Here are our thoughts on the week 2 slate of games. Just like last week, one of us will offer our own thoughts on one of the games after the jump. And, if you have not yet made your picks, you can do so here. Remember, the deadline for submitting your picks is 11:59:59 PM PT. As of 3 PM PT on Thursday, here's a list of who has submitted picks. And, since I will be in Knoxville this weekend, it is unlikely I will get the opportunity to post everyone's picks until the scoreboard is posted next week.
Dave | Nick | Jared | Dominic | Jeremy | Paul | Takimoto | Matt Daddy | |
Hawaii at Army | Hawaii | Army | Hawaii | Hawaii | Hawaii | Army | Hawaii | Hawaii |
Georgia at South Carolina |
Georgia | Georgia | South Carolina | South Carolina | Georgia | Georgia | Georgia | South Carolina |
Michigan at Notre Dame |
Michigan | Michigan | Michigan | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Michigan | Michigan | Michigan |
Florida State at Oklahoma (-8.5) |
Oklahoma | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State |
Miami at Ohio State (-9.5) |
Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State | Miami | Miami | Ohio State | Miami | Ohio State |
Hawaii at Army [Matt Daddy]:
This game present two teams that have really cool team names; The Black Knights of Army and the Warriors of Hawaii. Other than that, and their inclusion in the Jersey Contest, there's not much else to draw your attention to a mid level WAC and lowly independent (on a side note, congrats BYU, these are the types of games you'll be scheduling in the near future).
Army has an anemic pass defense and judging by what Hawaii did to USC last week, I could see the Warriors putting up some yards early and often through the air, you know because USC is so good, right? I'm going with Hawaii by a touchdown.
Georgia at South Carolina [Paul]:
Before the season started, I was reading a blog post from the nebulous Phil Steele about his annual experience chart, which puts a certain amount of weight on the number of offensive line career starts a team has heading into the season (as well as a ton of other factors). The more I thought about it and talked about it with my older and "wiser" brother, however, the more I realized how important OL starts are, especially during the first few weeks of the season. What does all of this half to do with Georgia and South Carolina? Not a whole lot, aside from the fact that Georgia returns the most career OL starts in the entire FBS with 155. So, because I don't like over-analyzing games that have no impact on me or my Ducks, I'm picking the Bulldogs, despite the extended suspension of star WR and authentic college football apparel retailer A.J. Green and a road game against pretty formidable foe in the Gamecocks.
Michigan at Notre Dame [Nick]:
I like this matchup because it features two interesting quarterbacks who both won in their debuts last week. First, Notre Dame junior QB Dayne Crist had a solid debut against Purdue last week. I like Crist to try and build on that performance against a Michigan secondary that has already suffered a couple of injuries. However, while Crist's debut was solid, the debut of sophomore Denard Robinson for Michigan was excellent as he ran for 197 yards and threw for 186 more on 19 of 22 passing. So, who has the better matchup -- Crist against a depleted secondary or the option attack led by the more explosive Robinson? My gut tells me this game will be close, so I'll give the edge to Brian Kelly and the home field advantage of Notre Dame.
Florida State at Oklahoma (-8.5) [Jeremy]:
Nice big-boy match-up here, with a lot more questions than answers. I've picked FSU with the points, though I like OU to win at home in a squeaker. I think you can throw out Oklahoma's performance against Utah State. Anomaly, jitters, boredom, or whatever. OU has tons of talent and will act like it this Saturday. At the same time, I cannot discount the resurgence of FSU under new coach Jimbo Fisher. It seems the maroon and gold have found their stride after mostly stumbling around the past few years. Confidence and positive energy translates to better play on both sides of the ball. I could see OU's defense holding QB Christian Ponder down, but if FSU's O-line gets the upper hand in the trenches, then Chief Osceola might just leave Norman with Bob Stoops' visor, a nice tuft of hair and a big road victory.
Miami at Ohio State (-9.5) [Jared[:
Ohio State and Miami is one of the more interesting matchups of the weekend. Miami has been electrifying at times with Jacory Harris at the helm, but has also been frustratingly inconsistent for 'Canes fans. Last season, Harris was significantly worse on the road. His completion percentage dropped by 9% and his ratings dropped by 20 points. While he may be improved, I'm not gonna believe it until I see it.
At home, the excellent Buckeye defense should be able to handle the Cane offense, and I think that Pryor and company can put up enough points to cover the spread.