COWBOY WOES
My Dallas Cowboys are in a heap of trouble. They had winnable games against the Redskins and Bears and lost both of them on a handful of plays. Now, Dallas heads to resurgent Houston on Sunday where perhaps the hottest QB in the league (and former Wahoo) Matt Schaub and the rest of the Texans await, full of confidence after a 2-0 start, including a much sought after victory over AFC South division rival Indianapolis. The year is not a lost cause yet, but the Cowboys need to get in gear, and quick. There are no gimme games left on the schedule at this point. Not even Detroit or Jacksonville in my opinion. If the problems aren't fixed this week, then they must be fixed over the bye week. Hopefully, whatever locker room issues there are have been worked out this week. The Cowboys have responded well in recent years when they seem to criticize themselves for not being together. A couple other things going in the Cowboys' favor is that they, as I alluded to above, are only a handful of plays away from being 2-0. So hopefully a change here or there and they can get on the winning side of things. Just too bad they get the red-hot Texans this week. The other small thing going in Dallas' favor is there doesn't seem to be a dominant team in the NFC East, so that gives them a little time to figure things out.
SURPRISING STAT
Dallas actually leads the NFC in total offense at 395 yards/game. I was very surprised to learn that stat this week. Yet, the offense has produced only two offensive TDs (the other TD was a Dez Bryant punt return). So the good news is that Dallas is moving the ball. The bad news is that it isn't producing points, so something is amiss once it reaches the red zone. More bad news: Houston leads the league in total offense at 440.5 yards/game.
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PICKS
As you can see in the post below, I did quite well on picks last week. 10-5 which puts me at 15-7 for the year.
This week's college picks:
Noon
NC State at Georgia Tech
The Wolfpack are the surprise team so far in the ACC. NC State is the ACC's only undefeated team along with Boston College, which hosts the Hokies this weekend. The Yellow Jackets showed resolve in a hard-fought win at UNC last week. I have concerns about Al Groh's defense stopping Russell Wilson and the Wolfpack offense, though. I think Groh will have the defense up to speed maybe late this year and definitely next year, but right now the defense is still in transition. I think this is a game that could come down to the final plays. GT has been tested a little more this year in its schedule than NC State has. Yellow Jackets prevail at home 35-31.
Virginia Tech at Boston College
The Hokies averted disaster last week by getting ahead of ECU in the second half and pulling away for the win. It doesn't get any easier this week for Tech, as it travels to Boston College, which has had two weeks to prepare for this game. BC has a lot going for it in this game. Since 2003, BC is 7-2 after a bye week, including a 3-1 mark against VT (the Hokies beat BC in 2005 in Blacksburg following BC's bye week). The Eagles have beaten the Hokies two straight times in Massachusetts. VT RB Ryan Williams is officially out for the Hokies so Darren Evans and David Wilson will have to carry the load. Mark Herzlich is the emotional leader for the BC team. I like a lot about the Eagles, but it is hard to tell how good they really are--they have only faced Weber St. and Kent St. so far this season. With Ryan Williams, I think Tech could win by 10 points. Without him, it's anyone's guess. The Hokies struggle, but win 24-17.
1:30
VMI at Virginia
Hopefully, Virginia can make easy work of the Keydets, though nothing has come easy for this football team in a long while. Cavaliers win 38-0.
3:30
No. 1 Alabama at No. 10 Arkansas
I don't think the Hogs have what it takes to knock off Bama this year. Any other year, maybe, but the Tide just looks like a machine right now. And it has Mark Ingram back. Last week, the Heisman winner amassed 100 yards on just three carries against Duke. Arkansas keeps it interesting through the air, but loses 38-24.
No. 16 Stanford at Notre Dame
Along with Alabama, Boise State, Oregon, and Ohio State, I think the Cardinal has been one of the most impressive teams thus far this season in the nation. They levelled Wake Forest last week 68-24 and I don't think they'll have a ton of trouble disposing of the Irish, which has not been good on defense this season (102nd in total defense, while Stanford ranks 16th in total offense). The Cardinal rolls 45-24.
