Plenty of Orange on the schedule this week
This is the first week with results. The uncontested pick winner of week 0 was chilidogringsfo with 7 correct picks out of 9. Week 1 was a little more contentious with chilidogringsfo tying with MajorKeyAlert with 7 correct picks as the top picker. This does mean chilidogringsfo is our overall leader with 14 correct picks, followed closely by pain and @LeeNobody with 11 correct picks each.
This is the first week with the spreadsheet, it is possible if not likely there are mistakes so if you note any please notify me and I will do my best to correct them when possible. Thanks.
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Last week was another nice experience. There were obvious areas for improvement, but other than all the penalties I think fans are pretty happy with the win. This week the Jackets face their second big challenge of the year in Syracuse. While the orange had a porous running defense against Ohio last week they put up some ridiculous numbers through the air. Our defense will need to be on point against ‘Cuse if we want to pull out a win and keep our shiny new ranking.
Nicole Hester / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
In other news around the league, Virginia Tech had to get their early embarrassing loss out of the way before continuing their season. I got to give credit where it was due to Vandy, I should not have dissed them in my last article. Vandy was ready to play and the Hokies looked like they hadn’t practiced most of their offensive play calls. Good on the Commodores, and we’ll have to see what the Hokies do to bounce back last week.
FSU being 0-2 is hurting some of their fans in multiple ways. I’m not going to share the posts due to potential coarse language, but some FSU fans felt pretty confident going into the BC game. The internet kept receipts and some fans are now shirking away from personal bets they made with the internet. If you know any of these people please report them to the internet authorities so they can be held responsible for any dumb posts they have made.
Alot of Orange colored teams this week with plenty riding on every game. Remember to stay hydrated if you’re a Jackets fan.
picks:
#23 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-3.0) @ Syracuse Orange
Logan: One thing I noticed last week was the play calling felt pretty standard. Not many blitz packages, basic zone and man coverages, nothing to crazy on offense aside from maybe the end around to Singleton Jr. It felt obvious that GT didn’t want to give much away going into next week. Syracuse struggled more against tough Ohio rushing game and suffered some injuries in the process. Still the Orange QB Kyle McCord looked fantastic. We need to find a way to get pressure on McCord and avoid turnovers while focusing on the run. I expect us to win by 4 points here as long as we are able to do both those things.
Logan’s pick: Georgia Tech
#17 Kansas State Wildcats (-10.0) @ Tulane Green Wave
Logan: Both of these teams played cupcakes going into this week, so we don’t know much about either program. This might as well be a week 1 matchup where all we know is both teams are good on offense and that Tulane gets homefield advantage. Tulane is just a mid-major, but they did win 11 games last year so take that for what you will. As it stands I will take Kansas State to meet the spread at exactly 10 points.
Logan’s pick: Kansas State
Houston Cougars @ #15 Oklahoma Sooners (-27.5)
Logan: If last week taught me anything it is that the Sooners show no mercy at home. They annihilated Temple and beat the spread of -43.5 points. I’ll just take the Sooners in this one.
Logan’s pick: Sooners
Cy-Hawk Rivalry:
Iowa State Cyclones @ #21 Iowa Hawkeyes (-3.0)
Logan: Iowa’s biggest issue the past few years has been their offense. Despite having early struggles last week they did manage to hang 40 points on Illinois State. This will be the Hawkeye’s first matchup against a P5 opponent in one of their big rivalries against Iowa State. Iowa State won their matchup last week by the less impressive score of 21-3. I think Iowa should be able to win this game at home by at least a FG, so I’ll take the Hawkeyes.
Logan’s pick: Iowa
Colorado Buffalo @ Nebraska Cornhuskers (-7.0)
Logan: Colorado was carried by Travis Hunter in their matchup against North Dakota State, still a win is a win and the Buffaloes found one at home last week. This week the Buffaloes get to face down the Cornhuskers in a tough road environment. Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola is getting a lot of hype for completing 19 of 27 passes for 238 yards and 2 TDs. Those numbers were more impressive in person, but I still feel like this is a QB who may need some more development. I know a lot of people want Colorado to fail right now, but I expect they will pickup a win here against Nebraska.
Logan’s pick: Colorado
Appalachian State @ #25 Clemson Tigers (-16.5)
Logan: App State is a team that loves to pull upset against big time teams. Despite winning their first game the mountaineers have lost a lot of talent and coaching from last year. Coming off an embarrassing loss last week, Clemson will be out for blood and I expect Dabo to run up the score if the Tigers get the opportunity at home.
Logan’s pick: Clemson
Boise State Broncos @ #7 Oregon Ducks (-18.5)
Logan: Don’t let last week’s low scoring game for Oregon fool you. It’s weird to say but Idaho had a fantastic redzone defense and Oregon still overcame them to win the game. Boise State had a record setting game from Running back Ashton Jeanty who had 267 yds on the ground and 6 TDs. Despite those numbers the Broncos gave up 45 points and only won by 11 against Georgia Southern. That lack of defense for the Broncos will be their downfall. Oregon will cover pretty easily here.
Logan’s pick: Oregon
Baylor Bears @ #11 Utah Utes (-15.0)
Logan: Another set of teams which just dominated cupcakes in week 1. This doesn’t give me much to go on going into this game. I do see the big number next to Utah, but those often lie to us early on in the season. I will tentatively take Utah to win based purely on the amount of talent their defense has, but with a 15 point spread I can’t blame anyone for thinking Baylor can cover.
Logan’s pick: Utah
#19 Kansas Jayhawks (-6.5) @ Illinois Fighting Illini
Logan: So Kansas is finally a football team too huh? Color me impressed. I do think the Illini have surprised people at home before. I think Kansas winning by a touchdown isn’t unreasonable, but I have a soft spot for Illinois and think they can keep things within a FG here.
Logan’s pick: Illinois
#14 Tennessee Volunteers (-7.5) v #24 NC State Wolfpack
played at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Logan: NC State’s defense looked bad last week against Western Carolina, but Western Carolina is one of the best teams in the FCS so lets not be too hard on the Pack. Tennessee dominated Chattanooga at home. This is a strange one at a neutral site, it really comes down to whether you think NC State’s defense will show back up in this game, because their offense is going to be impressive regardless. I will take NC State to cover and hope the ACC dodges an embarrassing loss here.
Logan’s pick: NC State
#3 Texas Longhorns (-6.5) at #10 Michigan Wolverines
Logan: The spread got bigger in Texas’ favor after they whooped Colorado State and Michigan struggled against Fresno State. From where I sit I feel like Michigan got a tougher team in Fresno State and still won by a fair margin last week. I know Texas is talented, but being on the road in the big house, I don’t think Michigan is so bad that they will lose by a touchdown in their own building. I’ll take the Longhorns to cover.
Logan’s pick: Michigan