TSR's College Football Picks

Whatsup sausages,

Big weekend in college football this weekend, lets get to it.

#16 Miami at Clemson
Clemson has played pretty well so far, with their only loss coming at Auburn in OT. In fact if their kicker didn't blow they could easily be undefeated and the ACC might not be such a laughing stock, but they're Clemson and they did what they do best: find a way to lose a winnable game. Despite the beating they took in Columbus, I still think the U is a good team. They're in the final game of a 3 week road stretch and coming off a beatdown of the very disappointing Pitt Panthers. Pick: The U opens up ACC play with a W.

Florida St at UVA
Interesting game here since we really dont know too much about the Cavaliers. They've beaten 2 FCS teams and lost a close road game to USC. New coach Mike London will get his first ACC matchup against fellow rookie Jimbo Fisher. Fisher won his ACC debut last week shutting out Wake 31-0. Since being embarassed by the Sooners, the Noles have beaten BYU and Wake by a combined score of 65-10. Pick: FSU wins a game that will be closer than people think.

#21 Texas vs. #8 Oklahoma
Texas was very overrated to start the year and was exposed last weekend by an average UCLA squad. My preseason champion, OU, has been inconsistent with close wins against Utah State, Air Force, and Cincinnati. However, they took the Noles to the woodshed a couple weeks back. Pick: I expect the Sooners to bring the noise this weekend in Dallas and they will win going away.

#11 Wisconsin at #24 Michigan State
Should be one of the better games of the weekend and will help shape the Big Ten race. Wisconsin has not really played anyone yet, unless you wanna count an ASU squad with 0 wins over FBS competition. FYI, the Badgers only beat them by a point at home. MSU will have head coach Mark Dantonio back coaching from the box this weekend. Dantonio suffered a heart attack after beating ND on an awesome fake fg. I really dont know what to do with this game, it should be a good one. Pick: Wisconsin because that's what Pat McGeary would do.

Tennessee at #12 LSU
LSU will win, their fans will still boo and want Les Miles fired only 3 years removed from a title.

Virginia Tech at #23 NC State
Being a lifelong BC fan, I am more familiar with Tom O'Brien than I would care to be. TOB's teams routinely lose games in which they are favored. After leaving BC, TOB declared you could do no better than 8/9 wins there. His successor promptly went 11-3 in his first year at BC. TOB will let this team down. Oh, and anyone calling Russell Wilson for Heisman, its gonna be a long afternoon. Pick: Hokies. Despite somehow losing to JMU, they could very well run the conference slate and win the ACC. Its ethier them or the U at this point.

Notre Dame at BC
I can not objectively pick this game so I will not try. True frosh Chase Rettig will get the start for BC after Coach Spaz mercifully brought an end to the Dave Shinskie era (although I would argue it was 3 games too late, but thats just me.) I hate evrything about Notre Dame. They will lose this weekend. They will then go on to beat Western Michigan, Tulsa, and various service academies. At this point, they will probably be ranked and we will hear about their 'return to glory.' Then USC will murder them, and we can do it all again next year. Pick: You already know who I'm going with.

#22 Penn State at #17 Iowa
I like both teams, but I just don't think Penn State has it this year. Plus, even in years when they do have it, they still can't beat Iowa. I was big on the Hawkeyes heading into the year and I still think they can play. If their special teams showed up against Arizona, we might be talking potential title contenders. Pick: Iowa

#7 Florida at #1 Alabama
I'll start by saying Bama's performance last week is the most impressive thus far in the year. Arkansas had them dead to rights at home and couldn't put them away. That is what champions are made of. Florida has been underwhelming so far by Florida standards. With the game in Tuscaloosa I don't see the Tide losing here. Pick: Bama. After last week, I will pick them until further notice.

NCAA vs North Carolina and Butch Davis
First let me say that I'm positively shocked that a Butch Davis team is in trouble. Nobody could've seen that coming. Pick: NCAA. And don't forget to give us your pick for which Tar Heel(s) will be suspended this week!

Game of the Week: #9 Stanford at #4 Oregon
I'm not sure if people realize how good the Pac-10 is this year. These two are legit title contenders. Oregon had rolled through the schedule up until last week, but a double digit conference win is nothing to scoff at. The Fightin Harbaughs looked good last week by taking it to the Irish from the get go. For the Cardinal, watch Andrew Luck (future Bills great). Heading into the year I was skeptical of the hype, but he quickly made me a believer. For Oregon, the whole offense is explosive, but Lamichael James in particular is electrifying. This should be a good one to watch, too bad I'll be drunk off my ass in Chestnuthill cheering on the Eagles. Pick: More or less a tossup. I'll take Oregon at the Autzen Zoo.

There you have it, TSR's first ever college football picks. Feel free to comment.

-TH