College picks

Season: 12-6; last week: 2-4

Game of the week: No. 22 Clemson at No. 1 Florida State, 8 p.m. ABC

This game just got more interesting all of a sudden. Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston yelled an inappropriate phrase from atop a table at the FSU student union Tuesday and was at first suspended for the first half of this game but it changed its stance late Friday night and suspended him for the entire game. I though this game was going to be a blowout at the beginning of the week. With the revelation Winston would be out for a half, I thought it had a chance of being close, and now I think it has a really good chance since he will be out for the whole game. Obviously, a large part of this game will hinge on how his replacement does. Who is that? Redshirt sophomore Sean Maguire. He was the No. 13-rated QB in the class that Winston was also in. He's completed 16 of his 26 career passes at FSU for 144 yards, two TDs, and two picks. FSU has had two weeks to prepare for Clemson but obviously had to scramble a little once the situation with Winston occurred. FSU has lots of returning starters this year and is more than just Winston. Clemson had a lauded defense coming into the season but got thrashed vs. Georgia during opening weekend. Last week, Clemson crushed an inferior South Carolina State team. The Tigers haven't proven to me yet that they can compete with a good team, especially on the road. I like the Seminoles, but the game should be closer than originally anticipated.

Florida State 30, Clemson 20

ACC game of the week: Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech, Noon ESPN

This is usually one of the best games of the ACC season. Five of the six matchups since Paul Johnson became coach at Georgia Tech in 2008 have been decided by a touchdown or less and I don't expect this to be much different. Both teams are coming off rocky efforts. The Yellow Jackets took a big lead on Georgia Southern last week before giving it up but ended up winning anyway, 42-38. Virginia Tech stumbled and was upset at home by East Carolina, 28-21, a week after getting a big road victory at Ohio State. Georgia Tech brings its normal spread-option attack to Blacksburg but also has a solid passing game this season with Justin Thomas at quarterback, who has completed 25 of 48 passes with six TDs and one pick this season. DeAndre Smelter has nine catches for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Virginia Tech is a little inexperienced in the front seven as far as defending Georgia Tech's offensive scheme, but Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster has had good luck through the years in slowing down the Jackets. Georgia Tech's defense has been suspect this season, giving up 19 points to FCS foe Wofford and 21 to Tulane in addition to Georgia Southern carving up the Jackets for more than 500 yards. I think Hokies QB Michael Brewer will have a better game this week and the offense will do enough and the defense will hold up enough for the Hokies to pull this one out.

Virginia Tech 26, Georgia Tech 23

Sneaky good matchup: Iowa at Pittsburgh, Noon ESPNU

This is a nice early test for a 3-0 Pittsburgh team that has a win over Boston College that certainly looks quite good now after BC ran over USC last weekend. Iowa usually has a pretty tough defense and appears to have a suspect offense this season. Iowa was unimpressive in wins over Northern Iowa and Ball State and then lost to rival Iowa State last week a week after the Cyclones got blown out by FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. The Panthers fell behind last week 16-0 to Florida International but ended up blowing out their counterparts, 42-25. Pitt has a great run game this year highlighted by James Conner and Iowa's seventh-ranked rush defense will need to be at its best to have a chance.

Pittsburgh 24, Iowa 17

Nice to see you again: Maryland at Syracuse, 12:30 p.m. ESPN3.com

Last season, this was a matchup between ACC Atlantic Division foes. Now, it is a contest between a Big Ten team and an ACC team. Weird. Maryland, 2-1, played a pretty good game last week but lost to West Virginia, 40-37. Its wins were over James Madison and an ugly one over a bad South Florida team. Syracuse needed two OTs to beat Villanova on Aug. 30 but easily avoided an upset last week by crushing Central Michigan, 40-3. This game is kind of a toss up, with both teams showing strengths and vulnerabilities, so I'll go with the home team in a tight game.

