Week 3

The Professor is back!

I had another mediocre week in Week 2. I went 2-2-1 (I was sitting high after I started the day 2-0). My picks of Army and USC won; my picks of Akron and Texas Tech lost, and my pick of Alabama was a push (due to a fourth quarter lost fumble by the Tide).

I am now 4-5-1 overall this season. Not a great record, but not one that puts me deep in the hole either. As coaches are like to say, it's a long season.

Speaking of which, I want to disclose that I am not actually betting money on these games, but not because I don't have confidence in my picks, simply because I don't have the money to bet. If I did, I definitely would

I am going to blame my mediocre first two weeks on beginner's rust. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

With all of that being said, here are my Week 3 picks:

Once again the lines are from Westgate Casino, posted on ESPN.com: http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/17536383/college-football-full-list-week-3-odds-westgate-las-vegas-superbook and all times are Eastern Time Zone

Houston -7 vs. Cincinnati (Thursday at 7:30 P.M.)
Who says college football has to be played on a Saturday?
I was holding off on this game, but once it was announced that Greg Ward Jr. would be starting, it became a desirable option. The cougars have won 15 consecutive games with Ward as starting quarterback. Houston looked extremely impressive in their upset of #3 Oklahoma in Week 1. They played extremely physical football and they were strong on offense, defense, and special teams.
Houston lost only one game last season and finished the season with a win over a strong Florida State in the Peach Bowl.
The Cincinnati gave up over 300 yards of offense to Tennessee-Martin in their Week 1 victory and over 500 yards of offense to Purdue in their Week 2 victory.
I don't see the Bearcats being able to matchup with the Cougars in this game.
I'm taking the Coogs and predicting a decisive victory!

Marshall -16.5 vs. Akron (Saturday at noon)
This is my weekly game between two non-Power 5 Conference FBS teams. There's not a big sample size of information to draw upon for Marshall this season. They had a bye Week 1 and beat Morgan State 62-0 in their first game. Even against a school like Morgan State, that zero is impressive. Often times, top FBS teams will give up one field goal or a touchdown to an FCS opponent.
Marshall went 10-3 last season and 13-1 the year before that. I like a program with that recent winning trend.
After Akron's Week 1 47-24 victory over the Virginia Military Institute, the Zips looked awful in their 54-10 loss against Wisconsin. Akron didn't do much on offense and looked extremely weak on offense, and, while I don't think Marshall is quite at the caliber of Wisconsin, I don't see this game going Akron's way.
Plus, Marshall is at home, and I believe home-field advantage is worth a couple points.
I'm taking the Herd and giving the points!

Texas Tech -11.5 vs. Louisiana Tech (Saturday at 7 P.M.)
I went with Texas Tech last week and lost that game, but Texas Tech put up 55 points and 612 yards in that effort. However, they gave up 69 points and 652 yards to Arizona State. That's a bad defensive sign when your offense scores 55 points and you lose the game by two touchdowns. Arizona State's Kalen Ballage. With the Red Raider defense going up against a less talented offense, I think they will be able to come up with a few stops.
There offense will continue to put up big numbers, so I feel comfortable giving the 11.5 points to the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech in this game.
Texas Tech wins the battle of the Techs!

Texas A&M -2.5 vs Auburn (Saturday at 7 P.M.)
The Aggies of Texas A&M have surprised me by how strong they have looked through their first two games. I was quite surprised by their Week 1 overtime upset of a highly touted UCLA team. The three interceptions that the defense came up with in that game helped put A&M over the edge.
The Aggies defense, led by defensive end Myles Garret, who is currently #1 on Mel Kiper Jr.'s NFL Draft Big Board, has looked strong. I think Trevor Knight has found a home in college station, and Kevin Sumlin is a great coach who knows how to coach a strong offense to victory.
Auburn put up only 262 yards and 13 points in a close Week 1 lost against second-ranked Clemson., and Sean White and Jeremy Johnson each threw an interception for Auburn in that game. I think Texas A&M's defense might actually be better than Clemson's.
I have the Aggies winning a low scoring game.
Gig'em!

Florida -36 vs. North Texas (Saturday at 7:30 P.M.)
I normally try to avoid games with extremely large spreads because they can be unpredictable, but I believe the Florida offense has enough skill and power to cover this line. While the Gators struggled in the first half against UMASS in Week 1, I think a large part of that was rust and/or nerves.
The Gators looked extremely impressive in their Week 2 45-7 victory over Kentucky.
I really like experience and the Gators are returning eight starters each on offense and defense.
North Texas only won one game last season, and given the talent on Florida's team, it could be a long night for North Texas.
I'm not sure what a Mean Green is, but, regardless, I don't think they will be mean enough to prevent being steamrolled by the Gators.
Chomp! Chomp!

Game I would most like to see live: College Gameday will be making it's first ever trip to Louisville for the Cardinals match-up against second-ranked Florida State, and I'd like to be joining them. What Lamar Jackson has done in just the first two weeks of the season is incredible, launching him from relative obscurity into a legitimate Heisman contender. The upstart Cardinals against the powerhouse Seminoles should be an exciting match-up that produces plenty of highlights.

Let the games begin!