The week 2 results are in. This week was a 2-way tie between Todd and Jeff who both correctly picked the outcomes of 8 games. Way to go guys! Despite having a middling week, donkeygoatrunner is still the top overall picker with 23 correct picks. The second highest picker is dakota bull with 19 correct picks. The season is young so plenty of time for some changes at the top.
Once again things did not start easy for the Jackets last week but they ended the game as expected. It wasn’t the biggest win,
but I think it showed the team can operate under Philo similar to how they operate under King. It also gave the team a chance to get most of the players on the field for at least few plays.
Tough week for the ACC. Clemson struggled against Troy (which might be good news for next week), SMU was taken down by Baylor, Duke got blown out by Illinois despite keeping things close early, VT was destroyed by Vandy despite leading by double digits at halftime, Syracuse struggled against UConn… overall it was a bit embarrassing for darn near every ACC team. There were some other teams that were embarrassed last week, but I think this week was a big blow to the ACC influence in the big picture of College Football.
It does also seem to bid well for our chances to win against our upcoming opponents, but it also means our schedule may come into question. If you’re hoping for us to make the CFP then you better hope we win the ACC as that may be the only way to do so. Beating Clemson will go a long way to achieving that goal. Let’s get ACC play started and get the show on the road.
picks:
#12 Clemson Tigers (-9.5) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Logan: Georgia Tech has not beaten Clemson since 2014. Despite this GT still owns the rivalry with an overall record of 50 – 36 – 2 against the Tigers. I’d like to see that record add another win for GT for the first time in a decade. Clemson may seem a lot less intimidating after their struggles against Troy last week, but that by no means will make this an easy game. Clemson is still significantly more talented and was likely looking ahead to playing us instead of focusing on Troy last week. Clemson will try to challenge us in the trenches on defense to take away our run game and test us vertically on defense to get big scores. Based on how Key has handled big games I expect us to at least cover, but we need to win this game if we have any hope of winning the ACC. GT needs to avoid turnovers and play a hard physical game if they want to win. Expect a slug fest, but GT will at least cover.
Logan’s pick: Georgia Tech
Vanderbilt Commodores @ #11 South Carolina Gamecocks (-5.5)
Logan: Both of these SEC teams have had an opponent in common. Vandy looked significantly better than South Carolina against Virginia Tech. Vandy has a more experienced team who have gone through more challenges together and South Carolina’s QB just hasn’t impressed me as much as I expected him too. I’m expecting big things from Vandy this year.
Logan’s pick: Vandy
Arkansas Razorbacks @ #17 Ole Miss Rebels (-9.5)
Logan: Ole Miss really let me down last week against Kentucky. I struggle to comprehend how Kentucky put up such a fight against Ole Miss. I have to assume Ole Miss just isn’t as impressive as I thought. Arkansas is not a great team either though. I think Ole Miss can cover at home, and if they don’t I’m not picking them the rest of the year.
Logan’s pick: Ole Miss
The Backyard Brawl: Pitt Panthers (-2.0) @ West Virginia Mountaineers
Logan: Big rivalry for both teams involved. The ACC did not do well against out of conference opponents last week, but neither did West Virginia. Fans of the Mountaineers are probably upset about the loss to the Ohio Bobcats, but I genuinely think Ohio is a good team so I don’t view that as a bad loss necessarily. Given the spread of 2 points I will tentatively side with the Mountaineers to win a rivalry game at home.
Logan’s pick: West Virginia
Navy Midshipmen (-14.5) @ Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Logan: It was this game or I make another VT game pick, and I refuse to include them here until they finally win a game. Navy is the better team by far. Your mileage may vary depending on your perspective of Tulsa, but homefield advantage won’t mean much there. I’ll take Navy.
Logan’s pick: Navy
Minnesota Golden Gophers (-2.0) @ Cal Golden Bears
Logan: Man, I’m routing for Cal in this one. I don’t know if the Gophers have shown me enough for me to believe they should be favored on the road against this Cal QB. I have talked down about Cal all offseason but they have a chance here to prove Vegas and myself wrong about where this program stands.
Logan’s pick: Cal
Wisconsin Badgers @ #19 Alabama Crimson Tide (-20.5)
Logan: Wisconsin is not very good. Alabama had a bad outing against FSU but does that mean they are bad overall, or was it just 1 week of being caught off guard. Under Saban I had a policy of never picking against Bama, but that has not been a winning formula in the DeBoer era. I will take Bama one more time, but they have alot to prove in this game to cover this massive spread at home.
Logan’s pick: Alabama
Duke Blue Devils @ Tulane Green Wave (-2.5)
Logan: Tough week for Duke. Things looked good early but Illinois ended up taking the Blue Devils apart in the second half. Tulane may be a group of 5 team but they are a fantastic offensive team who get the Blue Devils at home. I think Duke may be a bit shaken from the last game and Tulane has a legit chance to cover in this one.
Logan’s pick: Tulane
Florida Gators @ #3 LSU Tigers (-6.5)
Logan: This is a night game in Death Valley against a #3 LSU team. I cannot in good faith pick Florida to even cover the spread after their performance against USF last week. USF is a good team, but Florida still had all the chances to win that game and choked repeatedly. This Florida team is not ready for this LSU team.
Logan’s pick: LSU
#16 Texas A&M Aggies @ #8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-6.5)
Logan: I think Texas A&M will cover in this game, but playing a road game while football Jesus is watching is no easy feat. I think Notre Dame is a better team overall and they should win, but Texas A&M has a habit of hanging close with other teams.
Logan’s pick: Texas A&M
uga hot dogs (-3.5) @ #15 Tennessee Volunteers
Logan: I despise uga with a fiery passion that could fuel a thousand suns. Even so, I like to think I have a pretty good grasp of football. Tennessee has good offense against teams like Syracuse but I think they will be outmatched against the uga defense, even though this game is in Knoxville. As much as I dislike it, I will take uga here… please let my below average ability to pick games curse uga into losing this one.
Logan’s pick: uga (ugh, I think I’m gonna vomit)
