Week 4 College Football Picks

Game of the Week:

Michigan vs Michigan St

This game is one of the better rivalry games of the college season. Michigan is ranked 11th and Michigan St is ranked 23rd according to the AP poll. Interestingly enough though, Michigan St is favored to win this game. Michigan is undefeated so far and Michigan St has lost one game to Notre Dame. Michigan beat Notre Dame in a close game earlier in the year. This game could go either way as both teams are talented and rivalry games are always risky to predict. You would have to give the edge in a rivalry game to the home team which is most likely why Michigan St is favored. However, I am predicting a Michigan victory. 

Key Factors:

Michgan's Denard Robinson - Robinson is the quarterback for the Wolverines and he is the playmaker. The offense is built around him and he has proven that he is a winner. He is a dual threat quarterback which means he is a threat to run the ball and to pass the ball downfield. This poses a serious problem to the Michigan St. defense. So far this season Robinson has played well and I don't expect that to change this week in one of the biggest games of the year for the Wolverines. 

Michigan St. Defense - The Michigan St defense has been rock solid all season long. In fact, they have the number one defense in the country according to the defensive statistics. They will have a challenge this week stopping Denard Robinson and the Michigan offense but they should show up ready to play. The Michigan St offense has been alright so far this year and they should play average this week. So the burden is on the Spartan defense to provide stops and put their offense in good field position. 

Prediction - This rivalry game will be very entertaining. Vegas is predicting a Michigan St victory in a close game. I predict that it will be a close game but Michigan will come out on top. The X Factor Denard Robinson will be able to drive his team down the field at a crucial point in the game and drive the knife into the Michigan St. hearts. 

Michigan - 31 Michigan St. - 24

Week 3 College Football Picks

Game of the Week: 

11 Texas vs 3 Oklahoma (Red River Rivalry)

First of all, I'd like to point out that I have been nearly perfect in my predictions (see previous posts). Don't expect any different this week. This is one of the greatest rivalry games in all of college football. It is played annually in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The atmosphere is amazing at the Cotton Bowl and the fair before the game has to be one of the best fan experiences throughout the college football season. The University of Texas is one of the biggest mysteries in the country. They haven't had the strongest schedule so far this season and this game will be a true test. They have a young team and are starting a sophomore quarterback Case McCoy. They are also relying on a true freshman wide receiver Jaxon Shipley to make big plays and a true freshman running back Malcolm Brown to help carry the load running the football. The talent is there to win but there is a lot riding on the backs of these three freshman. Oklahoma was preseason number one. They have both talent and experience and one of the best coaches in the country in Bob Stoops. Their quarterback Landry Jones is a redshirt junior and has played in big games many times throughout his career. Combine that with a tenacious defense and Oklahoma is going to be tough to beat.

Key Factors:

Case McCoy - For Texas, Case McCoy, brother of
Texas football legend and Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy, will be the deciding factor. He has played well this season and led Texas to two wins since earning the starting spot the third week of the season. He has been able to spark life in the Texas team and has helped fans relive the past watching the McCoy to Shipley connection. The future looks bright for Texas fans as Case McCoy and Jaxon Shipley will only get better. If they both can come out and play well,
expect this to be a great game.

OU Defense - For Oklahoma, the key factor is the defense. The way that Oklahoma will win this game is to simply minimize the mistakes. If they can play mistake free football, they will take care of business and win the game. The defense has played well so far this year and they should come out ready to play today. Expect OU to do whatever they can to confuse freshman quarterback Case McCoy and wait for him to make a mistake. The talent on the field is pretty evenly matched. The experienced defense of OU should come out and prove that they have what it takes.

Prediction - Texas plays well and proves that in the near future Texas will be back to being one of the national powerhouses. However, their inexperience will be their kryptonite and OU will make the most of the mistakes that Texas will make. OU takes care of business and wins this rivalry game that they are expected to win.

