Picks of the Week: No. 2

I'll take a 3-2 week, but wow was I off on the Notre Dame-Nevada game. Probably avoid the Irish until I get a better feel for Charlie Weis' team. Let's see if I can do a little better this week.

Texas (-33.5) over Wyoming
Clearly Texas is going to win this game, but by 33.5 points? Without a doubt. The Longhorns are the most talented team in the nation and Mack Brown has been known to run up a score to earn computer points. Colt McCoy will pick apart the Cowboys and Texas will roll big.
Pick: Texas 63, Wyoming 7

Vanderbilt (+14.5) over LSU
The Tigers were shaky in their win at Washington last week. The once-vaunted defense of LSU gave up 478 total yards of offense to the Huskies, who finished 0-12 last year. Les Miles says the defense will perform better this week. Maybe, but not enough to cover the spread. LSU will win though. The Tigers never seem to lose night home games.
Pick: LSU 27, Vanderbilt 21

USC (-7.0) over Ohio State
'Eye will probably be upset to see this pick, but if wants Ohio State in an upset then he should make these picks. This goes against everything I believe in, especially picking true freshmen QBs (Matt Barkley) to win in hostile environments at night. But the Buckeyes have lost five consecutive games against Top 5 teams. The Buckeyes will keep this much closer than a year ago, but USC will control the line of scrimmage and win back-to-back against OSU.
Pick: USC 31, Ohio State 17

Virginia Tech (-19.0) over Marshall
One thing Frank Beamer coached teams usually do well is putting tough losses behind them and focusing on the next game. The Thundering Herd are better this season, but not Hokies' good. VT will score at least one special teams TD and roll in the home opener and erase some of the bad memories of last week's nationally televised loss to Alabama.
Pick: Virginia Tech 36, Marshall 9

Upset of the Week
Stanford (+3.0) over Wake Forest
I'm not feeling a real upset this week. Maybe I'm gun-shy after last week's horrible pick. This would be a minor upset, but if Stanford could go across the country and win at Wake that would be a very nice win. I don't usually pick against Jim Grobe because he's the best coach in the nation (seriously, this guy wins with less talent). But Jim Harbaugh also does a fine job with the Cardinal and following Wake's loss to Baylor last week the Demon Deacons may be losing confidence.
Pick: Stanford 28, Wake Forest 24


Last Week: 3-2
Season Record: 3-2