What We Learned Yesterday

First of all, Joe Paterno has officially run out of things to accomplish. Sure another Big Ten title and corresponding BCS bowl berth would be outstanding, but the team's three toughest conference games remain (Nebraska, at OSU, at Wisconsin). Win two and the first-ever Leaders title is yours. But before of all that is just the daily celebration that should be Paterno's remaining games/years/decades on the sideline.
Clemson realistically fell out of the BCS title game race with Saturday's loss to Georgia Tech. But the Tigers should be able to hold on for the Atlantic crown and a spot in the conference title game against the Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech winner (probably).
As for Stanford, they held on to knock off USC in triple overtime. But the Trojans showcased Stanford's weaknesses and Oregon was paying attention. But Luck is on their side, so perhaps they can remain in the national title game hunt.

SEC Update

You really have to feel for Vandy as they narrowly lost to Arkansas today, but the future--or at least as long as they retain coach James Franklin--looks very bright. The Commodores outgained the mighty Arkansas O, 462-388, and controlled the game for 3.5 quarters as they looked for their first upset of a top ten team since 1974 (24-10 over no. 8 Florida). But a huge fumble on Hogs' 5YL, which was returned by star LB Jerry Franklin for 95y TD erased 8-pt lead and then team missed late FG ATT that would have sent game into OT. Sad.

More Picks

Oregon-35 over WSU, Rutgers +7 hosting West Virginia, Navy +23 against ND, Georgia -3 versus Florida, Kansas Sate +14 at home against OU, South Carolina -4, Arizona +4 at Wash.

Today's Picks-So Far

As it snows here in New York City, the time has come to share my early game predictions. I like Purdue getting 2 TDs at Michigan, Virginia Tech laying 15 at Duke and Michigan State getting 4 in Lincoln. More to follow.

Big East Update

You have to feel for stud back Ray Graham of Pitt, who was lost for the season last night with a 1st half knee injury. Graham became the latest star running back to be injured this year as it seems the over protection of QBs may well be bad luck for their backfield mates.

Either way. Pittsburgh's chances to remain in the Big East race were greatly compromised. Defending champion UConn looks like toast and South Florida, a preseason favorite, is sitting at 0-3, but everyone else has a shot. There is a key game in Jersey Saturday between a suddenly-reeling West Virginia squad and a team that they usually dominate in Rutgers, who can both do some of the things that Syracuse did defensively to the Mountaineers and will be inspired by just entering the stadium. That is because recovering teammate Eric LeGrand, who suffered his spinal injury last October, will lead them onto the field. The Scarlet Knights will be inspired.

SEC Update

The LSU-Alabama game is not this weekend! It just seems that way due to coverage (over coverage?). There is still plenty of SEC action to grab your attention, beyond the behind-the-scenes machinations involving Missouri.

For one thing Florida-Georgia is this weekend and that game is usually fun, if a bit one-sided. But this year, the dominant team in the series in recent years, Florida, is the dog so the game should be compelling. The Bulldogs cannot rewrite their recent series history (only 3 wins in last 21 games) and need to get that out of their minds as they focus on a potential SEC East title. Still you wonder how they will handle adversity. As for the Gators, they obviously value this game as a rivalry and coach Muschamp played for Georgia. More importantly, they need to win to avoid falling to .500 at 4-4 with South Carolina and Florida State still to play.

The other key game in the SEC East takes place in Knoxville, where a struggling Vols team host a South Carolina squad trying desperately to hold onto their slim first place advantage. Tennessee is 0-4 in SEC play for the second straight year and have lost those games by an average of 32 points. They go with a true freshman at QB in Justin Worley against an SC club that has had two weeks to scheme plays for a number of offensive weapons not named Marcus Lattimore. If the Gamecocks can mix the ball around on O and pressure the kid on D, they'll remain number one in the East for one more week while sending the Vols to a second straight 0-5 conference start. SEC game number six this year? At Arkansas on November 12.

Speaking of the Hogs, they have a big game at Vanderbilt this weekend. I say that it is big as Arkansas needs to keep winning in an attempt to claim the unofficial number three ranking among SEC clubs. Although this is not a year for depth in the conference, being considered third best here always carries a lot of credit and a nice January bowl game. Of course, Arkansas has a sot to finish as the team considered second best in the SEC, but I'll believe a win at LSU later this year wen I see it.

