First, if you haven't made your picks, you can do so here. The deadline is tonight at 11.59 PM PT.
Here's what those of us at ATQ thought about this week's games. Our thoughts on each game can be found after the jump.
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Minnesota at Northwestern |
Miami at Virginia Tech |
Arizona at Oregon State |
Washington at Stanford |
Texas Tech at Houston |
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| Jared | Minnesota | Miami | Oregon State | Stanford | Texas Tech |
| Nick | Minnesota | Miami | Oregon State |
Stanford | Houston |
| Dave | Minnesota | Miami | Oregon State | Stanford | Houston |
| Dominic | Minnesota | Miami | Arizona | Stanford | Texas Tech |
| Jeremy | Minnesota | Miami | Oregon State | Washington | Houston |
| Paul | Minnesota | Virginia Tech | Oregon State | Stanford | Houston |
Minnesota at Northwestern:
Jared: I think this will be a pretty even matchup. Both teams have played Syracuse, and both games were close, though Minnesota won, and Northwestern lost. Beyond that, Minnesota's schedule has been much tougher, and they have gone 2-1, as well as can be expected, and they will be improved from playing those tough teams. Pick: Minnesota
Nick: The two teams share an opponent in common this year, with Minnesota winning at Syracuse in OT and Northwestern losing by 3. Northwestern is currently a slight favorite at home -- though after being at Ryan Field a few years ago and coming away feeling like I just watched a high school football game, I have serious doubts about it being a legitimate home field advantage. I'll go with Minnesota, who hung with Cal for much of the game last week. Pick: Minnesota
Dave: Both of these are mediocre lower level Big Ten teams. But Minnesota has a decent QB in Adam Weber, and a fantastic playmaker in Eric Decker. Its not a confident pick, but I think Minnesota wins more often than not. Pick: Minnesota
Dominic: Both of these teams have a common foe in Syracuse where Minnesota eeked it out in overtime and Northwestern lost by a field goal. What Minnesota has going for them is that they hung with Cal for about three quarters before the Golden Bears pulled away. Even though Northwestern has Minnesota beat in most statistical categories, I like Kafa's completion percentage at 74.4. Making good decisions wins this ball game. Pick: Minnesota
Jeremy: Tough call right out of the gate. Minnesota and Northwestern share a common opponent in Syracuse. Minnesota got it done. Northwestern didn't. I'll take the Gophers. Pick: Minnesota
Paul: I never really have much of an opinion on these middle-of-the-road Big 10 match-ups, but I actually like Minnesota this year. With a brand new stadium, third-year coach Tim Brewster is starting to put together perennially competitive teams in Dinkytown. Because of the up-and-coming nature of the program, I just don't see Minnesota losing very many of these games, even on the road, so I'm going with the Golden Gophers. Pick: Minnesota
Miami at Virginia Tech:
Jared: Virginia Tech's defense has not been the defense of old. They have struggled to tackle, while Miami has moved the ball very well, and has enough defense to stop the Hokies. Pick: Miami
Nick: Last week, I thought the Hokie defense at home would be enough to hold off Nebraska. It was, but not by much This week, a better Miami team will give them their second loss of the season. While Miami has been living off the arm of QB Jacoby Harris, look for them to also establish a running game against a Virginia Tech defense that gave up over 200 yards on the ground last week. Pick: Miami
Dave: Miami is back. The Hokie offense is its usual blah, but the D hasn't been its stout self this year, giving up over 200 rushing yards a game. The 'Canes roll into Blacksburg and take them out. Pick: Miami
Dominic: Is Miami for real? I like that the swagger is back at the U and, more importantly, they seem hungry. When you have this level of confidence, the desire to finish, and the ability to get things done, you have a very motivated football team. The main difference between these two teams is offensive balance. The Hurricanes can throw the ball and Virginia Tech can't. We learned a lot about the Hokies last week against Nebraska. I think Miami catches them and, in doing so, catapults themselves into serious BCS talk. Pick: Miami
Jeremy: VaTech's defense continues to be compelling. Their offense will struggle to make plays against the speed of Miami's defense. Nebraska didn't have the fire-power on offense to beat the Hokies in Blacksburg, but Miami will. Canes' surprising run through top-25 opponents continues. Pick: Miami
Paul: According to an April article in the Wall Street journal, Virginia Tech is tied with Notre Dame for having the most returning offensive line starts in the nation. I love this statistic. I think a veteran offensive line can carry a team. Because of this, I'm picking VA Tech in every match-up this year to test my theory. So far, I'm 1-for-1. Pick: Virginia Tech
Arizona at Oregon State:
Jared: If this were at Arizona, things may be different, but at Reser, OSU should win this one easily. Arizona simply doesn't have a good offense, and does not have a QB situation settled enough to take advantage of OSU's biggest weakness, passing defense. The Rodgers brothers alone will score enough points to beat Stoops, who I will never again pick on the road. Pick: Oregon State
