Ohio at #1-t Ohio State
(Saturday, 11 am, ESPN)
Vanilla is the name of the game here. The Ohio State defense will shut down Frank Solich’s offense so there’s no need to give USC any worthwhile film for next week’s showdown. Don’t expect to see anything fancy, especially when it comes to Terrelle Pryor. Beanie Wells will sit this one out to rest his injured toe.
J.Pike’s Pick: Ohio State 27, Ohio 3
Central Michigan at #1-t Georgia
(Saturday, 2:30 pm, ESPN360.com)
Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour is basically Tim Tebow-lite. He should give the Georgia defense a nice warmup test for that Cocktail Party looming on the horizon. CMU prides themselves on their offense, but they haven’t faced a defense as speedy and athletic as they’ll face this weekend in Athens. Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno should have no problems with an outmatched Chippewa defense.
J.Pike’s Pick: Georgia 35, Central Michigan 17
#3 USC is off
Cincinnati at #4 Oklahoma
(Saturday, 2:30 pm, ABC)
Some are calling for this to be a close game, but I don’t see it. Few teams start out a season as strong as Oklahoma, and I’m not sure Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly will ever be ready for a non-conference matchup like this one. OU will dominate in the trenches and Cincinnati will commit stupid penalty after stupid penalty as the frustration grows. Look for the Sooners to put this one away early. Cincinnati will score some garbage points late to make the score look more respectable though - it’s what Ben Mauk would have wanted. That and about eight more years of eligibility.
J.Pike’s Pick: Oklahoma 48, Cincinnati 26
Miami at #5 Florida
(Saturday, 7 pm, ESPN)
This is the game of the week. Miami’s strong recruiting class appears to be paying dividends already, especially on defense. The youngsters are injecting some much needed energy back into the program. Florida on the other hand fancies itself a serious national title contender due to a rather ridiculous stockpile of speed. The Gator defense is improving and I think they’ll be the difference in this game as the offense continues to struggle to find a running game outside of Tim Tebow. Prediction: Tebow will discover the cure for cancer during this game. He’s THAT good.
J.Pike’s Pick: Florida 32, Miami 20
#6 Texas at UTEP
(Saturday, 9:15 pm, ESPN 2)
A UTEP defense that gave up 42 points to Buffalo a week ago is no match for Texas. The UT offensive line will manhandle UTEP in the trenches allowing Colt McCoy to execute the offense flawlessly until the blowout is significant enough to pull the starters. That will probably happen sometime in the third quarter. New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will take the opportunity to nail home his schemes to the young Texas defense, preparing them for their first big test against Oklahoma in a few weeks.
J.Pike’s Pick: Texas 45, UTEP 17
Southeast Missouri State at #7 Missouri
(Saturday, 6 pm, FSN PPV)
No explanation necessary for this one. Missouri has a powerhouse offense led by Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin, two legit Bo Jackson Award candidates. Southeast Missouri State is a 1-AA team that won three games last year. Game over.
J.Pike’s Pick: Missouri 66, Southeast Missouri State 20
Troy at #8 LSU
Postponed due to Hurricane Gustav
Southern Miss at #9 Auburn
(Saturday, 11:30am, Raycom/ESPN360.com)
The Auburn offense isn’t fully up and running yet under new coordinator Tony Franklin. Southern Miss on the other hand was firing on all cylinders offensively last week against Louisiana Lafayette. The Auburn defense is quite a step up in competition though. The Ragin’ Cajuns were able to run the ball effectively against Southern Miss, so I expect Auburn to win this game with defense and a strong performance by Ben Tate. But it will be a struggle from start to finish.
J.Pike’s Pick: Auburn 26, Southern Miss 16
#10 West Virginia at East Carolina
(Saturday, 3:30pm, ESPN)
East Carolina isn’t underrated anymore. The Pirate defense and special teams introduced themselves to the rest of the nation last week when they upset Virginia Tech. They also possess a young quarterback in Patrick Pinkney who can make plays with his arm and his feet, and he’ll give the porous West Virginia defense some headaches. But Pat White is still suiting up for the Mountaineers, so they’ll ride him to yet another victory.
