After Week 2 blew me out of the water, I’m stuck floating on a small raft at 10-11 on the season. This week I plan on sending up a flare, and see if I can’t get rescued by at least 8 wins in Week 3. My tactics are really quite simple this week; I plan and picking the winner against the spread. I know, I know, I try to do that every week, but I figured if I could break it down a little bit, my picks might figure it out. Take a gander at my quest to return a winner. 13 games for your ogling pleasure.

BYU Cougars @ Boston College Eagles (-6): In this same match up last season in Utah, BC broke down Cougar offense and allowed just a field goal. This season could show much of the same. The normally high powered BYU attack appears to get shut down by disciplined and athletic defenses. BC has one of those, despite their early season trouble. The Eagles should easily up end the Eagles by a score or two.

Troy Trojans @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-17): “Getting too much love for their close loss to FSU, the Trojans are,” says Master Yoda. Georgia Tech’s solid play against the Fighting Irish wasn’t a fluke, they should easily push past the Trojans’ defense, and all but eliminate Troy’s offensive assault. Calvin Johnson is the most dominant receiver in college football. He’ll show Trojan defenders what its like to play against NFL talent. GT should win easily at home.

Miami of Ohio Redhawks (-10.5) @ Kent State Golden Flashes: Miami has a nice little program up their in Ohio. Losses to Northwestern and Purdue shouldn’t weigh on the Redhawks’ shoulders. Two tough opponents to start the season can only help the Redhawks dominate a far inferior Golden Flashes team. Senior Ryne Robinson will have a huge game taking the flashes to the house a couple of times. Miami (Ohio) will dominate in a landslide.

Miami Hurricanes (+4.5) @ Louisville Cardinals: Michael Bush’s departure hasn’t hurt the Cardinals yet, but yet is now, not Saturday. I expect after Saturday the Cards will be missing the most powerful back in all of college football. Miami hasn’t played well this year, and they might not be the Miami of old, but as an underdog against the Cardinals, I have to take The U! Here’s to hoping they lose, while betting them to win. Cheers!

Oklahoma Sooners (+5) @ Oregon Ducks: The Sooners should take down the Ducks. Oregon plays in the Pac-10, which doesn’t bode well for their level of play. The Sooners haven’t impressed me much this season, but great players step up for big games, and Adrian Peterson is a great player. Oklahoma has to step up in this one. With 5 points to play with, the Sooners are the safest bet in this one.

Boise State Broncos (-7) @ Wyoming Cowboys: Wyoming isn’t a good team, and the Broncos are as good this year as they were expected to be last year. A 42-14 win over Oregon State isn’t the most impressive thing a team could do, but it sure shows the Broncos are ready to slap the Cowboys around. Sophomore rusher Ian Johnson 329 yards and 7 touchdowns in the first two weeks.

Fresno State Bulldogs (-3.5) @ Washington Huskies: This isn’t a tough game to pick. The Huskies aren’t a good football team, while the Bulldogs are. So, I’ll take the Bulldogs. I’d take Fresno -10, hell, I’d take them by 2 touchdowns. Washington will win a few this year, but not this one.

Arizona State (-9.5) @ Colorado: Last years’ starting quarterback, Sam Keller, recently transferred, so there is no question the job belongs to Super Sophomore, Rudy Carpenter. The chants of “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy” won’t come from the Colorado fans, but if you listen close you’ll be able to hear it all the way from Arizona. Its my personal experience that, when a kid finally gets to play without looking over his back, he plays better than ever. I expect this game to be a blowout in the 42-14 mold.

Game(S) of the Week
– So many good games means more games of the week.

Michigan Wolverines @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-5.5): After giving up on the Irish after a tough game on the road against Georgia Tech, I’m hopping back on the ND bus. Michigan has a nice team, but the Irish are too tough at home, and too talented on offense for the Wolverines. I put the Wolverines in the same category as Penn State. You all saw that game last week right? Chad Henne hasn’t impressed me for quite some time, but if he can play up to his promise, he’ll give the Wolverines a chance. Still, 6 points should be easy for the Irish to cover.

LSU Fighting Tigers @ Auburn Tigers (-3): It’s hard to believe a team with Fighting Tigers representing them wouldn’t be as good as a team with just regular, plain old, normal Tigers as their mascot. But this time, that is the case. Auburn has a better running game, and a better defense. Solid play in every aspect of the game will give Auburn a slight edge, and playing at home should help them win by 10.

Clemson Tigers (+5) @ Florida State Seminoles: I’ve got to go with the younger Bowden in this one. Clemson let me down in Week 2, with a loss to the BC Eagles. But this week, the younger Bowden will outsmart his Pops, and Clemson will take home the title. FSU’s win over Miami impressed a few people, but their near loss to the Troy Trojans pulled the bandwagon over and gave its driver a fat citation. Which Seminole team will show on Saturday? It doesn’t matter, Clemson will take it regardless.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (+19) @ USC Trojans: I don’t know if the Trojans are good enough defensively to dominate any decent team in college football. A 19 point spread makes me think domination, and I don’t think the Cornhuskers are a pushover. This isn’t your daddy’s Nebraska squad, they won’t run the option at you all day long, however they will throw the ball around and try to make big plays defensively. I like the Huskers to disrupt the USC O-line, causing some breakdowns in protection in what should be a close contest.

Florida Gators (-3) @ Tennessee Volunteers: I loved the Vols for their Week 1 trouncing of the Cal Bears, but this week should be too much for Tennessee to handle. The Gators are athletic, speedy, and strong defensively. Their offense is beginning to run with flawless precision, and honestly, the Vols just can’t compete with that. Tennessee’s luck will let them down in Week 3.

