2008 Week 4 Top 25

1 - USC (4)
2 - Oklahoma (1)
3 - Florida (2)
4 - Georgia (3)
5 - Texas Tech (6)
6 - Oregon (8)
7 - Penn St (9)
8 - Missouri (10)
9 - Auburn (7)
10 - Ohio St (5)
11 - South Florida (11)
12 - East Carolina (12)
13 - Wisconsin (13)
14 - LSU (14)
15 - Utah (15)
16 - Texas (16)
17 - BYU (17)
18 - Alabama (18)
19 - West Virginia (20)
20 - Boise St (21)
21 - Wake Forest (22)
22 - Kentucky (UR)
23 - Arizona St (19)
24 - Fresno St (23)
25 - Oklahoma St (UR)

Previous week's rank in parentheses

Others Receiving Votes: Cincinnati, Florida St, Kansas, TCU, Tulsa
Added: Kentucky, Oklahoma St
Dropped: UCLA, California

2008 Weekly Picks

Thursday, September 11

North Carolina at Rutgers


Friday, September 12

Kansas at South Florida


Saturday, September 13

California at Maryland
FAU at Michigan St
Montana St at Minnesota
Navy at Duke
NC State at Clemson
Louisiana Lafayette at Illinois
Temple at Buffalo
Toledo at Eastern Michigan
Southern Illinois at Northwestern
Iowa St at Iowa

UAB at Tennessee
Nevada at Missouri
Washington St at Baylor
Ball St at Akron
Stanford at TCU
Central Michigan at Ohio
Deleware St at Kent St
Charleston Southern at Miami (OH)
East Carolina at Tulane
North Dakota St at Wyoming

Penn St at Syracuse
Air Force at Houston
Arkansas at Texas POSTPONED
UCLA at BYU
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech
Oregon at Purdue
Georgia at South Carolina
Michigan at Notre Dame
Chattanooga at Florida St
Hawaii at Oregon St

Western Michigan at Idaho
MTSU at Kentucky
Samford at Mississippi
New Mexico St at Nebraska
Rice at Vanderbilt
Memphis at Marshall
Western Kentucky at Alabama
Auburn at Mississippi St
Southern Miss at Arkansas St
Alabama A&M at Louisiana Monroe

SMU at Texas Tech
Alcorn St at Troy
Missouri St at Oklahoma St
Virginia at Connecticut
Oklahoma at Washington
San Diego St at San Jose St
Ohio St at USC
Bowling Green at Boise St
North Texas at LSU
Arizona at New Mexico

Utah at Utah St
UNLV at Arizona St
Wisconsin at Fresno St

2008 Week 2 Wrapup

Week 2 Review
* Georgia Tech pull off a strong road victory against Boston College. Can they be a player in the ACC in Paul Johnson's first season? If they earn a win at Virginia Tech on Saturday, they'll become the favorite to take the Coastal division.
* A lot of people are discussing the controversial call at the end of the BYU-Washington game. Should the flag have been thrown? Should Jake Locker have shown more restraint? My question is why isn't BYU getting more respect? It was a closer game than it should have been, but when they had a chance to end the game they executed. Washington did not. BYU did the same thing against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl last year when they blocked a last second field goal to ensure victory. What's lost in the discussion is the credit due to the Cougs.
* Arkansas had another gritty late fourth quarter comeback win. Too bad it was against Louisiana Monroe. Things aren't looking good for the Hogs, who travel to Texas this weekend.
* Note to Army: If you are going to play an FCS team looking for an easy win, don't play one of the perennial powers. New Hampshire is 4-0 since 2004 against FBS teams (Rutgers, Northwestern, Marshall, Army.)


