WEEK #2 PICKS (7-0 last week)
Fully realize that following up last week's undefeated card is not going to be easy. Being that it's early in the season, most teams are playing games out of conference. And there are a lot of mismatches. With that in mind, my gameplan this week is to isolate good teams who are playing vastly inferior foes and who want to make an early season impression on the pollsters.
PENN STATE -29 against SYRACUSE
Gotta believe the hoopster Paulus, Syracuse's QB, is in for a long afternoon. On the other side of the ball, the Nittany Lions racked up over 500 yards of offense last week against Akron. They should match that total again this week. Don't see the Orange scoring more than a touchdown. Lay it.
VIRGINIA TECH - 19 against MARSHALL
The Hokies are no doubt a bit battered and bruised after last week's tussle against 'Bama. This one smells of a sandwich game with Nebraska on deck next week. But everyone knows VT is well coached so I look for the boys to rebound nicely in their home opener. The Thundering Herd almost got beat by Southern Illinois last week and will lose by about 4 TDs today.
IOWA -6- at IOWA STATE
This rivalry has been won by the home team the past 5 years. Additionally the Cyclones are 10-1 ATS over the past 11 in this series. But Iowa got a much needed wake-up call last week when they survived by blocking 2 FGs in the final minutes. This week they get their running game on track and win by about 17.
BYU -17- at TULANE
The entire country watched as the Cougars stunned Oklahoma last week. With Florida State on tap for next week it seems like a perfect spot for a letdown. It is....they'll only trounce the hapless Green Wave by 24 instead of 35. Take the chalk.
TEXAS -33- at WYOMING
Wyoming had all they could handle last week against Weber St. Now they have to tackle a Longhorns squad looking to gain momentum for the upcoming conference games. The Horns faithful were disappointed by last week's backdoor cover by UL-Monroe. It won't happen again this week. The Cowboys will be lucky to score and Texas will score at least 50.
TCU -11 at VIRGINIA
You gotta wonder about the state of the Cavaliers program when they lose their home opener to William & Mary...by nearly 2 TDs. Now they have to face a much better team. The only good news is that this is TCU's first game of the season. That's not good enough. The Horned Frogs defense will dominate and they should win by about 28-7.
FLORIDA -36- against TROY
Urban Meyer knows that one of the teams playing in Columbus, Ohio this week is gonna impress the pollsters. He also knows that Texas is going to romp. What's a coach to do? Make sure he remains ranked #1 for starters. Meyer will unleash the dogs (or Gators in this case) against a Troy team that couldn't even handle Bowling Green's offense last week. Gimme a break. Gators, 55-zip.
As always, best of luck.
Harry
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