A break down and prediction for every major D-1 game this week.

Straight Shootin’ College Football Picks for Week 3

Thursday

#14 Georgia Tech 37
#20 Miami 24
Considering Florida State’s struggles so far, Miami really hasn’t shown enough to be ranked. GT on the other hand is coming off of a close battle against what appears to be a much improved Clemson squad.

Friday

#10 Boise St. 31
Fresno St. 24
Another very respectable showing for Fresno St., but they’ll have to start putting up more W’s to get the national attention. Fresno St. is a dangerous dark horse. Boise St. will stay around 10th with the victory. This game could decide the WAC champion. Keep an eye on Hawaii though.

Saturday

Boston College 24
Clemson 28
This should really be a great game. Clemson’s defense should be able to stifle BC though. Both of these squads are hoping to be ranked soon.

Duke 14
#22 Kansas 44
Kansas stays ranked by beating up on the Dukies.

Louisville 17
Kentucky 37
The SEC team has to be the favorite in this in-state battle.

Eastern Michigan 21
#25 Michigan 31
Michigan is riding high and into the top 25 after beating Notre Dame (with some help?), but they better not sleep on this matchup. Don’t be fooled by EMU’s 0-2 record, they are capable of pulling the upset. Michigan should fall back out of the top 25 after the shine from last week’s win wears off.

#8 Cal 40
Minnesota 28
Cal should be able to run away with this one against a somewhat struggling Minnesota squad. With Oregon out of the way (at least for now), Cal can focus on putting pressure on perennial Pac-10 favorites USC.

ECU 28
#24 UNC 35
This Tarheel State battle should be won by the ‘Heels, but not by much. Both teams are underrated and should make some noise by the end of the season.

Temple 7
#5 Penn St. 50
This Quaker State battle shouldn’t even be close.

Northern Illinois 31
Purdue 41
Never sleep on this Jerry Kill led NIU squad. It certainly wouldn’t do any good for the Big 10 to see Purdue lose this one. Purdue should have the offensive firepower to get it done though after nearly pulling the upset on a struggling Oregon team last week.

#11 Ohio St. 37
Toledo 38 -upset
Don’t you dare sleep on this one. Toledo may have developed one of the nation’s top scoring offenses seemingly overnight, and even the strong Ohio St. defense will be hard pressed to slow them down. Look what Toledo did to another big conference program in Colorado last week. Ohio St. was already nearly upset by Navy in week one, and I don’t think their offense will be able to capitalize on the opportunities (turnovers) their defense is likely to give them. This would be a huge upset that would drop Ohio St. out of the top 20, and maybe the top 25. This is a real up and coming Toledo squad that is still young.

Wofford
Wisconsin
Sophomore RB John Clay gets his first start in this one, and I personally would be surprised not to see at least 180 yards and 2 TDs. Ron Dayne II anyone? Wisconsin has beaten two very strong and underrated mid major schools, and now the step down to the D-IAA level should produce a blowout. Wisconsin isn’t out of the question for a top 25 ranking after this one.

North Texas 7
#4 Alabama 48
North Texas really isn’t that bad a team, but they’ll look like it against one of the top teams in the nation. Bama will roll in this one.

Furman 10
Mizzou 38
Mizzou needs a few more big wins like this to stay in the race for the Big-12 North title. Only difference is they’ll need wins like this against a legitimate D-1 opponent.

Alcorn St. 0
Central Michigan 44
After upsetting Michigan St. last week, CMU should roll against D-IAA Alcorn St.

Wyoming 21
Colorado 31
Colorado doesn’t avoid a third upset in as many weeks by much. Time for something to change Boulder. This program is in the competition for worst in the Big 12 right now.

Tennessee 13
#1 Florida 31
As much as I’d love to give this one to the Vols, I have to be realistic. Give it a year or two and maybe. Florida has home turf and a veteran team, and they didn’t get that #1 ranking by losing games. Tennessee does have enough defense to keep it at least somewhat competitive.

Middle Tennessee 38
Maryland 28 -upset
Maryland was lucky to squeak by JMU last week. Don’t expect them to get lucky twice. Unless Middle Tennessee flops in this one, we should have an upset.

Michigan St.17
Notre Dame 42
Both teams are fresh off losses last week, but ND lost in a questionable last second game to a now ranked opponent, while Michigan St. was upset by mid major Central Michigan. Notre Dame will dominate this rivalry game. This win should be enough to get Notre Dame ranked again.

Tulsa 28
#12 Oklahoma 24 -upset
Did last week’s big win over D-IAA Idaho St. restore Oklahoma’s cocky arrogance? You bet it did. And it’ll come back to bite them again. This time in-state rival Tulsa will be the team to end Oklahoma’s BCS title hopes. Tulsa, the defending C-USA West champion, has one of the top offenses in the nation, and is rolling to start the season. They also have one of C-USA’s top defensive units. Tulsa will come to Oklahoma City on a mission, and should leave ranked in the top 25. With fellow C-USA power Houston’s upset over the Oklahoma St. last week, C-USA will start to get some attention after this one.