After a week in the green, 6-4, I’m attempting a perfect week 2 in the college ranks. On the schedule, I see a couple nice games, a couple gimmies, and a couple important contests to boot. With a little luck, I can see a nice week for one Lucky Lester. How will I do it? Read on my son, quest for the knowledge that exists… For a little extra kick, I’m picking the Ohio State – Texas game as an extra. That makes 11 games this week. I freaking rock!
Duke @ Wake Forest (-19): Wake Forest beat Syracuse 20-10, which at least gives them a little flare in the air that says they can win. This weekend, the Demon Deacons face a Duke team that has proven over ages that they can’t win. Last year the Deacons took down the Blue Devils 44-6. This season won’t be any different. Expect nothing from Duke football and you will be rewarded.

Army (-4.5) @ Kent State: Army knows how to run. Not quite like the Golden Gophers, but I’m not expecting a 44-0. I am, however, expecting a 2 touchdown win from the Black Nights. Kent State is very similar to Duke in my expectations. There are none. And for that I thank the oddsmakers.

Auburn (-19) @ Mississippi State: After getting shut out 15-0 by an ailing Gamecocks squad, the Mississippi State Bulldogs schedule doesn’t get any easier when Kenny Irons and the stout Auburn defense comes to town on Saturday. The Tigers poo-pooed Washington state 40-14 last week. This game shouldn’t be any different. The Miss D is better than the Cougs, but not that much better. If the Bulldogs play within 4 touchdowns, I’ll be stunned.

Penn State (+8.5) @ Notre Dame: After barely escaping the Yellow Jacket grasp in Week 1, the Fighting Irish host the best uniforms in sports, Penn State, in what should be one hell of a game. The Nittany Lions looked pretty good in their week 1 tune up, while the Irish looked like anything but the #2 team in the nation. I think this game is closer than 8 points, even if the Irish win. With so much talent on offense, don’t expect the Lions to flounder on offense like Tech did in the second half. ND’s defense isn’t as good as the score claimed last week, and I expect that to be well known at weeks end.

Clemson (-1) @ Boston College: After Clemson’s 54-6 win over Florida Atlantic, people are starting to talk about the Tigers. To be honest, I don’t think that game should make people talk, but I do think the Tigers deserve some powerful team consideration. Senior QB, Will Proctor had a nice game for the Tigers, while running backs Reggie Merriweather and James Davis combined for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23 carries. Clemsons athletic approach should give them the nod in this battle ACC championship hopefuls.

Washington @ Oklahoma (-16.5): While Oklahoma didn’t impress much in week 1, the oddsmakers must be on crack to think this won’t be a 30 point blowout midway through the 3rd quarter. Sure, OK didn’t show much, but then again, the Huskies almost let their win slip away to San Jose Freaking State. SJ State has like 1 win in the last billion years for God’s sake. It’s hard to believe the Huskies have changed after they nearly choke away their opener. Adrian Peterson is gonna go Maurice Drew on the Dogs… For all of you who don’t know what that means, turn back the clocks and see how Drew did the Dawgs throughout his career. Championship!

Iowa (-18) @ Syracuse: The ‘Cuse tumbled at the hands of Wake Forest last weekend, and this weekend they’ll go to 0-2 via the knockout. Iowa should put everything together against a poor Orangemen team, solidifying their place in the Top 15. Drew Tate is a fine signal caller, and if Albert Young continues to rush well this week, you can expect a grand old blowout by the Hawkeyes.

Idaho (+17) @ Washington State: Is this the year? The year the Cougars tumble at the hands of their neighbor state rival for the first time since 2000? It very well could be. I think Washington State is better than they showed against Auburn, but then again, Idaho has improved since their 12 point defeat at the hands of the Cougars last season. WA State doesn’t have much going for them, and Idaho just played a tight one with Michigan State. I know that doesn’t always translate, but I think it will this Saturday. Those tricky Vandals will give the Cougs a ride!

Colorado State (-2) @ Colorado: After getting slapped in the face by D1AA Montana State, it will be tough for the Buffs to get as ready as they need to be for this rivalry game. State always plays tough football, and usually this game is a toss up, because in rivalries like this one you never know what’s going to happen. But not this week. With a week full of questions about the Buffaloes program, expect an exhausted team attempting to get up for the Rams. What usually happens in cases like these is a close game in the first half with a blowout in the 2nd. Those Buffs need a win bad, but not this week.

Minnesota (+8.5) @ California: These Louisville Cardinals are finally the real deal. Kentucky can’t handle the offensive production that the Cards throw on the board. Rushing, passing, defense… On all aspects of the game, Louisville should dominate. That being said, Kentucky is 4-16 in their last 20 games. They’re 4-8 ATS on the road in their last 12, and 3-4 ATS in their last 9 games. On the other hand, the Cards are 18-6 ATS in their last 24, 11-1 ATS in their last 12 home games, and they won 5 straight to end 2005. Did I mention Louisville returns budding stars Brian Brohm (QB) and Michael Bush (RB) from their 9-3 2005? This game should be a gong show.
Game of the Week

Ohio State (+2.5) @ Texas: It’s Ohio State’s turn to travel all the way down to Texas and uproot the Longhorns. If you can remember back to yester-year, Vince Young and the those pesky Longhorns came all the way to Ohio, came back in the 4th quarter, and stunned the Buckeyes on rout to their National Championship. Regardless of rankings, these two teams truly are the best in the Nation. I think Ohio States offensive speed and quarterback leadership push them over the edge in the biggest game of the season.