Saturday, September 20, 2008

NFL Picks, Week 3

Some more NFL picks while remaining evacuated due to Hurricane Ike…

Last Week: 8-7
Season: 16-15 (yuck!)

The NFL is a lot harder to predict than college football.

Dallas at Green Bay: The Cowboys travel to Green Bay for the first time in forever, and Tony Romo returns to his native state of Wisconsin. Aaron Rodgers is really, really hot as he replaces the great Brett Favre. Still, it’s hard for me to pick against the Cowboys. Do you really think I would do that? Pick: Dallas

Miami at New England: The Patriots won a game last week with Matt Cassel as starting quarterback in place of the injured Tom Brady. Now, the awful Dolphins visit Foxboro. The Pats have won 18 regular season games in a row. Make that 19. Pick: New England

Houston at Tennessee: The Texans visit the former Oilers. The Texans laid a big egg in their first game, then had an egg laid on top of them last week as a result of Hurricane Ike. The Titans are a surprising 2-0. Make that 3-0. Pick: Titans

Tampa Bay at Chicago: This game is the definition of unpredictable. Get ready for lots of defense in this one. Pick: Chicago

Cincinnati at New York Giants: The Bengals have started out really pathetic. The Giants have picked up where they left off in February. Pick: Giants

Arizona at Washington: Start printing playoff tickets in the desert, because the Cardinals are 2-0! This one will be a bit much for them, though. Pick: Washington

Carolina at Minnesota: The Panthers are 2-0, while the Vikings are a disappointing 0-2. Also, Adrian Peterson is a game-time decision for the Vikes. The Panthers make it three in a row. Pick: Carolina

Kansas City at Atlanta: Yuck. The Chiefs aren’t very good at all. The Falcons may turn out to be better than expected. Pick: Atlanta

Oakland at Buffalo: Watch out for Buffalo. The Bills are pretty good. Pick: Buffalo

Detroit at San Francisco: Somebody has to win this game. Pick: San Francisco

New Orleans at Denver: Attention, AFC: The Broncos are back. Pick: Denver

St. Louis at Seattle: Somebody has to win this game, also. The Rams are putrid. Pick: Seattle

Pittsburgh at Philadelphia: Winner gets to paint the state capitol in Harrisburg in their team colors. The Linc will be rocking for this one. Pick: Philly

Cleveland at Baltimore: The new Browns visit the old Browns. Cleveland is off to a slow start. The Ravens steal one at home. Pick: Baltimore

Jacksonville at Indianapolis: AFC South showdown. The Jags really need a win here. So do the Colts, as they limp along at 1-1. Pick: Colts

New York Jets at San Diego: Brett Favre appears on Monday Night Football once again. The Chargers are very desperate, especially after last week’s questionable loss in Denver. Chargers roll in this one. Pick: San Diego

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

College Picks, Week 4

Last Week: 14-6
Season: 46-14

This week’s games begin on Wednesday night, so the picks are a little early.

Kansas State at Louisville (Wednesday): Steve Kragthorpe has to be wondering if it was worth it to leave Tulsa for Louisville. The Ville has struggled in the last season plus the first part of this one. They get a home game against Kansas State, who suddenly isn’t afraid to go on the road to play a decent team. This will be a pretty good game, especially for a Wednesday night. Pick: Louisville

West Virginia at Colorado (Thursday): The Mountaineers were proven mortal by East Carolina two weeks ago. They now head to the other mountains to take on the improving Buffs. Tough pick. Strange things happen on Thursday nights. Pick: Colorado

Baylor at Connecticut: It’s a long way from Waco to East Hartford. The Bears have to be feeling pretty good after getting two lopsided wins in a row. But, the Huskies are feeling even better after pounding Virginia. Pick: UConn

Miami at Texas A&M: In the 90’s, this would have been a titanic matchup. Now, it’s two names with not nearly as much game. The Aggies regained a bit of respect by going out and getting a win at New Mexico in their last game. The Canes are a shadow of their former selves. Pick: A&M

Sam Houston State at Kansas: Mismatch alert. Pick: KU

Rice at Texas: The Feisty Knightbirds come into this one with a winning record after three games. The Horns have been impressive in wins over Florida Atlantic and UTEP. Pick: Texas

Iowa State at UNLV: The Clones go to Sin City to face a hot UNLV team. The Rebels got their biggest victory in years last week with a 23-20 overtime win at Arizona State. Pick: UNLV

Buffalo at Missouri: The Bulls are improved, but aren’t in Mizzou’s league. Pick: Missouri

Massachusetts at Texas Tech: There is a really big difference between Amherst, Massachusetts and Lubbock, Texas. UMass is a pretty good FCS program, so there may not be quite as much difference between the football teams. Still, Tech should win comfortably. Pick: Tech