7:00
Kentucky at No. 9 Florida
The struggling Gators, not looking anything like a top 10 team or the Florida teams of old, gets perhaps its toughest test so far when 3-0 Ketucky visits the Swamp. The Wildcats have faced the likes of Louisville, Western Kentucky, and Akron so far, not exactly the most daunting schedule. Florida has been unimpressive in wins over Miami, OH, South Florida, and Tennessee. The Gators are allowed to be unimpressive just this one more week. Next week, the machine I mentioned above hosts Florida.The Gators win 38-20 in their final tune up before facing the Crimson Tide.
7:45
No. 12 South Carolina at No. 17 Auburn
The Tigers have won their last two games by a combined six points, including a squeaker last week against Clemson at home. Both teams are 3-0, but neither one has been dominating. This is the Gamecocks first game on the road this season so how will they respond to the environment? I think in South Carolina, the Gamecocks win by a TD or so. In the Jungle, South Carolina still wins, but it'll be an SEC slugfest. 23-20.
8:00
No. 24 Oregon State at No. 3 Boise State
ESPN is billing this as another "test" for Boise and while it may be their last difficult game this year, I think they win pretty easily. Oregon State is a good team, but I don't think they will contend with the Broncos on the Smurf Turf (even though the Beavers painted their own practice turf blue to prepare for the game). Oregon State lost to TCU by nine points in its opener and then beat a weak Louisville team by only seven. Boise State takes care of business, 42-21.
9:00
No. 22 West Virginia at No. 15 LSU
The Mountaineers finally looked dominant against Maryland last week but still had trouble closing the door. LSU has rolled since its close call in Week 1 against UNC. I like the SEC team to beat the Big East team soundly in the SEC school's stadium. 27-17.
Gotta get to work now, so reaction to anything crazy in the college games coming Saturday night, along with my NFL Week 3 picks.
My Dallas Cowboys are in a heap of trouble. They had winnable games against the Redskins and Bears and lost both of them on a handful of plays. Now, Dallas heads to resurgent Houston on Sunday where perhaps the hottest QB in the league (and former Wahoo) Matt Schaub and the rest of the Texans await, full of confidence after a 2-0 start, including a much sought after victory over AFC South division rival Indianapolis. The year is not a lost cause yet, but the Cowboys need to get in gear, and quick. There are no gimme games left on the schedule at this point. Not even Detroit or Jacksonville in my opinion. If the problems aren't fixed this week, then they must be fixed over the bye week. Hopefully, whatever locker room issues there are have been worked out this week. The Cowboys have responded well in recent years when they seem to criticize themselves for not being together. A couple other things going in the Cowboys' favor is that they, as I alluded to above, are only a handful of plays away from being 2-0. So hopefully a change here or there and they can get on the winning side of things. Just too bad they get the red-hot Texans this week. The other small thing going in Dallas' favor is there doesn't seem to be a dominant team in the NFC East, so that gives them a little time to figure things out.
SURPRISING STAT
Dallas actually leads the NFC in total offense at 395 yards/game. I was very surprised to learn that stat this week. Yet, the offense has produced only two offensive TDs (the other TD was a Dez Bryant punt return). So the good news is that Dallas is moving the ball. The bad news is that it isn't producing points, so something is amiss once it reaches the red zone. More bad news: Houston leads the league in total offense at 440.5 yards/game.
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PICKS
As you can see in the post below, I did quite well on picks last week. 10-5 which puts me at 15-7 for the year.
This week's college picks:
Noon
NC State at Georgia Tech
The Wolfpack are the surprise team so far in the ACC. NC State is the ACC's only undefeated team along with Boston College, which hosts the Hokies this weekend. The Yellow Jackets showed resolve in a hard-fought win at UNC last week. I have concerns about Al Groh's defense stopping Russell Wilson and the Wolfpack offense, though. I think Groh will have the defense up to speed maybe late this year and definitely next year, but right now the defense is still in transition. I think this is a game that could come down to the final plays. GT has been tested a little more this year in its schedule than NC State has. Yellow Jackets prevail at home 35-31.
