Tag Archives: Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes vs Michigan Wolverines NCAA Pick

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Ohio State Buckeyes (-12) @ Michigan Wolverines NCAA Pick: One might argue that Michigan has played solid football against some tough teams, and earlier in the season that might have been true. This is a Wolverines team that beat the ranked Fighting Irish and almost upset an Iowa team that started 8-0. But Iowa played a heap of close games with just about everyone, and I think Notre Dame has been exposed for what they are, exactly what Michigan is, a good team in name only.

The Wolverines have lost 4 straight and 6 of their last 8 games, leaving them at 5-6 and needing this win badly, as it will send them Bowling. But after all the talk about extra long practices and “volunteer” team conditioning, does this Michigan team really want to win and go through another month of practice under coach Rich Rodriguez? Can they really build on their last 4 losses enough to come out and play well against the Rose Bowl bound Buckeyes? Well enough to win? Against a Buckeye team that is easily playing their best football of the season down the stretch? That’s hard for me to buy into.

Ohio State has beaten Michigan five straight times, their longest winning streak in the storied history between two of College Football’s finest programs. The Buckeyes have covered 4 of those 5. They are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as favorites over the Wolverines.

Now it’s true, nothing of substance is on the line for the Buckeyes here, and a situation like that could have a good team slow down a bit coming in – but against Michigan? Against their top rival? I don’t think so. I’ll take the Buckeyes!

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Purdue Boilermakers Free Pick

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Ohio State Buckeyes @ Purdue Boilermakers (+14): The Boilermakers might not be the sexy pick, but I’m a firm believer in football karma evening out, and the Boilermakers have played a lot better than their 1-5 record shows. They’ve played in heaps of close games already, losing by just 3 to Notre Dame, 2 to Oregon, 6 to Northwestern, and a Touchdown to Northern Illinois. Now listen, the Boilermakers aren’t good, I just expect a couple things to bounce right for them against the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes aren’t the most explosive offense on the planet, and the Boilermakers historically give the Ohio State trouble. Now, OSU has beaten the Boilermakers in 5 of the last 6 contests, but Purdue has covered in 4 of the last 5, and this game has been close in the last 5 showdowns. The Boilermakers have lost by more than two touchdowns just once in the last 5 years, that was a 16 point loss in ’07. Two touchdowns is a lot to spot the Boilermakers, I’m thinking too much. I’ll take the points again!

NCAA Free Picks: Week 8

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Tough week for me last time around, I’m still up on the year but my positive money is dwindling a bit. Here’s what I have for Week 8 – which should be great – where my wins won’t be late – hate, mate, kate, rate, don’t eat the bait – and so on and so forth. 😉

LSU Tigers (-3) @ South Carolina: You bet – free money. LSU is so much better than South Carolina that I can’t even fathom losing this game. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, I just can’t fabricate a situation that sees LSU losing back to back games, their second being to South Carolina – no way no how.

Missouri Tigers (+6) @ Texas Longhorns: Maybe Texas is better and this game is at home for them, but I just have a feeling that Texas won’t keep playing great and Missouri will be on their best behavior after ruining a chance at perfection while losing last week.

Virginia Tech @ Boston College (-2.5): I like my chances with this one. VaTech plays well, and they are talented, but Boston College is a solid team playing on the road, and they got Tech last time the two went head to head. I see the Eagles pulling this one out.

Oregon State Beavers (-13.5) @ Washington Huskies: Free money again. This fits so many of my “good bet” categories I’m not even going into detail.

Mississippi State Bulldogs (+7.5) @ Tennessee Volunteers: The Vols aren’t good and while Miss State isn’t great either, they are just about equal with Tennessee. The fact that Tennessee usually just stops the Dogs in this match-up gets me excited for MSU having a chance and making it happen. I like the upset here so the points look good.

Utah State Aggies (+21) @ Nevada Wolfpack: I just don’t think Nevada should be favored by 3 touchdowns against anyone in their conference, and despite the Aggies attempt to crush my soul be getting pounded by San Jose State last week, I think they are a good bet here.

