NCAA - Week 3 Picks

Back at it again this week with the picks' post. Last week I was in San Diego for the Army @ San Diego State game. Too bad Army looked so bad...but it was still a great time to get the Army football atmosphere with a cool tailgate, spirit band, cheerleaders, alumni, cadets, and alma mater.

On to picks in week 3. Not too much variation in how people picked this week, which holds up well for our current leader Joe McFarren and those who have put a little distance on the rest of us so far through 2 weeks. It'll get a bit more interesting as we get further into the schedule and more games become a bit closer matched.

Here are the week 3 picks. I've bolded the games that hold intrigue with our picks.

Northern Illinois @ Army
NILL: Dao, NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, Miller
Dusty - I just can't pick Army after last week's debacle.
Teresa - Sorry Rob, I learned from last week!
Army: JoeLac, RMcF, Vander Woude
Rob - Still too early in the year, and the first home game, to go away from showing my support for the Brave Old Army Team.

Wake Forest @ Florida State
WF: none
FSU: Dao, NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, JoeLac, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Rob - If FSU is going to really be a National Title contender, then this game won't be close.
Dusty - I think the Seminoles win this one easily.

California @ Ohio State
CAL: JoeLac
OSU: Dao, NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Dusty - The Buckeyes should continue their winning this week.
Rob - Even if I thought Cal had a good team, the early morning start time (9am inBerkley, CA) does them in.

Texas Christian @ Kansas
TCU: Dao, NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, JoeLac, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Rob - Big 12 opener for TCU, which will probably battle Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas State for the title.
Dusty - Horned Frogs!
KAN: none

UL-Monroe @ Auburn
ULM: none
AUB: Dao, NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, JoeLac, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Dusty - I don't see UL-Monroe pulling off the upset 2 weeks in a row.
Rob - The Warhawks go into the land of War Eagle. Does that mean this game will be an aerial battle?

Alabama @ Arkansas
BAMA: Dao, NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, JoeLac, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Dusty - The Crimson Tide is possibly the best team in the nation.
Rob - Had the Razorbacks not lost, this would have been the hyped game of the week.
ARK: none

Virginia @ Georgia Tech
UVA: JoeLac
GT: Dao, NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Rob - Could be a toss-up game, so I simply went with the Home Team. Hopefully they don't wear those weird honeycomb uniforms.
Dust - The Yellow Jackets will be too tough at home for the Cavaliers.

Florida @ Tennessee
FLA: Dao, NDust, JoeLac, Lowe, GMcF, JMcF, Miller
Dusty - This used to be a great rivalry, but Tennessee isn't the same program it used to be.
TENN: TDust, Eggebeen, Luzadder, RMcF, Vander Woude
Rob - Our first split pick game of the year, with ESPN's College GameDay on site at Rocky Top. I think Tennessee will end up near the top of the SEC East rankings, ahead of the Gators.

Arizona State @ Missouri
ASU: Dao, Luzadder, Vander Woude
MIZZOU: NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, JoeLac, Lowe, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller
Rob - I so wanted to pick ASU in this game. One of the better games to watch this week. The home team pulls it out in the second half.

Southern California @ Stanford
USC: Dao, NDust, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Dusty - I think the Trojans have a good chance to be undefeated.
Rob - Is it bad if I want to be wrong with this pick? I'll be pulling for Stanford for sure.
STAN: TDust, Eggebeen
Teresa - Go Cardinal! (Rob - to her credit, Teresa's son John is a Stanford alum!)
Rachael - Man, this one is tough to pick!

Ball State @ Indiana
BALLST: Eggebeen, GMcF, RMcF, Miller
Dusty - I like the Cardinals to win in Bloomington this week...Go Cards!
Rob - If I remember right, Ball State won the last matchup. Can a good MAC team beat a bad Big Ten team? Yes.
IU: Dao, NDust, TDust, Lowe, Luzadder, JMcF, Vander Woude 
Teresa - hmmm...

Notre Dame @ Michigan State
ND: NDust, TDust, Lowe, Luzadder
Nathan - How bad will loyalty to ND hurt me this week? 
Teresa - I doubt I'll pick against my Irish all season, no matter what I really think will probably happen!
MSU: Dao, Eggebeen, JoeLac, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Rob - The game I want to watch today. Sparty is carrying the Big Ten banner, so the pressure is on them.
Dusty - ND looked bad in barely beating a bad Purdue team last week. I don't see them winning on the road.

Utah State @ Wisconsin
USU: RMcF
Rob - I'll go out on a limb and say yes, Wisconsin is in a down year. Firing the O-line coach after two weeks won't cause an immediate turn-around against a quality Utah State team.
WISC: Dao, NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Rachael - I really hope last week's loss was a fluke...holding my breath!
Dusty - The Badgers should recover from a bad performance last week here.

Texas @ Mississippi
TEXAS: Dao, NDust, TDust, Eggebeen, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller
Rob - This could turn out to be a good game. Neither team has shown anything great or terrible yet. I'll go for the favorite
OLEMISS: Vander Woude

BYU @ Utah
BYU: Dao, NDust, Lowe, Luzadder, GMcF, JMcF, RMcF, Miller, Vander Woude
Dusty - I like the Cougars on the road in this rivalry.
Rob - Utah lost to Utah State last week, now gets the other Utah team. Wait, we are picking all 3 Utah teams in one week? Whats up with that? Oh, yeah, I visited Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Capitol Reef National Parks in Utah this summer...Utah is an absolutely stunning landscape!!! (not like this has anything to do with football)
Utah: TDust, Eggebeen
Rachael - Working on my Pac-12 love with this pick!