Week 3 Preview
* The premiere non-conference game of the year Ohio State at USC kicks off Saturday night. Two of the top five teams in the country will be battling for the #1 spot in the polls, national title favorite status, the most impressive win of the young season, and some serious bragging rights.
* Wisconsin travels to Fresno State in a battle of ranked teams. Wisconsin has played well in their first two games, but they must travel cross-country to face a Fresno State team that's had a week off to prepare for the biggest home game of their season.
* BYU and UCLA play for the third time in two years. UCLA looked better than expected in the opener, and BYU has some problems that need to be addressed, like a -4 turnover margin. Both teams need this win to keep their seasons going in the right direction.
* Kansas at South Florida on Friday night is another great game this weekend. Both teams are coming off huge seasons and are trying to prove that it wasn't a fluke.
* Before the season began, I thought California-Maryland was going to be a very good, if underrated, non-conference game. Now it looks like the teams are headed in opposite directions. I'll be very surprised if this is anything but a Bears blowout, even though it's in Maryland.
* Other road teams that should win handily: Penn State at Syracuse, East Carolina at Tulane, Oregon at Purdue, Western Michigan at Idaho, and yes even North Dakota State at Wyoming.
* South Carolina has lost to Vanderbilt two straight years. Can they beat Georgia two straight years? I say no, but it's worth keeping an eye on.
* Temple-Buffalo was the pillowfight of the season just two short years ago. Now it's a matchup of two MAC East contenders.
* Speaking of pillowfights, Washington State-Baylor, Virginia-Connecticut, and San Diego State-San Jose State all fall into that category. I have to mention the most talented pillowfight of the season is the week between Michigan and Notre Dame. While watching the game, I predict that it will be hard to believe that these are the two winningest programs in college football history.

Week 3 Top 25

1 - Oklahoma (2)
2 - Florida (1)
3 - Georgia (3)
4 - USC (4)
5 - Ohio St (5)
6 - Texas Tech (8)
7 - Auburn (9)
8 - Oregon (10)
9 - Penn St (12)
10 - Missouri (6)
11 - South Florida (7)
12 - East Carolina (24)
13 - Wisconsin (16)
14 - LSU (14)
15 - Utah (15)
16 - Texas (17)
17 - BYU (13)
18 - Alabama (18)
19 - Arizona St (25)
20 - West Virginia (11)
21 - Boise St (19)
22 - Wake Forest (21)
23 - Fresno St (22)
24 - UCLA (23)
25 - California (UR)

Previous week's rank in parenthesis

Others Receiving Votes: Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Kentucky, Tulsa
Added: California
Dropped: Cincinnati

Notes:
* Oklahoma takes over the top spot after beating Top 30 team Cincinnati with ease. It's probably a moot point though, since the winner of the Ohio St-USC showdown is likely to vault to the top with a higher quality win.
* Where do you rank East Carolina? They're 2-0 against a very tough schedule, and have proven themselves more than anyone else. They are my biggest gainer, jumping up 12 spots, but still might be underrated.

2008 Weekly Picks

Weekly Record 59-7 (89.4%)
Season Record 123-16 (88.5%)


Thursday, September 4

South Carolina at Vanderbilt
Nicholls St at New Mexico St POSTPONED


Friday, September 5

Navy at Ball St


Saturday, September 6

Georgia Tech at Boston College
Eastern Michigan at Michigan St
Miami (OH) at Michigan
Ohio at Ohio St
Connecticut at Temple
Marshall at Wisconsin
Eastern Illinois at Illinois
Northern Colorado at Purdue
FIU at Iowa
Southern Miss at Auburn

San Jose St at Nebraska
New Hampshire at Army
Furman at Virginia Tech
BYU at Washington
Montana St at Kansas St
Sacramento St at Colorado St
Eastern Washington at Colorado
Central Michigan at Georgia
San Diego St at Notre Dame
Tennessee Tech at Louisville

Mississippi at Wake Forest
Akron at Syracuse
Cincinnati at Oklahoma
Oregon St at Penn St
Citadel at Clemson
Utah St at Oregon
Air Force at Wyoming
Richmond at Virginia
UAB at FAU
West Virginia at East Carolina

Texas A&M at New Mexico
Idaho St at Idaho
Western Carolina at Florida St
Norfolk St at Kentucky
William & Mary at NC State
Buffalo at Pittsburgh
Western Kentucky at Eastern Kentucky
California at Washington St
Louisiana Monroe at Arkansas in Little Rock
Kent St at Iowa St

Murray St at Indiana
SE Missouri St at Missouri
Northwestern at Duke
Northwestern St at Baylor
Tulsa at North Texas
Tulane at Alabama
Southeastern Louisiana at Mississippi St
Texas Southern at Arkansas St
South Florida at UCF
Lousiana Tech at Kansas