Pittsburgh Panthers @ Navy Midshipmen (+3.5): First of all, this game won’t come down to points – either the Midshipmen or they’ll get beat pretty good. I think Navy wins this game. Pittsburgh loves to take teams lightly, Navy has a gnarly rushing attack, and PIttsburgh doesn’t have enough offensive firepower to handle the Midshipmen’s biggest weakness, their defense.

USC Trojans (+42) @ Washington State Cougars: This spread is freaking huge – I’ll take it. Bet against Washington – it’s been a working motto for me thus far and I’m sticking to it, through thick and borderline crazy. The Cougars have already lost 3 Pac-10 games by 40+, I don’t see why the best Pac 10 team (USC) can’t be the 4th to do so.

Kansas Jayhawks (+20) @ Oklahoma Sooners: I just think Kansas is closer to Oklahoma’s level than this. OK will be up to play this game after having their #1 ranking plundered from them, and I think they win this game, just not by this much.

Ohio State Buckeyes (-3) @ Michigan State Spartans: Really? Hmm… I don’t see it that close. I see Ohio State by a touchdown, even on the road. I wouldn’t doubt if OSU doubled my spread. The Spartans are 6-1, but they aren’t that good. They don’t have one quality win on their schedule thus far – and that won’t change this weekend against the chestnuts.

NCAA Free Picks REVIEW: Week 3

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I started the week 1 game under .500 but by the time Baylor rolled up Washington State I was actually even to start Saturday’s games. I had 17 games this week behind the DirecTV GamePlan picks and my other 7 games – this is how all 17 went down. With one game postponed (texas/arkansas) I put up a 12-4-1 record this week, losing a couple close ones and pretty much dominating the books in Week 3 – so far this season I’m 7 games over .500. Yhatzee. Stay tuned for next week, here’s this week’s review…

Washington State Cougars @ Baylor Bears (+2): (WINNER) “Rule of thumb for 2008 college football season: If the Washington State Cougars are ever favored, make sure to bet against them. More so, if the Cougars are on the road and favored, first make sure they are playing against, at the very least, a division 2 program or greater. If they indeed are, say Baylor for example, go ahead and pick against the Cougars and feel 99% safe about your bet.” Did I say 99%? I meant 100%. This was like buying a stock that had a 100% chance of doubling. Basically, it was a nice little bet.

Michigan Wolverines (pk) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish: (LOSER) “Free Money!!! Hooray! Come one, come all, take the Wolverines and watch your account grow in funds.” Well, you can’t win them all right? I was almost as sure about this game as I was about the Baylor Bears. This just shows ya, even a guy on a nice little September weekend run can miss one from time to time. The Irish got me again!

Georgia Bulldogs (-7) @ South Carolina Gamecocks: (PUSH) Interesting and boring game. I don’t know how Coach Spurrier does it, but the guy was 1 goal line fumble away from tying this game up – unbelievable. Luckily for me the Bulldogs ended up covering despite getting equalled by the Gamecocks. Spurrier’s a tough guy to figure out, that’s for sure, unless he’s coaching in the NFL of course, then he’s a nice guy to bet against.

Rice Owls @ Vanderbilt Commodores (-7): (WINNER) “How can you not like it? Vandy has finally won me over, maybe just in time for them to crush my soul? Nan. Vandy plays tough defense, something the Owls haven’t faced in quite some time. Rice gives up a lot of points, something Chris Nickson and the track team skill positions in Vandy will take advantage of.” The Commodores outscored the Owls by 21 in the 2nd half, shutting Rice’s offense out completely. The final score was 38-21 as Rice just couldn’t match the Commodore’s speed.

