Season record: 3-1
Week 0: 1-0 (Notre Dame -20.5)
Week 1: 2-1 (Utah -7, South Carolina +2.5, Washington -14.5)
We got off to a hot start with only one loss after two weeks of play. Congrats to Mack Brown on his 100th win at North Carolina and handing me a loss.
Let’s get to week 2!
Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-1) @ Colorado Buffaloes (1-0) | September 9 | 11:00 AM CT | Folsom Field
Line: Colorado -3 | Total: 59.5
Week 1 always lends itself to overreactions. No two teams epitomize this more than Colorado and Nebraska. Colorado went to TCU and pulled off a massive upset in Deion Sanders’s first game as head coach. Meanwhile, Nebraska lost in heart-breaking fashion at Minnesota.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders wasted no time making a statement at the FBS level, leading the Buffaloes to a touchdown drive on their opening possession. Sanders would go on to have a marvelous day, throwing for 510 yards and 4 touchdowns. He spread the ball around with five different players accounting for over 100 receiving yards. One of those receivers was the do-it-all Travis Hunter. Hunter had 11 catches for 119 yards while splitting time between receiver and cornerback.
In all, Hunter logged over 120 snaps.
It is apparent this Colorado team has serious star power in Sanders and Hunter. However, as we look towards Nebraska and beyond, is it sustainable?
Colorado torched TCU on big plays, mostly ignited by Sanders. The Buffaloes had four plays of 40 or more yards. One of these was the go-ahead touchdown pass to running back Dylan Edwards.
While Nebraska was unable to get the victory, the Cornhuskers did show some positive signs in their opener. The Nebraska defense neutralized the Minnesota offense for the most part. The Gophers only had 251 yards of offense. While Colorado presents a much bigger challenge, Nebraska should be up for it.
Turnovers were the story of Nebraska’s loss to Minnesota. Quarterback Jeff Sims threw three interceptions and running back Anthony Grant had a fumble. Minnesota was able to capitalize off this as they came away with a game-tying touchdown and go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter.
Again, teams are never as good or as bad as they appeared in week 1.
Nebraska showed an ability to run the ball. The Cornhuskers averaged 4.9 yards per carry against Minnesota. That success should continue against Colorado. The Buffaloes were gashed for 262 yards on the ground against TCU.
With Nebraska having a few extra days to prepare and Colorado reading the press clippings, I like the Cornhuskers chances. Give me Nebraska +3. Hopefully I am right because I do not need Coach Prime coming after me.
#22 Ole Miss Rebels (1-0) @ #24 Tulane Green Wave (1-0) | September 9 | 2:30 PM CT | Yulman Stadium
Line: Ole Miss -7 | Total: 65
Ole Miss heads to New Orleans to take on a Tulane team that was very impressive in their opener. Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt was nearly perfect, completing 14 of 15 passes for 294 yards and 4 touchdowns.
That was also the case for Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. Dart went 18 for 23 for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns.
With two quarterbacks like this, I could see the point total rising faster than Ben Mintz’s blood sugar levels. Give me over 65.
Marshall Thundering Herd (1-0) @ East Carolina Pirates (0-1) | September 9 | 3:00 PM CT | Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
Line: Marshall -3 | Total: 44
I went off the beaten path here. As Rico Bosco likes to say, “The money is in the crumbs”.
Holton Ahlers was a five-year starter for East Carolina, and the search for a replacement may not be over. Neither Mason Garcia nor Alex Flinn had much success against Michigan. Garcia was 11 of 18 for 80 yards with an interception, while Flinn was 6 of 11 for 52 yards. Neither was able to lead a touchdown drive as East Carolina fell 30-3 to Michigan.
I understand that playing at Michigan is a tough task, but their offense was simply inept. The Pirates only amassed 235 total yards of offense and 109 came in garbage time.
As East Carolina heads into this week’s game, they are still have not settled on a quarterback.
Marshall looked just as feeble offensively in the first half of their opener against Albany. However, they shook off the rust and scored touchdowns on three of their second half possessions.
Running back Rasheen Ali led the way with 137 yards and 2 touchdowns. Quarterback Cam Fancher finished 28 of 35 passing for 268 yards with a touchdown and interception. While gaining yardage was not much of an issue for the Thundering Herd, they were unable to convert third downs. Marshall finished of 1 of 10 in those instances. In their final five games of 2022, Marshall was successful on 42% of their third downs.
East Carolina’s issue at quarterback is a bigger concern than Marshall’s third down woes.
Marshall -3 is my pick.
Appalachian State Mountaineers (1-0) @ #21 North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0) | September 9 | 4:15 PM CT | Kenan Stadium
Line: North Carolina -19 | Total: 58.5
Drake Maye once again led the way as North Carolina disposed of South Carolina. Maye threw for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, he did have two interceptions. Fortunately, that was not a concern thanks to the North Carolina defense getting to South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler most of the night. The Tar Heels had nine sacks in the game.
When North Carolina did not get to Rattler, he had a great deal of success. Rattler went 30 for 39 for 353 yards.
Appalachian State may have a passer who can duplicate that. Quarterback Joey Aguilar came in for an injured Ryan Burger in the second quarter, then went on to throw four touchdown passes. Then Aguilar rocked a puka shell necklace postgame.
Now that is a guy capable of going out and getting points. We could have a quarterback duel on our hands.
Over 58.5 is the pick.
#11 Texas Longhorns (1-0) @ #4 Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0) | September 9 | 6:00 PM CT | Bryant-Denny Stadium
Line: Alabama -7.5 | Total: 54.5
This is the biggest game of the week as Texas heads to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. Both teams took care of business in their openers against outmatched opponents.
All eyes were on Jalen Milroe as he takes over for Bryce Young in the Alabama offense. He did not disappoint as he went 13 for 18 with 194 yards and 3 touchdowns. Milroe was also the Tide’s leading rusher with 48 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Texas defense will be a much bigger challenge than what he faced last week. With Alabama going to a more run-heavy offense, it will be interesting to see how they fare against a stingy Texas run defense. The Longhorns allowed only 3.48 yards per carry in 2022, which ranked 23rd nationally. They did allow a season-high of 161 against Alabama, although 81 came on one play. The Longhorns were able to bottle up Jahmyr Gibbs, as he had only 22 yards on 9 carries.
As for the Texas offense, quarterback Quinn Ewers will hope to do what he could not last season, and that is to finish this game.
Ewers is surrounded by a bevy of talented pass catchers: Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Jordan Whittington, Isaiah Neyor, and Ja’Tavion Sanders.
Sanders flashed his big play ability against Rice.
While Alabama has built a strong reputation on defense under Nick Saban, that was not in the case in the Crimson Tide’s biggest games a season ago. Alabama gave up 52 to Tennessee and 32 to LSU.
The Alabama secondary will be tested by the Texas offense. Adding to that challenge is the fact that defensive backs Malachi Moore and Jaylen Key are battling injuries.
Texas must keep Ewers upright as well. Slowing down the Alabama pass rush is always a concern, but last season we saw left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. held his own against Will Anderson. Anderson is now in the NFL, but Banks is still around to protect Ewers.
Am I really going against Alabama at home? Yes I am!
Texas +7.5 is my pick.
OUTTA HERE!
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