Week 2 Picks

Friday

Colorado at Toledo (Colorado by 4)

Steve: Surely Colorado will not start 0-2 will they? I don’t think the Buffs will be very good and there are already players complaining about playing time, but they will win this game. Colorado 24 – Toledo 14

Beav: After last week, it's tough to lay any points with the Buffs. I'm going with an upset special here. Toledo 36 - Colorado 34

Saturday

Iowa at Iowa State (Iowa by 6.5)

Steve: Before the season started I was thinking Iowa would be able to control the ground game in this one. Iowa’s offensive line is supposed to be their strong suit, and ISU’s defensive line is their weak spot. ISU’s d-line does suck, but Iowa’s o-line didn’t look very good against Northern Iowa. Plus, their best player, LT Bryan Bulaga, is rumored to be out for this game. ISU won’t just cover, they will win in Ames. ISU 34 – Iowa 28

Beav: Neither of these teams looked good against their FCS opponents last week. I like the Cyclones enough to win outright. Iowa 16 - Iowa State 20

Arkansas State at Nebraska (Nebraska by 23)

Steve: Arkansas State really took it to Mississippi Valley State last week, but Nebraska isn’t impressed. Nebraska could win big, but look for them to pull Helu and Zac Lee early to keep them fresh for Virginia Tech. Nebraska 35 – Arkansas State 14

Beav: Huskers continue playing host to the Sun Belt conference.NU looked good last week, but must avoid looking ahead to the big game in Blacksburg. I like NU big again. Nebraska 46 - Ark St. 13

Houston at Oklahoma State (Oklahoma State by 15)

Steve: Will this be a let down game for Okie State after their huge win against Georgia? Not likely. Look for Zac Robinson to have a big game after he struggled (for his standards anyway) last week. Oklahoma State 42 – Houston 21

Beav: Malcolm Kelly's favorite coach to 'Holla at' has the Cougars looking pretty solid this year, but Okie State just has too much firepower. 15 points doesn't seem like nearly enough. Oklahoma State - 48 Houston 24

Texas at Wyoming (Texas by 33.5)

Steve: Does Mack Brown have a vacation home in Jackson Hole? Why else would Texas go to Wyoming? There is a little altitude in Laramie, but not enough to slow down Colt McCoy and Co. Texas 52 – Wyoming 10

Beav: Why is Texas going to Laramie? I understand traveling to a non BCS school to play against a good team, and I understand traveling to a major conference school to play against a bad team (like USC going to OSU). But I don't see what you gain by traveling to a bad non BCS school. Horns will win, but I'll take the points here. UT 38 - Wyoming 20

Bowling Green at Missouri (Missouri by 20)

Steve: Either Illinois really sucks or Mizzou isn’t going to miss all their studs from last year as much as I thought. My bet is thatIllinois really sucks, but Mizzou is still good enough to cover against Bowling Green. Missouri 42 – Bowling Green 21

Beav: The biggest stories in the Big XII North last week were how bad Colorado looked and how good Mizzou looked. I like the Tigers big in this one. Missouri 46 - BGSU 21

Idaho State at Oklahoma (No Line)

Steve: No Bradford + No Gresham + Poor Offensive Line Play = bad offensive output of the Sooners. At least the coaches at Oklahoma have had an entire week to prepare Landry Jones, and their defense is still pretty stout. OU’s offense will struggle but they should still win easily. Oklahoma 35 – Idaho State 0

Beav: The Sooners look to bounce back without two first team All-Americans. I see the Sooners' offense struggling a bit. Oklahoma 24 - Idaho State 3

Kansas State at La-Lafayette (Kansas State by 7)

Steve: Kansas State barely beats UMass at home. That is not a good sign of things to come for the Wildcats. I’m thinking upset here, and I’m not talking about the stomachs of the KSU players from eating too much butter. Louisiana-Lafayette 21 – Kansas State 14
Beav: The old Bill Snyder road trip. Sounds like a good time. Kansas State 24 – Louisiana-Lafayette 10

Rice at Texas Tech (Texas Tech by 28)

Steve: Rice lost by 20 to Alabama-Birmingham last week. Texas Tech is slightly better than UAB, and by slightly I mean a lot better. Texas Tech 63 – Rice 21

Beav: Texas Tech's offense didn't quite put up the numbers we normally expect from them. I like them to bounce back this week and get things straightened out. Texas Tech 55 Rice 17

Kansas at UTEP (Kansas by 12.5)

Steve: Mangino has gotten a free pass for his Bill Snyderesq non-conference scheduling. I’m calling you out Mangino! Oh yeah, the pick. Kansas 35 – UTEP 21

Beav: KU travels to El Paso - hopefully for the Jayhawk players, Mangino went with UTEP Head Coach Mike Price's recommendation for accommodations. KU 38 - UTEP 17

Texas A&M and Baylor have bye weeks.

