WEEK THREE - Top 25 Preview (Part I: 11-25)

UNLV at #11 Arizona State
(Saturday, 9 pm, FCS-Pacific)
Arizona State gets one final tune-up before Georgia comes to town.
J.Pike’s Pick: Arizona State 35, UNLV 13

Western Kentucky at #12 Alabama
(Saturday, 7 pm, ESPN360.com)
The Alabama offense was awful last week against Tulane, gaining only 172 total yards. Western Kentucky, the newest addition to 1-A, should cure what ails them.
J.Pike’s Pick: Alabama 31, Western Kentucky 14

#13 Penn State at Syracuse
(Saturday, 2:30 pm, ABC)
Penn State flexed their muscles last week in a dominating win over Oregon State. As a reward they get to feast on a Syracuse team that was embarrassed by Akron. The Penn State front four has suffered more injuries and suspensions than you can count, but they’ll still make it nearly impossible for Syracuse to score in this game. And the Nittany Lion offense won’t have a problem against an inept Syracuse defense.
J.Pike’s Pick: Penn State 38, Syracuse 7

N.C. State at #14 Clemson
(Saturday, 11 am, ESPN360.com)
This is step two in the rehab process after the humiliating loss to Alabama in week one. Clemson took care of The Citadel last week and now get a conference opponent at home. For some reason, James Davis and C.J. Spiller have only carried the ball a combined 27 times this season. They should average that per game.
J.Pike’s Pick: Clemson 27, N.C. State 14

SMU at #15 Texas Tech
(Saturday, 6 pm, FSN-Southwest)
If there’s one game this weekend you couldn’t pay me to watch, this would be it. These two offenses will make a mockery of the game of football, and both coaches will leave their defenses in bad positions in favor of their pet offenses at least a couple times (see Mike Leach going for it on 4th down twice last week inside his own 30!). Normally I would say the scoring could reach triple digits, but the Tech offense has been stuck in neutral so far this year.
J.Pike’s Pick: Texas Tech 52, SMU 27

#16 Oregon at Purdue
(Saturday, 2:30 pm, ABC/ESPN)
Could this be the road trip that finally trips up Justin Roper? Roper has been playing lights out in place of the injured Nate Costa, who is out for the season. Curtis Painter and the Purdue offense look good on paper, but going up against one of the best defensive backfields in the nation will be a significant challenge. Oregon’s secondary will get the best of this matchup and that leaves Purdue with few other options. Jeremiah Johnson should be healthy and ready to run wild on the porous Purdue defense.
J.Pike’s Pick: Oregon 34, Purdue 20

#19 Kansas at #17 South Florida
(Friday, 7 pm, ESPN 2)
This is a matchup that should produce a great game. Kansas QB Todd Reesing is firing on all cylinders this year, especially with speedy freshman WR Daymond Patterson added in the mix. On the flip side, South Florida is coming off an overtime tussle with don’t-call-them-rivals Central Florida. The Kansas defense is solid and will be able to force Matt Grothe into a couple turnovers, but USF will be able to pressure Reesing and get him out of his rhythm. It will be a tight game throughout controlled by the defenses, so I’ll give a slight edge to the home team.
J.Pike’s Pick: South Florida 22, Kansas 20

#18 Utah at Utah State
(Saturday, 7 pm, ESPN360.com)
These two in-state rivals play every year, but it’s usually big brother Utah beating up on little brother Utah State. Expect more of the same this year with Utah QB Brian Johnson padding stats in his quest to win the Faulk Trophy.
J.Pike’s Pick: Utah 42, Utah State 10

#20 East Carolina at Tulane
(Saturday, 2 pm)
East Carolina has been the story of the year so far, upsetting Virginia Tech and West Virginia in their first two outings. The defense has been a big reason for the success and Tulane has struggled to score points this season. That doesn’t bode well for the Green Wave. However with ECU riding high off their 2-0 start, don’t be surprised if they let the headlines go to their heads early and get off to a slow start against a Tulane team that nobody is giving a chance. Remember, Tulane held Alabama to a mere 172 yards of total offense last week. Pirate QB Patrick Pinkney is too good to let his team sleep for too long though and he’ll lead the offense to just enough points to win comfortably.
J.Pike’s Pick: East Carolina 23, Tulane 10

Louisiana-Lafayette at #21 Illinois
(Saturday, 11 am, Big Ten Network)
Here’s another cupcake for the Illinois offense to run up and down the field against. The Ragin’ Cajuns could come in handy though because the Illini defense has been miserable so far this season. Louisiana-Lafayette QB Michael Desormeaux and RB Tyrell Fenroy both ran for over 1,000 yards last season so there should be plenty of opportunities for Illinois to practice their tackling.
J.Pike’s Pick: Illinois 48, Louisiana-Lafayette 20

#22 UCLA at #25 BYU
(Saturday, 2:30 pm, Versus)
The Cougars need to step up their play on the defensive side of the ball if they are to win this game. UCLA’s defense is excellent and they will make it very difficult on Max Hall, who isn’t the best under pressure. Defensive tackles Brian Price and Brigham Harwell will make sure that’s the case Saturday afternoon. It will be up to Kevin Craft, who must get off to a better start than he did against Tennessee when he threw 4 interceptions in the first half.
J.Pike’s Pick: UCLA 26, BYU 21

UAB at #23 Tennessee
(Saturday, 11:30 am, ESPN360.com)
After pondering their overtime loss to UCLA for almost two weeks, it’s time for Tennessee to take the field again. Facing one of the worst defenses in the nation – UAB allows a whopping 47 points per game - should help the potentially explosive Tennessee offense find a rhythm after struggling against UCLA.
J.Pike’s Pick: Tennessee 51, UAB 17

#24 California at Maryland
(Saturday, 11 am, ESPN)
It’s a tale of two offenses. The Cal offense has exploded thanks to the speedy Jahvid Best and the running game. In two games Best has 311 yards rushing and 4 tds, and the Bears are averaging 297 yards rushing as a team! Maryland on the other hand is averaging a putrid 14 points per game and is coming off an embarrassing loss at the hands of Middle Tennessee State. I’m a little concerned about the long road trip and early start time, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Maryland’s defense forces a couple three-and-outs early. The speed of Cal wins out in the end though.
J.Pike’s Pick: California 30, Maryland 16