#18 Utah 28
Oregon 21 -upset
Can someone tell me why this is still considered an upset? According to the point spreads, Utah is +5 to Oregon. Why? Utah is ranked 18th in the nation, while Oregon has fallen out of the top 25. Utah beat Alabama, one of the top 5 teams in the nation, in the Sugar Bowl last year. Oregon has already been beaten by Boise St. this season. Like Utah, Boise St. is considered a ‘mid major’ program. The Oregon program was on a roll, but this year they seem to have regressed. Another loss puts them out of contention. The win for Utah would be their 17th straight, and would do a lot of good for both them and for the other top mid major programs (Boise St., BYU, TCU, AF, Fresno St., Hawaii, ECU, Southern Miss, Tulsa, Houston, etc.), being Utah’s first game against a ‘big time’ program this season.

UVA 17
Southern Miss 31
Southern Miss should win this game handily and take some momentum into their face off against Big 12 North leaders Kansas next week. USM is one of four C-USA teams I expect to make some big time noise this season. They are a young and rapidly improving team. This big a win over a decent ACC school should get USM some national attention, and maybe even a ranking. They may have to prove themselves against Kansas first to be ranked though. UVA on the other hand needs to make some changes. They are no longer competitive in the ACC, and were already been beaten by D-IAA William & Mary earlier this season.

UAB 45
Troy 21 -upset
This looks like it could be a down year for a developing Troy program. UAB should be able to easily outscore the Trojans with their high powered offense.

#19 Nebraska 30
#13 Virginia Tech 24 -upset
This is a huge game. A win for Nebraska would place them in top 10 consideration nationally, and would make them the favorites in the Big 12 North. The loss for VT would be their second, and would eliminate them from BCS title consideration. Nebraska is a very underrated football team who could make some noise this season. VaTech is a slightly overrated school and may not get lucky with another ACC title like they did last year. With UNC and Georgia Tech better than they have been in years, it may be Gobbler season in the ACC.

#3 Southern Cal 31
Washington 21
You’ll be hard pressed to find a bigger underdog than Washington this week. Last week they finally got there first win in what seems like forever, and now they will face the 3rd ranked team in the nation and the perennial Pac-10 favorites. Southern Cal is coming off a close win over the (overrated) Ohio St. Buckeyes, and will expect to walk all over WU in this one. They better not get too complacent though. This is not the same Washington team we saw last season. The Huskies are back on the rise, but they’re not ready to beat USC unless the game is handed to them. They did put up a decent fight against a strong LSU squad though, so keep an eye on this one.

Arizona 24
Iowa 7 -upset
Arizona may be the most underrated team in the Pac-10. There strong defense and running game could make the a dark horse for the conference title, or at least help them to play the spoiler role this year. Iowa on the other hand is off to a good start, but goes in to this game (in my opinion) as yet another overrated Big 10 school. Arizona should take this one easily.

UConn 13
Baylor 17
This is a matchup between a rising program (UConn) and a former power trying to recapture past glory (Baylor). Both teams showed significant signs of strength in their first non-conference matchups. UConn, behind a strong defensive showing, nearly pulled the upset on nationally ranked UNC in their second game after beating Ohio in week one. Baylor beat an underrated Wake Forest team in their only game so far. This should be a great defensive game, a flashback to something that has become all too rare in the college game today. Baylor is probably the stronger team.

Nevada 27
Colorado St. 28 -upset (slight)
This should be a nice matchup between teams from the Mt. West and the WAC. To say that Nevada got the season of to a rough start would be an understatement. After having high hopes for the offense going into the season, they we’re shut out in a drubbing by Notre Dame in week one. They haven’t played since. I think they should be able to bounce back though. Colorado St. on the other hand is off to a great 2-0 start, including a huge upset over in-state rival Colorado in week one. CSU’s momentum should be enough to carry them in this one, but barely.

Florida International 21
Rutgers 35
Neither of these teams is off to a great start, and neither look to have a great season.

SMU 28
Washington St. 24
No doubt about it, June Jones has got this SMU team on the turn around. Beating WSU doesn’t look like that big a deal this year though.

Gardner-Webb 13
NC St. 45
NC St.’s second straight blowout win over an overmatched D-IAA opponent. Gardner-Webb is one of the better programs at that level though.

Navy 34
Pitt 31 -upset
A matchup between two underrated teams who are starting to garner national attention, the winner of this game has a chance of coming out of the weekend ranked in the top 25. Navy will have to win impressively to get a shot. After nearly upsetting Ohio St. in week one and winning big over an underrated Louisiana Tech squad in week two, look for the Midshipmen to get the job done, but barely. This game should come down to the wire and will be great football all the way. Anchors away!

Elon 10
Wake Forest 31
Elon is a nice school, but let’s face it; their football team doesn’t have a chance against a determined and underrated Wake Forest team. This is the only real ‘easy’ game on the WF schedule this season.