Oklahoma Sooners (-20) @ Washington Huskies: (WINNER) “Free money!!! Thank you for scheduling this game so I could win free money. I am taking all the money in my accounts and putting it on the Sooners – at least if I get this one wrong I’ll lose it all. That’s right – my big risk and yours, should result in a big payoff. You think the Sooners are going to leave this game up to Pac-10 officials? Haha… Not after Oregon. Not after the call last week against Jake Locker. Sooners by 40. Free Money.” 55-14, Sooners by 41, not 40. I hate when I get it wrong by a point. The Sooners could have taken this game by 70, but they decided to grind it out and sit their starters in the 4th quarter. What does a one man team look like? Ask Jake Locker. I hope you took your free money!

Ohio State Buckeyes @ USC Trojans (-10): (WINNER) The Buckeyes were trounced and no, Beanie Wells wouldn’t have done anything about it. USC dominated this from the get go, as they were obviously the better team. This surely makes USC a favorite to win the NCAA Title.

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (+23) @ Arizona State Sun Devils: (WINNER) Well, UNLV just touched up the home team Sun Devils for a HUGE upset, and I had all those points to play with. You can bet I loved this one.

Wisconsin Badgers @ Fresno State Bulldogs (+1.5): (LOSS) The Badgers won, but this was as tough a game as they’ll play this year. The Bulldogs were in for the fight, and they had lots of chances. In the end, Wisconsin’s resilience and consistent defensive play finished off the Bulldogs in Fresno’s biggest home game in their history. I lost this one, but the Bulldogs are going to win me some money this year, I’ll bet on that.

Temple Owls (+6.5) @ Buffalo Bulls (12:00pm EST): (WINNER) A hail mary answered – you can’t get really angry about that. The points made me feel better though, and I knew I had already won when Buffalo tossed up a 50 yard prayer that I almost knew was going to be answered. Both teams played well, but it was the hail mary last second touchdown win that gave the game to the home team, leving Temple out and in the loss column, and me just a friendly underdog cover.

North Carolina State Wolfpack @ Clemson Tigers (-17.5) (12:00pm EST): (WINNER) I get some bad luck later, don’t worry. That’s right, I won this one by a half of a point, but that was a big half a point. NC State’s only score was an interception return for a touchdown, so it’s not like they had much of a chance. Still, I was worried until late when CJ Spiller scored a late touchdown to get me over the spread. Thanks young fella.

UAB Blazers (+30.5) @ Tennessee Volunteers (12:30pm EST): (LOSS) Ugh. This was a 32 point game – what can you do? I took the Blazers, but Tennessee did a nice job of shutting UAB down throughout, holding them to just 3 points. I was wrong about this one, but just barely.

Penn State Nittany Lions (-27) @ Syracuse Orange (3:30pm EST): (WINNER)b”Penn State is too tough and Syracuse can’t play a 2-3 zone in this one, so they are SOL. Take the road favorites to score at will.” 55-13… Does that cover a 27 point spread? I said this one wouldn’t be close and it wasn’t. I was right. Hooray me, and hooray you if you were listening.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+7) @ Virginia Tech Hokies (3:30pm EST): (WINNER) Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are now both 2-1, as the Hokies held on to beat the Jackets. The score was 17-20, and I covered. This was a tight one for sure. I still think G-Tech would win this game 7 out of 10 times, they have a better offense and a much tighter rushing attack (278 rushing yards against Tech on Saturday) but this was Tyrod Taylor’s day. The Hokies were helped out by some big GT penalties, as they got a much needed victory. They win, I win, can’t hate that.

Arkansas Razorbacks @ Texas Longhorns (-24) (3:30pm EST): (This game was postponed, so I’ll take it as a no bet, obviously)

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (+28) @ Alabama Crimson Tide (7:00pm EST): (LOSS) Alabama was on fire to start this game, and they only needed 3 quarters of solid play to ice the HIlltoppers. Bama won, and I got one of my few losses on Saturday.

Middle Tennessee State (+17) @ Kentucky Wildcats (7:00pm EST): (WINNER)  The Wildcats needed 10 points in the 4th quarter to beat Middle Tennessee State, and that still almost wasn’t enough. What am I talking about? Joe Craddock, MTS’s quarterback, put up a last minute hail mary that was caught, but came just a yard short of being a touchdown and State lost by 6, 20-14. It was a tough one, but I loved my +17 as it was an easy win and never left me in doubt throughout the contest.

