| Record | ||
| Week 1 | 8-2 | |
| Week 2 | 5-0 | |
| Week 3 | 0-0 | |
| Total | 13-2 | 0.867 |
Week One is in the books. Florida State stumbled out of the gate before righting the ship and sending Oklahoma State home in narrow defeat. Alabama struggled for a while against a West Virginia squad that went 4-8 last year. ‘Bama ended up winning. Ohio State likewise struggled for a while against Navy, before the Buckeyes opened up the offense and pulled away.
Then there was Georgia. All preseason we were told that Clemson’s front seven was ideally suited to stopping the Dawgs’ running game. But a judicious application of all four running backs kept fresh legs on the field as the Clemson defense simply gave out. Georgia’s Todd Gurley ran for 198 yards and 3 TDs, and he also had a 100+ yard kick return for a TD.
This week, no Georgia, as the Dawgs have a week off prior to traveling to Columbia next weekend. Instead, we have these games (and no, I’m not going easy on myself):
The Games:
South Alabama at Kent State (Saturday, 2:00pm, ESPN3)
The South Alabama Jaguars begin their season by visiting Kent State. Earlier this year I picked South Alabama to win their conference, and I’m standing by that pick. The Jags played Kent State last season at home, winning 38-21. I think this game is a little bit lowering in the scoring column, but the outcome should be the same. Jaguars win.
Final Score: South Alabama 34, Kent State 17
CORRECT: South Alabama won 23-13
14 USC at 13 Stanford (Saturday, 3:30pm, ABC)
USC laid a 52-13 beating on Fresno State last week to prep for this game. Stanford shut out UC-Davis 45-0. Of the two, I’d say USC got the better preparation. The Trojans out-passed and out-rushed the Cardinal, and they did so against tougher competition. The game is at Stanford, which will help the Cardinal, but USC should still leave with the victory, but no more than a touchdown. In fact, the score I’m picking might be entirely too high for this game.
Final Score: USC 31, Stanford 24
CORRECT: USC won 13-10
7 Michigan State at 3 Oregon (Saturday, 6:30pm, FOX)
Michigan State 45, Jacksonville State 7. Oregon 62, South Dakota 13. In other words, we know really nothing about either team. Playing those vaunted FCS schools don’t give the talking heads anything to say. Oregon racked up 673 total yards. Michigan State had 565. Both teams maintain much of the power that carried them to the top last season, and that makes this a compelling match-up. This is the Goliath of Defense versus the Goliath of offense. Defense wins championships, as the old saying goes. But I don’t see it in this game. I think the Oregon offense is going to be too much, especially for a Michigan State team that’s travelling across the country to play. Ducks win.
Final Score: Oregon 28, Michigan State 17
CORRECT: Oregon won 46-27
East Carolina at 21 South Carolina (Saturday, 7:00pm, ESPNU)
On August 27 it would’ve been easy to label this game as easy victory for South Carolina. Then the Aggies came to Columbia and hung half a hundred on Spurrier’s fighting chickens. Now, this non-conference game suddenly becomes harder to call. I still the Gamecocks will win, but East Carolina is no pushover. Those Pirates may try to sneak out a win in Columbia. Add to that the fact that South Carolina has to be looking ahead to the juggernaut that is Georgia rolling into town on September 13 and you have the recipe for a potential upset. Spurrier is a better coach than that, and he’ll have the team refocused. Gamecocks win.
Final Score: South Carolina 26, East Carolina 21
CORRECT: South Carolina won 33-23
Michigan at 16 Notre Dame (Saturday, 7:30pm, NBC)
Notre Dame has gotten a lot of love for claiming a 31 point victory over Rice…but it’s Rice. I mean, Notre Dame would’ve only scored slightly more against an actual bag of rice. Michigan, meanwhile, claimed revenge for the greatest upset in the history of college football. Appalachian State returned to the Big House with hopes of claiming another victory just like they did in 2007. Michigan, though, was having none of it. The Wolverines jumped to a 35-0 halftime lead, going on to win 52-14. The Irish should be favored in this game, being ranked while Michigan is not. But these teams tend to play each other close. I like Notre Dame to win, but it’ll be close.
Final Score: Notre Dame 27, Michigan 23
CORRECT: Notre Dame won 31-0
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