The kid is back baby!!!  After an awful 1-4 showing in week 1, your boy Big Country bounced back in week 2, going 5-1 against the spread.  It looked like I was going to go 6-0, but MSU forgot how to tackle in the second half.  That puts me at 6-5 on the season. Not amazing, but certainly could be worse.  So who am I taking in week 3?  Well I picked 6 games (almost went with 8) and am pretty confident in most of my picks.  So check it out, and follow me on twitter @michaelrooney26 for picks in all sports throughout the week.  As always, the home team is in caps.

Game 1: University of Central Florida (+10) over MISSOURI

So last week I told you all that I was all in on Missouri, and in particular QB Maty Mauk, so this pick may be a bit of a shock.  Well, I still think Mizzou picks up the win, but I'm predicting a close game.  First, UCF didn't play last week, meaning they have had an extra week to prepare for the Tigers.  Secondly, George O'Leary and the Knights made a QB change against Penn State two weeks ago which seemed to jump start the offense.  Justin Holman came into the game and almost pulled off the comeback, scoring 3 TDs while going 9-14.  10 points is just to much, as this feels like a close one.

Game 2: East Carolina (+10.5) over VA TECH

This line seems really high to me.  This is an East Carolina team that out gained South Carolina last week, and had a legit chance to upset the Gamecocks.  I know VA Tech upset OSU, but without Braxton Miller this Buckeyes team wasn't nearly as talented as the media and rankings led us to believe.  East Carolina has a talented offense, and is going to score points, and I wouldn't be shocked if we saw the Pirates straight up beat the Hokies.  Take the points.

OLE MISS (-28) over UL-Lafayette

Last week the Ragin' Cajuns of UL-Lafayette lost by 28 points on their home field to  Louisiana Tech.  I assure you that Ole Miss is better than Louisiana Tech, and will be playing at home.  I told you all last week to BO-lieve in Bo Wallace, and I'm saying it again.  The Rebels beat Boise State by 22 on a neutral site, and Vanderbilt by 39 on the road.  In their home opener they could win by 40.

University of Southern California (-17) over BOSTON COLLEGE

Normally I try to stay away from West Coast favorites on the East Coast, because I'm afraid they will come out sluggish, but this is a night game, so there shouldn't be much of a time difference.  I hate to pick against my Eagles for the 3rd week in a row, but I just haven't been impressed by them yet.  They were vastly outplayed by Pitt last week, and this USC team is better on both sides of the ball.  I hope that I am wrong and USC comes out flat after there huge win last week, but I just don't see it.

Penn State (-3.5) over RUTGERS

Rutgers has been much better than I predicted to start this season, and will have a great crowd Saturday night when they make there Big 10 debut, so this should be a close one.  But in the end I just like Penn State a little more.  Penn State certainly isn't the best defense in the country, but they are the best defense Rutgers has faced, and I think the secondary steps up and slows down Rutgers QB Gary Nova.  With the momentum of just being named post season eligible, I think Penn State comes out with an extra burst, and when you roster the best QB in college football (Christian Hackenbeg) I'm going to give you the edge when it's a close game.  

Arizona State (-15.5) over COLORADO

So last week I went to the UMass/Colorado game at Gillette and I have to tell you something.  Colorado sucked.  And I understand it was a hot day, and they traveled cross country, but just in general I didn't like what I saw.  UMass hasn't been division 1 for long, so they haven't gotten the best recruits, and they looked about the same speed/size wise as Colorado, and in my opinion outplayed them.  Most importantly, the Umass offense was moving the ball.  Arizona State has been on a roll, and I think they walk through Colorado with ease in this conference match up.

So there you have it, my 6 picks for the week.  I will probably tweet out a few other picks during the week, so as I mentioned before you can follow me @michaelrooney26.  Those picks won't be included in my overall standings so if the numbers below look off that is why.

Last week: 5-1

Season: 6-5

Big Country

Friday, September 12, 2014