Auburn-Mississippi was never much of a rivalry back 50 years ago when both were good because they did not play. The Tigers are 24-4 in the series since 1971 and should up that to 25-4 on Saturday. Meanwhile Mississippi State must get their act in gear this season and there is no better place to do that than in Lexington against the Wildcats.

View From Bennett Avenue

What the hell was Tony La Russa thinking last night? Reminded me of Les Miles.

What We Learned Saturday

Did anyone see that one (Texas Tech's upset of OU) coming? I was not surprised by Michigan State's upset of Wisconsin, but the Horned Frogs? They have had success versus Oklahoma in Lubbock, but, like everyone else, struggles in Norman where the Sooners had enjoyed a 32-game win streak in home conference games. They played there last year too and lost 45-7.
But to take a 31-7 lead at one point? That is amazing. QB Seth Doege was brilliant, completing 33-52 for 441y and 4 TDs. But the Tech offense has been good all season, scoring 40 against A&M and 38 against KSU. Tech lost those games as the defense was torched. But against a banged-up Sooner squad, Tech whipped OU for 2.5 quarters. Yes they allowed the
Sooners to rally, but that was to be expected and they did close out the Sooners. Texas Tech was the better team and who would have thunked that?
As for Michigan State, that final play was one for the ages. After being known for decades for hard hitting and conservative play, MSU is now starting to ring up more game-ending excitement on crazy plays.
But what did we learn? To play each game and never assume teams will win out or remain undefeated until playing a rival down the road. But we already knew that--could someone tell ESPN?

Today's Picks

Last night's Syracuse win highlights a problem some bettors have picking games. When a program that is expected to be better plays what looks like a "revenge" game against a lesser rival that pulled the upset a year earlier. Take Texas's romp this year over an Iowa State team that stunned them last year. But some teams just know how to match up against another program's personnel, which I believe is the case with Syracuse (and another reason it was dumb for them to move to the ACC as I felt they could have earned a BCS bid or two in the BE) against West Virginia.
As far as today's games I like Kansas State, Okie State, Auburn, Nevada, Air Force, Army, Clemson, Purdue, Texas A&M, MSU, Northwestern and Wasington. Good luck.

Big East Update

The Big East is in the spotlight tonight with Louisville hosting a surprisingly 5-1 Rutgers and West Virginia traveling to Syracuse. With all of the turmoil surrounding the conference, the champion this year may be the one that can best drown out the distractions. The Mountaineers, also 5-1, will be looking for payback for a stunning home loss to the Orange last year. Previously they had won eight straight in the series and there is no reason to believe that they won't regain the Schwartzwalder Trophy tonight. What is worrisome for the home team is that they allowed USC QB Matt Barkley to throw five TD passes against them last month. How will they stop the explosive West Virginia passing attack?
As for the Rutgers-Louisville contest, points will be at a premium in a match-up of squads being carried by their respective stop units. With West Virginia up next for Rutgers, they had better get their work done versus a rebuilding Cardinal squad.

