College Football Poll - Week 4

Upsets and injuries were the theme to Week 4. Four teams in the Top 10 go down and Tim Tebow is taken to the hospital after being knocked out cold on the field in Lexington, KY. How does it all shake out? Here we go.

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Boise State (Continue to climb but SOS will catch up with them)
5. Virginia Tech
6. Oklahoma
7. USC (Need to see more consistent offense to elevate them)
8. Ohio State
9. LSU (Wins over UGA & UF next 2 weeks would put them near the top)
10. Cincinnati
11. Iowa (↑15)
12. Penn State (↓7)
13. TCU
14. Oregon (↑9)(Loss at Boise St might be to undefeated team)
15. Houston (↑9)(Might win Big 12 South)
16. Nebraska
17. Oklahoma St
18. Kansas
19. BYU
20. Miami (↓7)
21. CAL (↓17)
22. Ole Miss (↓11)(Guess my concerns were legitimate)
23. Georgia
24. Auburn
25. Michigan

Dropped Out: #17 Florida State, #25 Washington
On the Bubble: Stanford, South Carolina, South Florida, Utah, Missouri, Georgia Tech

NFL Picks

Time to continue my success from last weekend on NFL picks. First 3-0 day here I come...

Jacksonville at Houston (-4)
Houston is coming off a comeback win against the Titans and looks to keep it going against the Jaguars. Jacksonville lost last year 30-17 in Houston. The Jaguars haven't looked good this year. Their pass defense is allowing 294 yards per game and that isn't a good thing when facing a Houston offense with Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, and Owen Daniels. Although the Texans lost at home in Week 1 to the Jets, they still are one of the best home teams in the NFL. Pick: Houston -4

Chicago at Seattle (+2.5)
Two words...Seneca Wallace. Lay the points. Pick: Chicago -2.5

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (+3.5)
The Steelers have won 5 straight vs the Bengals. While the Bengals have looked better this year, the Steelers have their number. The Steelers have benen struggling to score points this year, but they should be able to hold off the Bengals attack. Pick: Steelers -3.5

Season Record: 3-3

Soothsayer Soup

Coming off a 2-1 week and I am feeling great. The more we see teams, the more informed bets we can make. Here comes my first 3-0 week (wont be my last).

Missouri at Nevada (+7.5)
Missouri beat Nevada last year 69-17 and are off to a decent start this year. Nevada is 0-2 and has been outscored 20-70. Pass defense is not a strength of Nevada (119th in the nation last year) while pass offense is the staple of Missouri's game plan. Look for an aerial attack and a lot of points. While it is a long road trip for Missouri to Reno, the Tigers just have way too many weapons for the Wolfpack to slow down. Pick: Missouri -7.5

Notre Dame at Purdue (+7)
Home dogs are the theme for week 4 in college football. Notre Dame limps into the game after a nail biting win over Michigan State. Notre Dame lost star WR Michael Floyd for the season to a broken collarbone. QB Jimmy Clausen and RB Armando Allen are game-time decisions (Clausen will play, but Allen looks iffy). So why take the Irish on the road? Purdue just doesn't possess the defense (95th in pass defense) or QB play (4 TD, 5 INT) to stay close to the Irish if they don't turn the ball over. This is the same Purdue team that lost last week to Northern Illinois at home. Pick: Notre Dame -7

South Florida at Florida State (-14)
This one looked like an exciting contest until South Florida QB Matt Grothe tore his ACL last week. It is going to be hard for a new QB to make his debut on the road vs the Seminoles. Florida State is coming off an impressive victory at BYU and could let down (see Week 2 vs Jacksonville State). I don't think Bobby Bowden will let that happen again. Look for the Seminoles to wreak havoc all day on South Florida's offense. Pick: Florida State -14

Season: 3-6

Chip Kelly is all Class

Chip Kelly, the new head coach at Oregon, has had a lot to deal with in his first year on the job. The opening game loss at Boise State wasn't that bad in hindsight, but the way they lost was embarrassing. An offensive attack that was talked about as the best on the West Coast was completely shut down. Then the team's star player, LaGarrette Blount, punches an opposing player in the face. When Chip Kelly made the correct call to suspend Blount for the season that took some serious cojones. It showed that he is in charge and everyone around the program had to take notice. He put character and actions ahead of talent and wins. Not many coaches would do that. I was impressed right then and there. But then came the news yesterday that Chip Kelly sent a check for $439 to an Oregon Alum who had sent him an email complaining about the team's performance against Boise. The $439 covered the travel expenses for the individual. How many people on the planet would have made that gesture? Coach Kelly could have and probably should have just ignored the email and gone on with his day. But to take responsibility for what happened on the Smurf Turf in Boise showed an incredible amount of class. It appears that the Oregon Ducks football program is in good hands with Coach Kelly.

College Football Poll (Week 3)

Washington shocks the College Football World with an upset of #3 USC. Will that be enough to get them into my poll? How far does USC fall? Who is my new #2? How far does BYU fall after getting demolished at home by Florida St.? For those of you who care, I am creating my own BCS computer formula. I will publish the results weekly here in a couple of weeks (for the same reason the BCS isnt published until after Week 8...because you need time for the outliers to be brought back to earth). Anyways, here we go.