Bowling Green Falcons (+17) @ Boise State Broncos (8:00pm EST): (WINNER) 20-7 – I was almost had, but the Falcons played tough after going down 20-0 in the first half. They never allowed another Bronco score, and they added a 4th quarter touchdown of their own to make me a winner. Hey, every once in a while that last quarter meaningless score sure helps me out. I’ll take this one with a smile.

Utah Utes (-24) @ Utah State Aggies (8:00pm EST): (WINNER)  “Utah is more like Oregon than UNLV – and the Aggies lost to them both. I know it doesn’t work like this, but Utah beat UNLV by 21, and the Aggies lost to UNLV by 10 – that’s 31 – ha. Utah is a very good team that could make a run at undefeated. It’s time for them to rub that in their instate rival’s face. I’ll take the Utes here.” How’s 58-10? That’s not 31, that’s 48 folks. Utah is a very good team that would do some solid work in big conferences this year. They’ll have to win out to get a sniff at a BCS game, but I like their chances.

NCAA Free Picks: Week 3

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A couple big games, and a couple laughers – I’ll make my money anyway I can get it. I know I’m 1 game under .500 with my college picks heading into Week 3, but I have a good feeling this is where I bust over the .500 barrier and get in the green. I’ve got 8 good ones for you liking – 3 games that really seem like free money. Follow along, and write these down…

Washington State Cougars @ Baylor Bears (+2): Rule of thumb for 2008 college football season: If the Washington State Cougars are ever favored, make sure to bet against them. More so, if the Cougars are on the road and favored, first make sure they are playing against, at the very least, a division 2 program or greater. If they indeed are, say Baylor for example, go ahead and pick against the Cougars and feel 99% safe about your bet. That’s what I’m doing.

Michigan Wolverines (pk) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Free Money!!! Hooray! Come one, come all, take the Wolverines and watch your account grow in funds. I can’t figure out what about the terrible looking Irish gets them to be a pick’em against a fantastically mediocre Wolverines club. Thanks for this!

Georgia Bulldogs (-7) @ South Carolina Gamecocks: I know, I know, Coach Steve Spurrier has an affinity for pulling the big upset and ruing a season for opposing top rated teams. Not this time fellas. I’m surprised that the public isn’t on this game more than they already are (77%) – but when I see a nice bet, following the public or not, I take it. Don’t out think yourself. Georgia is at lest two scores better than SC. Spurrier better get his old Florida All-Time team members to come help out if he wants this win. Georgia 3-0, SC 1-2 – just as it should be.

Rice Owls @ Vanderbilt Commodores (-7): I wouldn’t bet the world on this game, but how can you not like it? Vandy has finally won me over, maybe just in time for them to crush my soul? Nan. Vandy plays tough defense, something the Owls haven’t faced in quite some time. Rice gives up a lot of points, something Chris Nickson and the track team skill positions in Vandy will take advantage of. I’m taking the home team here. But be careful, this might be trap material. Just a nice friendly wager for good value’s sake.

Oklahoma Sooners (-20) @ Washington Huskies: Free money!!! Thank you for scheduling this game so I could win free money. I am taking all the money in my accounts and putting it on the Sooners – at least if I get this one wrong I’ll lose it all. That’s right – my big risk and yours, should result in a big payoff. You think the Sooners are going to leave this game up to Pac-10 officials? Haha… Not after Oregon. Not after the call last week against Jake Locker. Sooners by 40. Free Money.

Ohio State Buckeyes @ USC Trojans (-10): Yes, I think the Big 10 isn’t very good and the Buckeyes aren’t nearly the team everyone is making them out to be. I think these teams are closer to even, but all the right things are going toward the Trojans. No big injuries. A week off to prepare. The game is at home in Southern California. It’s a late game, 8pm EST, which means just 5 pacific for the Trojans. Right – like I said, these are two very close teams, and maybe, with no distractions and tough circumstances I’d still give the Trojans a slight nod. Add all those things on to the Chestnut’s back and I’ll take the Trojans -10 any day.

