Mr. CFB Pick Six: Week Two
We got off to a so-so start on our picks going 4-2 in Week One. I picked LSU to win at UCLA and the Tigers didn’t just get beat, they got their collective butts kicked 38-27.
I also thought the Florida Gators would more than cover the 24 ½ points they were giving FAU. The offense was a little sloppy early and Florida won by 21, 35-14.
We’ll try to do better this week. Here are the picks:
The Game: Missouri (1-0) (plus 5.5) at Kentucky (1-0), 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
The winner: Kentucky.
The score: Kentucky 35, Missouri 28
The skinny: The winner gets a leg up in the SEC East as the team chasing Georgia and Florida. Kentucky revealed its new offense last week as quarterback Will Levis threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns in 45-10 thumping of ULM. Mizzou had a sloppy game in beating Central Michigan 34-24. Missouri will try to run the ball with Tyler Badie, who had 203 yards last week, and prevent Kentucky from making big plays in the passing game.
The Game: Pittsburgh (1-0) at Tennessee (1-0) (plus 3), Noon, ESPN.
The winner: Pitt
The score: Pitt 24, Tennessee 20.
The skinny: Both teams got off to good starts against inferior competition last week as Pitt thumped UMass 51-7 and Tennessee beat Bowling Green 38-6. Tennessee played its game on Sept. 2 and has had a couple of extra days to prepare. Keep your eye on Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett, who threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns last week. Michigan transfer Joe Milton had an uneven first start for Tennessee. It comes down to quarterback play and I have to give Pitt the edge.
The Game: UAB (1-0) (plus 26.5) at Georgia (1-0), 3:30 p.m., ESPN2.
The winner: Georgia
The score: Georgia 35, UAB 7.
The skinny: This is a hard one to call. No. 2 Georgia played one of its best defensive games in a long, long time in beating No. 3 Clemson 10-3. But now comes word that Georgia quarterback JT Daniels may not be able to answer the bell due to an injury. If that turns out to be the case it’s going to be hard for Georgia to cover that 26 ½ points. But here’s the deal: UAB’s Bill Clark is one of the best Group of Five coaches in the country. He has good size and strength up front. I’m picking Georgia to cover but I don’t feel good about it.
The Game: Texas (1-0) at Arkansas (1-0) (plus 6.5), 7 p.m., ESPN.
The winner: Texas
The score: Texas 24, Arkansas 14.
The skinny: Texas surprised a lot of people (this one included) with how it handled No. 23 Louisiana 38-18 last Saturday. But when you look at the talent at hand, it looks like first-year coach Steve Sarkisian might have a chance to have a pretty decent season. Arkansas had to rally from an early 17-7 deficit to beat Rice and unless QB K.J. Jefferson comes out on fire, I don’t think the Hogs can hang with the Longhorns for 60 minutes. Texas gets a late score to cover.
The Game: N.C. State (1-0) at Miss. State (1-0) (plus 2.5), 7 p.m., ESPN2.
The winner: N.C. State
The score: N.C. State 35, Miss. State 31.
The skinny: Don’t look now but this could be the most entertaining game on the board. The Wolfpack of Dave Doeren was most impressive last week in beating a bad USF 45-0 in Raleigh. Mississippi State was down by 20 to Louisiana Tech but came back to win 35-34. But here is the problem. Mississippi State has an issue with turnovers dating back to last season. The Bulldogs turned it over six times against Louisiana Tech. Mississippi State has a chance to win if it can go turnover free. I just don’t see that happening.
The Game: Florida (1-0) at South Florida (0-1) (plus 28.5), 1 p.m., ABC.
The winner: Florida.
The score: Florida 45, South Florida 7.
The skinny: There are only two mysteries about this game:
1—Can Florida cover the 28.5 points?
2—Who is going to be the starting quarterback next week when No. 1 Alabama comes to Florida?
The answer to the first question is most definitely yes, as long as Coach Dan Mullen is willing to keep his foot on the gas, knowing that Alabama’s coaches are taking notes.
Keep in mind that Florida ran for almost 400 yards last week against Florida Atlantic.
As for quarterback, starter Emory Jones struggled early against FAU and was replaced by Anthony Richardson, a beast of an athlete who ran for 160 yards.
So the answer to the second question is “it won’t matter” because both quarterbacks are going to play. The idea is to jump up big by halftime and start resting your key players for next week’s visit by the Crimson Tide.
Note: The above photo is of Georgia quarterback JT Daniels handing the ball to running back Zamir White during a Sept. 4 game with Clemson. Photo is credited to Griffin Zetterburg of USA Today.