Oregon 59, Virginia 10
Jerry Ratcliffe of The Daily Progress wrote a column after the Oregon game saying fans should be encouraged after the blowout. I agree. While there was a whole host of problems during the Ducks-Cavaliers contest, there was some stuff that Virginia can build on.
First, the first special teams play of the game. Last year, Virginia allowed Maryland freshman Stephon Diggs to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and he made it look easy. Saturday, Virginia kicked deep to De'Anthony Thomas, maybe the fastest player in all of college football, and he brought it back to just the 11-yard line. Last year, I could easily see him returning that to the house. On his only other kickoff return,
Thomas returned the ball to just the 21, so Virginia was able to contain the Ducks' speedster on both his kickoff returns. Virginia continues to show improved special teams coverage this season.
Second, the defensive line looked stout. I watched nearly every minute of the game, and whenever Oregon tried to run up the middle, especially early on, Virginia stopped the Ducks in their tracks. Yes, Oregon ended up with 350 yards rushing. Oregon burned Virginia in open spaces. Whenever the Ducks got on the edge, they flew. But up the middle, UVa had Oregon's number. And that is still encouraging to see. Oregon boasts one of the better offense lines in the country. The fact that the Wahoos were able to stuff the Ducks up the middle is good. Oregon's speed beat Virginia's speed, but their strength up the middle was nothing special.
Third, Virginia did move the ball. It scored less than against BYU, but had more yards -- 298, as compared to 223 vs. BYU. The Cavaliers mounted one really good drive that resulted in a touchdown against the Ducks, and had a chance at a couple more. They had zero vs. BYU. Point is, chances were there for the Wahoos to make the score closer than it was.
59-10 is not pretty, but it could have been better. UVa was in position to make it a better game. It didn't, but the fact that it could've is a good thing. It was not a complete and utter beatdown. At one point, it was 21-7 and Virginia was on Oregon's 35-yard line with a 4th-and-4. A screen pass to Dominique Terrell netted a loss and Virginia's drive stalled. After a Marcus Mariota 23-yard run, Virginia forced another punt but could not even get a first down on the next drive. Oregon scored on the next drive to make it 28-7 and that was basically the end of the game. If Virginia could have scored on either of those drives to make it 21-14, who knows what would have happened the rest of the game. At the very least, the score would have been more respectable. As it was, it was 31-10 at halftime and Virginia had the ball first to start the second half. A touchdown there, and it is 31-17 and the game is not looking that far out of reach. UVa put itself in positions to be successful and make the game competition, but needed to take advantage of those opportunities.
There is plenty for the Cavaliers to improve upon but there were still some good things to be found in the blowout loss. Virginia has had a bye week now to get better, and then gets an easy game against VMI at home before traveling to Pittsburgh for its ACC opener. That will be a big game to see how far the 'Hoos have come against an opponent they could definitely defeat.
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PREDICTIONS
There were lots of easy games to pick last week with some FBS teams playing some FCS teams. I went 7-1 and now stand 11-3 on the year. Richmond almost upset N.C. State and JMU, which I picked to upset Akron, came out on the losing end, barely, 35-33. This week's games are a little tougher to predict.
No. 16 UCLA at No. 21 Nebraska, Noon ESPN
UCLA is 1-0 with a dominating victory over Nevada. Nebraska is 2-0, barely scraping by Wyoming at home before blowing out Southern Miss. I like the Bruins in this one over the Cornhuskers. What Jim Mora Jr. did last year in just his first season in L.A. was nothing short of stellar as the Bruins went 9-5, won the Pac-12's South Division, beat USC, and lost by just three, 27-24, to Stanford in the conference's championship game.
UCLA 33, Nebraska 25
Virginia Tech at East Carolina, Noon FOX Sports 1
Big game here for the Hokies. I think this is a game early on where we will find out if Tech is a .500 ball club like last season or a step above that. ECU has been a thorn in the Hokies' sides recently. The all-time series favors Virginia Tech 11-5, but these games have been competitive recently. In 2007, Tech won, 17-7. A year later in Charlotte, ECU defeated Tech on a punt block return for a touchdown, 27-22. A year after that, ECU kept it close in a 16-3 loss. In 2011, the Pirates lost 17-10 at Virginia Tech. Pirates fans are very loyal and will pack their 50,000-seat stadium for this game. Tech lost two weeks ago to Alabama, 35-10, but gave up just 14 offensive points. Last week, the Hokies downed Western Carolina 45-3. ECU is 2-0 with wins over Old Dominion and Florida Atlantic. The Pirates gave up 38 points to the Monarchs. That is what worries me in this game. I think ECU can squeak out a couple touchdowns over the Hokies. Tech's offense is not good, but I don't think the Pirate 'D' can do enough to stop the Hokies on offense.