Texas - 20 Oklahoma - 27

Week 2 College Football Picks

Game of the Week:

Texas A&M vs Arkansas

Once again, Texas A&M makes game of the week. This is the first SEC matchup the aggies have since 

announcing they will join the conference. A&M will come out ready to play as they will try to prove they can play with the big boys. They face a solid middle of the road SEC team in Arkansas who is coming off a lost to arguably the best team in the country, Alabama. This old Southwest Conference rivalry will be played in the flashy new Cowboy's Stadium. 

Both teams had a tough loss last week. A&M held a nice lead at halftime against Oklahoma St. and as I predicted, they collapsed in the second half. Arkansas fought well but was simply outmatched in their game against Alabama. The difference here is that A&M had expectations of winning the Big 12. They saw their hopes cut down right in front of them as they helplessly let the game slip away. Arkansas was hoping to upset Alabama but never really had a shot at winning the SEC. A&M needs to mend their broken spirits and focus on this week or they will not be in the game very long.

Key factors:

A&M Defense - The A&M defense fell flat on their face when the game mattered most last week against Oklahoma St. The loss of Von Miller has proven to be vital. The defense looked lost without a leader on the field and simply could not put any pressure on Brandon Weeden. There is plenty of experience on this defense and they will need to bring their A game this weekend. If the A&M defense can recover and hold the Arkansas offense, they will win this game.

Arkansas Offensive Linemen and QB Tyler Wilson - Arkansas plays football at an incredible speed. This is mostly because they are forced to play that way in order to compete in the SEC. They have just finished playing Alabama and they will be ready to defend the A&M offense. They key in this game for Arkansas is the protection for quarterback Tyler Wilson. Wilson is a solid quarterback, he is not exceptionally gifted and can't take over a game by himself but he can take care of the football and manage the offense. If he is given time to make his reads and go through his progression, he will pick apart this A&M defense. However, the offensive line must step up. The line did not do a great job against Alabama and that hurt Arkansas badly. Granted, the offensive line will have an easier task this week because the A&M defense is nowhere near the caliber of Nick Saban and Alabama's defense. If Arkansas is able to protect Wilson and move the ball, they will win this game.

Prediction - Texas A&M finds out that they are nothing more than an average SEC team. They will play a good game with Arkansas but they will fall short. Arkansas is simply too prepared. After having played Alabama, A&M will seem like a much easier opponent. A&M will come out fired up but they haven't recovered from the devastating loss last weekend and that will cost them.

A&M - 31 Arkansas - 34

Week 1 College Football Picks

Game of the Week: 

Oklahoma St. vs Texas A&M

This game is going to be the highlight of the week. Two top teams are squaring up in one of the most exciting environments in the Big 12. This game is important for both teams because it will give them a big jump in the conference standings. 

Each team has played well and are 2-0 so far this season. However, there is a big difference in the competition that each team has faced and that will prove to be the key factor in this game. Texas A&M has had the good fortune of getting the opportunity to beat up on SMU and Idaho, both of which don't even belong on the same field at A&M this year. Here's the Aggie's schedule. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State has played solid competition and come out on top. Arizona is an above average Pac 12 football team and Oklahoma State beat them like a drum. The score was only 37-14 but Arizona was never in the game. 

Key Factors: 

Ryan Tannehill is a winner. There is no doubt about it. After starting quarterback Jerrod Johnson lost to Oklahoma State Tannehill became a possibility at quarterback. Johnson went on to lose the next two games against Arkansas and Missouri and thus began the Tannehill era. Tannehill earned his spot and never looked back. The aggies won the next six games before losing to a more talented team in LSU in the Cotton Bowl. Tannehill will play well against the Ok St Cowboys. It is up to the aggie defense to hold the potent OSU offense. 

For OSU, the key factor is the combination of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. Weeden has done a great job of leading the cowboy offense so far this season. Expect that to continue. Of course, it makes life much easier for a quarterback when you have a guy like Justin Blackmon to throw to. Check out the highlights of last years Weeden to Blackmon combination.

Prediction:

Oklahoma State proves to much for the Texas A&M Aggies and wins this game. It will be a close game but A&M will make a costly mistake that will allow OSU to pull away. 

OSU - 37 A&M - 27