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (+23) @ Arizona State Sun Devils: Late night is the best time to play at ASU, so the home field advantage gets lost a little bit here. Utah just whooped the Rebels by 21, but Utah is better than ASU in my humble opinion. The Rebels throw the ball pretty efficiently and can stay within three scores of the Sun Devils, so I’ll take them at +24 and get ready to cash in.

Wisconsin Badgers @ Fresno State Bulldogs (+1.5): This may be a shot in the dark, (but it’s not really because I actually research the piss out of my picks) but I like the Bulldogs to pull the upset against the 11th ranked Badgers this Saturday Night. LIke the Trojans and the Buckeyes, this game is late, really late for the Badgers. 7:30 pacific is just a nice late game for Fresno State while the Badgers travel across the country to play at bed time. Tough deal for #11 – but I respect them for taking this game. The Bulldogs didn’t dominate during their Week 1 performance, but they’ll come to play. They can really shut down opposing offenses, and they run efficiently. We’ll see, but I like the home dogs here.

Week 10 College Football Picks Review: 2007

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10 looks good when you consider I only lost one game. However, when the realization comes that I only won two contests, the real story starts to come out. Two pushes and a couple wins isn’t all that bad, but ties sure can be frustrating. Honestly, I’ll take the ties, it’s the brutal beat I had on the Badger/Buckeye game that has me still turning. Here’s my NCAA Football Review for Week 10…

LUCKY LESTER’S Free NCAA Football Picks

Free Picks: Week 10

Wisconsin Badgers (+16) @ Ohio State Buckeyes: loss
(Line: Tuesday, 11:00pm EST: BodogLife)

This game was a joke…. Up 17-10 midway through the 3rd quarter – tied at 17 with 10 minutes to go in the 4th – And Wisconsin goes for a fake punt on their own 20 yard line, doesn’t get it, and then loses by just enough to make me a loser… That’s one of the worst beats I’ve had all season long.

Ball State Cardinals @ Indiana Hoosiers (-6.5): win
(Line: Tuesday, 11:00pm EST: Belmont)

Indiana absolutely annihilated the Cardinals in the 2nd half of this game. This win was as easy as they get.

Purdue Boilermakers (+7) @ Penn State Nittany Lions: push
(Line: Tuesday, 11:00pm EST: Belmont)

The refs were absolutely brutal in this game. A kid runs out of bounds, and the referee keeps the clock running. That cost Purdue about 45 seconds, maybe even more, and they didn’t have enough time to do anything but throw up a hail mary in the last few seconds. I wasn’t guaranteed a win or anything, but at least I had a chance if Zebra doesn’t blow it for me. Bummer.

Navy Midshipmen (+3.5) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish: win
(Line: Tuesday, 11:00pm EST: Belmont)

OT – just that right there got me excited. Haha – how far the Irish have fallen, overtime game against Navy – haha. Finally, after more than 40 yeas, the Irish have fallen to the Midshipmen from Navy, and I was on this one. I love it. A 3 OT thriller in which the Irish got a gift pass interference call on their first two point conversion, but fell short from the 1 and a half yard line to lose. This was one hell of a game.

Maryland Terrapins (+3) @ North Carolina Tar Heels: push
(Line: Thursday, 3:00pm EST: BodogLife)

It wasn’t quite what I expected, but the 3 poitns ended up saving my tail. The Tar Heels couldn’t score late, and the Terps chipped away field goal after field goal, finishing a 3 pointer short of overtime. 2 wins, 2 pushes, and a single loss – well, it could have been worse.