Syracuse 31, Maryland 28

Not as good a matchup as a few years ago: Florida at No. 3 Alabama, 3:30 p.m. CBS

Florida barely beat Kentucky last week and it took three overtimes. Alabama is 3-0 and has only had a problem with West Virginia so far but the Mountaineers appear to be better than last season. This is probably a make-or-break year for Gators coach Will Muschamp, but I have no reason to believe that this is a game UF can win on the road.

Alabama 38, Florida 21

Pirates looking for more treasure: North Carolina at East Carolina, 3:30 p.m. ESPNU

The Pirates are now the favorite in this game after their swashbuckling performance at Virginia Tech last week. They also looked good in only losing by 10 at South Carolina two weeks ago. The Tar Heels started the year ranked but have fallen out of the top 25 after unimpressive victories over Liberty (56-29) and San Diego State (31-27). Meanwhile, ECU might very well get ranked should it snatch this victory at home, which is what I think they will do in a fairly high-scoring game.

East Carolina 34, North Carolina 31

Tough road trip: Miami at No. 24 Nebraska, 8 p.m. ESPN2

The Cornhuskers received a scare two weeks ago but survived McNeese State at home and then got back on track last week by blowing out Fresno State. Miami was beaten pretty handily by Louisville in Week 1, but has cruised since in wins over Florida A&M and Arkansas State, by no means teams that are as good as Louisville. The Hurricanes have a freshman QB leading them, Brad Kaaya, and I think asking him to win at Nebraska is going to be a little too much this early in his career. Expect a heavy dose of Miami RB Duke Johnson. Nebraska will have to limit his big plays to find a win.

Nebraska 31, Miami 21

Virginia at No. 21 BYU, 3:30 p.m. ESPN

The Cavaliers have another chance Saturday to make a statement. They did that against the Cardinals last week and have a good chance vs. the Cougars, the second week in a row that UVa is taking on the nation's 21st-ranked team. I kind of feel the same about this game that I did last week's. But we had a lot of things go our way last week with turnovers and the final muffed punt return by Louisville. Plus, we had an energetic, albeit small, home crowd behind the 'Hoos. It is hard to imagine turnovers falling our way every game this season and they might not in Provo. Plus, BYU will have its home crowd behind it and this is Virginia's first road game of the season. I have no doubt about what kind of attitude the team will bring into the game. I like the Cavaliers' leaders and character. But it is hard to know how players will react should they get behind by 10 points on the road.

BYU has a dual-threat QB leading the way in Taysom Hill, and he has made leaps and jumps in his development since Virginia beat BYU 19-16 last year at Scott Stadium. He has developed as a passer and can still run the ball very well -- he is the Cougars' second-leading rusher. BYU also brought

back running back Jamaal Williams, who has 228 yards and two touchdowns. Receiving wise, Jordan Leslie has 15 catches for 186 yards but no touchdowns and Mitch Mathews has caught 13 balls for 108 yards and two TDs. BYU has a stout defense so far this season, too, but hasn't played the best cast of opponents. In Week 1, BYU beat Connecticut, 35-10. UConn is 1-3 with a three-point win over Stony Brook. In Week 2, the Cougars crushed Texas 41-7 but it is unclear right no how good (or bad) Texas is under new coach Charlie Strong, but either way, Texas is a team in transition. Last week, BYU downed Houston by just eight points at home. The Cougars are 1-2 with their only win coming against Grambling State and they lost to Texas San Antonio by 20. Hopes are high for BYU this season but there is a long way to go and results so far are mixed, even though it is 3-0.

Virginia is going to have to move the ball more on offense against BYU than it did against Louisville to win on the road. I would be shocked to see UVa have as many game-changing turnovers as it did last week and against Richmond. The Wahoos lead the country with 13 takeaways. Given that scenario, I just don't think this offense will be able to come up with enough points to pull a second straight upset. I do think the game will be pretty close throughout, though. Now, if I am wrong about the turnovers, anything is possible and the Cavs could find themselves at 3-1 and stunning the country again.

BYU 24, Virginia 17