View From Bennett Avenue

Synthetic marijuana? I am too old to have encountered that in my day. But I hope the three Lousiana State football players--Tyrann Mathieu, Therold Simon and Spencer Ware--enjoyed themselves with it. Supposedly those players failed a drug test. I don't know. I do know that they have been suspended and that is huge with the Tigers Bowl against Auburn taking place this Saturday.
But I write this post to chastise members of the media for idiotic reporting. No, I am not angry that LSU has not confirmed the failed tests. Stories like these come out one way or another and if the regular press ignored them waiting for full evidence, they would have nothing to report. This is especially true with college programs that are usually tight-lipped. Do you think Auburn would ever admit to a knowledge of payment to Cam Newton's father, if indeed some member of their family paid him? No. Head coach Les Miles does not have to tell us why he is suspending these players. My problem is with the presentation. Mathieu, who has been over-hyped all season--is justifiably the lead here. But ESPN and CBS and others continue to write that "stars" Mathieu and Ware and another guy have been suspended. And that is where I--and Therold Simon's mom--beg too differ.
For one thing, LSU is winning because they hit you with a wave of tall guys, some of whom are quite big, who are all fast. With AA CB Patrick Peterson departed to the NFL, they entered the season devoid of stars. The only player to make Phil Steele's preseason all conference first team was CB Morris Claiborne, who had heretofore been known as the other guy opposite Peterson. But as LSU climbed the polls, ESPN had to create a superstar--how dare a team win a team sport as a collective! And so Mathieu became a Heisman candidate for his brilliant play early on and his nickname, the Honey Badger, became almost a mantra for Erin Andrews and others. But Mathieu, like the entire LSU D, is a bit too much hype. Good, yes, but not great. LSU has played four SEC games and has been fortunate to face backup QBs versus Florida and Tennessee and struggling (against everyone) QBs for Kentucky and Mississippi State. Yes they made some plays against Oregon, but the Ducks offense is not as good away from Eugene and had to deal with fumbles and injuries. The only other good offense they faced--that of West Virginia--torched them for 533y. I am sorry, but no great defense allows 533y, even if it was on the road and with a big 4th Q lead.
But Mathieu has become a star. Fine. And Ware is a solid player who leads a bevy of talented backs. He is no star, however. Meanwhile, ESPN had better put on the tapes of Simon before they continue to disrespect him. He is 4th on the team with 29 tackles and is first in passes broken up and defended. The team's sole pick of Oregon QB Darron Thomas? By Simon of course who had a big game that day. Meanwhile, Bleacherreport mentioned that he may or may not be an NFL prospect, despite being 6'3 and a playmaker as a sophomore. What his future NFL plans have to do with the story I cannot tell you.
So, report stories. But please get to know the players you supposedly cover.

SEC Update

Although national championship implications always dictate the press coverage of the SEC, for this season the races to win the East and West have each broken down to neat two-team races. Alabama and LSU have not lost to anyone and have a showdown November 5th that everyone expects to settle the divisional title and Georgia has only lost one conference game, to South Carolina, and SC has lost only to Alabama. Sure Arkansas is ranked highly and Auburn is already 3-1 in conference, but not one pundit gives either of them a chance out West, while the four other SEC East teams have already the stench of also-ran about them.

Both Alabama and Louisiana State play home games this weekend before off weeks on October 29. So neither of them have an advantage. LSU has the tougher opponent in Auburn but it is hard to imagine a Tiger squad that has yet to surpass 17 points in any of its past three games to pull off a road upset. The Tide will have the pleasure of sending rival Tennessee to an 0-4 SEC mark.

The intrigue is really in the East were a season-ending knee injury to star back Marcus Lattimore of South Carolina has buoyed Georgia's chances of claiming the division. But Georgia needs some outside help to overcome their loss to SC. The Gamecocks need to lose one of their remaining three conference games--at Tennessee, at Arkansas or home versus Florida while the Bulldogs sweep Florida in Jacksonville and Auburn and home games versus Auburn and Kentucky. That is very possible--especially with the inexperienced Connor Shaw at QB and replacements at tailback--but the Gamecocks could very well rally behind their young QB and backs. We have already witnessed a fired up Steve Spurrier, so there is something to be said for that possibility. The big problem is that every opposing defense schemed for Lattimore and will now put more pressure on Shaw and young skill talent like back Brandon Wilds and wide receiver Bruce Ellington--he of the SC hoops team--who has excelled out of the Wildcat. With a week off, Spurrier will need to come up with some more creative offensive schemes to make up for the loss of one of the nation's finest players.

What We Learned Yesterday

The big eight undefeated teams all held serve once again yesterday, with no. 8 Clemson the one overcoming the biggest scare. Virtually all of the second tier of undefeated lost, with Michigan, Georgia Tech and Illinois all losing, but little Kansas State keeps chugging along.
The biggest news of the day centered on stars landing on the injury report, but I can update that reality when more news surfaces.
Meanwile, my daughter enjoyed the Boo at the Zoo yesterday in the Bronx. The hayride and costume parade were the biggest hits.

View From Bennett Avenue

The top teams have been holding serve all year--can we have a major upset, please! Come on Tennessee, do it for Mom Dooley. Longhorns--are you men? Someone please shake up the top ten.