Virginia Tech 20, East Carolina 17 (good pick by my good friend Ryan Pronk in Lynchburg)
Boston College at USC, 3 p.m. Pac-12 Network
While UCLA fans are singing the praises of Jim Mora Jr., USC fans are likely just about fed up with Lane Kiffin. He's been a controversial coach in his three seasons with the Trojans and the progam is seeing diminishing returns. With Matt Barkley back under center last season for his senior campaign, the Trojans went just 7-6. This season, the Trojans are just 1-1 after beating Hawaii but then losing to normally woeful Washington State at home, 10-7. BC, meanwhile, is experiencing a bit of a resurrection under first-year head coach Steve Addazio. The Eagles beat Villanova at home, 24-14, and then Wake Forest at home, 24-10. I think BC has a real shot in this game. I am going to pick USC, though. The Trojans have been woken up a little and will be ready for this game. BC is going on the road for the first time all season. I would not be shocked, however, to see the Eagles spring an upset.
USC 20, Boston College 16
No. 1 Alabama at No. 6 Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. CBS
The Crimson Tide will be looking for some revenge in this matchup. Yeah, they won the national
championship last year, but they didn't have a perfect season. And it was because of Johnny Football and the Aggies, which came into Tuscaloosa no less, and defeated 'Bama, 29-24. The Crimson Tide have had two weeks to prepare for this game after beating Virginia Tech in the opener. The Aggies have looked good on offense but so-so on defense in a 2-0 start, with a 52-31 win over Rice and a 65-28 victory over Sam Houston State. I think A&M will be able to put up points, but I don't think they'll be able to hold down the Tide
offense enough to win. 'Bama gets its payback in College Station.
Alabama 30, Texas A&M 27
Tennessee at No. 2 Oregon, 3:30 p.m. ABC
I've seen some talk about this game on Facebook this week. One of my good friends, Matt Lutey, and a former coworker of mine, Kevin Boyd, are Tennessee alums. Lutey doesn't feel confident about this game. Kevin does. I'm thinking for what? Covering the spread? The Volunteers are not winning this game. The spread for this game is about 28, which is actually more than the 24.5 it was for UVa and the Ducks last week. Tennessee has more overall team speed than the 'Hoos and I think they have a better chance of covering than we did, but that's about it.
Oregon 52, Tennessee 24
Georgia Tech at Duke, 3:30 p.m. ESPNU
The Yellow Jackets dump trucked their only opponent so far, Elon, 70-0. No surprise there. We don't know much about Georgia Tech but we knew that its offense would clobber a bad FCS team. Duke is 2-0 with wins over nobodies, FCS foe N.C. Central and lowly FBS school Memphis. QB Anthony Boone broke his collarbone against Memphis and Brandon Connette will start against the Yellow Jackets. He has plenty of experience, so the offense should not fall too far. Duke's defense has been good so far, but the competition is ramping up this week and I can't see it stopping the Tech attack.
Georgia Tech 49, Duke 24
Maryland at Connecticut, 7:30 p.m. ESPN3.com
Maryland lost the Randy Edsall Bowl last season, 24-21. This year, I think the Terrapins come out on top against their head coach's old team. The Terrapins are looking pretty good so far with an improved defense. UConn lost by double digits to Towson so far in its only contest.
Maryland 34, Connecticut 17
No. 20 Wisconsin at Arizona State, 10:30 p.m. ESPN
One of the more intriguing matchups all day. Wisconsin is 2-0 and ASU is 1-0, with all three games being decided by shutout. The Badgers are led by first-year head coach Gary Andersen, who built Utah State's program the past four seasons. The Sun Devils are led by second-year coach Todd Graham. The Sun Devils went 8-5 last season. I don't know much about these squads but you have to wonder if the Badgers will be ready for the heat of the Arizona desert? I think this could be a pretty high-scoring contest and one of the more entertaining games all weekend.
Arizona State 37, Wisconsin 35
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NFL PICKS
I did not get around to picking NFL games last weekend and I would like to talk more about the NFL, but it usually takes the backburner for me compared to college football. Hopefully next week I can talk some NFL. Here are some picks for Sunday and Monday, however.
Rams at Falcons, 1 p.m. FOX
Falcons 28, Rams 20
Vikings at Bears, 1 p.m. FOX
Bears 31, Vikings 17
Redskins at Packers, 1 p.m. FOX
Packers 38, Redskins 27
Cowboys at Chiefs, 1 p.m. FOX
Cowboys 24, Chiefs 21
Broncos at Giants, 4:25 p.m. CBS
Broncos 31, Giants 24
49ers at Seahawks, 8:30 p.m. NBC
Seahawks 24, 49ers 23
Steelers at Bengals, 8:30 p.m. Monday night ESPN
Bengals 17, Steelers 13
Jerry Ratcliffe of The Daily Progress wrote a column after the Oregon game saying fans should be encouraged after the blowout. I agree. While there was a whole host of problems during the Ducks-Cavaliers contest, there was some stuff that Virginia can build on.
