Weekend Picks, 2nd Edition (Week 4 of the season)

Here we are again for this weekend’s edition of: Weekend Picks! (I know, kind of redundant.) Saturday night is when all WAC games go down, so you only need to pay attention to the times (there will be no days listed, just kickoff times. Oh yeah, all times listed below are Mountain Time. Adjust according to what part of the nation you live in).

4:30 PM, Fresno State Bulldogs at Ole’ Miss Rebels.
This is a huge game for Pat Hill and his squad. Fresno State has started off really well this season at 2-0, including a severe beating of Cincinnati at home in week one and an impressive road win at WAC foe Utah State last week. Quarterback Ryan Colburn has had a stellar start in their two wins and their rushing game has been on par to form a complete offensive threat. Also, defensive tackle Chris Carter spends a lot of time in the opposing backfield, mauling whoever has the ball. In other words, the Bulldog defense is not too shabby in its own right. For Ole’ Miss, the Rebels, led by police record wielding former Oregon Duck QB Jeremiah Masoli, have been nothing short of underwhelming. They lost at home to FCS opponent Jacksonville State. It was a very ugly loss. Then won at Tulane, but followed it up with a loss to SEC bottom dweller Vanderbilt, also at home. There is not a lot to cheer for in Oxford. Still, the Bulldogs playing on the road at an SEC school will be as difficult as it gets for Fresno State this season. Because they are at home, Ole’ Miss has the advantage.
Prediction: Rebels 32, Bulldogs 28

2 PM, Idaho Vandals at Colorado State Rams.
Robb Akey and Co. followed up an embarrassing performance at Nebraska with a complete domination of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 30-7. The Vandal defense decided to take control while the offense continued to put up decent numbers. However, Idaho’s offensive line still has some work to do to improve their protection of QB Nathan Enderle. The size and desire is there, but the experience has not arrived quite yet. The Rams are 0-3, scoring only 19 total points while giving up 106. Yikes. There has been nothing impressive to talk about for Colorado State. They even lost at Miami of Ohio. The Vandals are not that good of a team, but they still should be too much for the Rams.
Prediction: Vandals 35, Rams 21

4 PM, Nevada Wolfpack at BYU Cougars.
Nevada completely dismantled a good Cal team last week in every aspect of the game. Colin “Bird Leg” Kaepernick showed why he is one of the top running quarterbacks in the nation, even if his rocket arm leaves something to be desired. The defense harassed Golden Bear QB Kevin Riley all night. He looked really uncomfortable and played terribly. Do not expect that to change in the slightest bit. BYU has been on a roller coaster since beating Washington on opening weekend (it turns out the Huskies still suck, though). They got swamped at Air Force and then played the Florida State Seminoles tough for 3 quarters. It would appear that the Cougars will be sticking with freshman phenom QB Jake Heaps as the starter, seeing as how co-starter Riley Nelson is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Besides, the two-quarterback system wasn’t working very well for them anyway. This may be exactly what the Wolfpack wants them to do. Heaps may have a really long evening ahead of him with Dantay Moch coming off the edge delivering as many snot-bubblers as he can. The way to neutralize Moch is by hitting running back JJ Di Luigi (probably the Cougars' best weapon) with short screens. As a BSU fan, an undefeated Nevada Wolfpack team would be fantastic for the strength of schedule talk, and they would also be ranked when the showdown in Reno takes place. Nevada is a 2 ½ point favorite. BYU will be very tough at home, and the game will be well played on both sides. If it was being played in Reno, I would go with Nevada. But since it’s in Provo…I needed an upset special, and this is the closest game I could find to fit the criteria. I had a hard time picking it. Do I believe BYU can beat Nevada? I don't know. Just don't get angry if I'm right.
UPSET SPECIAL:
Prediction: Cougars 38, Wolfpack 35

5 PM, New Mexico State Aggies at Kansas Jayhawks.
As we all know, the Aggies are one of the worst teams in the nation. They really do suck. They lost at home to a poor San Diego State team and then got crushed on the road at UTEP. It does, however, seem like New Mexico State is at least scoring some points every now and then. Unfortunately, they have not been consistent with Matt Christian under center. Speaking of roller coasters, how about the Kansas Jayhawks?! They only scored 3 points in a home loss to FCS school North Dakota State (WTF!!!!????!? Seriously?!?!?!?!?!), beat a ranked Georgia Tech Yellowjacket team 28-25, and ultimately lost on the road to Southern Mississippi 31-16. As schizophrenic as Kansas has been, they should handle the Aggies at home pretty easily.
Prediction: Jayhawks 28, Aggies 10

5 PM, Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
This is a hard game to predict. The Bulldogs kicked off the season with a road victory over a really bad Grambling team 20-6. Then they proceeded to lose two straight against Texas A & M and Navy. The offensive numbers have not been impressive for QB’s Colby Cameron and Ross Jenkins (both have started games, Cameron in the last two). Maybe then need to switch back to Jenkins to win. Who knows? A banged up Phillip Livas has been less than stellar, as he was supposed to be the star of the team. Southern Miss has been playing very well. After a tough opening road loss at South Carolina, the Golden Eagles have taken two straight (the exact opposite of LA. Tech). QB Austin Davis gets the job done very well and has some weapons to hand off and pass to. The Bulldogs usually play well at home, but with a new coach and a lack of confidence, the upper-tier mid-major should win on the road.
Prediction: Golden Eagles 35, Bulldogs 24

