🏈 PJ's Picks- Week Three

[psychojoe]

Last week was a dull one around the SEC, with most of the league playing mediocre non conference competition. Our two feature non conference games turned out to be exciting, as well as meaningful on the national scene. It was a tough week for the B1g, a good one for the PAC 12. If you cheer for the burnt orange of Texas, you may be already thinking about basketball season. This week the national games are nowhere near as enticing, but the SEC games are generally more interesting.

Of note, our friends of the Barner persuasion have an off week as they prepare for next Thursday night's game versus Kansas State. I am not sure why they think they need a week off. They will be visiting a school with lots of farm machinery and barnyard animals. It will be like a home game for them.

 

[psychojoe]

Notre Dame at Purdue

This is a fairly heated rivalry, as these two schools do not like each other. (I could probably write this in prefacing every Notre Dame game.) This time around, the Boilermakers have the home field, but the Irish have a considerable talent edge. Look for Notre Dame to improve it's B1g 10 record to 2-0.

PJ'S Pick: Notre Dame 38 Purdue 17.

 

[psychojoe]

UCLA at Texas

Before the season started this had the makings of an attractive inter-sectional match up. Texas would be revamped and revved up under new coach Charlie Strong, while UCLA would be entering the new season with a Heisman trophy candidate at QB, and championship aspirations.

Two weeks of the season has changed all of this. UCLA struggled on offense, but won on the road at Virginia. Texas seems to be making football news in all the wrong ways. I have lost count of the number of players Strong has booted from the team, and others are suspended. Top that off with some key injuries, and starting QB David Ash going down with yet another concussion. The Longhorns didn't get it when Strong had their locker room papered with pictures and articles from last year's thrashing at the hands of BYU, and showed this as the Cougars pummeled them again. There is turmoil in Austin, again.
The 'Horns are not as bad as they looked last week, but they are not in UCLA's class. This line opened at UCLA-7 and quickly jumped to 8.5, which tells you which way the bettors think this game is going. If Charlie Strong does not turn this around, he will join Mack Brown as an ex Texas HC. I believe that he will, but not this week, maybe not this year.

PJ's Pick: UCLA 34 Texas 13

 

[psychojoe]

USC at Boston College

This game is of interest to me because BC is tough at home. They gave FSU by far the closest game that they had in last year's title run. Southern Cal is easily the more talented of the two teams, but they just played an emotional, very physical game against Stanford. One problem the Trojans do have this year is depth, owing to the effects of probation. While as I understand it they are off probation now, it will take a while for them to rebuild their scholarship numbers and depth. They should have more than enough to win this one, even if they are down a bit after the Stanford game. It will be close for a while, but in the end

PJ"S Pick: USC 31 Boston College 20.

 

[psychojoe]

U Mass at Vanderbilt

Two games into the new season, the Commodores have yet to score an offensive touchdown. They embarrassed themselves against Temple with seven turnovers, then got a beat down from Ole Miss. Their defense, though not stellar, deserves a better fate than their offense gives them, with a regular die of turn overs and three and outs. Gone with James Franklin are some pretty talented playmakers on offense. Derrick Mason was not able to salvage much fo their 2014 recruiting class, which disintegrated when Franklin bolted for his dream job. At this point the 'Dores are easily the weakest team in the SEC. Still, even a bad SEC team should be able to handle UMass. Vandy will get off the blitz this week, and maybe even score an offensive touchdown.

PJ's Pick: Vanderbilt 24 UMass 14.

 

[psychojoe]

La. Lafayette at Ole Miss

While I am not ready to jump on the Rebel Bears at this point as a title contender, I will concede that they have a really good defense. I will continue to withhold judgment on Bo Wallace as a QB, though he has played well since the first half of their opener. While this is not a hapless directional school opponent, the fighting Akbars are on a mission to gain respect. They will keep the pedal down.

PJ's Pick: Ole Miss 41 La. Laf, 10

 

[psychojoe]

La. Monroe at LSU

As several SEC schools can attest, these Louisiana directional schools can give you a rough evening if you are not on your game. Still. Les's young tigers, aided by the noisiest home crowd in the SEC, should have an easy time of it. The young phenoms, Dupree and Fournette, should continue to gain experience and add to LSU's offensive prowess.