Free College Football Picks Week 10 – 2007

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Week 9 wasn’t as nice as week 8, but after a couple very bad beats, I broke out with a couple wins in 5 chances anyway. This week, I’m rolling with the underdog in 4 out of 5, and I think my might will be just right. College Football is a crazy thing, like Robin Williams and Martin Lawrence combined into one. Check out my free picks, I think you’ll make a buck or two.

LUCKY LESTER’S Free NCAA Football Picks

Free Picks: Week 10

Wisconsin Badgers (+16) @ Ohio State Buckeyes:
(Line: Tuesday, 11:00pm EST: BodogLife)

Don’t look at the Buckeye-Nittany Lion score and just think, “well, this game has to be a blowout, too” – that’s not how college football works. Wisconsin is playing well right now, and will look to get back in the hunt by beating numero uno on Saturday. I don’t think it will happen, but 16 points is too many to give the Badgers in this big time Big 10 showdown.

Ball State Cardinals @ Indiana Hoosiers (-6.5):
(Line: Tuesday, 11:00pm EST: Belmont)

After losing 3 straight to Michigan State, Penn State, and Wisconsin, you can be the Hoosiers will be happy to see a non-powerhouse coming into their home stadium. If the Hoosiers had won last week, I’d think a let down was in order, but after 3 straight losses, this Hoosier team that is pretty solid, will be looking for a big win here. Unfortunately for Ball State, that’s coming down on them.

Purdue Boilermakers (+7) @ Penn State Nittany Lions:
(Line: Tuesday, 11:00pm EST: Belmont)

Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, I think last weeks big loss will have them down in the dumps, and they’ll be looking at this game like, “at least we don’t have to play the Buckeyes this week” and that’s no good when you’re taking on Purdue. The Boilermakers are better than people give them credit for. At 7-2, Purdue’s only losses have come to Michigan and Ohio State. These two teams are actually very similar in skill, just at different spots. Penn State has won 8 of the last 10 against the Boilermakers, but I see Purdue winning outright in Happy Valley, just to turn that stat around a little bit. Penn State just doesn’t have the offensive firepower to pass with the Boilermakers. If Purdue’s quick defensive front 7 can stop Penn State’s rushing attack, this game will be a blowout of the home team.

Navy Midshipmen (+3.5) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish:
(Line: Tuesday, 11:00pm EST: Belmont)

Like I said earlier, unless Duke is in town, the Irish shouldn’t be a favorite against anyone, especially a team as disciplined and mistake free as the Midshipmen. What will Notre Dame capitalize on? Nothing. I don’t think the Irish can put together multiple scoring drives, and thus it’ll be tough to beat anyone. Even Duke.

Maryland Terrapins (+3) @ North Carolina Tar Heels:
(Line: Thursday, 3:00pm EST: BodogLife)

The Terps are much better than the Tar Heels. This North Carolina team played pretty damn tough to start the year, but they have been fading into the team they are more comfortable with, a team that struggles from the get go. I like the Terps to win this game outright, and while it might be a close game early on, I just don’t thin the Tar Heels will have the willpower to step up when they get punched in the mouth – heck, it’s basketball season soon, isn’t it?

Week 2 College Football Picks Review: 2007

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Well, I didn’t follow up my Week 1 with a great Week 2, but ups and downs happen in this game. Here’s how I finished 2-3 in Week 2 of the NCAAs. On the bright side, I dominated my Elite Picks in Week 2, finishing 4-1. They aren’t free, but check them out at Who2BetOn.com.

LUCKY LESTER’S Free NCAA Football Picks

Oregon State Beavers (-3.5) @ Cincinnati Bearcats: (LOSS)
“I know the Cincinnati Bearcats have been on a tear lately, with 4 straight wins going back to last season, including 30-11 win against Rutgers – but are they that good?” I answered, “No.” I was apparently wrong. I need to stop finding reasons to bet with teams and completely ignore them to the point of painful losses like this one. Hopefully you guys all got to my site after the Thursday game had already started… After going 4-1 in Week 1, the best I could do was match after Thursday of Week 2.

