The games for this week are:
North Carolina at No. 6 South Carolina
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt
Rutgers at Fresno State
No. 24 USC at Hawaii
Morgan State at Army
Texas Tech at Southern Methodist
Buffalo at No. 2 Ohio State
Villanova at Boston College
Purdue at Cincinnati
Toledo at No. 10 Florida
Rice at No. 7 Texas A&M
Mississippi State vs. No. 13 Oklahoma State
Temple at No. 14 Notre Dame
No. 1 Alabama vs. Virginia Tech
No. 5 Georgia at No. 8 Clemson
No. 12 LSU vs. No. 20 TCU
No. 11 Florida State at Pittsburgh
North Carolina at No. 6 South Carolina:
My Pick – Come on, there is no question in this one. South Carolina all the way. And this isn’t my SEC bias coming through, it’s just common sense. I know Larry Fedora is on a tear but coach Spurrier is on a mission. And that mission is to win the SEC east. Plus with all of the hype that Clowney has gotten in the off season, they are going to have to play some lights out football from the first snap or hold on tight because it’s going to be a bumpy ride out of the top ten and beyond if they don’t.
Bud’s Practical Pick – What the hell is a Tar Heel? Is that really a dude with tar on his foot? And he’s fighting a chicken? I am going with the fighting chickens on this one. Those are some mean damn birds and if this guy has sticky tar on the bottom of his foot, so he’s not going to be able to move around and get away from the bird. And South Carolina is the home team, so that means it’s in a chicken coop.
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt:
My Pick – I don’t know why, but I like this game. I like both teams, some. And I think that Vandy is going to give Ole Miss a better game than they are expecting. Not to say that I don’t think Old Miss isn’t going to win soundly. I just don’t think that Vandy is going to look like the Vandy of old.
Bud’s Practical Pick – So we got Commodores verses Rebels? Isn’t Nashville in the middle of Tennessee? Like not on a coast? Or are these the Commodores that Lionel Richie was part of? Either way, I think some renegade fighters will be able to handle some geriatric singers and some Navy guys who will be far away from their boats.
Rutgers at Fresno State:
My Pick – I know there are a lot of Fresno State fans out there, and I like them too but I just don’t see them beating Rutgers. I think the Jersey boys will be able to bring home the W without an issue.
Bud’s Practical Pick – Man, somebody better call the SPCA because a dude in armor with weapons against a dog is going to be animal abuse. Fresno State isn’t going to stand a chance.
No. 24 USC at Hawaii:
My Pick – Come on, USC is going to crush Hawaii. Hawaii hasn’t done much since June Jones left for Dallas. And Lane Kiffin is desperate to show people that he can coach his way out of a paper bag.
Bud’s Practical Pick – Trojans against Warriors? Damn, on the surface you would think that this would be a tie. But then I found out that Hawaii used to be the Rainbows. Seriously?! Just because of that, I have to throw my vote to the Trojans.
Morgan State at Army:
My Pick – I won’t even pretend that I know much about Morgan State and as a proud American, I always support the armed forces. Go Army.
Bud’s Practical Pick – Bears are going to the Army to fight the Army? Those are some dumbass bears! The Army has tanks and bazookas and missiles and stuff like that. And aren’t bears getting ready to hibernate? That’s got to impact their ability. Plus, skin is no match for an M-16.
Texas Tech at Southern Methodist:
My Pick – Oh Tech is going to win this one. But I would really like to see SMU get back to winning like they did when they were paying players.
Bud’s Practical Pick – Red Raiders and Mustangs huh. From what I’ve seen, the Red Raiders ride on Mustangs. No brainer, Texas Tech wins. But why are they red? Are they blushing?
Buffalo at No. 2 Ohio State:
My Pick – Oh god, the thought of Urban Meyer winning makes me ill. But they will. And it will look like a junior high team scrimmaging against a varsity high school team.
Bud’s Practical Pick – A bull against a plant? Hardly seems fair. And wouldn’t it make more sense for Buffalo’s mascot to be a buffalo? I can’t see a bull losing a fight against something that it eats.
Villanova at Boston College:
My Pick – This is a football game, right? Cause it sounds like a road to the final four game to me. And Villanova has a football team? Interesting. None the less, BC is going to win this game hands down.
Bud’s Practical Pick – A wildcat taking on an eagle. Initially I thought that there was no way that a wildcat would lose to an eagle, but then I remembered that the game is going to be at the eagle’s home, in the sky! Wildcats can’t fly.
Purdue at Cincinnati:
My Pick – The Bearcats have shown some moments of greatness over the last few years. The Boilermakers… not so much. I see Cinci winning this one by a respectable amount.
Bud’s Practical Pick – Wait, I’m confused. Is Purdue the trains or the boilermakers? And what is a boilermaker? Is that a guy who builds boilers? Like what people used to use for heating water? Or is it the mixed drink? I guess it really doesn’t matter as long as they are not the trains. I don’t exactly know what a bearcat is but it sounds mean, damn mean. Cincinnati wins.
