As with last year, the week 2 slate of games didn't look all that promising, but it gave us some fun results regardless.
First, let's recap the FIVE:
"It's a push, I didn't LOSE!!"
'That's it Griswold, you are DEAD!!"
Record for the week: 2-2-1 Total Record (season to date): 4-5-1.
As is normal for me I'm starting off a little slowly, but last week could have been a lot better had I gone with my gut and included the right games. Here's a quick recap with some thoughts:
1. Colorado @ Nebraska (-4) [65]
Pick: Colorado to cover +4
Final Result: Colorado 33 Nebraska 28.
I should have gone with my gut here and taken CU on the money line.
2. Memphis (-4.5) @ Navy [68]
Pick: Memphis to cover -4.5
Final Result: Memphis 21 Navy 22
I had Memphis as the G5 representative in the New Year's Day bowl games. I'm going to have to re-think that after this dog of a performance. It's starting to look like a two-horse race between Boise State and Houston.
3. Iowa State @ Iowa (-4) [47]
Pick: Iowa to cover -4
Final Result: Iowa State 3 Iowa 13
Maybe the most El Assico game ever played. It was dull, uninspiring, and fantastic in every way.
4. Clemson (-12.5) @ Texas A&M [54]
Pick: OVER 54.
Final Result: Clemson 28 Texas A&M 26
For a game that ended right on the number, and for a game that the Aggies slept-walked through most of it, the ending was outstanding.
5. Wyoming @ Missouri (-18) [52]
Pick: Wyoming to COVER +18
Final Result: Wyoming 13 Missouri 40
This is the game that drove a steak in the heart of my belief in Bohls as a coach. Wyoming just flat-out looked bad.
Other Games:
North Carolina (-16) @ ECU [60] - I should have included this game in my FIVE. I leaned ECU but had no faith in them. I should have realized that Larry Fedora's team is BAD,
Michigan State (-6) @ Arizona State [54] - Not going to lie, I thought Sparty was going to wipe the floor with the Sun Devils, but they have talent in the desert this year and coach Edwards is getting something out of them. The Sun Devils should be ranked in the Top 25 after this one.
Arizona @ Houston (-4.5) [71] - The final score on this one (45-18 Cougars) makes it look like Arizona was more competent than they actually were. For a minute, in the second half, they pulled to within 10 points. But then Houston realized the game wasn't over and pulled away at the end. It's fair in Houston to question whether or not Major Applewhite has what it takes to lead this team to victory.
Duke @ Northwestern (-2.5) [48.5] - I thought this game would be more evenly matched than it was. But Duke played outstanding football to escape from Chicago with a 21-7 win and, by the way, a 2-0 record.
Georgia Tech (-3.5) @ South Florida [62.5] - It was a good day for the AAC, as South Florida and Houston both beat Power 5 teams, while Tulsa played UT-Austin tough. This game was bonkers and would have been the game of the day if not for.....
Eastern Michigan @ Purdue (-16) - I only caught the end of this game, to be honest I thought Purdue was going to wipe the floor with them. I will say this. Eastern Michigan deserved to win this game based on their uniforms alone. Those were spectacular.
UCLA @ OU (-30.5) [64] - This just in: OU is still really good. And while I'm not buying into the "Kyler Murray is better than Baker Mayfield" hype (he's not) I think OU's offensive and defensive balance make them one of the better programs in college football. Sucks to hear that Anderson is out for the year however due to a knee injury. That guy is scary good.
Air Force @ FAU (-9) [69.5] - I thought this line was a little high and the results proved it out. Despite that, FAU got a good 33-27 win over a decent Air Force team which should go a long way to wiping clean the memory of the OU debacle and set them up well for the rest of the season.
USC @ Stanford (-5) [57] - After watching parts of this game, I'm still not sold on either team being very good.
California @ BYU (-3) [46.5] - Is it possible that the Cal Bears are....GOOD this year? I'm still not entirely sold on them but this is a good start.
Aside: Hawai'i is 3-0 and it could be a minute before they lose a game. Army next week will be a test. But if they win that the schedule sets up for them nicely.
Games in which I had a rooting interest:
UTEP @ UNLV (-24) [55.5] - Beating UTEP 52-24 is what UNLV, with the talent they have, SHOULD do. It's something this team last year wouldn't have done. But they're maturing as a group and they went in and took care of business against a UTEP team that's all but hopeless right now. UTEP head coach Sonny Dykes has a MESS in front of him and it's going to take a while to dig out of this hole. Remember when we all thought he was getting the Texas Tech job?
Western Michigan @ Michigan (-28) [56.5] - At least they didn't let Notre Dame beat them twice. Michigan looked very good on both offense and defense against admittedly lesser competition. But Shae Patterson played well and the defense played like we wanted them to so that's something. The schedule is still not easy, Northwestern and Nebraska are 2 of the next 4 weeks before a TOUGH game against Wisconsin, but at least the team is showing signs of life.
Next week's schedule reads pretty much the same as the one this week. There are a couple of marquee games (LSU vs. Auburn, Ohio State vs TCU) and the strength of the schedule might be in some of the lower level games. We should find out more about Boise State as they play Oklahoma State and Houston vs. Texas Tech always seems to be fun. Plus, UT-Austin gets USC in Austin. Alabama travels to Ole Miss in what might be an underrated game. But my game of the week is Eastern Michigan @ Buffalo. Both teams are 2-0 with an impressive win each. Miss this one at your peril.
I'll be back on Thursday with the FIVE. Hopefully I pick the right games this time.
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