It’s that time again. Time for us to pick some football games. Not that I am doing it very well this season. After a dreadful showing last weekend that saw me go 1-3 against the spread, I am now officially under .500 for the season, and currently sit at 5-8. Only Virginia covering against Clemson kept me from going 0-fer, lending credence to the fact that you can never trust a junkie.
For the first time this season, our lead writer Freddie Huth is going to get in on the action and make some picks as well. Initially the plan was for us to both pick each week but unfortunately, some unforeseen circumstances has kept our lead writer otherwise occupied. However, he’s here now and ready to roll, so onto the picks.
#19 Virginia Tech at #8 North Carolina (-5.5):
CJ: The Tarheels were a popular preseason pick as the second best team in the ACC. Through two games they have not lived up to those expectations. They struggled for a half with Syracuse, then came close to getting beat by Boston College last week. Their defense has looked solid, but they weren’t actually playing against elite level offenses. The Hokies on the other hand, they have been fantastic, all things considered. Covid has hit the program hard and in both of their wins they were missing over 20 players and at least one assistant coach. Last week they were missing almost their entire secondary and still managed to knock of the Dookies. This Virginia Tech team is quietly off to a very good start and if they can get that roster back close to what it’s supposed to be, could be trouble for opponents the rest of the way. Don’t be surprised if they go into Chapel Hill and knock off the Cheatin’ A** Heels….. Va Tech +5.5
Freddie: Virginia Tech and UNC are both 2-0. For the Hokies this is really nothing short of amazing since they’ve had to deal with postponements and missing so many players and coaches due to Covid. On the other side of the ball, the North Carolina Tarheels will again be looking to get their offense on track. Their defense has carried them through the first two wins while they have hoped to see the offense start to click. I expect this to happen….. North Carolina -5.5
#4 Florida (-6.5) at #21 Texas A&M:
CJ: Kyle Trask is off to as hot a start as any quarterback in the country. He’s thrown 10 touchdown passes and just one pick in leading Florida and that explosive offense to a 3-0 start. That defense though, it’s got issues. Each season Dan Mullen has been there, that defense has gotten a little worse. The Gators are allowing a whopping 471 yards a game and last week they made UofSC quarterback Collin Hill actually look competent. This week that defense is tasked with facing Kellen Mond and Texas A&M on the road and fortunately for the Gators, they have the better offense and are capable of outscoring the Aggies. They sure are getting their monies worth out of Jimbo Fisher in College Station….. Florida -6.5
Freddie: After Mac Jones did what he did through the air against A&M’s defense, it will be interesting to see what Florida quarterback Kyle Trask will do against them on Saturday. A&M will be looking to get their offense off the ground and they will need it if they hope to stay close to Florida in this game. Sorry Jimbo, the pressure continues to mount….. Florida -6.5
North Carolina State at Virginia (-9.5):
CJ: I’m not to sure what to make out of this North Carolina State team. They barely get by a hapless Wake, get smoked by a Virginia Tech team missing close to 25 players, including their starting quarterback, then they go on the road and beat a solid Pitt team in the final minute. There’s only one logical explanation for they way they pulled out that win over Pitt. Dave Doeren busted out the illegal laptop and used it to his own benefit. Can they do it again this weekend in Charlottesville? The Cavs played Clemson tough last weekend, and if a couple of more plays had gone their way who knows what might have happened. That is a good football team. Better than they have been credit for. This week they will have to avoid letting the Clemson loss beat them twice and Bronco Mendenhall will ensure that doesn’t happen. But it will be close….. North Carolina State +9.5
Freddie: This game appears to be a little more evenly matched than Virginia’s last two games. They were far better than Duke and not nearly at the level of Clemson, though they fought hard. As far as NC State goes, they have shown that their offense can keep up with others in shootouts but they also haven’t been able to keep teams from scoring. I expect this to be an exciting game with the Cavaliers winning…..Virginia -9.5
#22 Texas vs Oklahoma (-2.5): Cotton Bowl
CJ: And they said Spencer Rattler was one of the favorites to win the Heisman. Before he’d ever taken a snap. So much for that. The freshman phenom has thrown four interceptions in the Sooners last two games, both losses to unranked teams. The Longhorns are coming off of a loss to an unranked team themselves. Neither have looked particularly impressive on the defensive side of the ball. In fact, neither team has played much of any defense at all. This one could come down to which team gets to 100 first….. Texas +2.5
Freddie: This one is going to be interesting to say the least. A shootout? Come on, it’s the Big12 and I expect these two to score in bunches. Not many saw Oklahoma being 1-2 at this point and others definitely did not see Texas getting beaten by TCU last Saturday. When it is all said and done I’m going with the team with the more experienced quarterback…..Texas +2.5