Nick: Are the Beavers any good this year? At this point, we don't have a whole lot to go on from their two wins (Portland State and a two-point win at UNLV). I think we'll know more after this weekend when they take care of Arizona at home. Pick: Oregon State
Dave: Arizona doesn't have a quarterback, and Mike Stoops is their coach. On the road against a decent team, thats a bad combination. Pick: Oregon State
Dominic: The betting line started off favoring Arizona at the beginning of the week and has gradually moved back in Oregon State's favor. I like the Wildcats defense in this game, especially since Oregon State doesn't seem to have anyone to go to other than the Rodgers Brothers. The Beavers also aren't getting much of a pass rush which should help a young Arizona offense. I think this game will determine where Oregon State's season will go on the defensive side of the ball. If they can stuff Nick Foles and cause turnovers, Reser will be rocking and the Beavers take the game. I don't think that will happen. Too early in the season and I think the Beavers give it away. Pick: Arizona
Jeremy: QB issues won't get you far in the Pac-10. Ask USC, and perhaps the Ducks after the Cal game. Arizona has QB issues. Oregon State, not so much. Lil' Quizz get his rush on and the Beavs D makes the plays they didn't make last week. It might not even be close. Pick: Oregon State
Paul: Arizona laid an egg on the road at Iowa after holding off Central Michigan a week prior. With a trip to Corvallis, I just don't see them doing any better against the Beavers. Although OSU lost at home last weekend, it was to a very good Cincinnati team. Expect the Beavs to bounce back with a low-scoring win over the Wildcats. Pick: Oregon State:
Washington at Stanford:
Jared: Frankly, I'm shocked at how much better Washington is from last season. But not having a corpse on the sidelines definitely pays dividends. Jake Locker has his short-intermediate passing game working exceptionally well, and no one can afford to overlook UW anymore. That said, UW won last week because they took advantage of mistakes, which were plentiful. I don't think Stanford will make these same mistakes. UW hasn't played on the road this season, and Stanford should be able to move the ball against the porous Washington D. Pick: Stanford
Nick: Washington comes back to earth after their huge upset in Seattle last week. Did you know that Stanford opened as nine point favorites in this game? I don't think I would have given that many points, but I definitely like them to win. Pick: Stanford
Dave: Please shut the Husky backers up for a week. Pick: Stanford
Dominic: The Huskies are back! The Huskies are back! Washington is no pushover anymore and they've proven that by catching an out of sorts USC team. Remember the sexy pick of Stanford before the season? They are still that team and you can bet they have been watching film all week getting ready for this game. If the Dawgs win this game, I'll give them credit but until then.... Pick: Stanford
Jeremy: Picking Washington to stumble will be a sexy prediction this week. I just sense that Sark isn't doing this with smoke and mirrors. The Dawgs are playing good football on both sides of the ball. More importantly, they now believe. Stanford needs this win. I don't think they'll get it. Pick: Washington
Paul: Last year, the Beavers lost in a close one to Utah after shocking the nation and beating then-No. 3 USC. In 2007, it was Stanford who crapped the bed against TCU a week after handing then-No. 4 USC a shocking loss at home. This year, it's Washington's turn to get a classic case of the letdowns. Sorry, Husky fans...you're not there yet. Pick: Stanford
Texas Tech at Houston:
Jared: To me, this is the hardest pick of the whole lot. Houston looked very good @Okie State, but Texas Tech looked good against Texas last week, where they lost despite outgaining Texas. This game could go either way, and could go down to who has the last possession. I think that Tech will be motivated to not lose two in a row, and will pull it out in the last few minutes. Pick: Texas Tech
Nick: This should be a really interesting game between two high-powered offenses (current over-under on total points sits at around 72). It doesn't look like either team has much use for running the ball, and in that case, I'll go with the more experienced QB in Houston's Case Keenum. Pick: Houston
Dave: The Cougars are the real deal. Neither team has much of a defense, and there could be fifteen gazillion passing yards in this game, but I like Case Keenum at home against a new Tech QB. Regardless, it should be entertaining as hell. Pick: Houston
Dominic: A lot of folks are looking at the Houston victory over Oklahoma State as a sign of how good the Cougars are and I'm not buying it. Both teams are pass first, ask questions later types of squads and seem fairly even on paper. I liked the Red Raiders loss against Texas a lot more than I liked Houston's win against Oklahoma State. Pick: Texas Tech
Jeremy: What? No MAC pick-em game? If you like offense you might get several weeks worth in this game alone. I want to pick Tech, the bigger boys from the bigger conference. But what would 2009's week four be without the emergence of a new compelling cinderella story. If you're betting, don't even look...just take the over. Houston's Cougar finally regains his manhood. Pick: Houston
Paul: Expect a high-scoring affair. Houston leads the nation in scoring, and the Red Raiders aren't that far behind. I consider Houston the underdog, but I like them outscoring Texas Tech at home. Pick: Houston