J.Pike’s Pick: West Virginia 27, East Carolina 20
(Saturday, 11 am, ESPN)
Vanilla is the name of the game here. The Ohio State defense will shut down Frank Solich’s offense so there’s no need to give USC any worthwhile film for next week’s showdown. Don’t expect to see anything fancy, especially when it comes to Terrelle Pryor. Beanie Wells will sit this one out to rest his injured toe.
J.Pike’s Pick: Ohio State 27, Ohio 3
Central Michigan at #1-t Georgia
(Saturday, 2:30 pm, ESPN360.com)
Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour is basically Tim Tebow-lite. He should give the Georgia defense a nice warmup test for that Cocktail Party looming on the horizon. CMU prides themselves on their offense, but they haven’t faced a defense as speedy and athletic as they’ll face this weekend in Athens. Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno should have no problems with an outmatched Chippewa defense.
J.Pike’s Pick: Georgia 35, Central Michigan 17
#3 USC is off
Cincinnati at #4 Oklahoma
(Saturday, 2:30 pm, ABC)
Some are calling for this to be a close game, but I don’t see it. Few teams start out a season as strong as Oklahoma, and I’m not sure Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly will ever be ready for a non-conference matchup like this one. OU will dominate in the trenches and Cincinnati will commit stupid penalty after stupid penalty as the frustration grows. Look for the Sooners to put this one away early. Cincinnati will score some garbage points late to make the score look more respectable though - it’s what Ben Mauk would have wanted. That and about eight more years of eligibility.
J.Pike’s Pick: Oklahoma 48, Cincinnati 26
Miami at #5 Florida
(Saturday, 7 pm, ESPN)
This is the game of the week. Miami’s strong recruiting class appears to be paying dividends already, especially on defense. The youngsters are injecting some much needed energy back into the program. Florida on the other hand fancies itself a serious national title contender due to a rather ridiculous stockpile of speed. The Gator defense is improving and I think they’ll be the difference in this game as the offense continues to struggle to find a running game outside of Tim Tebow. Prediction: Tebow will discover the cure for cancer during this game. He’s THAT good.
J.Pike’s Pick: Florida 32, Miami 20
#6 Texas at UTEP
(Saturday, 9:15 pm, ESPN 2)
A UTEP defense that gave up 42 points to Buffalo a week ago is no match for Texas. The UT offensive line will manhandle UTEP in the trenches allowing Colt McCoy to execute the offense flawlessly until the blowout is significant enough to pull the starters. That will probably happen sometime in the third quarter. New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will take the opportunity to nail home his schemes to the young Texas defense, preparing them for their first big test against Oklahoma in a few weeks.
J.Pike’s Pick: Texas 45, UTEP 17
Southeast Missouri State at #7 Missouri
(Saturday, 6 pm, FSN PPV)
No explanation necessary for this one. Missouri has a powerhouse offense led by Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin, two legit Bo Jackson Award candidates. Southeast Missouri State is a 1-AA team that won three games last year. Game over.
J.Pike’s Pick: Missouri 66, Southeast Missouri State 20
Troy at #8 LSU
Postponed due to Hurricane Gustav
Southern Miss at #9 Auburn
(Saturday, 11:30am, Raycom/ESPN360.com)
The Auburn offense isn’t fully up and running yet under new coordinator Tony Franklin. Southern Miss on the other hand was firing on all cylinders offensively last week against Louisiana Lafayette. The Auburn defense is quite a step up in competition though. The Ragin’ Cajuns were able to run the ball effectively against Southern Miss, so I expect Auburn to win this game with defense and a strong performance by Ben Tate. But it will be a struggle from start to finish.
J.Pike’s Pick: Auburn 26, Southern Miss 16
#10 West Virginia at East Carolina
(Saturday, 3:30pm, ESPN)
East Carolina isn’t underrated anymore. The Pirate defense and special teams introduced themselves to the rest of the nation last week when they upset Virginia Tech. They also possess a young quarterback in Patrick Pinkney who can make plays with his arm and his feet, and he’ll give the porous West Virginia defense some headaches. But Pat White is still suiting up for the Mountaineers, so they’ll ride him to yet another victory.
J.Pike’s Pick: West Virginia 27, East Carolina 20
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