Florida at Tennessee: It’s going to be really hard for the Big Orange to beat the Gators, even in Knoxville. Pick: Florida

Georgia at Arizona State: The Bulldogs leave the Peach State for a non-conference game for the first time in eons. They head to the desert to play an ASU team that is reeling from a shocking overtime loss at home to UNLV. The Bulldogs have fallen from 1st to 2nd to 3rd in the polls without losing. They get a statement win this week. Pick: Georgia

LSU at Auburn: LSU visits the Loveliest Village on the Plains for a titanic SEC Saturday night battle. This has become the biggest game in the SEC West year after year. Winner gets the inside track to a trip to Atlanta in December. Pick: Auburn

Notre Dame at Michigan State: The Irish are smiling after last week’s whipping of Michigan. They now head up the road to East Lansing for a chance to go undefeated against the Great Lakes State. Michigan State is improving a lot. The green team wins this one. Pick: Michigan State

Virginia Tech at North Carolina: Ambush alert. Butch Davis has the Tar Heels up and going now, evidenced by last week’s thrashing of Rutgers in New Jersey. Tech has already lost to East Carolina before winning home games over Furman and Georgia Tech. Pick: North Carolina

East Carolina at N.C. State: Pirates have been giant killers this month with wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia. The Wolfpack aren’t as good as either of those teams. Pick: East Carolina

Arizona at UCLA: Both teams lost on the road to Mountain West teams last week. Arizona lost at New Mexico, while the Bruins were pounded by BYU, 59-0. Can the Bruins find anything after that debacle? Probably. Pick: UCLA

TCU at SMU: The Iron Skillet is on the line once again. TCU is rolling right along, and won’t overlook the Ponies. Pick: TCU

Alabama at Arkansas: The Hogs are the worst 2-0 team in America, having squeaked out wins over Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe. Alabama has shown signs of returning to greatness. Pick: Alabama

Mississippi State at Georgia Tech: State lost a baseball game last week to Auburn, 3-2. Georgia Tech has looked pretty good running the option, but lost last week in a trip to Virginia Tech. Pick: Georgia Tech

Central Michigan at Purdue: These teams play all the time, it seems. They played twice last season: a regular season game in West Lafayette and in the Motor City Bowl. Purdue won both games. They’ll win this one, also. However, it won’t be easy. Pick: Purdue

Sunday, September 14, 2008

NFL Picks: Week 2

NFL Picks, Week 2

Quick picks after a long trip and a hurricane….

Last Week: 8-8
Season: 8-8

Philadelphia at Dallas: Both teams were impressive last week in big wins. Cowboys are at home on Monday night. Pick: Dallas

Tennessee at Cincinnati: Titans rode the arm of Kerry Collins to a win last week over the Jags. This week, they face the Ocho Cincos of Cincinnati. Pick: Cincinnati

Buffalo at Jacksonville: Bills looked sharp last week in dismantling of Seattle. Jags return home after losing to the Titans. Pick: Jacksonville

Oakland at Kansas City: Raiders got spanked last week on Monday night. It looks like another long year in the Black Hole. Pick: Kansas City

Indianapolis at Minnesota: Great matchup in spite of the Vikings’ loss last week in Green Bay. Colts didn’t look real great last week, either. The Colts are too good to go 0-2. Pick: Indy

Chicago at Carolina: Two surprise winners from last week. Is the magic back in Carolina? It’s too easy to tell. If the Bears can spoil the opening of the Colts’ new stadium, they can win here. Pick: Bears

Green Bay at Detroit: Lions were their normal selves in an opening-week loss to Atlanta. They come home to face the Favre-less Packers. Pick: Detroit

New York Giants at St. Louis: The Rams were really awful last week in being drubbed by Philadelphia. Now, they face the defending Super Bowl champions. Pick: Giants

New Orleans at Washington: Saints go on the road. Washington is really unpredictable. Pick: Redskins

Atlanta at Tampa Bay: Break up the Falcons! They’re 1-0. Not after this week. Pick: Tampa Bay

San Francisco at Seattle: Seattle is down to wide receivers off the street. Still, they’re playing the awful 49ers. Pick: Seattle

New England at New York Jets: This one is full of drama, as Brett Favre plays his first home game at the Meadowlands, and the Patriots play their first game without Tom Brady. This is the biggest injury in the NFL in years. Brady is the straw that stirs the Patriots’ drink. Pick: Jets

San Diego at Denver: Denver is flying high after pounding the Raiders late last Monday night. Chargers need a win to avoid going 0-2. Pick: Denver

Miami at Arizona: Yuck. Pick: Arizona

Pittsburgh at Cleveland: This should be fun, as no one hates the Steelers more than the people in Cleveland. The Steelers are a better team, though. Pick: Pittsburgh.

Baltimore at Houston: Oops. Hurricane Ike got this one. They’ll play later in the year.