First, the first special teams play of the game. Last year, Virginia allowed Maryland freshman Stephon Diggs to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and he made it look easy. Saturday, Virginia kicked deep to De'Anthony Thomas, maybe the fastest player in all of college football, and he brought it back to just the 11-yard line. Last year, I could easily see him returning that to the house. On his only other kickoff return,
 |
| Oregon RB and return specialist De'Anthony Thomas. |
Second, the defensive line looked stout. I watched nearly every minute of the game, and whenever Oregon tried to run up the middle, especially early on, Virginia stopped the Ducks in their tracks. Yes, Oregon ended up with 350 yards rushing. Oregon burned Virginia in open spaces. Whenever the Ducks got on the edge, they flew. But up the middle, UVa had Oregon's number. And that is still encouraging to see. Oregon boasts one of the better offense lines in the country. The fact that the Wahoos were able to stuff the Ducks up the middle is good. Oregon's speed beat Virginia's speed, but their strength up the middle was nothing special.
Third, Virginia did move the ball. It scored less than against BYU, but had more yards -- 298, as compared to 223 vs. BYU. The Cavaliers mounted one really good drive that resulted in a touchdown against the Ducks, and had a chance at a couple more. They had zero vs. BYU. Point is, chances were there for the Wahoos to make the score closer than it was.
59-10 is not pretty, but it could have been better. UVa was in position to make it a better game. It didn't, but the fact that it could've is a good thing. It was not a complete and utter beatdown. At one point, it was 21-7 and Virginia was on Oregon's 35-yard line with a 4th-and-4. A screen pass to Dominique Terrell netted a loss and Virginia's drive stalled. After a Marcus Mariota 23-yard run, Virginia forced another punt but could not even get a first down on the next drive. Oregon scored on the next drive to make it 28-7 and that was basically the end of the game. If Virginia could have scored on either of those drives to make it 21-14, who knows what would have happened the rest of the game. At the very least, the score would have been more respectable. As it was, it was 31-10 at halftime and Virginia had the ball first to start the second half. A touchdown there, and it is 31-17 and the game is not looking that far out of reach. UVa put itself in positions to be successful and make the game competition, but needed to take advantage of those opportunities.
There is plenty for the Cavaliers to improve upon but there were still some good things to be found in the blowout loss. Virginia has had a bye week now to get better, and then gets an easy game against VMI at home before traveling to Pittsburgh for its ACC opener. That will be a big game to see how far the 'Hoos have come against an opponent they could definitely defeat.
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PREDICTIONS
There were lots of easy games to pick last week with some FBS teams playing some FCS teams. I went 7-1 and now stand 11-3 on the year. Richmond almost upset N.C. State and JMU, which I picked to upset Akron, came out on the losing end, barely, 35-33. This week's games are a little tougher to predict.
No. 16 UCLA at No. 21 Nebraska, Noon ESPN
UCLA is 1-0 with a dominating victory over Nevada. Nebraska is 2-0, barely scraping by Wyoming at home before blowing out Southern Miss. I like the Bruins in this one over the Cornhuskers. What Jim Mora Jr. did last year in just his first season in L.A. was nothing short of stellar as the Bruins went 9-5, won the Pac-12's South Division, beat USC, and lost by just three, 27-24, to Stanford in the conference's championship game.
UCLA 33, Nebraska 25
Virginia Tech at East Carolina, Noon FOX Sports 1
Big game here for the Hokies. I think this is a game early on where we will find out if Tech is a .500 ball club like last season or a step above that. ECU has been a thorn in the Hokies' sides recently. The all-time series favors Virginia Tech 11-5, but these games have been competitive recently. In 2007, Tech won, 17-7. A year later in Charlotte, ECU defeated Tech on a punt block return for a touchdown, 27-22. A year after that, ECU kept it close in a 16-3 loss. In 2011, the Pirates lost 17-10 at Virginia Tech. Pirates fans are very loyal and will pack their 50,000-seat stadium for this game. Tech lost two weeks ago to Alabama, 35-10, but gave up just 14 offensive points. Last week, the Hokies downed Western Carolina 45-3. ECU is 2-0 with wins over Old Dominion and Florida Atlantic. The Pirates gave up 38 points to the Monarchs. That is what worries me in this game. I think ECU can squeak out a couple touchdowns over the Hokies. Tech's offense is not good, but I don't think the Pirate 'D' can do enough to stop the Hokies on offense.
