Picks of the Week: No. 8

Stay away from the ACC. Remember stay away from the ACC. That’s what the ‘Eer is doing this week. He will not try to think he knows anything about the ACC (thanks Wake Forest). So here it goes, best picks of the week that don’t include the ACC.

Nebraska (-17.5) over Iowa State
The Cornhuskers still control their own destiny in the Big 12 North, and Bo Pelini will have his team out to erase the embarrassment of last week’s 31-10 loss to Texas Tech. Look for a steady dose of Roy Helu Jr., who should be healthy for Saturday. The Cyclones ended a two-game skid last week with a 24-10 win over Baylor.
Pick: Nebraska 36, Iowa State 14

Northern Illinois (-11.0) over Miami of Ohio
The RedHawks are battling Eastern Michigan and Ball State for worst of the worse in the Mid-American Conference this year. Does anyone remember when Miami was the class of the conference? The Huskies should bounce back in a big way after losing to 20-19 last week. Only concern for Northern Illinois is the possible loss of starting QB Chandler Harnish, who may miss Saturday’s game with a knee injury.
Pick: Northern Illinois 27, Miami of Ohio 9

Arizona (-7.5) over UCLA
The Wildcats seem to be the new darling of the Pac-10 after good wins over Stanford (43-38) and Oregon State (37-32), and you could argue they shouldn’t have lost to Washington (36-33). QB Nick Foles has solidified the offense. He’s thrown for 1,209 yards and nine TDS, while completing almost 74 percent of his passes. UCLA has not shown much improvement in Rick Neuheisel’s second year as coach. After opening the season 3-0, the Bruins have dropped three straight, including a 45-26 loss to Cal.
Pick: Arizona 30, UCLA 17

Arizona State (+6.5) over Stanford
I considered this as the upset pick of the week, and this game should be very close so the home team should win. However, the Sun Devils looked better in last week’s upset of Washington so I think the game will be decided by a late field goal. The difference in this game will be the balanced attack of Stanford with RB Toby Gerhart and QB Andrew Luck. Even in last week’s loss to Arizona, Luck completed 21 of 35 for 423 yards and three TDs.
Pick: Stanford 32, Arizona State 30

Upset of the Week
Colorado (+4.5) over Kansas State
I haven’t hit an upset all year, so don’t follow my advice here. However, I’m going with Colorado because Dan Hawkins finally pulled the plug on weak-armed son Cody at QB and turned the offense over to Tyler Hansen. The new signal caller was convincing in his debut going 14 of 25 for 175 yards with a TD and a rushing score. Kansas State is playing better than many expected and the Wildcats were impressive in last week’s 62-14 thumping of Texas A&M, but that was the Aggies.
Pick: Colorado 24, Kansas State 20

Last Week: 3-2
Season Record: 19-16

I wonder if Bill Snyder has hooked up the Glenn Dorsey Orchestra for this year.

Sure, we're two years behind the times, but hey, this week was the first time I saw this video.

No wonder Ron Prince got fired. Nobody could overcome this.

Preseason: Big 12 rankings

Last season was a banner year for the Big 12 with Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Missouri taking turns in the top five and OU playing for the national title. Okie State could step up this year, but unfortunately for the Cowboys they remain in the South Division with Texas and OU. In the North, Missouri will take a step back from recent years, but remain ahead of a competitive, if not very good, Division.

Big 12 South

1. Texas
Key returners: QB Colt McCoy, WR Jordan Shipley, LB/DE Sergio Kindle, LB Roddrick Muckelroy, FS Blake Gideon
The Longhorns have plenty of chips on their shoulder from 2008 to play in this upcoming season. Sure, Colt McCoy is back, but almost as important are the four returning OL starters. Texas needs to develop a running game outside of McCoy. The non-conference schedule is a snoozer.
Predicted record: 12-0

2. Oklahoma
Key returners: QB Sam Bradford, LT Trent Williams, TE Jermaine Gresham, DT Gerald McCoy, RB DeMarco Murray
I don’t have a good reason to think the Sooners will lose twice other than all the losses on the offensive line. As accurate as Sam Bradford is, in the rare time he was pressured last season, he struggled. You just have to wonder if the mental shock of the national title game loss and the accident that paralyzed WR Chris Wilson will take a toll.
Predicted record: 10-2

3. Oklahoma State
Key returners: QB Zac Robinson, WR Dez Bryant, RB Kendall Hunter, OT Russell Okung, LB Andrew Sexton
The Cowboys are a hot pick to surprise in the Big 12 this year. If they were in the North, it could be interesting – but they’re not. OSU will score a lot of points, but they just don’t match up with the depth of OU and Texas. They do get the Longhorns in Stillwater and that could be a huge game.
Predicted record: 9-3

4. Texas Tech
Key returners: LB Marion Williams, CB Jamar Wall, NT Colby Whitlock, OT Marlong Winn
The Red Raiders will return to form this season after suffering lots of losses on offense. Taylor Potts is the next huge-numbers-ignored-by-the-NFL QB. Lots of players are back on defense, but this is is Texas Tech – who cares about defense?
Predicted record: 8-4