6 PM, San Jose State Spartans at Utah Utes.
We could possibly dub this game “the battle of the mid-majors.” But since the Spartans play like a FCS or a division 2 school, that would not be accurate. A better one may be “the slaughter in Salt Lake.” San Jose State is 1-2, getting stomped on the road by two ranked BCS schools and then barely beating FCS school Southern Utah last week at home 16-11. QB Jordan La Secla (his name sounds like it belongs to a kicker) has been decent, but has few weapons to utilize. The Utes are 3-0 and ranked 13th in the nation in the AP and media polls. Did I mention they are hosting the Spartans at Rice-Eccles Stadium for this game? Even with starting quarterback Jordan Wynn questionable with a hand injury, back up Terrence Cain will own San Jose State. They are way to good and the game will be a rout.
Prediction, Utes 55, Spartans 16

6 PM, Utah State Aggies at San Diego State Aztecs.
As mentioned last week, Utah State has itself a second year coach and they are well on their way to becoming a respectable, winning program. Last week’s setback against Fresno State shows that they still have a lot of work to do, even after nearly upsetting ranked Oklahoma on the road the week before. On the bright side, QB Diondre Borel is making defenses look silly week in and week out. As a dual threat leader, the Aggies are averaging a middle-of-the-pack 28.7 points a game, which is a considerable step up from previous years. As a matter of fact, Utah State ranks in the middle of all FBS schools in total defense and offense. Like I said, they are getting better. What the Aggies are to the WAC, the Aztecs are to the Mountain West, which is a bottom level team that is slowly improving. In fact, San Diego State is racking up the yardage at 511.3 per game, good for 9th nationwide. They rank in the top third in all other general categories. QB Ryan Lindley is doing a great job of distributing the ball and making plays, and that is why they are currently sitting with a winning record at 2-1. As much as I would like to see Utah State pick up the road win and score one more for the WAC over the MWC, I don’t see it happening.
Prediction: Aztecs 35, Aggies 24

9:30 PM, Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Hawai’I Rainbow Warriors.
As is customary with just about every Hawai’I team since the dawn of time, the Rainbow Warriors are putting up ridiculous offensive numbers, but can’t stop anybody on defense to save their lives. Hawai’I lost an epic battle at home against USC on opening night, but then traveled to Westpoint, NY (some 5,000 miles or so) and notched a big win. Then the high, oxygen-lacking air in Boulder, CO did them in for their second loss. QB Bryant Moniz is chucking the ball all over the yard, mainly to WR Greg Salas, and the Rainbow Warriors are scoring, boasting a 26.7 points per game average. Too bad they are giving up 36 a game at the same time. However, their opponent, the CSU Buccaneers are a FCS school that will travel almost that same distance from the East Coast to Hawai’i. At 2-1, I won’t say much about them, other than they play in a league against such football powerhouses as Stony Brook, Liberty, Gardner-Webb, and the Virginia Military Academy. Yeah.
Prediction: Rainbow Warriors 42, Buccaneers 21

6 PM, ABC, Oregon State Beavers at Boise State Broncos.
Here it is folks, and it should be a dandy. Boise State comes off a complete smack down of the Wyoming Cowboys, flying high and ready for more. Kellen Moore looked good, but not great. The rushing onslaught of Doug Martin, DJ Harper, and Jeremy Avery looks as terrifying for opponents as any other running back group in the country. It also helps that the offensive line is opening up holes large enough for Jaba the Hut to carry the ball through (I must mention fullback Dan Paul, who is as good as a lead blocker as there is). If Austin Pettis can stay on the field (i.e. no flipping into the end zone after a beautiful flea flicker pass from Moore, for which he subsequently gets benched), then the offense should do everything it wants to and there will not be any sort of a letdown. I will say this; the Oregon State Beavers are not the Wyoming Cowboys. What I mean is that with Jacquizz Rodgers in the backfield, the Broncos will not be able to hold them to -22 yards rushing. At the same time, Boise State needs to come up big in stopping Quizz and make sophomore QB Ryan Katz one-dimensional. The problem with making Katz throw is Jacquizz’s brother James is as dangerous and explosive as little bro is. So pick your poison. Speaking of Katz, he has struggled completing passes, with a percentage of just over 47 (compare that to just over 63% for Kellen Moore). He has not, however, thrown an interception this year and has 4 touchdowns. The numbers aren’t that great thus far, but remember, the Beavers opened up against TCU, and that Horned Frog defense will slap you in the face, hard. As the Beavers are ranked 24th in the AP poll, this will be a stiff test for the Broncos. Their defense is in the lower 2/3 of all FBS schools, but is lead by a man-yeti known as Stephen Paea. He will clog up the middle and will be a huge obstacle for the Broncos running game to get through, or around, or over. The Beavers sure are getting ready, as they painted their practice field blue (the purpose of doing so is still unknown). This year’ Boise State team is good enough to win the Pac 10, and I think they could beat Oregon State at home or on the road. The Beavers will come into Bronco Stadium and will have so much to deal with and fight against; they won’t stand much of a chance. Broncos win big and keep their dreams alive for one more week.
Prediction: Broncos 41, Beavers 20

Alright, let me know what you think of my picks. I will have a re-cap of the weekend's action either Sunday or Monday, including how I did with my selections. Also, as mentioned, I will be at Bronco Stadium on Saturday to cheer on the Broncos. It is going to be a crazy scene and I will post pictures as soon as I can. Finally, check back in tomorrow for my Weekly PTW. It will be a lot of fun!