View From Bennett Avenue

Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo has now retracted some of his comments made about ACC expansion but the gist of his remarks remain clear. BC does not want Connecticut in the conference. What role ESPN has ever played in this affair remain unclear and the main reason for BC's attitude against UConn are also a bit murky.
Is ESPN trying to play the role of kingmaker? It appears that way. What is clear is that the inability of the BE to sign on to the huge television offer from ESPN cost them a great deal with the future of the conference in doubt. It is unfathomable to think that ESPN, once spurned, played any role in the weakening of a conference that in many ways made the network what it is today. But why would DeFilippo make that up?
As for the desire by Boston College to challenge Connecticut's potential move to the ACC, I find that either reason offered by DeFilippo to be shortsighted. DeFilippo mentioned both that BC wanted to have ownership of New England in terms of ACC membership and that he was still angry at Connecticut for the lawsuit against BC when the Eagles left the BE. For one thing, no one cares that Boston College is the sole ACC team in New England and the lawsuit is getting a bit old now. Yes it got personal, but if UConn's joining the ACC helps your sports programs then you must get past it.
To be honest, every member of the ACC but BC should not care about UConn joining and BC should want them in. If football is indeed driving expansion, what does the Husky football program bring to the conference? And even if you would be fired up about adding their men's basketball team, how will it look in the very near future when they have a new coach? Meanwhile Boston College athletics--apart from hockey which, of course, is not in the ACC--have become virtually invisible. They desperately need a return to their rivalry with UConn, especially in the pro-oriented city of Boston. Being the sole ACC program from New England has done absolutely nothing for Boston College.

Big East Update

With the conference busy searching for programs that want to join it as football-only members--that's you Service Academies!--the teams currently in the conference are busy battling it out for a BCS berth (say what you will about it, it still counts).

Rutgers, of all teams, has taken the early lead with a two-game sweep of the traitorous duo, Syracuse and Pitt. While RU has played the Panthers well recently--Saturday's win was their fifth in seven games--no one expected a 34-10 rout. But Saturday's win showcased the need for Rutgers (I won't call them the Scarlet Knights since they opted for all black) to keep New Jersey talent home. QB Gary Nova, a frosh from Elmwood Park who led fabled Don Bosco HS to a national title, received his first start under center and played well, CB Logan Ryan of Berlin had two picks, including one he returned for finishing TD, and was named BE D player of the week, LB Khaseem Greene of Elizabeth (# 20 in photo tackling brother Ray Graham, who did play well with 164y rushing) led the team with 11 tackles, FB Joe Martinek of Hopatcong took a screen 60y for TD and LB Steve Beauharnais set up the team's first TD with an INT.

Rutgers still has five conference games remaining, but they play West Virginia, USF and Cincinnati at home. What is almost as important as winning is the impression they are making on prospects as they play as well as they have played in a few years during a picture-perfect day. Keep up the good play and the kids will come.

View From Bennett Avenue

Not one of the big three college football powers from the state of Florida is ranked in the AP top 25 for the first time since 1982. That is stunning, but not surprising for various reasons.
The obvious one is that the many talented players in the Sunshine State get recruited by all of the major powers. Miami, Florida and Florida State rode the surge in talented Florida high school players that began after the post-war state population growth to great heights beginning in the late 1970s. But all three of those powers won with experienced coaches who knew how to exploit all of that talent in men like Bobby Bowden, Steve Spurrier, Jimmy Johnson and Dennis
Erickson. Even coaches like Butch Davis and Howard Schnellenberger, who had limited or no head coaching experience, arrived at Coral Gables with extensive NFL experience.
But now, with the competition for in-state talent fiercer than ever, those three programs entrusted these difficult, yet plum, jobs to men without head coaching experience in the since-fired Randy Shannon, Jimbo Fisher and Will Muschamp. Why?
Don't get me wrong. Every great head coach was once just a coordinator somewhere. And yes there are some coaches, like Bob Stoops, who can do extemely well with their first crack at a head job. But the odds are against them. The overwhelming number of national championship coaches in the modern era have come from coaches who were head men elsewhere. The last nine national title coaches were men who had been head coaches at other schools before their title-winning position. The job has become so difficult that to expect guys without head experience to succeed at high-profile jobs is silly.
Making matters worse is the individuals hired for these jobs. The first was Shannon, who had done an excellent job as the Miami defensive coordinator and was a respected former Hurricane player. The problem with Shannon's hire was that the university expected him to win every game and clean up the program (in terms of player arrests and getting kids to class, not as we know now with player purchasing). So Shannon no longer took every troubled kid from the area and was tough on his players in terms of behavior. With the wall enclosing South Florida high schools now breached, Miami could not overcome a host of problems and slipped accordingly.
Florida State, meanwhile, jumped on LSU QB guru Jimbo Fisher as their coach-in-waiting while Bobby Bowden's career wound down. Replacing a legend like Bowden would have been tough for any coach but to expect a guy whose claim to fame was good quarterback meetings with Matt Mauck and JaMarcus Russell always seemed like a stretch to me. He could recruit but so can 50 other guys.
Florida was in a weird position due to Urban Meyer's mind changing over his future. But again, all the school had to do was look at its record with recent hires. Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer both won at second tier schools before winning titles with the Gators. Ron Zook was a former coordinator who could recruit. Sound familiar? Zook was fired after three seasons. So now they hire Muschamp, who seemed to have gotten the job because he is exciteable.
What is particularly stunning is that not one of these programs can even claim to have a better future. Miami will soon be put on probation. By the time Florida figures out a QB, offensive stars Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps will be playing in the pros and FSU will need a new QB next year too. It was telling that after FSU lost to Wake Forest yesterday, three of its higest-rated recruits for next year de-committed. The best Florida kids can go anywhere--why should they play for rebullding squads?