Toledo at No. 10 Florida:
My Pick – I think Toledo will have a good year, not starting this Saturday but overall. The crocs are going to handle them without question.
Bud’s Practical Pick – Even in a swamp there is nooo way that an alligator would be able to beat a Rocket. A freaking rocket! Toledo wins.
Rice at No. 7 Texas A&M:
My Pick – Even with their starting QB sitting out half the game, ATM is going to win this game. At least it won’t be a long ride home for the Owls.
Bud’s Practical Pick – An owl verses a farmer? Don’t farmers shoot owls out of their barns? Farmers all the way.
Mississippi State vs. No. 13 Oklahoma State:
My Pick – I actually think this is going to be a good game. I think Dan Mullen is a good coach and has recruited some good talent in Starkville. Tyler Russell is a good quarterback who had a pretty good year last year. But he has some new receivers and linemen. We will have to see what they can do with a middle of the road running game. On the other side of the field is Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. I still can’t tell if Gundy is a good coach or just a good hype machine. A pre-season #13 ranking would lean towards him being a good coach. But I don’t put a lot of stock in preseason rankings. And the media is picking OSU to win the Big 12. But this is for a team that went 8-5 last year, the same record that the unranked Mississippi State Bulldogs had. But Gundy and OSU used three different QBs to achieve that. It’s going to be a close one and I am leaning towards the Cowpokes in this one.
Bud’s Practical Pick – A cowboy against a dog? Even if the dogs had rabies they would still lose because cowboys have guns. OSU rubs their nose in it.
Temple at No. 14 Notre Dame:
My Pick – Notre Dame is looking for some redemption from last year’s embarrassing national title game. They are going to have a chip on their shoulder and Golson is going to come out swinging. Last year Temple couldn’t pass the potatoes. And now they have a new coach who is trying to install a new offense. This is going to be ugly. Notre Dame is going win this with the backups in.
Bud’s Practical Pick – An owl verses a leprechaun? I guess this is pretty cut and dry. I mean there is only one clear cut choice in this. You have to go with the owls, leprechauns don’t exist. How can they win? Duh!
No. 1 Alabama vs. Virginia Tech:
My Pick – Rammer Jammer! There isn’t a chance that Frankie B is going to be able to match the coaching or talent that Alabama is bringing this year. Like a lot of other teams, I like Virginia Tech… when they aren’t playing against Alabama. I can see this game starting out decent but as the half draws near I think those Bama boys are going to just be too much for VT to handle.
Bud’s Practical Pick – Is that a turkey? That’s a turkey, right? I can’t see a turkey being able to do anything against an elephant. It’s a freaking elephant! Alabama wins this one easily.
No. 5 Georgia at No. 8 Clemson:
My Pick – This promises to be a good game. And it’s two top ten teams. But that is a preseason ranking. And as I have stated before, preseason rankings don’t hold a lot of weight with me. The Bulldogs lost Jarvis Jones in the offseason to the NFL draft, which is going to hurt them on defense. But their offense still has Aaron Murray under center and that is in their favor. Clemson on the other hand, has a talented QB by the name of Tajh Boyd who is no slouch. One thing that I think will help Clemson’s defense this year is that some of the members of their secondary who were out due to injuries last season are back and appear to be healthy. While Clemson is looking better, they are starting out the season against a much tougher team than they started out against last year. But I don’t think they are going to be able to stop Georgia. Bulldogs win this one.
Bud’s Practical Pick – I can’t watch this one. A tiger and a bulldog, that’s just messed up. Tigers all the way.
No. 12 LSU vs. No. 20 TCU:
My Pick – Interesting matchup. I honestly think that TCU is currently over ranked and LSU lost a ton of players to the NFL in the offseason. I will say that I think Miles is a better coach than Patterson. And Miles has pretty much the entire state of Louisiana to recruit to himself while TCU has to share Texas with Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Baylor and so on. And to make matters worse, TCU hasn’t announced who will be their starting quarterback yet. Looks like the kitties win this one.
Bud’s Practical Pick – Another tiger and a frog, a horned one at that. I can’t see how frogs can put up much of a fight against a tiger. I think they would be a snack for the tigers. LSU gobbles them up.
No. 11 Florida State at Pittsburgh:
My Pick – No question about it. Get your war paint on because FSU is going to crush Pittsburgh. I think Fisher has the Seminoles ready to win the ACC this year. I will be honest and say that I don’t know much about Paul Chryst, but I haven’t see much come out of Pittsburgh since Larry Fitzgerald, but my gut says to go with the ‘Noles.
Bud’s Practical Pick – Not so fast my friend! I heard someone say that before. We are talking about Indians and panthers going at it. Man eating cats against guys with homemade weapons. Some may think that the humans having weapons would have the advantage, but they are going to a panthers den. Those cats know where to hide and then pounce when the time is right! Pittsburgh wins!
- Don't get dead