Virginia Tech at Boston College
The Hokies averted disaster last week by getting ahead of ECU in the second half and pulling away for the win. It doesn't get any easier this week for Tech, as it travels to Boston College, which has had two weeks to prepare for this game. BC has a lot going for it in this game. Since 2003, BC is 7-2 after a bye week, including a 3-1 mark against VT (the Hokies beat BC in 2005 in Blacksburg following BC's bye week). The Eagles have beaten the Hokies two straight times in Massachusetts. VT RB Ryan Williams is officially out for the Hokies so Darren Evans and David Wilson will have to carry the load. Mark Herzlich is the emotional leader for the BC team. I like a lot about the Eagles, but it is hard to tell how good they really are--they have only faced Weber St. and Kent St. so far this season. With Ryan Williams, I think Tech could win by 10 points. Without him, it's anyone's guess. The Hokies struggle, but win 24-17.
1:30
VMI at Virginia
Hopefully, Virginia can make easy work of the Keydets, though nothing has come easy for this football team in a long while. Cavaliers win 38-0.
3:30
No. 1 Alabama at No. 10 Arkansas
I don't think the Hogs have what it takes to knock off Bama this year. Any other year, maybe, but the Tide just looks like a machine right now. And it has Mark Ingram back. Last week, the Heisman winner amassed 100 yards on just three carries against Duke. Arkansas keeps it interesting through the air, but loses 38-24.
No. 16 Stanford at Notre Dame
Along with Alabama, Boise State, Oregon, and Ohio State, I think the Cardinal has been one of the most impressive teams thus far this season in the nation. They levelled Wake Forest last week 68-24 and I don't think they'll have a ton of trouble disposing of the Irish, which has not been good on defense this season (102nd in total defense, while Stanford ranks 16th in total offense). The Cardinal rolls 45-24.
7:00
Kentucky at No. 9 Florida
The struggling Gators, not looking anything like a top 10 team or the Florida teams of old, gets perhaps its toughest test so far when 3-0 Ketucky visits the Swamp. The Wildcats have faced the likes of Louisville, Western Kentucky, and Akron so far, not exactly the most daunting schedule. Florida has been unimpressive in wins over Miami, OH, South Florida, and Tennessee. The Gators are allowed to be unimpressive just this one more week. Next week, the machine I mentioned above hosts Florida.The Gators win 38-20 in their final tune up before facing the Crimson Tide.
7:45
No. 12 South Carolina at No. 17 Auburn
The Tigers have won their last two games by a combined six points, including a squeaker last week against Clemson at home. Both teams are 3-0, but neither one has been dominating. This is the Gamecocks first game on the road this season so how will they respond to the environment? I think in South Carolina, the Gamecocks win by a TD or so. In the Jungle, South Carolina still wins, but it'll be an SEC slugfest. 23-20.
8:00
No. 24 Oregon State at No. 3 Boise State
ESPN is billing this as another "test" for Boise and while it may be their last difficult game this year, I think they win pretty easily. Oregon State is a good team, but I don't think they will contend with the Broncos on the Smurf Turf (even though the Beavers painted their own practice turf blue to prepare for the game). Oregon State lost to TCU by nine points in its opener and then beat a weak Louisville team by only seven. Boise State takes care of business, 42-21.
9:00
No. 22 West Virginia at No. 15 LSU
The Mountaineers finally looked dominant against Maryland last week but still had trouble closing the door. LSU has rolled since its close call in Week 1 against UNC. I like the SEC team to beat the Big East team soundly in the SEC school's stadium. 27-17.
Gotta get to work now, so reaction to anything crazy in the college games coming Saturday night, along with my NFL Week 3 picks.
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