Akron @ Ohio State Buckeyes (-28.5): (LOSS)
Ohio State played poorly, making me think UW might just end up to be a struggle for the Buckeyes next week in Seattle. Still, the beat Akron 20-2, but that wasn’t enough for me.

North Carolina State @ Boston College Eagles (-13): (WIN)
“Matt Ryan looks like a professional grade quarterback, and I don’t think the Wolfpack defense has a chance in slowing him down. This game being at Boston College pushes me over to the side of the Eagles” (Me) Matt Ryan was slowed down, but NC State spend too much time looking at Matt, and so the Eagles did the smart things and handed the ball off to his running backs. Andre Callender had 158 rushing yards, and L.V. Whitworth went for 59. And BC won 37-17, and it wasn’t that close.

Troy @ Florida Gators (-26.5): (WIN)
A sloppy second half made this game close, but the Gators ended up winning 59-31, covering by a few points. The Gators are dirty. I wouldn’t be stunned if they repeated this season.

Hawaii Rainbows (-28) @ Louisiana Tech: (LOSS)
The Rainbows just barely kept their undefeated hopes alive by slipping past LouTech late. Needless to say, I didn’t cover.

Free 2007 College Football Picks – Week 2

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Not bad last week, eh? I busted out the old 4-1 to start the season, and as you all know, a winning percentage like that makes dough. I’m giving this favorite run a try this week, as every single one of my picks is expected to get the W this weekend. The Beavers play Thursday, so get your picks in early! Good luck to all!

LUCKY LESTER’S Free NCAA Football Picks

Oregon State Beavers (-3.5) @ Cincinnati Bearcats: 9/6/07 7:30pm EST
I know the Cincinnati Bearcats have been on a tear lately, with 4 straight wins going back to last season, including 30-11 win against Rutgers – but are they that good? I just don’t think so. The Beavers didn’t play well last week, despite easily covering against Utah. I expect them to play better in Week 2, and beat the Bearcats in Cinci.

Akron @ Ohio State Buckeyes (-28.5): 9/8/07 12:00pm EST
Akron upset Army last week, but after Michigan went down to App State, do you think the Buckeyes will take it easy against Akron this week in Ohio? Don’t count on it. Akron hasn’t lost by more than 22 points in any of their last 10 games, but Army, Buffalo, Toledo, and Ohio aren’t really the Buckeyes, now are they? Ohio State will be ready for this game, and since their talent level is that far ahead of Akron’s, this game will easily surpass 4 scores.

North Carolina State Wolfpack @ Boston College Eagles (-13): 9/8/07 2:30pm EST
While NC State has lost 8 of their last 10, they play many close ball games, in fact they haven’t lost by more than 8 points in any of their last 19 games. This game isn’t as sure a thing as I originally thought, but still, Matt Ryan looks like a professional grade quarterback, and I don’t think the Wolfpack defense has a chance in slowing him down. This game being at Boston College pushes me over to the side of the Eagles, as two more scores from the home team will cover the spread. Ryan’s good for that.

Troy @ Florida Gators (-26.5): 9/8/07 6:00pm EST
The Gators beat Western Kentucky by 43 points last week, and the game was called with 8+ minutes left in the 4th quarter. Tim Tebow put to rest any questions about his throwing ability as he completed 13 of 17 passes for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was bombing. Troy lost to Arkansas by 20, and I have to believe that the Gators are tow touchdowns better than the Razorbacks. Florida’s defense will be too fast for Troy, as the smallest of mistakes will cost the Trojans points. Look for Florida to roll for the 2nd time in as many weeks.

Hawaii Rainbows (-28) @ Louisiana Tech: 9/8/07 7:00pm EST
Last year this game was a 61-17 blowout at the hands of Colt Brennan and the Rainbow Warriors. Well, until someone shows me a reason to wager otherwise, I’ll be taking the Rainbows with anything less than a 35 point spread to cover. Tech doesn’t have the athletes or schemes to stop Hawaii, and neither does any other team in this division. Bombs away Colt, your Heisman hopes rest on it.