What We Learned Yesterday

As I have said many times before, the problem with the current coverage of college football is that the race for the BCS title game supersedes everything else. There are clearly 6-7 teams that are, at this point in the season, better than the rest. That's fine. But this is not the NFL where we only crown one champion and do not care about the rest. In college, one team will be crowned the BCS national champ. But one team is going to be ecstatic that they won the Big East, one team the ACC, etc. Why the media cannot understand this mystifies me. Wake Forest beating Florida State should have been a huge story. Instead it was covered the same way as the South Carolina beat down of Kentucky.

The other fascination with the media is with individual talent in this a team sport. Actually, let me correct that. Individual talent on the best teams that they happen to notice. Russell Wilson playing well for also-ran North Carolina State? Who cares. Russell Wilson playing well for undefeated Wisconsin? "That guy is incredible." And you do not have to transfer to get a boost. Robert Griffin has been pretty amazing when healthy his entire run at Baylor but needed to throw long passes to wide open receivers in the upset of TCU to get noticed. Part of the problem with the stars of the second tier teams is ignorance. The analysts spend so much time saying the same things about Alabama and Oklahoma that they miss the key players for the other teams. What could they say about Wake's win when they did not know who plays for the Deamon Deacs? Or how about Herbstreit yesterday praising Kansas State's defense for overcoming a lack of talent with grit and determination. While he correctly picked Kansas State to beat Missouri he forgot that the catalyst for KSU's undefeated season has been the superb play of linebacker Arthur Brown...a FIVE STAR RECRUIT who transferred from Miami. Brown has 38 tackles to lead the Wildcats. No one else is within 10 of that total.

So stop worrying about who will be atop the first BCS standings when they come out or who is leading the Heisman race and give us more coverage of Rutgers, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, etc. Why not?

Early afternoon analysis

WAKE!
3-0 in the ACC for the first time in school history. Love it. More about FSU later.
Oklahoma does not like Texas--the program, not the state.
Al Davis was a nut, but he did have a great deal of influence. RIP.

Today's Picks

Round One:
OU -11
IU +14
Iowa +4
Oregon State +2.5
LSU -14
Kansas State +4
Good luck

View From Bennett Avenue

Here's hoping LaMichael James gets back on the field at some point for Oregon this year. When we first saw the injury last night, I would have said that that was impossible for him to return. But he did a great job being there for his teammates after getting the aircast put on and then addressing the media. So there is hope.
So the Big 12 did not want TCU when it was formed and did not want TCU when Nebraska and Colorado left last year. Finally, with the conference losing Texas A&M and potentially Missouri, among others, they extend an offer and the Horned Frogs will jump? Sad.
And ARod was the one Yankee I did not want to see at the plate last night with two outs in the ninth--being a Yankee fan mind you--and I would have wanted anyone else on the roster. Even a pitcher. I knew for certain that he would strike out.