Non-Conference games of note:

USC at Ohio State (USC by 7)

Steve: Tyrrell Pryor may be the most overrated player in college football. I guess his one talent is stiff-arming bad db’s. USC has great db’s, and possibly the best one in the country in Taylor Mays. USC may have a freshman quarterback, but who cares? They are playing a Big 10 team. USC 24 – Ohio State 10

Beav: I had to double check this line a few times to make sure it wasn't a misprint. OSU only gets 7 points vs. USC? THE Ohio State University could only muster 153 rushing yards on 38 carries against Navy....they will be lucky to cross the 50 yard line against USC's D. USC 28 - OSU 0

UCLA at Tennessee (Tennessee by 10)

Steve: Beav, I’m confused why you picked this one as a “game of interest.” UCLA is very weak at the QB position. Monte Kiffin will have the Tennessee D all over that clown. Tennessee 28 – UCLA 14

Beav: I'm not a believer in either of these teams right now, but I do love Tennessee getting 10 points in Knoxville. UCLA 31 - Tennessee 24

Notre Dame at Michigan (Notre Dame by 3.5)

Steve: I don’t like RichRod, but I hope he can get his Wolverines to beat ND. With ND’s horrific schedule, if they win this one, they may not lose until they play USC. If that happens, Notre Dame will be so overrated and over-hyped, my head might explode. Michigan 28 – Notre Dame 24

Beav: This game is the 2009 college football equivalent of Al Pacino and Robert Deniro.
1) Both used to matter.
2) Both constantly have poor performances excused because of their reputation.
3) Both were considered relevant long past their primes
4) Seeing them on screen at the same time is becoming less nostalgic and more pathetic. (Righteous Kill for Al & Bob; Saturday's game for M & ND)
Michigan 20 - Notre Dame 13

Last Week:

Steve: 8 out of 15 (6 out of 13 against the spread)

Beav: 8 out of 15 (6 out of 13 against the spread)

Weekly Picks

It is finally here. After watching the last snap of your favorite teams Spring Game your anticipation has been building for this very day. I'm not talking about the first week of the 2009 College Football season. I'm talking about the first ever "Weekly Picks" post for This Ain't Intramurals.

For your entertainment, here is a run-down of this week’s Big 12 games and a few other national games of interest. Beav and I will both make our picks against the spread. Just know this, in no way are we condoning gambling, or saying you should take our advice and make a friendly wager on the outcomes of the games. We are sports geniuses, though, so you make the call.

Thursday:

North Dakota State at Iowa State (ISU by 17.5)

Beav: No new unis for the Cyclones this year? Over the past decade, it seems like ISU has worn more different jerseys than Jay-Z. I like the 'clones here to win but no cover. ISU 27 - NDSU 17

Steve: Iowa State is breaking in a new head coach and coordinators. This will be a positive change for the Clones in the long run, but I expect a few struggles out of the gate. ISU will not cover, but they will beat NDSU. ISU 38 - NDSU 24

Oregon at Boise State (Boise by 4.5)

Beav: The Broncos will be looking to spoil Chip Kelly's first appearance as the Ducks' head coach. It’s never easy to play on the blue turf, but I like Oregon here. Oregon 31 - Boise St 21

Steve: I think teams are no longer overlooking teams like Boise State and Utah. At least they shouldn’t. Oregon will be completely focused…but not enough to win. Boise State 28 - Oregon 24

Saturday: from least to most interesting

UMass at Kansas State (NL)

Beav: Just like the old days for Snyder. How does he find these opponents? I wasn't aware Umass even had a football team. KSU 38 - Umass 0

Steve: I don’t even know what to say about this game. There isn’t really anything we can learn about K State in this crap-fest. KSU 28 - Umass 3

New Mexico at Texas A&M (A&M by 11)

Beav: I can't imagine a scenario in which aTm scores over 20 points here - I like the Aggies to win, but in a low scoring game. aTm 17 - New Mexico 13

Steve: I’m picking an upset special here. I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about New Mexico, but I just think aTm will struggle. New Mexico 24 - aTm 14

Northern Colorado at Kansas (NL)

Beav: Jayhawks return a lot of talent on offense and Mangino's teams always seem to be well prepared. Jayhawks win big. KU 52 - UNC 17

Steve: Kansas will move the ball all day long and their defense will look better than it is. Hopefully Northern Colorado has a punter after stab-gate a few years ago, because they will need one frequently. KU 63 - Norhtern Colorado 10

