This Weeks Picks!!!!

The week in college football has already been fantastic. The games on Wednesday and Thursday were great. I was actually glad to see Florida State come back and beat North Carolina last night. It almost seems like the players are trying to save Bobby Bowden's job. And tonight Rutgers is playing Army on the West Point Campus which is fantastic. My favorite part about college football tommorrow is that ESPN's College Gameday is going to be broadcasting from the BYU-TCU game. That is amazing. Two top 25 teams in the Mountain West getting some love!! Well here we go with this week's picks.

1. USF at Pittsburgh- Pittsburgh was the pre-season favorite to win the Big East, whatever that is worth. They are lead by the gritty play of quarterback Bill Stull. But the real surprise on offense is the freshman running back Dion Lewis, who is picking up right where Lesean "Shady" McCoy left off. This team has played tough and are 3-0 in the Big East. They will be facing a very tough defense from South Florida lead by defensive end George Selvie. The Bulls defense is 18th in overall defense, and play hard. Also there will be a little revenge on the minds of South Florida as Pitt knocked them off at home last year. It will be interesting to see if the Bulls' freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels can get back on track after struggling last week. I am taking Pitt. Jess agrees and Lys is taking the USF. Now to hear from John: "3-0 at home vs. 3-0 at home. I think the Bulls defense (5th in scoring in the nation) will be able to contain the Pitt running game. USF"
2. Tennessee at Alabama- Tennessee is better than people think and getting better on offense all the time. Their Monte Kiffin lead defense has played well, including against high powered Florida. Some think they finally turned the corner with a route of rebuilding Georgia. I, however, am not convinced. Alabama is on a mission. They have been playing the best overall football in the country this year. Mark Ingram is a machine. He is in my top three for the Heisman. I think that Tennessee has the ability to contain him, and they will have to have a chance. I have to take Alabama. Everyone agrees.
3. Oklahoma at Kansas- Kansas has quietly been a very good team. They lost to Colorado last week, but I think they got caught looking ahead. Kansas has a top notch recieving core and Todd Reesing at quarterback isn't too shabby. They will be playing an Oklahoma defense that is just lights out. I think too much is being made of the loss of Sam Bradford. Landry Jones has thrown for 1,111 yards and 11 touchdowns in two games and some odd quarters. He is a great quarterback he just needs the faith of his teammates. They will have to play great on offense, but I think that Kansas gets it done. Jess and Lys picked Oklahoma. And now more from John: "The Sooners are 0-2 on the road, that coupled with no Sam Bradford equals no win. The Jayhawks will keep the Sooners unranked; Kansas."
4. UCLA at Arizona- Ok I am convinced. Arizona is a pretty good football team. The Wildcat offense has consistantly gotten better. UCLA has been sliding after a great start. I think Arizona will continue its winning ways. John and Lys agree, but Jess is being a rebel and taking UCLA.
5. TCU at BYU- I am so emotionally involved in this game it is ridiculous. I have been hyping this conference for about 4 years now, and have been a big TCU fan for just as long. Last year this game was a blow out in the Horned Frogs' favor. This year BYU will be looking to hand TCU a crushing loss. It will be tough. TCU's defense is ranked fourth in total defense and have a sufficient enough offense, with spark plug slot reciever Jeremy Curley leading the way. I am almost reluctant to pick TCU because it might mean their demise, but what the hell TCU. Lys and Jess took the fighting Mormons of BYU. And more from the mind of John: "TCU is the only team I really care about in Texas. I think their big defensive game will get the BYU offense off it's game and bring this series closer to even: TCU."
6. Auburn at LSU: Auburn's offense looked almost unstoppable early. Chris Todd, however has beeen more turnover proned in the last couple of weeks. The real question is; Cna LSU do enough on offense? Auburn's offense has been averaging 35 points per game, while the LSU offense is ranked 112th in the nation. I am the only one on this blog picking Auburn, they all picked LSU. Lys did have some trouble though, because she picks by mascot and both teams are the Tigers. John's reason: "LSU doesn't lose in Death Valley (unless of course they are playing Florida.)
7. Texas at Missouri- Texas has a great defense. I haven't seen enough, other than completion percentage, to keep Colt McCoy in the top of the Heisman race. He is doing enough to win. The craziest thing is that the Longhorns have only lost twice the week after winning the Red River Shootout. Missouri really hasn't looked that bad on offense. Blaine Gabbert has been efficient, but is a bit gimpy due to a sprained ankle. Mizzou has lost its last two and I don't see them winning this one. We are all taking Texas.
8. Oregon State at USC: Bad news for USC, Jacquizz Rodgers is still the running back at Oregon State. USC has showed some weakness by having some trouble tackling the shifty Rodgers. The good news is that the Trojans will be playing at home. USC has beat the Beavers 21 straight times in Los Angeles, despite losing two of the last three meetings to Oregon State, both in Corvallis. Rodgers is second in the Pac-10 in rushing yards. All this doesn't mean much though, because the Trojans are only giving up 68 yards rushing a game. The Trojan;s offense has struggled to be consistant behind freshman quarterback Matt Barkely. But he has done enough to win every game he has started at USC. Oregon State has been very hit or miss this year. It would be great to see them knock the Trojans completely out of the national title picture but I serioulsy doubt it will happen; John, Lys and I are all taking the USC. Jess rebels again and picks the upset with Oregon State.
9. Arkansas at Ole Miss- Arkansas is one of those teams that gets better each week. The Razorback defense has been good, and Ryan Mallet continues to impress me. Jevon Snead, the Ole Miss quarterback has been disappointing this year. To be honest this was the toughest game for me to pick. I am timidly taking Arkansas. The girls agree, but John is taking Ole Miss.

UPSET ALERT!!!!!!

10. Penn State at Michigan- Although they have struggled on the road, Michigan is 5-0 at home. Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier has shown signs of greatness, but his confidence may be wavering after he was benched for Denard Robinson late against Iowa. Penn State has played solidly on defense and their offense has come around in the last few weeks. They looked awful against Iowa, and quarterback Darell Clark has been so-so. Nittany Lion running back Evan Royster has been running well, and will more than likely have to carry the full load this week with back-up, Stefon Greene, nursing an ankle injury. Forcier and Denard Robinson will split time this week and that may cause consistancy problems for the Michigan offense. Still it is an upset pick so I am taking Michigan, funny thing is that everyone agrees with me.

John---------------Lys----------Jess----------Me

USF---------------USF----------PITT--------PITT

Bama-----------Bama---------Bama---------Bama

Kansas--------OU------------OU-------------Kansas

ZONA---------ZONA---------UCLA---------ZONA

TCU-----------BYU---------BYU------------TCU

LSU----------LSU----------LSU------------AUBURN

Texas--------Texas-------Texas----------Texas

USC---------USC--------Ore State---------USC

Ole Miss----ARK-------ARK---------------ARK

Mich--------Mich--------Mich----------Mich

Make sure you watch as much college football as possible tommorrow. There are a lot of great games. Live like no one is watching and GO BAD BANDITS!!!!!