PJ's Pick: LSU 44 La. Monroe 14

 

[psychojoe]

Mississippi State at South Alabama

The Bulldogs travel to Mobile for this one, which is as strange as their visit to Birmingham to play at UAB a couple of years back. My take on both of these is that State scheduled them as a way of gaining exposure and helping their recruiting in the population centers of Alabama. The dogs had a tougher time than expected against the rejuvenated UAB Blazers, having little trouble scoring, but being hit with over 500 yards of offense and 34 points from the Blazers.

I confess that I am a South Alabama fan. Joey Jones was a favorite of mine when he played at Alabama. When he coached at Mountain Brook I admired the physicality of his teams even as they regularly took down my hometown Pelham Panthers. I was really pulling for him to pull off the upset a year ago against Tennessee. I am sure that South Alabama will do well in their still new football program. . They are not up to now, and possibly never will be, taking down a good SEC team.

PJ' Pick: Mississippi State 45 South Alabama 24

 

[psychojoe]

Rice at Texas A&M

The Owls and Aggies will battle for Eastern Texas bragging rights. Rice ran the ball well in this game a year ago, so this game will be a test of how well the Aggie defense handles the run now. Their offense in the meanwhile has not missed a beat and should continue to roll.

PJ's Pick: Texas A&M 51 Rice 21.

 

[psychojoe]

Arkansas at Texas Tech

The Piggies travel to West Texas this week to take on the Red Raiders. This game is another measuring stick game for them. They are not as good as the rest of the teams in the SEC west, they are lots better than the Nichols States of the world, but just where are they in the pecking order. Bielma has his running game going, with a talented triumvirate of young runners leading their offense. This week will be about their past defense. It is lower tier SEC versus lower tier Big 12. This is one of the games on their schedule that the piggies can win.

PJ's Pick: Arkansas 31 Texas Tech 28

 

[psychojoe]

UCF at Missouri

The days when UCF could sneak up on opponents masquerading as just another directional school are in the past. They have become a nationally respected powerhouse, capable of having first round draft pick talent. Only a late comeback by South Carolina last season kept them from running the table. While they are now in the post Bortles era, their opening day nail biter versus Penn State shows that they are indeed a team to team to contend with for the Power 5 conference teams that they face.

Most of us did not expect much from the 'Zou this year, in view of all the playmakers that they lost from last year's team. Yet they won their opener convincingly, and had a surprisingly easy time last week against Toledo. This will be their toughest game so far. I believe that Maty Mauk and friends will be up to it.

It will be a nail biter.

PJ's Pick: Missouri 27 UCF 24

 

[psychojoe]

Tennessee at Oklahoma

(I just had my morning smart pill, along with a fresh cup of coffee.) The Vols and their coonskin cap clad warriors travel to covered wagon land this week. Butch Jones has more marksmen on his team. and they will make the Sooners circle their wagons for a while. In the end, though, the Vols don't have enough ammunition to pull this one off.

PJ's Pick: Oklahoma 37 Tennessee 24

 

[psychojoe]

Tennessee at Oklahoma

There, first cup of coffee of the day, and my morning Smart Pill. Butch Jones takes his coonskin cap clad warriors out to covered wagon land. He has better marksmen than a year ago, and you can be sure that the Sooners will circle the wagons for a while. The volunteers will shoot accurately for a while, but this trip they will run out of ammunition.

PJ's Pick- Oklahoma 31 Tennessee 21

 

[psychojoe]

Kentucky at Florida

Mike stoops takes his scrappy pack of wildcats down to the swamp to take on Boomer's giant water lizards. These cats have more bite than they have had in several years, but we all know that in the swamp a wildcat is no match for a gator.

PJ's Pick: Florida 34 Kentucky 17

 

[psychojoe]

Georgia at South Carolina

Before this season started there was a lot of crowing coming from the Columbia chicken coop. That was before Kevin Sumlin and his farm hands raided the coop and sent feathers flying everywhere. The roosters have lost their strut. Has the head ball coach lost his mojo? Mark Richt brings his pack of red clay hounds to the coop this week. No doubt he has been telling these Dawgs about the thrashing they got the last time they tried to raid this chicken house. The Dawgs are thinking revenge.

