Tag Archives: Miami

Free College Football Picks: Week 3

Posted on by

My free college football picks of the week are looking like a high-win group. There are some lines that get me real excited for my first big winner of the season, and since I’m 4 games down (because of my 3-7 Week 1 effort), I’m more than ready to get in the green. Follow my NCAA picks from Thursday Night Football’s action to Saturday afternoon. I snapped out 11 picks this week, because, well, I thought I had 10 picks, ended up counting wrong, and didn’t feel like deleting one of my previews: a win for you no doubt… Big winner, big winner!

no banners

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ Miami Hurricanes (-4.5): When a lower rated team is favored, I like the odds. I think Miami has a ton of ability. The players coming into that school are fast, physical, NFL bodied type guys. I am impressed with the Techies this year, no doubt, they have a solid rushing attack and one of the best runners in the NCAA’s. However, I don’t think GT played very well last week, and they still got the win, yet another situation I like to bet against.

Boston College Eagles @ Clemson Tigers (-6.5): The Tigers showed me a lot last week covering against Georgia Tech despite getting done in by 2 freakish fake field goal scores in the first quarter. They fought back to a tie after being down 21-0. They are a good team with strong lines on both sides. The Eagles don’t do much for me, and despite these two teams fighting good battles in the past, I think this one will be pretty one-sided.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane (+15) @ Oklahoma Sooners: Tulsa is pretty solid. They will play tough defense and keep the Sooners on their toes. Oklahoma should win this game, but it will be tough. The injuries and question marks still surround the Sooners.

Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (+6) @ Maryland Terrapins: The Blue Raiders have looked solid in their start to the season while the Terps have looked dismal. This spread should be smaller, yet 71% of the public is still riding the slow moving Terps. I think Maryland falls to the small school Blue Raiders. They just haven’t played well enough to win games, and nothing seems to be getting answered in Maryland.

USC Trojans @ Washington Huskies (+20.5): If you don’t count last season, because, well, the Huskies were a joke, then you have to admit the Huskies have played the powerful Trojans well over the last couple years. In ’06 the Huskies lost by 6 as a 19 point dog. In ’07 the Dogs lost by just 3 as an 18.5 point dog. This year I got the Huskies as a 20.5 point dog, and I’m pretty excited about it. They have a tough offense with a stellar athlete/leader at the quarterback position. They have a coaching staff that is very knowledgeable when it comes to the Trojans. I like the Dogs’ chances to cover here.

Arizona Wildcats (+5.5) @ Iowa Hawkeyes: The Hawkeyes don’t look ready for the Cats. Arizona is one of the better unknown teams in the Pac 10, and the Hawkeyes have played nobody thus far. Arizona hasn’t really had a powerful schedule either, and they are not the best traveling team in the world, but Central Michigan was a pretty good win, a better team than the Hawkeyes. I think AZ’s defense holds the Hawkeyes under two scores, making this an easy cover for the Cats.

SMU Broncos (-7) @ Washington State Cougars: Fade the Cougars. ‘Nough said.

no banners

Cincinnati Bearcats @ Oregon State Beavers (EVEN): The Bearcats destroyed Rutgers, then took care of a low-level high school team… Ergh, I mean small division team. Tony Pike is looking good, finally living up to some hype for the Cats, but does that mean they can handle Jacquizz Rodgers? I don’t think so. Rodgers has a question mark by his name, ankle ding, but I think he plays, and I think he rumbles. The Beavers have looked pretty damn god since half way through last season, and they came back to oust a tough UNLV team in Vegas last week. I think they are more battle tested, I think that gives them the slight advantage.

Florida State Seminoles @ BYU Cougars (-7): I think Florida State is athletic, but I still think people aren’t giving the Cougars their due. They have a tough match-up this week, one of their toughest opponents for the rest of the season, but I think the Cougars do too many of the little things right to be caught up in trouble against FSU. They’ll run the ball more this week, that should open up some looks downfield for one of the better college quarterbacks in all the land. I’ll take BYU at home, because how out of place will the FSU kids feel in freaking Utah anyway?

Georgia Bulldogs @ Arkansas Razorbacks (-1): I like taking the lesser ranked favorite, and the Razorbacks opened up at exactly that. This is a well coached squad with some very good players, and they are getting stronger every game. They haven’t made much noise since McFadden and Felix Jones left town, but I think they oust the higher ranked Bulldogs at home this week.

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors @ UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (-7): Don’t get fooled by Hawaii’s dominance over the Pac 10’s own WSU Cougars last week, there’s a reason why I tell you to fade the Cougars. But the Rebels are good, they do lots of things well and have an experienced team looking to win games. They should have got the W last week, and this week it will happen, in relatively easy fashion.

Fantasy Fun: Ten for Tuesday

Posted on by

I’ve decided to throw out some fantasy advice, free of charge. Every single week I’m going to put some good stuff out for you to mull over in your fantasy minds. The articles will be entitled, “Ten for Tuesday” “One for Wednesday” “Three for Thursday” and “Five for Friday”. Each article will dive into as many fantasy observations as the title insists – 10 on tuesday, 1 on wednesday, and so in and so forth. The observations could, can, and will be anything that crosses my mind as important information. My goal is to sift through the irrelative fantasy junk and give you a few important tidbits prior to Sunday’s roster deadlines – 19 tidbits in fact. Since it is Tuesday, I’m on the books for 10 – good luck.

