The Mean Green actually opted into this game and dropped a scheduled date with Miami to make it happen. I guess they figured why travel all that way to suffer an epic beat down. A few other tidbits here are this game is the biggest mover since the lines were released, it started at 24 making it a 2 1/2 point move. Also, NTSU is 0-6 vs. the spread in their last 6 against the Big 12.
Kentucky + 3 1/2 at Louisville (Sunday 8/31/08 3:30 EST) 1 Unit
Steve Kragthorpe’s first year as Louisville’s Head Coach became a nightmare as his defense was torched repeatedly last season. Rich Brooks on the other hand had a banner year in Kentucky. As we open this season Kragthorpe has a QB that saw plenty of action the past few years and played well in those spots, Kentucky lost their QB and several other key pieces of talent that made them so successful. So why am I on the Wildcats again? Oh, that’s right, they’re 4-0-1 against the spread in their last 5 non conference games and 5-2 against the number in their last 7 overall. Meanwhile Louisville is a dreadful 1-4 against the spread in their last 5 at home. The loss of Woodson at QB concerns me a bit but I honestly believe that Rich Brooks is the most under rated coach in D-1 football, he wins wherever he goes.
I know I’m still missing a few games and hopefully I still have a chance at some point to talk about most of them. In Michigan-Utah I just can’t make my mind up and maybe that’s why the odds makers see it so even. In Texas-FAU I think the over is a given but the actual points just seem large for what should be an offensive show.
If all goes as planned Missouri-Illinois will be my first ever video spotlight game, if my new look isn’t up by the time the game goes off I’ll give out the url of where to find it out on the net. Tennessee-UCLA is a video spotlight game as well and the same things apply as with the Mizzou-Illini video.
For those that visit regularly you may have notice my site has been down a significant amount of time as of late, maybe more down than up actually. I have one more of those time periods coming up which is planned for Friday during the day so that’s why I’m writing this now. After Friday you may not recognize the place and that’s a good thing, I really hope you like what you find here. If you happen to forget during the day Friday and you see us not operational be sure to just check back later.
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