PJ''s Pick: Georgia 35 South Carolina 24

That's enough Leonard for this week. It is a tribute to him that he is still loved and missed all these years later.

 

[psychojoe]

Southern Miss at Alabama

Time changes things. A few years back Southern Miss had the best D-1 team in the state of Mississippi, and Ole Miss and Mississippi State did not want to play them. Since Larry Fedora left for North Carolina, though, things have gone into the crapper for the Golden Eagles. Frankly, there is not a lot to talk about with them. They have gone to a HUNH offense. Scheduling them after a hiatus of several years points to how Coach Saban is thinking. We have struggled more than once with this kind of attack, and among our SEC West opponents Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Auburn run thus style of offense. Our defense will continue to work on getting lined up correctly and getting calls in against this type of offense. With this being our second rehearsal against this style, we should be much better prepared by the time we see Ole Miss. We will continue to look at two quarterbacks, and who knows, maybe Alec Morris will get on the field. I think we will score at will, as we did last week.

PJ's Pick: Alabama 56 Southern Miss 0

 

[252BAMA]

Nebraska at Fresno State?

 

[252BAMA]

UCLA at Texas

Before the season started this had the makings of an attractive inter-sectional match up. Texas would be revamped and revved up under new coach Charlie Strong, while UCLA would be entering the new season with a Heisman trophy candidate at QB, and championship aspirations.

Two weeks of the season has changed all of this. UCLA struggled on offense, but won on the road at Virginia. Texas seems to be making football news in all the wrong ways. I have lost count of the number of players Strong has booted from the team, and others are suspended. Top that off with some key injuries, and starting QB David Ash going down with yet another concussion. The Longhorns didn't get it when Strong had their locker room papered with pictures and articles from last year's thrashing at the hands of BYU, and showed this as the Cougars pummeled them again. There is turmoil in Austin, again.
The 'Horns are not as bad as they looked last week, but they are not in UCLA's class. This line opened at UCLA-7 and quickly jumped to 8.5, which tells you which way the bettors think this game is going. If Charlie Strong does not turn this around, he will join Mack Brown as an ex Texas HC. I believe that he will, but not this week, maybe not this year.

PJ's Pick: UCLA 34 Texas 13

No big deal but FWIW this game is neither a home game for Texas nor a neutral site game. It is a UCLA off site home game in Arlington similar to what ND does with their Shamrock series.

 

[PhillyGirl]

Tennessee at Oklahoma

(I just had my morning smart pill, along with a fresh cup of coffee.) The Vols and their coonskin cap clad warriors travel to covered wagon land this week. Butch Jones has more marksmen on his team. and they will make the Sooners circle their wagons for a while. In the end, though, the Vols don't have enough ammunition to pull this one off.

PJ's Pick: Oklahoma 37 Tennessee 24

Tennessee at Oklahoma

There, first cup of coffee of the day, and my morning Smart Pill. Butch Jones takes his coonskin cap clad warriors out to covered wagon land. He has better marksmen than a year ago, and you can be sure that the Sooners will circle the wagons for a while. The volunteers will shoot accurately for a while, but this trip they will run out of ammunition.

PJ's Pick- Oklahoma 31 Tennessee 21

Hey, you don't get two picks for this game!

 

[red55]

La. Monroe at LSU

As several SEC schools can attest, these Louisiana directional schools can give you a rough evening if you are not on your game. Still. Les's young tigers, aided by the noisiest home crowd in the SEC, should have an easy time of it. The young phenoms, Dupree and Fournette, should continue to gain experience and add to LSU's offensive prowess.

PJ's Pick: LSU 44 La. Monroe 14

Everybody predicted that LSU would go with a run-heavy offense, especially early, with such an effective O-line and a stable of good running backs. It would take pressure off young quarterbacks and receivers. But after two games including a ranked opponent, LSU has more total yards and touchdowns through the air (489 yards, six TDs) than on the ground (460 yards, five TDs) and is looking very balanced. If Les can shore up a group of inexperienced defensive tackles, it may not be such a rebuilding year after all.