The Saturday before college football's first big Saturday is filled with potential pitfalls for teams in the Top 25, and for a few intriguing teams outside the rankings to make a statement.
Teams such as Miami. Yep, the Hurricanes are now on the outside looking in at college football's elite and if they want to get back in, beating No. 5 Florida in Gainesville would go along way toward accomplishing that goal. Staying close to the Gators would be promising for the 'Canes.
Cincinnati could win some respect back for the Big East, which had a rough opening weekend with Rutgers, Louisville and Pittsburgh losing, with a good showing at No. 4 Oklahoma.
After opening with a loss at Stanford, Oregon State heads to No. 19 Penn State trying to avoid an 0-2 start.
Washington coach Tyrone Willingham desperately needs some victories. The Huskies will try to dodge starting 0-2 when they host No. 15 BYU.
New Mississippi coach Houston Nutt can score his first attention-grabbing victory with the Rebels at No. 20 Wake Forest.
And in maybe the most interesting game of the weekend, East Carolina goes for consecutive victories over ranked teams when the Pirates welcome No. 8 West Virginia.
The picks:
Thursday
No. 24 South Carolina at Vanderbilt
Second game, second starting QB for Gamecocks ... SOUTH CAROLINA 21-13.
Saturday
Central Michigan (+ 23 1/2) at No. 2 Georgia
Chippewas QB Dan LeFevour is Tebow of the MAC ... GEORGIA 50-21.
Ohio (+ 34) at No. 3 Ohio State
No Beanie required for Buckeyes ... OHIO STATE 47-7.
Cincinnati (+ 21 1/2) at No. 4 Oklahoma
Sooners won't be up 50-0 like last week vs. Chattanooga ... OKLAHOMA 42-17.
Miami (+ 21 1/2) at No. 5 Florida
Gators expect injured WR Percy Harvin to play -- might not need him ... FLORIDA 45-20.
SE Missouri (no line) at No. 6 Missouri
Tigers WR Jeremy Maclin should get time to rest aching ankle ... MISSOURI 55-10.
No. 8 West Virginia (- 8) at East Carolina
Mountaineers have won seven straight against Pirates ... WEST VIRGINIA 35-21.
Southern Mississippi (+ 17 1/2) at No. 9 Auburn
Tigers hope to have kinks out of new spread offense ... AUBURN 28-14.
No. 10 Texas (- 26) at UTEP
Last meeting was 1933 ... TEXAS 49-14.
No. 11 Wisconsin (- 20 1/2) vs. Marshall
Badgers RB P.J. Hill goes for second straight 200-yard game ... WISCONSIN 38-14.
No. 12 Texas Tech (- 10 1/2) at Nevada
The Wolf Pack can put up some points, too ... TEXAS TECH 48-30.
Tulane (+ 30) at No. 13 Alabama
Green Wave evacuated to Birmingham to avoid Gustav ... ALABAMA 40-3.
Louisiana Tech (+ 20 1/2) at No. 14 Kansas
Bulldogs coming off first win over BCS-conference opponent in five years ... KANSAS 45-14.
Stanford (+ 14) at No. 15 Arizona State
RB Toby Gerhart gives Cardinal offense punch ... ARIZONA STATE 31-21.
No. 15 BYU (+ 9 1/2) at Washington
Huskies couldn't stop Oregon's second- or third-string QB ... BYU 35-28.
No. 17 South Florida (- 14) at UCF
Knights moved into Conference USA when Bulls moved to Big East ... USF 24-7.
Utah State at No. 18 Oregon
Ducks expect QB Justin Roper (concussion) to be ready ... OREGON 55-10.
Oregon State (+ 16 1/2) at No. 19 Penn State
Beavers trying to avoid first 0-2 start since 2004 ... PENN STATE 27-20.
Mississippi (+ 8) at No. 20 Wake Forest
ACC's image can't afford another loss to SEC ... MISSISSIPPI 27-24.
UNLV (+ 21 1/2) at No. 22 Utah
Utes back in AP rankings for first time since Urban Meyer left ... UTAH 38-13.
Eastern Illinois (no line) at No. 24 Illinois
Illini QB Juice Williams coming off career passing day ... ILLINOIS 48-10.
Last week: 19-3 (straight); 9-3 (vs. points).
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Bay Area soccer celebration! Live World Cup, games, meet Oakland Roots' Kendall McIntosh &am… Read moreBay Area World Cup Kickoff
Learn how to make some of Jettywave Distillery’s most popular drinks as well as some classics. Read moreMixology 101: Cocktail Crafting
LPSanMateoPark said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
CA Is Burning said:
Dirk, both the DOJ and the Florida AG are investigating the issue.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.