5. Baylor
Key returners: LB Joe Pawelek, QB Robert Griffin, CB Trentston Hill, LB Earl Patin
Baylor is poised to move up after last year’s 4-8 season, even with some substantial losses on the offensive line. Griffin is a tremendous athlete at quarterback and coach Art Briles’ offense will keep up with the rest of the league. It’s on defense where the Bears must improve to reach a bowl game.
Predicted record: 6-6

6. Texas A&M
Key returners: QB Jerrod Johnson, OG Lee Grimes, S Jordan Pugh
The Aggies face a number of problems, but the biggest is this – poor play along both lines. There’s lots of experience on the offensive line, but it has yet to be determined if that’s good or bad news.
Predicted record: 4-8

Big 12 North

1. Missouri
Key returners: RB Derrick Washington, WR Jared Perry, OG Kurtis Gregory, LB Sean Weatherspoon, NT Jaron Baston
Lots of new faces for the Tigers as the Chase Daniel crew moves on. There’s talent, though, as Mizzou has upped its recruiting in recent years. It’s just young talent. Sophomore Blaine Gabbert will likely take over at QB and he’s got a terrific arm. But the Tigers offense is about decision making. Defensively, the Tigers have to be better than last year to match that record.
Predicted record: 9-3

2. Kansas
Key returners: QB Todd Reesing, WR Kerry Meier, WR Dezmon Briscoe Jr., SS Darrell Stuckey, DT Caleb Blakesley
Nobody gets more from less than KU coach Mark Mangino and the Jayhawks will definitely be in the running for the Big 12 North title this year. Reesing is short and slow and is as gutsy a quarterback as you’ll see. Meier is slow, but does nothing but make huge catches. KU will once again score points. Stopping people will be the key.
Predicted record: 8-4

3. Nebraska
Key returners: C Jacob Hickman, K Alex Henery, NT Ndumakong Suh, SS Larry Asante
The Huskers lost a tremendous amount of skill players from last year’s team, but in my mind, the further they get from Bill Callahan’s teams, the better. This is the Big 12, so everybody scores. With seven starters back on defense, maybe the ‘Huskers could win the division.
Predicted record: 8-4


4. Colorado
Key returners: QB Cody Hawkins, WR Scotty McKnight, WR Josh Smith, RB Darrell Scott
The Buffs have 10 players returning on offense, which should be good news since they struggled to score last year. Forming a decent running game will be Colorado’s best chance to improve. On defense, only five starters are back. That’s not good news in the Big 12.
Predicted record: 7-5

5. Iowa State
Key returners: QB Austen Arnaud, RB Andrew Robinson, S James Smith, DE Christopher Lyle
As rocky as Gene Chizik’s tenure may have seemed at Iowa State, he did upgrade recruiting. The Cyclones have some talent and Arnaud is a underrated quarterback. New coach Paul Rhoads might have more success than people will realize.
Predicted record: 4-8

6. Kansas State
Key returners: OT Nick Stringer, OG Brock Unruh, DT Daniel Calvin, DB Josh Moore
Bill Snyder returns to take over the Wildcats program that has lots of returning starters but a porous defense and an overall lack of talent. Ron Prince’s JUCO-only recruiting system never really seemed to pan out. It will take time for Snyder to put things back together, which is something administrators and boosters probably weren’t counting on.
Predicted record: 4-8

Coaching carnage

College football has entered a new era. Four head coaches (and at least one high profile coordinator) have been fired during the season.

With the firing of Ron Prince today, Kansas State officially joined the coaching carousel. The Wildcats also entered the daily rumor mill. The hot target? South Florida's Jim Leavitt, who coached under program architect Bill Snyder. Leavitt hasn't officially denied interest in the position. Instead, he was quoted in the St. Petersburg Times as saying, "You guys know this (South Florida) is my heart and soul. I'm very fortunate to be here. I think it's the best job in the country."

Leavitt to K-State makes so much more sense than many of the other rumors surrounding Tennessee, Clemson and Washington right now. Leavitt built the Bulls from the ground up, but he's taken this program as far as he can get it. He's probably ready for the new challenge on a much bigger stage. Only reason to stay is the better athletes available in Florida.

So the only thing left to figure out? Who's next? Syracuse may announce Greg Robinson's fate real soon, but don't be surprised if they don't wait until after the final game. Auburn's Tommy Tuberville could get an early exit as well if the Tigers can't get two more victories in 2008.

Clearly, some of these coaches needed to go. But other schools could take a lesson from Ball State. Coach Brady Hoke had a miserable first three years (10-24) before the Cardinals finally turned it around starting in Year 4. Since 2006, Hoke's teams have gone 21-13 (which includes an apparent victory tonight against Northern Illinois) -- thanks Nate Davis.

Patience can pay off. Unfortunately no one at the big time programs are willing to wait.