FTRS Picks Week 2: Adjustment Period

There was a bit of oversight last week. Last week multiple teams scored exactly at our spread, that would normally be a push (i.e. you would have a draw and get your bet money back), in this case however I cannot do that since someone has to win and you can’t get your pick back.

I addressed this last year by stating that a team who wins a game where the spread is matched will be considered the winner and we are proceeding with those rules. I did not clarify that in the article last week so this week I will be counting all pushes as wins for both teams involved in case it impacted anyone’s picks, from this point on however you will know that the winner will take the match even if the spread is met exactly. Ok, so that’s out of the way, lets move on.

results from last week

This week we had a tie for first place. Both Philip Kaltman (that name sounds awfully similar to last years regular season champ) and dave G had the most correct picks with 9 out of 11. we had 7 readers with 8 out of 11 on picks, granted some of that was helped by the pushes last week. The season is young so its anyone’s game at this point.

Well that could have gone better. On the plus side we hung in the game longer than most people expected us to. On the downside, we still lost by 31 points. Not the best performance but it does give us something to build towards.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Plenty of teams are in the same boat and I expect there to be less chaos as each team now has on field experience. Less chaos doesn’t mean no chaos though, this is still college football and anything can happen.

picks for this week:

Western Carolina Catamounts @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (No Spread Provided)

Logan: This is one of those games where no spread is provided (at least when I wrote the article) because GT is supposed to win easily; you know, the exact kind of game all GT fans have been most worried about over the past few years. Western Carolina has a high flying air raid offense and a QB in Carlos Davis who threw for 433 yds and 6 TDs last week against Charleston Southern. He also gave up 2 Interceptions, and the team as a whole fumbled the ball 4 times and lost two of those fumbles, so its not all scary numbers. I expect GT to win this one and I thank heavens I don’t have to touch a spread since I post these so early.

Logan’s pick: Georgia Tech wins

#24 Houston Cougars @ Texas Tech Red Raiders (-3.5)

Logan: If you are looking at the stats from last week without taking into account who these teams played your probably wondering why Houston is ranked 24th in the nation. Well Houston went on the road against a UTSA team who only lost 1 regular season game last year and had to go to 3 OTs to win. On the other side of the coin, Texas Tech dominated Murray State at home (no offense Murray State, but you did lose 5 games last year). This game is at Texas Tech, so that doesn’t help Houston, but something tells me that Houston is going to show that they are not to be toyed with in this match. If Houston’s defense shows up at all, I expect them to win.

Logan’s pick: Houston

UAB Blazers (-5.5) @ Liberty Flames

Logan: First off, can we appreciate the team names going against each other? Blazers and Flames... truly a great mascot matchup. Thankfully I’m not picking based on Mascots this week. Liberty gets this one at home. Despite a great showing by UAB’s offense last week, I think Liberty has a depth of talent (possibly because of money... hard to say) that will set them above the Blazers. I expect Liberty to at least cover at home.

Logan’s pick: Liberty

#20 Kentucky Wildcats @ Florida Gators (-4.5)

Logan: Man... I really thought Utah had that game last week. Credit where credit is due, Florida came to play and they had no intent of losing that game. Kentucky is good, but I’m not sure I can pick against Florida after what they did last week in The Swamp. Give me the Gators.

Logan’s pick: UF

#14 USC Trojans (-9.5) @ Stanford Cardinals

Logan: A Big 10 team vs a PAC-12 team. Give me the Big 10 team, I think USC should handle Stanford pretty easily. Even with a 9.5 spread I’m still gonna take the Trojans.

Logan’s pick: USC

Boston College Eagles @ Virginia Tech Hokies (-2.5)

Logan: What happened last week. Rutgers beat up BC and VT lost to Old Dominion... good starts to the season right there. Hokies are still favored here, which makes me thing that ESPN believes that Old Dominion is a tougher matchup that Rutgers. They might not be wrong, but that’s gotta be a slap in the face for BC. I’m sticking with Boston College to rebound here.

Logan’s pick: BC

Oregon State Beavers (-1) @ Fresno State Bulldogs

Logan: This one is gonna be great if you are on the west coast. Oregon State really took it to Boise State last week. This could be a great year for Oregon State if they continue to improve, but now they will need to get through the long time rival of Boise State in Fresno State. Fresno State definitely has the more accurate QB and the Homefield advantage, but I give Oregon State the advantage on defense and running. This might be a big year for the beavers but its going to be Fresno State’s game.

Logan’s pick: Fresno State

#10 Baylor Bears @ #25 BYU Cougars (-3.5)

Logan: After last week I’m not sure I can trust another team from Utah. This game is going to be the shootout of the week if you look at the stats last week. Both teams had fantastic offensive performances without much in terms of defense. Normally in this scenario I would go with the home team, but Baylor is in the top 10 for a reason and I fully expect them to be able to keep this game at least within a field goal. Lets go Baylor.

Logan’s pick: Baylor

#22 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-7.5) @ Vanderbilt Commodores

Logan: I kind of feel insulted for Wake that they are only getting favored by 7.5 points in this game. Yes, Vandy did put up great stats against Elon and Hawaii, but I don’t really think that says much. Wake needs to dominate this game and make a point that they are not to be taken lightly.

Logan’s pick: Wake Forest

Iowa State Cyclones @ Iowa Hawkeyes (-3.5)

Logan: El Assico... kind of felt like it was actually last week when Iowa won their game without scoring a touchdown and yet still somehow won 7-3. Totally non-sensical, but I am picking Iowa State because I know they can score touchdowns, whereas I’m not sure Iowa is aware of where the end zone is on the field.

Logan’s pick: Iowa State

#1 Alabama Crimson Tide (-20.5) @ Texas Longhorns

Logan: Something something, Alabama’s first real road challenge in a long time... yada yada. Look there is a trend on this site (and many other ones) that it is a terrible Idea to bet against Alabama in college football. even with a 20.5 point spread, I fully expect Bama to cover this one, and it won’t be that close.

Logan’s pick: Roll Tide