Saturday 10/16 Picks Part 1

Contenders vs Pretenders Part 1


That is the theme of my picks today. As we really start to focus on conference match ups the rest of the way, we will start to see who the really good teams are vs the teams who did it with smoke and mirrors in their non conference schedule.

Top Picks

Pittsburgh -2.5 vs Syracuse
Texas A&M -3.5 vs Missouri
Rice +9.5 vs Houston
Leans

Nebraska –9.5 vs Texas
Iowa/Mich over 54.5
Temple -20 vs Bowling Green
Pitt- This game is all about scheduling. Pitt took on a very formidable schedule while Syracuse got fat on creampuffs. No knock on Syracuse because that is really what you need to do when you have major rebuilding to do but it will catch up to them in conference play starting today.



A&M- This is a go against Missouri. Last week I was on them and pointed out it was their 5th straight home game to start the season. Now things get decidedly more difficult as they need to hit the road and play conference foes. Look for a rough start for the Tigers today against a pretty talented A&M program.



Rice- Rice has been on the wrong end of Houston beatings the last few seasons. Now things have broken right for Rice as Houston went from a darkhorse BCS candidate to a team decimated by injuries. If Rice is going to actually beat their neighbor, this is probably their best shot. I think they at least cover.



Nebraska- They are looking strong and would like nothing more than to bury Texas which we all remember knocked them out of BCS contention last year. I expect a nasty effort by the Huskers vs an overrated (still) Texas team.



Iowa/Mich- Last week Denard Robinson was not sharp and it cost his team. Rich Rod is in no position to let that happen again and I expect the MU offense to put up points however their defense is still porous and Iowa will put up points as well.



Temple- Temple is definitely a contender. They play a pretty good game against NIU last week but came up short while NIU played superb. The Owls will right the ship this week and serve notice to the rest of the league to pay attention.