College Football Picks - 2017 Week Three

Texas got a big game, but will they win?

The college football action stepped up a lot in Week 2, with several key matchups and all too early hot takes on coaches, teams, and conferences.  Unfortunately, one of the winners in Week 1 was Hurricane Irma, which derailed a number of games for Florida teams home or away.  Florida State vs Miami was a casualty this week as the game will be moved to October.  Otherwise, we can't wait for a college football weekend that ISN'T interrupted by a Hurricane!


So now our weekly take on last week and this week, in 5 bullets

1) Oklahoma has established itself as a college football playoff favorite.  As the Big 12 has 3 other Top 20 teams (one they would have to play twice), they will have the resume if undefeated, maybe even with a loss.
2) Don't count Ohio State out.  Remember when they lost to Virginia Tech at home and still won a National Championship?  Run the table, win the Big 10, and they're 90% in.
3) Is Georgia the second best SEC team? A true road win at Notre Dame (note that Alabama does not play non-conference games in true road fashion), they seem poised for a SEC East title
4) Clemson faces another tough contest, never count out a champion!
5) USC looks for revenge this week against the Texas Longhorns.  Looks like a mismatch on paper, but how to our expert pick it?

Bulldog Babe hitting 70% against the spread, whaaaattt???

And now for our picks.  This blog will typically pick the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs by default.  Last week we skipped Texas due to soft matchup, this week we'll pass on Georgia.  Usually five games but this week we had Florida State vs. Miami queued up before the reschedule.  But for the four games, we give you final scores, so you can do your own ATS and S/U comparison!

Our two analysts are J.R. Ewing, Texas fan and general loud mouth.  And we feature big time Georgia Bulldog fan Bulldog Babe (BDB) (@bulldogbabexo) as a guest expert.

Last week
JR: 3-2 S/U, 3-2 ATS
BDB: 3-2 S/U, 3-2 ATS

First Week:
JR: 6-4 S/U, 7-3 ATS
BDB: 6-4 S/U, 7-3 ATS

JR succeeded with Oklahoma winning, BDB with Georgia.

Spreads are from a great pick site, Capped Sports

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Game 1: Tennessee (-4.5) at Florida (3:30 EDT)

JR Ewing:
I had a lot of questions about Florida and none were answered in their season opening loss to Michigan. They did have a lot of suspensions, but still.  With a much needed week washed out by Hurricane Irma, I'm not sure they will be much better.  Tennessee beat a scrappy Georgia Tech team in overtime and looks like it's improving.  I like the Vols on the road, low scoring.

Tennessee 20, Florida 10


Bulldog Babe: 

Tennessee and Florida, the nasty rivalry (in my personal opinion). Tennessee beat Florida last season after over ten years of trying and as much as it kills me to say it, it was impressive. I don't think it'll happen this year. Yes Florida has started off the season on a bad note, but up until last seasons they have always been strong against Tennessee and I think they'll come out on top.

Florida 27, Tennessee 17

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Game 2: Louisiana State (-7.5) at Mississippi State (7:00 EDT)

JR Ewing:
LSU looks like a team that could make a deep run through the SEC West.  Which of course goes through Alabama, but the bottom half (of a good division) is ripe for the picking for the Tigers.  Defense and athleticism give this one to the Bayou Bengals.

LSU 28, Mississippi State 10

Bulldog Babe:

LSU and Mississippi State is your typical SEC West battle. Two great teams with a great coaching staff. Both teams are undefeated and have had two great opening games, but there has to be a winne.

LSU 27, Mississippi State 20

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Game 3: Clemson (-3) at Louisville  (8:00 EDT)

JR Ewing:
This is a game I circled on my calendar at the start of the year.  Defending national champions (with a new QB, and that's big) vs. the defending National Champions (and a team that looked like playoff contenders until mid-season).  Last years game came down to the very end, with Clemson having last minute magic at home.  This year, it's Louisville that defends home turf with the veteran quarterback.

Louisville 24, Clemson 14


Bulldog Babe:

Clemson and Louisville is another great matchup! The defending champions vs the defending Heisman winner. That's bound for some excitement! Lamar Jackson has proven himself and he was more than deserving to be the Heisman winner last year and I believe he will make another statement against the defending national champions.

Louisville 27, Clemson 21

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Game 4: Texas (+15.5) at Southern California (8:30 EDT)

JR Ewing:
My Longhorns took care of USC last time they faced off (resulting in a National Championship), but this time, USC has the much better team.  Texas did look good against a bad San Jose State team after a perplexing Week 1 loss.  USC was also mediocre in Week 1 having to rally to beat Western Michigan. But USC gets its revenge, and it won't be close.

USC 41 Texas 14

Bulldog Babe:

Texas and Southern California is gonna be interesting. USC is undefeated, Texas is 1-1. I think that USC has the stronger team, mainly because of Sam Darnold. So far this season, he has thrown for four touchdowns and has 605 passing yards. While he has four interceptions as well, you can't help but take notice at those touchdown and passing yard stats.

USC 30, Texas 20

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BDB and JR want to offer their condolences for the loss of Troy Gentry of the amazing group Montgomery Gentry.  A true loss to country music and the arts. 

Enjoy your football Saturday, America!

- JR and BDB