1. Florida
2. Alabama (Win over Virginia Tech gets them the nod over Texas)
3. Texas
4. CAL
5. Penn State
6. Boise State (↑2) (Are there enough quality wins left to keep them this high?)
7. LSU (↑8) (Win at Washington looking better every week)
8. Oklahoma (↑2) (Destroyed a decent Tulsa team with backup QB, impressive)
9. Virginia Tech (↑2) (Don't completely buy into them, but big win over Nebraska)
10. USC (↓8)
11. Ole Miss (I'm not the only non-believer, 3.5 point underdog this week)
12. Ohio State (↓3) (Have to drop Ohio State with USC's struggles)
13. Miami (↑7) (Huge opportunity with Virginia Tech and Oklahoma up next)
14. Cincinnati
15. TCU
16. Oklahoma State (↓3)
17. Florida State (Looked horrible vs Jacksonville State, but BYU no problem)
18. BYU (↓11)
19. Georgia (showed no defense again, but win on road in SEC worth staying in poll)
20. Nebraksa (↓2)
21. Kansas
22. Michigan
23. Oregon (Big win over Utah, CAL looming next weekend)
24. Houston (Can they get Texas Tech this weekend as well?)
25. Washington (Beat USC so got to give them credit. Jake Locker is a stud)

Dropped Out: #19 Utah, #23 Oregon State, #25 UCLA
On the Bubble: Auburn, North Carolina, Missouri, UCLA, Notre Dame

NFL Picks Week 2

Coming off a winning Saturday in College Football, its time to make some NFL picks to up the bankroll. Not much to like in the lines, but the Over/Unders look enticing.

Oakland at Kansas City (O/U 39)
When the Raiders and Chiefs hook up the games tend to be low scoring. The "under" has hit in 7 of the last 8 matchups with 6 of those under 33 total points. The Raiders love to run the football and that chews up the clock. The Raiders defense looked improved in Week 1 which should only help keep the totals low. Pick: Under 39 Points

Pittsburgh at Chicago (O/U 38)
Neither team figures to run the ball all that well in this matchup. That means they will have to go to the air to get points. With Troy Polamalu and Brian Urlacher out, expect the QBs to take some chances. Pick: Over 38 Points

New York Giants at Dallas (-3)
The Giants figure to pound the ball right at the Cowboys who gave up 174 yards and 5.6 yards per carry against the Buccaneers. The Cowboys offense line should have its hands full with the Giants defensive line. There will be a lot of pressure on the Cowboys with the opening of the new Stadium and we know how they have responded recently to pressure. I think the Giants win the game straight up so why not take the cushion of the points. Pick: Giants +3

Season Record: 1-2

Soothsayer Soup

Last week brought my first win of the season. Even though I am 1-5 I still stand by my picks. You can't win them all and our luck is about to turn around. I think that Vegas is starting to over value home teams and big names. So lets go the other way.

Utah at Oregon (-4.5)
This matchup is between 2 good teams, but they dont appear to be as good as last year. Oregon struggled at home last week and needed 2 defensive TDs to beat Purdue by 2 points. Utah also struggled to put away San Jose State but eventually wound up with a 10 point win. This game will be won at the line of scrimmage and Utah has put up over 233 yards rushing in each of its games this season. Oregon has given up more than 164 yards rushing in each of its games this season. Oregon also statistically has been a terrible time of possesion team. This leads me to believe that Utah will run and possess the ball. This game has FG difference written all over it. I wouldn't be all that suprised if Utah won outright, so why not take the point. Pick: Utah +4.5

Mississippi State at Vanderbilt (-9)
Not sure what it is, but this game just spoke to me. Should Vanderbilt be favored by 9 points over ANY BCS conference team? Mississippi State did beat Vanderbilt 17-14 last season to give the Commodores their first loss of the season. Even tough they went 4-4 in the SEC last year, they didnt win any of those games by 4 points. Although the Bulldogs got beat up pretty bad last week at Auburn, I feel the new coaching staff will have them prepared for one of the truly "winnable" games on their schedule. The Commodores managed only 224 yards of offense last week against an average at best LSU defense. They also gave up 195 yards rushing to LSU and the strength of the Bulldogs is their RBs. Just a gut feeling that this one comes down to the wire. Pick: Mississippi State +9

Cincinnati at Oregon State (+1)
Oregon State opened as a slight favorite in this matchup but the wise guys are all backing Cincinnati. The Beavers secondary is young and inexperienced (0 returning starters in the secondary) and it showed against UNLV. The Bearcats are loaded on offense and have playmakers that can exploit the Beavers weakness. While they only return 1 defensive starter, they looked great at Rutgers 2 weeks ago. The Bearcats beat the Beavers 2 years ago 34-3 in Cincinnati. That pushes me onto their bandwagon. Pick: Cincinnati -1

Season Record: 1-5