Maryland at MTSU
Stephen F. Austin at TCU
Northern Illinois at Western Michigan
Minnesota at Bowling Green
Houston at Oklahoma St
Troy at LSU POSTPONED
Miami at Florida
UNLV at Utah
Rice at Memphis
Texas Tech at Nevada

Texas St at SMU
Toledo at Arizona
Stanford at Arizona St
Texas at UTEP
Weber St at Hawaii

2008 Week 1 Wrapup

Picks that make me look good:
* Utah over Michigan
* East Carolina over Virginia Tech
* Stanford over Oregon St
* Fresno St over Rutgers


Picks that make me look bad:
* Clemson over Alabama
* Louisville over Kentucky
* UTEP over Buffalo


Week 1 Review
* Bowling Green is a good football team. Dave Wannstedt is a good recruiter.
* North Carolina had me worried when they struggled against McNeese State. They get a bye week before traveling to Rutgers on a Thursday night. Rutgers, who looked very flat against Fresno State, also has a bye week prior to that game. That matchup will be a good measuring stick for both teams.
* Arkansas State pulled off the biggest upset in the first week of action. With conference favorite FAU getting blown out by Texas, the Red Wolves might be a player in the Sun Belt. As for Texas A&M, hopefully this is just a growing pain that comes with a new coach and his new systems. In a tough division, A&M can't afford many slip-ups like this one.
* Is Illinois' offense better than I expected, or is Missouri's defense worse? Missouri should be very worried after giving up 451 passing yards to Juice Williams with several more good QBs on the schedule. Illinois may be better than I thought, and they'll have the chance to prove it on September 27 against Penn State.
* I thought Arkansas was going to have a down year, but I never imagined they would come close to losing to Western Illinois. They play Louisiana Monroe next week, but after that there isn't an easy win on the schedule.
* Remember last season when Louisville didn't play defense? Looks like they aren't going to play offense this season. Don't let the final score confuse you, the defense played very well holding Kentucky to 210 yards and forcing a safety. They couldn't overcome five turnovers and general ineptness of the offense.
* Based on my projection, Louisiana Tech needed just one upset to get to bowl eligibility, and they got it against Mississippi State.


Week 2 Preview
* In a week lacking many good matchups, there are two potentially good games in West Virginia @ East Carolina and Cincinnati @ Oklahoma. East Carolina and Cincinnati have only gotten some of the national recognition they deserve, but that would all change if either gets a win this week.
* Utah received all the praise after beating Michigan in the Big House, but BYU wants in the spotlight too. They play a talented but underachieving Washington team this week.
* Southern Miss rolled up 51 points and over 600 yards of total offense in a blowout of Louisiana Lafayette. Auburn shut out Louisiana Monroe and held them to 220 yards of offense. It will be interesting to see how the two match up next week.
* Some teams are looking to build on their week one success. Mississippi looked good against Memphis, but can they do it against a complete Wake Forest team? Louisiana Tech had a nice upset, but a win over Kansas would be huge. Temple hosts Connecticut in a potential upset. If Stanford wants to prove that it's for real, winning at Arizona State is a good place to start.
* Other teams are looking to rebound from a rough first week. Texas A&M goes to New Mexico, who is probably in a down year but could still be trouble for the Aggies. Pittsburgh hosts Buffalo and Michigan hosts Miami (OH), two talented MAC teams who could prove to be difficult.

2008 Week 2 Top 25

1 - Florida (1)
2 - Oklahoma (2)
3 - Georgia (3)
4 - USC (4)
5 - Ohio St (5)
6 - Missouri (6)
7 - South Florida (7)
8 - Texas Tech (8)
9 - Auburn (10)
10 - Oregon (11)
11 - West Virginia (12)
12 - Penn St (13)
13 - BYU (14)
14 - LSU (15)
15 - Utah (18)
16 - Wisconsin (16)
17 - Texas (17)
18 - Alabama (UR)
19 - Boise St (20)
20 - Cincinnati (21)
21 - Wake Forest (22)
22 - Fresno St (24)
23 - UCLA (UR)
24 - East Carolina (UR)
25 - Arizona St (25)

Others Receiving Votes: California, Florida St, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tulsa
Added: Alabama, UCLA, East Carolina
Dropped: Clemson, Virginia Tech, Tennessee
Previous week's rank in parenthesis