College Football 2012 Picks: Week Two, Missouri Will Make Strong Opening Statement to SEC
By Ty Duffy
We had a rough first week, going 2-4. We will blame Connor Shaw’s injury and Michigan State nearly Notre Daming a strong performance against Boise State with turnovers. Hopefully, we will rebound this week.
Missouri (+2.5) vs. Georgia: The public money is coming in hard on Georgia. Oddsmakers have pushed the line to goad even more of it. This is a tough away trip for the Dawgs. Their depleted defense looked poor against Buffalo and now becomes the conference’s first guinea pig against Missouri’s no-huddle spread.
Connecticut (+4.5) vs. N.C. State: Connecticut should be a surprise team in the Big East this year. They got an upgrade at quarterback with transfer Chandler Whitmer. They have nine starters back for a defense that assassinated UMass last week, shutting them out and holding them to just 59 total yards. Getting points against a middling ACC team at home? We’ll take it and one of these badass t-shirts.
Purdue (+14) at Notre Dame: Notre Dame beat down Navy. Purdue is not Navy. The Boilermakers have a strong defensive front that can slow down Notre Dame’s running game. They have a passing game that can challenge a thin Irish secondary.
UCLA (+6) vs. Nebraska: Taylor Martinez may have improved as a passer, but he’s not going to throw five touchdowns and average 10-plus yards per attempt every week. The Cornhuskers travel across the country with a beaten up running game. The Bruins have a talented squad that was underutilized by the Neuheisel regime.
Akron (+24) at FIU: Akron does one thing decently, throw the ball. FIU got torched through the air by Duke last week. Yes, Duke, the team that had not beaten an FBS team in its opener since 2002. Duke senior Conner Vernon looked like a Heisman candidate 10 catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
Northwestern (+3.5) vs. Vanderbilt: South Carolina played terribly, could not pass with an injured quarterback and still ran the ball quite effectively against Vandy. Northwestern presents a more multi-faceted ground attack and does not make mistakes. Like where Franklin has Vanderbilt heading. Not sure they are ready to pick off BCS non-conference teams on the road.
[Photo via Presswire]