Virginia Tech 20, East Carolina 17 (good pick by my good friend Ryan Pronk in Lynchburg)
Boston College at USC, 3 p.m. Pac-12 Network
While UCLA fans are singing the praises of Jim Mora Jr., USC fans are likely just about fed up with Lane Kiffin. He's been a controversial coach in his three seasons with the Trojans and the progam is seeing diminishing returns. With Matt Barkley back under center last season for his senior campaign, the Trojans went just 7-6. This season, the Trojans are just 1-1 after beating Hawaii but then losing to normally woeful Washington State at home, 10-7. BC, meanwhile, is experiencing a bit of a resurrection under first-year head coach Steve Addazio. The Eagles beat Villanova at home, 24-14, and then Wake Forest at home, 24-10. I think BC has a real shot in this game. I am going to pick USC, though. The Trojans have been woken up a little and will be ready for this game. BC is going on the road for the first time all season. I would not be shocked, however, to see the Eagles spring an upset.
USC 20, Boston College 16No. 1 Alabama at No. 6 Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. CBS
The Crimson Tide will be looking for some revenge in this matchup. Yeah, they won the national
championship last year, but they didn't have a perfect season. And it was because of Johnny Football and the Aggies, which came into Tuscaloosa no less, and defeated 'Bama, 29-24. The Crimson Tide have had two weeks to prepare for this game after beating Virginia Tech in the opener. The Aggies have looked good on offense but so-so on defense in a 2-0 start, with a 52-31 win over Rice and a 65-28 victory over Sam Houston State. I think A&M will be able to put up points, but I don't think they'll be able to hold down the Tide offense enough to win. 'Bama gets its payback in College Station.
Alabama 30, Texas A&M 27
Tennessee at No. 2 Oregon, 3:30 p.m. ABC
I've seen some talk about this game on Facebook this week. One of my good friends, Matt Lutey, and a former coworker of mine, Kevin Boyd, are Tennessee alums. Lutey doesn't feel confident about this game. Kevin does. I'm thinking for what? Covering the spread? The Volunteers are not winning this game. The spread for this game is about 28, which is actually more than the 24.5 it was for UVa and the Ducks last week. Tennessee has more overall team speed than the 'Hoos and I think they have a better chance of covering than we did, but that's about it.
Oregon 52, Tennessee 24
Georgia Tech at Duke, 3:30 p.m. ESPNU
The Yellow Jackets dump trucked their only opponent so far, Elon, 70-0. No surprise there. We don't know much about Georgia Tech but we knew that its offense would clobber a bad FCS team. Duke is 2-0 with wins over nobodies, FCS foe N.C. Central and lowly FBS school Memphis. QB Anthony Boone broke his collarbone against Memphis and Brandon Connette will start against the Yellow Jackets. He has plenty of experience, so the offense should not fall too far. Duke's defense has been good so far, but the competition is ramping up this week and I can't see it stopping the Tech attack.
Georgia Tech 49, Duke 24
Maryland at Connecticut, 7:30 p.m. ESPN3.com
Maryland lost the Randy Edsall Bowl last season, 24-21. This year, I think the Terrapins come out on top against their head coach's old team. The Terrapins are looking pretty good so far with an improved defense. UConn lost by double digits to Towson so far in its only contest.
Maryland 34, Connecticut 17
No. 20 Wisconsin at Arizona State, 10:30 p.m. ESPN
One of the more intriguing matchups all day. Wisconsin is 2-0 and ASU is 1-0, with all three games being decided by shutout. The Badgers are led by first-year head coach Gary Andersen, who built Utah State's program the past four seasons. The Sun Devils are led by second-year coach Todd Graham. The Sun Devils went 8-5 last season. I don't know much about these squads but you have to wonder if the Badgers will be ready for the heat of the Arizona desert? I think this could be a pretty high-scoring contest and one of the more entertaining games all weekend.
Arizona State 37, Wisconsin 35
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NFL PICKS
I did not get around to picking NFL games last weekend and I would like to talk more about the NFL, but it usually takes the backburner for me compared to college football. Hopefully next week I can talk some NFL. Here are some picks for Sunday and Monday, however.
Rams at Falcons, 1 p.m. FOX
Falcons 28, Rams 20
Vikings at Bears, 1 p.m. FOX
Bears 31, Vikings 17
Redskins at Packers, 1 p.m. FOX
Packers 38, Redskins 27
Cowboys at Chiefs, 1 p.m. FOX
Cowboys 24, Chiefs 21
Broncos at Giants, 4:25 p.m. CBS
Broncos 31, Giants 24
49ers at Seahawks, 8:30 p.m. NBC
Seahawks 24, 49ers 23
Steelers at Bengals, 8:30 p.m. Monday night ESPN
Bengals 17, Steelers 13
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