Mr. CFB Pick Six: Week 2
Your humble progosticator stumbled out of the gate at 3-3 last week. The winners were Tennessee covering 28 against Virginia in Nashville, Alabama covering 39.5 over Middle Tennessee State and North Carolina easily covering 2.5 against South Carolina.
Then came the less-than-stellar picks.
I was convinced that Auburn woudn't cover 35 against UMass because the Minutemen had played the week before and it was the Tigers' first game under Hugh Freeze. Auburn won 59-14.
Georgia, the two-time defending national champions, got off to a slow start but won but won 48-7 against Tennessee-Martin. The line was 44.5.
I picked LSU to win straight up over Florida State but the Tigers got embarrased 45-24 in Orlando.
So let's do this. We'll call last week a slow start and promise to do better this week.
Carry on.
Vanderbilt getting 10 at Wake Forest:
Vanderbilt has a chance to go 3-0 for the first time since 2017.
Last season the Commoores got thumped at home 45-25 by Wake Forest and quarterback Sam Hartman. Hartman is now at Notre Dame and Vanderbilt has notched wins over Hawaii (35-28) and Alabama A&M (47-13)
Wake Forest jumped out to a 24-0 lead and easily handled Elon 37-17 in the Deacons opener.
I like Wake Forest to win the game at home but I don't think the Deacons cover 10 against an improving team from Vanderbilt.
Ole Miss giving 7 at Tulane.
The Tulane faithful have been talking about this game ever since they made the miracle comeback to beat USC in the Cotton Bowl. The Rebels have to go to Tulane's cozy Yulman Stadium, (capacity 30,000).
Ole Miss is coming off a 73-7 win over Mecer in its opener, when Jacxson Dart threw for over 334 yards and four touchdowns. Tulane beat South Alabama 37-17 with quarterback Michael Pratt completing 14 of his 15 passes for 294 yards and five touchowns. I like Ole Miss to win but I don't think the Rebels will cover the seven.
Texas A&M giving 4.5 at Miami.
This is a monster game for both teams. Texas A&M quarterback Connor Weigman threw five touchdown passes in last week's 52-10 win over New Mexico in College Station.
Now the Aggies go on the road to face a Miami team that is looking to bounce back from last season's 5-7 record. They looked impressive in a 38-3 win over Miami of Ohio last week. Tyler Van Dyke is a pretty good quarterback and the Hurricanes are playiing at home. I just don't think Miami has enough depth to play four quarters with the Aggies.
Texas A&M wins and covers the 4.5 points.
Texas getting 7.5 at Alabama
The Longhorns feel they should have beaten Alabama a year ago, but the Crimson Tide put together a late drive and kicked a field goal to win 20-19. Bryce Young, Alabama's Heisman Trophy quarterback, was magnificent.
Young is gone and in his place is Jalen Milroe, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for a couple more in a 56-7 win over Middle Tennessee State in Tuscaloosa.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers played well against Alabama last season until he got hurt. Last week he threw for 260 yards in a 37-10 win over Rice.
It is going to be a great prime-time scene at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Alabama wins in a statement game and covers the 7.5.
Arizona getting 9.5 at Mississippi State.
Mississippi State looked solid in its 48-7 win over Southeasterrn Louisiana, an FCS team. It was the Bulldogs' first game since the death of former head coach Mike Leach. It was also the debut of a new offense, as the Bulldogs rushed for 298 yards and passed for 227 more.
Keep your eye on Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers, who threw for almost 4,000 yards last season but had 227 last week.
This is a return game from last season when Mississippi State won 39-17 in Tucson.
I don't think this will be close. Mississippi State wins and covers the 9.5.
Auburn (giving 6.5) at Califorrnia.
To say Auburn fans are excited about theirr new coach, Hugh Freeze, is a vast understatement. Using two different quarterbacks, Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford, the Tigers rolled upp 489 yards of total offense in a 59-15 win over UMass.
But now Auburn flies across the country to play a California team that ran for 357 yards in a 58-21 win over North Texas.
Traveling across the counntry and playing a team at 9:30 p.m., Central time, is not going to be easy for Auburn. The Tigers just have too much firepower for this one to stay close. Auburn wins and covers the 6.5 points.