#17 Cincinnati 48
Oregon St. 17 –even break
How in the heck is this game an even break? This Cincinnati team is on a roll right now. Can you hear the rumblings starting now that the Big East is every bit as good at football as the Big Ten? Well this blowout could start up comparisons with the Pac-10. What did I tell you about that Tony Pike kid huh?

Florida St. 17
#7 BYU 42
Florida St. can kiss hopes of being ranked goodbye for a good long while after this one. The lines are way too close on this one. FSU is struggling badly, while TCU is clearly one of the top teams in the nation. FSU is still fairly well regarded, so a win like this could potentially boost BYU into the top 5 nationally.

Louisiana Lafayette 16
#9 LSU 20
LSU is a darn good defensive football team, but Louisiana Lafayette is pretty darn underrated too. Still, the Tigers are a disciplined team and not likely to sleep on this one. This should be a pretty nice in-state defensive struggle and a lot closer than most people expect it to be.

Rice 14
#16 Oklahoma St. 48
I’m sure Oklahoma St. isn’t thrilled to see another C-USA team on the schedule this week, but Rice is no Houston. However, they did make a major turnaround from their typical losing ways last season on the way to a ten win season. At 0-2, Rice looks like the old Rice again though. OSU will come into this game on a mission, Expect lots of passing thanks to the absence of superstar OSU RB Kendall Hunter.

Florida Atlantic 6
South Carolina 45
If South Carolina can’t win this one, Steve Spurrier could be in for the same fate as his former counterpart up the road in Clemson, Tommy Bowden. Inconsistent is the word so far for USC, but FAU isn’t really capable of putting up much of a challenge.

Charleston Southern 3
South Florida 60
Why the lopsided score? Because Charleston Southern stinks this year! USF will be riding high off of three easy games, but may be caught unprepared when they have to face a more equal opponent.

Northwestern 27
Syracuse 17
This is a showdown between schools from the Big East and the Big Ten. Northwestern (2-0) is certainly off to a much better start than Syracuse (0-2), who no longer fields a competitive football team.

Texas St.-San Marcos 0
#15 TCU 62
Why is the #15 team in the nation even playing TS-SM? This will be a slaughter. Hopefully TCU’s backups will play the second half. The Frogs have had some degree of trouble on offense, but the defense remains one of the best in the nation.

Utah St. 21
Texas A&M 28
The WAC is not in a position to compete with the Big 12 except at the very top.

Mississippi St. 28
Vanderbilt 36
This game should be closer than most people think. We’re talking about Vandy here, not a real SEC school.

Miami Ohio 0
Western Michigan 28
Two 0-2 teams face off in this one. Miami O hasn’t scored in their two games so far this season. WMU’s defense is much better than their offense, and they could stretch UM-O’s streak to three games without a score.

Southeastern Louisiana 7
#5 Ole Miss 62
I’m still waiting for one of the best teams in college football to face a top notch opponent this season. Welcome to the big time SE Lou!

Air Force 42
New Mexico 6
New Mexico is off to a pretty rough start to the season, while Air Force is soaring (not as much as Navy though). This one shouldn’t be close. This may be the best AF team we’ve seen in awhile.

Buffalo 21
Central Florida 24
Close game between two below average programs.

#23 Georgia 35
Arkansas 28 –even break
This game is huge. The winner will be in the top 25, the loser will not be. It’s that simple. Georgia’s defense should prevail showing why they were so highly regarded going into the season. All is not lost for Georgia.

West Virginia 20
Auburn 35
In a game between two programs trying to bounce back from disappointing seasons, the SEC team should reign supreme. Auburn could make some noise and should be considered underrated right now.

Tennessee-Martin 17
Memphis 28
Memphis has been a consistently above average program for several years now, but they may be going into a bit of a down year. Ten-Mart may be able to make a game out of it.

UTEP 28
New Mexico St. 17
C-USA looks like a better conference than the Mt. West, even though they don’t get credit for it, but not by much. UTEP is off to a rough 0-2 start, but should be able to put away what has been a so far unimpressive NM St. team.

Texas Tech 31
#2 Texas 42
This was a great game last season ultimately won by Tech, but Texas comes into this year’s game as a much more experienced team than TT. Texas will be on a mission (revenge) in this one, and will hope to prove their status as the #2 ranked team in the nation. TT is underrated, but not the team they were last year.

San Jose St. 10
Stanford 46
You’ve gotta love the WAC vs. Pac-10 matchups. San Jose St. though, is one of the worst teams in either conference. Jim Harbaugh’s Cardinal should have their way in this one.

Louisiana-Monroe 31
Arizona St. 44
Two interesting and possibly underrated football teams will face off in this one. It could be closer than most people think. Lou-Mon probably doesn’t have enough D though.

K-State 20
UCLA 17 -upset
A close defensive battle between two teams I don’t expect a whole lot from this season.

Hawaii 31
UNLV 24
Hawaii would like to interject themselves back into the conversation for this season’s WAC title, but they’ll need more convincing wins than this to do it.