Pac 12 Update

Will tonight be another misleading glance at the Oregon Ducks? What I mean by that is that tonight's game is being played in Eugene and when Oregon hosts someone they really lay it on. Last year they scored 52 against Stanford, 60 versus UCLA, 53 in a contest against Washington and 48 versus Arizona. Can Cal hold them to less than 48?
At first glance you can make a case for it. The Bears played Oregon as well as anyone last season, holding the Ducks to 15 points on "only" 317 yards in a 15-13 Oregon victory. And in 2007, Cal won in Eugene. So maybe they can hang with the mighty Ducks, 24-point favorites.
Then again, maybe not. Cal was awful on the road last year, losing four of five games. This year they beat woeful Colorado on the road, but in OT, and then lost to a solid Washington team in Seattle. There is not much to believe that the Bears could repeat last year's close call.
There is not much else going on in conference play this weekend, unless Utah plays its A game versus ASU. If QB Jordan Wynn does not play however, due to an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, then I cannot see how the Utes could pull the upset there, unless the Sun Devils are looking ahead to next week's match-up against Oregon.

ACC Update

It is time to celebrate all things Wake Forest! They have the crazy nickname and are located in a city that is unabashed about its love of tobacco. The QB's name is Tanner Price, which sounds like a character from To Kill a Mockingbird. And they are 2-0 in the ACC!

Ol' Tanner has a 152 rating for season, having thrown for 1,119y and 7 TDs. He is from Austin and, therefore, has to be good. Price's main target, Chris Givens, also hails from Texas (Wylie) and has 27 catches for 498y and 4 TDs. So, second tier Texas recruits are flourishing in Winston-Salem.

Umm, Wake plays Florida State and Virginia Tech the next two weekends. All hail Wake!

By the way, Virginia Tech plays Miami this weekend. Remember when that game was important?

Big East Update

Here is some big news. The Big East has not disbanded. I know you would not think that it remained a football conference based on the coverage it receives, but the Big East is still playing football.
Meanwhile, the game of the week will be played in New Jersey. Rutgers has not yet left the conference--although that just might be because no other conference wants them--and they stand tied atop the Big East with a 1-0 mark with the team they host this weekend...Pitt. The winner of that contest will stand alone at 2-0 (in fairness to the rest, half of the conference has yet to play a game) and will have four wins overall. While the Panthers are playing better under new coach Todd Graham as the season progresses, the Scarlet Knights are relishing their below-the-radar standing. I fully expect this game to be tight and while the focus will be on Pitt back Ray Graham, the nation's leading rusher with 734y, and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu of RU, who already has 43 receptions, the key to the W just might be special teams.
In other action, West Virginia looks to avenge a costly loss last year that prevented a BCS berth when they host Connecticut. That could get ugly. There are no other conference games Saturday as the Big East slowly gets going. Louisville desperately needs an upset at UNC, although it is hard to see that happening, while Syracuse travels to Tulane in their quest to gain another win toward bowl eligibility.

What We Learned Yesterday

Do you know what we learned yesterday? The very best teams are a lot better than everyone else. Apart from Clemson, who is moving up higher and higher each week, the best work yesterday was done by teams already highly ranked like Alabama, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Stanford. They further cemented their spots atop the polls. The big losers yesterday were the second tier teams, like South Carolina, Nebraska, Florida, Virginia Tech and Baylor, who fell from the undefeated ranks. And except for the odd upset, the juggling of the rankings this time of year usually does effect the second tier a lot more than the first. And so squads like Michigan, Kansas State, and Georgia Tech will replace some of those losers until the week comes along that claims them too.

Unfortunately the weight of the big programs can overwhelm some great stories among the lower-ranked and unranked teams. Take SMU, who won the Iron Skillet in Fort Worth for the first time since 1993. Although that program has made great strides, the school is still better known for cheating 25 years ago than winning today. Or Bill Snyder, who has Kansas State 4-0 as his 72nd birthday approaches. Great stuff.

Today's Picks, Part 2

There are a lot of nice picks for the later game's, so save your, ummm, tokens.
I love the dogs tonight, except for the first game listed:
Va Tech -7
ISU +9
Washington +10
Ball State +40
Florida +4.5
ECU +7
Nebraska +10

Today's Picks

I am going to try something new with my selections. Being that my overall record each week trumps my best bets, let's present the whole slate.
Here are my picks for the early games with more to come:
Northwestern +10 (best bet)
Michigan -20.5
Rutgers-Syracuse under 49
Army-Tulane under 53
Texas Tech -7
Miss State +7
LSU -30.5
Buffalo +28.5
Miami of Ohio +15.5
Nevada +28
Kansas State +3.5
Good luck.