North Dakota at Texas Tech (Texas Tech by 45.5)

Beav: Leach gets to try out his new replacements to Crabtree & Harrell, so I expect him to let the guys play a little bit in this one. TT 65 - ND 14

Steve: It will take all of one quarter before Taylor Potts makes Tech fans forget about Graham Harrell. Plus, I expect Tech will come out with a little chip on their shoulder. Texas Tech 56 -North Dakota 7

Louisiana Monroe at Texas (Texas by 36)

Beav: Seems like the Longhorns always cover in these early season games. Not much drama here. Texas 50 - LA-Monroe 10

Steve: Texas means business this year, and Louisiana-Monroe is hardly even a bump in the road for them. Texas big: Texas 63 - LA-Monroe 7

Florida Atlantic at Nebraska (Nebraska by 17)

Beav: Neb by 17 I like the Huskers big in this one. The biggest question mark for the Big Red is at QB, and I'm of the opinion that the Huskers offensive system doesn't put a huge burden on QBs. How else do you explain the success of Joe Ganz? Schnellenberger has had Nebraska's number in the past, but in the words of Ochocinco - he might as well kiss the baby. Nebraska 46 - FAU 17

Steve: FAU isn’t a complete joke. They have played in a few Bowl Games under Schnellenberger and won the Sun Belt last year. Still not enough fire power to take down the Huskers, new QB and all. Nebraska 38 - FAU 14

Colorado State at Colorado (Colorado by 13)

Beav: As I said in Monday's post, I like the Buffs to win in an ugly one. This one always seems to be somewhat close, so laying 13 seems like a lot. CU 27 - CSU 20

Steve: This game use to be one of my favorite games to watch. As Beav documented on Monday, the Bradlee Van Pelt ball spike in the helmet was just awesome. Unforturnately BVP no longer plays for the Rams. CU 31 - CSU 10

Baylor at Wake Forest (Wake by 5)

Beav: Wake never seems to get off to a good start, and I like Baylor to be the team this year who gets off to a great start, becomes overrated, and then falls apart toward the middle of the year. Baylor 24 - Wake Forest 16

Steve: Wake is one of those teams that has quietly been pretty darn good the last few years. I think the Bears will cover, but fall just short of winning. Wake Forest 21 - Baylor 20

BYU at Oklahoma (OU by 21)

Beav: OU was an offensive juggernaut for most of last year, but I will be interested to see how they respond to what Florida was able to do defensively. Sometimes it takes a while to recover from games like that. I like the Sooners to win, but not cover. OU 40 - BYU 26

Steve: BYU has been talking about his game for a long time. I’m guessing they will have the Sooners’ full attention, and that’s not a good thing. I expect the Oklahoma defense to look outstanding. OU 56 - BYU 14

Missouri vs. Illinois (Illinois by 5.5)

Beav: As I said in my games of the week post, Missouri has enough great athletes on the team that I don't think they will fall off as much as people think. I've never been much of a Zook believer, either. Mizzou 38 - Illinois 21

Steve: Mizzou lost too much talent fromlast year’s team to ignore. Illinois has one of the best QB-WR combos in the country with Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn that should cause problems for Mizzou’s terrible pass defense. Illinois 35 - Mizzou 21

Georgia at Oklahom State (OSU by 4)

Beav: The Cowboys bring back lots of talent at the skill positions this year, but I like the Bulldogs in this one. OK, maybe I don't...but I'm sticking with Monday's prediction. Georgia 23 - OSU 17

Steve: When this game was originally scheduled, I’m guessing Georgia wasn’t expecting T. Boone State University to be this good. Plus, this game is more than just Georgia vs. OSU. It’s SEC vs. Big 12, and the winning team/conference will have some bragging rights for a few months. Oklahoma State 27 - Georgia 20

Virginia Tech at Alabama (Bama by 4)

Beav: Even before the injuries they experienced in fall camp, I expected a disappointing year for V-Tech. I'm sure Saban's got the Tide ready to go after last year's disappointing finish. Alabama 24 - Virginia Tech 17

Steve: Let me start by saying I think both teams are overrated. For a game pitting two top 10 teams, I’m predicting a boring defensive struggle. Alabama 21 - Virginia Tech 14

Monday:

Miami at Florida State (FSU by 4)

Beav: This one sure has lost some of its luster. The Hurricanes aren't quite so thuggish anymore, and Papa Bowden's only interest these days appears to be outliving JoePa. I don't think I could be less interested in this game. FSU 23 - Miami 16

Steve: When will people finally realize these teams aren’t that good any more. Both offenses will look like crap, but people will say it’s because the defenses are sooo good. Wrong! The offenses just suck. Florida State 17 - Miami 10