1. Sitting AP in Week 1: Adrian Peterson goes up against a pretty tough Green Bay Packers defense, and while that won’t be reason to sit him (as you certainly drafted him with your first round pick), the fact that his starting pro-bowl offensive tackle is out with a 4-game suspension might give you a couple second thoughts if you have a couple running backs with better match-ups as your 3rd options (Thomas Jones against the Dolphins, Mike Turner against the Lions for example) you might want to take that shot. I know that most of you won’t, and I’m going to have a hard time doing it in the league I have AP in, but it’s something to consider. Remember there is no player too good for a bad week – and it’s not looking sunny for AP in Green Bay.

2. Running Men in Miami: It’s going to be a run fest in Miami this weekend when Brett Favre and the Jets come to the beach. A lot of people think Brett is going to bring instant passing totals to Jet games, but considering that both the Dolphins and Jets have terrible run-defenses, I can’t see either quarterback putting up much more than 200 yards through the air. Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, Ricky Williams, and Ronnie Brown will all get their chances to shine, and 300+ yards rushing between the four of them won’t surprise me.

3. Welcome to the Barber Shop: Marion Barber is going to beast defenses all season long, and I don’t think he’ll waste time – he’s starting in Week 1. Sure, the Browns added Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams, but I still think Barber will rush for over 100 yards with a couple scores in Cleveland. We’ll see right away how much those huge off-season purchases do – will they change the entire defense? I doubt it, this unit in Cleveland is still sub-par.

4. Mr. Warner’s Neighborhood: It’s official, Kurt Warner has busted Matt Leinart’s bubble by plucking the starting job right out from under him. We heard all along that Warner and Leinart were on even playing ground, but nobody believed it until Kurt was named the starter. Now he goes up against a 49ers defense that he torched for 484 yards last time out. I’m not thinking he’s going for 484 again, but over 300 yards is very likely – so feel free to start him over guys you picked in the first 8 rounds of the draft – it’s not time to pretend you have a better starting option than the former MVP.

5. Earnest goes to New Orleans: Earnest went a lot of places in the 80s and 90s, but I never saw him throwing beads around the streets in New Orleans – this is a new Earnest and you can bet on him doing work against the Saints. I’m sure New Orleans will be better against the run this season, but they still won’t be good. Graham has a nice offensive line and while he’s gone under the radar a bit in the pre-season, he’s still a great option this week.

6. In Orton I Trust: Kyle Orton will outscore half of these quarterbacks in Week 1 – ready, Brett Favre, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, David Garrard, Derrick Anderson, Trent Edwards, Jeff Garcia, and Drew Brees. He’ll have a good game against a Colts secondary that is beginning to look very suspect. Think I’m crazy? You just wait and see.

7. 100% of the time, almost Every Time: If LaDainian Tomlinson doesn’t score a touchdown in Week 1 of the regular season it will be just the second time in his career. That’s right, this scoring machine has visited the end-zone on opening day every single year but once. Can you say consistency? You bet. He has had ups and downs in yardage during week 1, but a running back (or any position) that scores is a guy you want to start. Craziness…

8. 4 INTS for Brady?: Last time Tom Brady played the Chiefs he tossed 4 interceptions in a 16-26 loss. That’s half as many picks as he threw all of last year. That was 2005, sure, but it certainly wasn’t vintage Brady. This week a banged up and likely to be rusty Tom goes up against the Chiefs for the first time since they bruised his ego with all those picks. Will he toss the same number in touchdowns? I’m not sold. Expect a few blunders from the million dollar man – but he’ll figure it out late and pull the Pats out with a win. Just don’t expect that huge vintage 2007 Brady performance.

9. Poor Man’s Reggie Bush?: Don’t buy that crappy scouting tip – Chris Johnson is a smart man’s Reggie Bush. This is why, the Titans didn’t have to spend 50 million bucks or a #2 overall pick on Chris, and he’s going to be better than Reggie. He’s faster and less afriad of contact. He hits the hole with a mission and can catch the ball too. Oh, and he’s faster. His game speed is just as fast as the 4.2 track speed insists. His pro career starts this week against a good Jaguars defense, but he’ll make someone look silly – just don’t miss out, you’ll surely miss a highlight.

10. Selvin Young VS Darren McFadden: Lets put it this way, the yards battle will go to Selvin while the fantasy point title will end in McFadden’s favor. Those that were expecting McFadden to stumble in his rookie campaign can either jump on his bandwagon or be exposed later in the season – he can really run. The Broncos still don’t have an apt defensive line, and that doesn’t bode well for them. What is nice is the fact that Oakland doesn’t have a run-defense either, and this battle of first year starting backs should be fun to watch. Young is a sophomore, but with the starter’s keys in his hands it will be fun to see what he does with them. I like both these guys as starting options in Week 1 with McFadden getting the nod because of his knack for finding the end-zone.