Weekend Picks

This weekend in college football is a big one for WAC teams.

Saturday at 6 PM the Fresno State Bulldogs visit the Utah State Aggies. Normally, I would not look too much into or care at all about this game. But the Aggies have given us reason to at least cast a glance or two their way. Preseason, they were picked by many to be bowl eligible this year and to play in one. That is huge considering they haven't been eligible since losing to Cincinnati in the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl. Flash forward to the first game of the season where they not only more than held their own on the road against the then 7th ranked team in the nation, but had a chance to win late in the contest. Couple that with the fact that the Bulldogs of Fresno State have consistently been one of the top teams in the WAC and you have a great match up to watch and to care about. Gary Andersen is well on his way to making the Aggies a respectable team, but it hasn't happened just yet.
Prediction: Bulldogs 34, Aggies 21

The same day as the Fresno/Utah State game, but at 7 PM, the California Golden Bears come into Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nevada to face the running Wolfpack. I say running because they do a whole lot of that with Colin Kaepernick at QB and running back Vai Taua. They chew up yardage with the ground game. I mean a lot of yardage. They are very hard to stop. As soon as you think you have the ground game under control, Kaepernick rockets a missile into the arms of a wide open receiver. The Wolfpack is extremely difficult to defend and they should score a lot of points all season. Hall of Fame head coach Chris Ault has had trouble with his team showing up and winning in big games and this one is about as big for them as it gets this early in the season. Cal has had two lopsided victories so far this season and are confident in their offense and defense, winning both with a combined score of 104 to 10. Too bad the Wolfpack doesn't like to play much defense. However, coming off of a complete slaughtering of the Colorado State Rams, the Wolfpack themselves are feeling good and ready for more. Still, the Golden Bears will be too much for an untested Nevada team and will win in a close contest.
Prediction: Golden Bears 45, Wolfpack 42

The same day at 7:05 PM in El Paso, Texas, the New Mexico State Aggies play the UTEP Miners. It's gotten really bad for the Aggies. You know it's bad when you lose at home to the San Diego State Aztecs. Not much else needs to be said about either team. UTEP is a decent program with a decent team and should win fairly easily.
Prediction: Miners 35, Aggies 14

The poor San Jose State Spartans had the hardest two weeks in college football. Opening up at number 1 ranked Alabama and then traveling to Madison, Wisconsin to get beaten up by the Badgers is a tough way to start. They get a break this Saturday at home playing the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds at 6 PM. This should be a really boring game so I won't go into too much detail. The Spartans should win against a FCS opponent.
Prediction: Spartans 24, Thunderbirds 17

The wannabe pretenders Idaho Vandals host the UNLV Runnin' Rebels Saturday night at 7:30 PM in the barn in Moscow. The Cornhuskers are not the North Dakota Fightin' Souix. I can tell you that much. After manhandling a terrible team on opening weekend, the Vandals had one of the worst performances possible at Nebraska. They threw 5 interceptions and 2 of them were returned for touchdowns. Lucky for them UNLV is a really bad team themselves. Idaho has a good offense this year all around, except for the offensive line. Too many sacks, pressure, and hurrying for QB Nathan Enderle forces bad throws which turn into interceptions. The Vandal defense is what it is, which is overrated. Safety Shiloh Keo is the only one that doesn't hurt your eyes when watching them play. UNLV just plain sucks and the Vandals should put up some numbers and win at home pretty easily.
Prediction: Vandals 42, Runnin' Rebels 28

Coming off a big win 9 hours away from home at Westpoint, NY, the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors stay on the mainland and visit the Colorado Buffaloes Saturday afternoon at 1:30 PM. QB Bryant Moniz lit up the Army defense for 343 yards and 3 touchdowns. The offense is never the problem for Hawai'i. It is their defense that lets them down. It always has. However, Colorado is not the blue-blood powerhouse that they used to be. Head coach Dan Hawkins is squarely on the hot seat and needs a bowl game win to keep his job. They are playing OK. They won at home against in-state rival Colorado State, but got murdered at Cal. The offense is anemic at times and the defense is always a question. They will have trouble with Hawai'i and their offense throughout the entire contest. This game is really hard to pick. At home, I think the Buffaloes get it done and earn a much needed win for their coach. It will be a high scoring affair.
Prediction: Buffaloes 42, Rainbow Warriors 35

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs come home from embarrassment in College Station, TX against the Texas A & M Aggies. They will host Navy on Saturday at 7 PM. LaTech is such an enigma of a football team. They play so well at home but suck so bad on the road. They are in the middle of a quarterback shuffle and their defense is as porous as a sponge. Navy lost a heart breaker against Maryland on opening weekend but are as dangerous as any team in the nation with Ricky Dobbs at the helm. This is another game that is hard to pick. However, the Bulldogs make it interesting at home.
Prediction: Midshipmen 31, Bulldogs 28

This is the moment that you have all been waiting for; The Boise State Broncos at the Wyoming Cowboys goes down Saturday night at 6 PM! The Broncos go into Laramie after a huge win over a former top 10 opponent. Coach Chris Petersen does not care much about the polls or who lost to who, as long as his boys win. That mentality is evident in everything they do. The combination of Kellen Moore at quarterback, Austin Pettis and Titus Young at receiver, and Doug Martin, DJ Harper, and Jeremy Avery a running back is the closest thing to impossible to stop as there is, even with a shuffling offensive line. The Boise State defense has had to go home and regroup a little bit after Virginia Tech, especially in the secondary. The coaches will have them more prepared this time around. Wyoming has historically been a touch place for the Broncos to play at. This year will be no different. Cowboy QB Austyn Carta-Samuels is a Tyrod Taylor mini-me/wannabe. He is tough to stop when scrambling and when passing. The defense can be sketchy and give up points for the Cowboys, however. Wyoming will still be shaken from the tragic death of freshman Ruben Narcisse. They will bond together even more from it. Still, Coach Petersen will have the Broncos focused and ready, and Kellen Moore will fill the thin mountain air with touchdown passes.
Prediction: Broncos 41, Cowboys 24