If you considered week one's slate to be "legendary" or some other awe-inspiring adjective, then week two was probably just a giant "meh." Yes, there were a handful of close ones, but some of the week's top matchups ended up being completely one-sided.
Our forecasters put forth their best guesses on the weekend lineup, but a few of the games proved to be problematic for the majority of our aficionados. The bulk of the 11W crew liked Iowa State to cover against the Hawkeyes and Northwestern to take care of business against Duke. Neither of those predictions came to fruition, so that was a big ole "L" for most of the betting crew.
A few of the matchups most definitely did go our way, however. Nearly everyone nailed Ohio State's destruction of Rutgers (-35.5), Mississippi State covering (-8) at Kansas State, and Penn State whooping Pittsburgh in a game that had the Nits favored by 7.5.
Last week's hero of the high stakes would have to be none other than Andy Vance from Vance Refrigeration. If the picks were infinity stones, then Mr. Vance would have spanned the galaxy and collected nine of them. He had Clemson covering versus Texas A&M, and that turned out to be the lone blemish on an otherwise perfect card. Bravo to you, good sir.
- How it works: Every week we will include 10 of the country's top games with a mix of Big Ten and national matchups. Each participating staff member will submit their picks – against the spread – for the selected slate of games. The odds will certainly fluctuate a bit throughout each week, but we'll be using sportsbook.ag for all betting lines.
Our thoughts go out to the folks on the East Coast as things are looking pretty rough this weekend. A few of the coastal contests have already been canceled or rescheduled, but elsewhere there are some great ones in the SEC, Big Ten, and a classic Rose Bowl rematch in Austin.
| CHRIS | RAMZY | HOPE | HARRISH | JONES | WEBB | ELLIS | WERTHEIM | REGIMBAL | ANDERSON | VANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAST WEEK: | 6-4 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 6-4 | 4-6 | 7-3 | 8-2 | 4-6 | 6-4 | 6-4 | 9-1 |
| OVERALL: | 12-8 | 10-10 | 10-10 | 12-8 | 10-10 | 12-8 | 16-4 | 9-11 | 10-10 | 9-11 | 15-5 |
| #5 Oklahoma (-18) @ Iowa State | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | ISU | OKLA | ISU | OKLA | ISU | OKLA |
| #6 Wisconsin (-21) vs. BYU | BYU | BYU | WISC | WISCY | BYU | WISC | WISC | WISC | WISC | WISC | WISC |
| #7 Auburn (-9) vs. #12 LSU | AUB | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU |
| #24 OKlahoma State (-3) vs. #17 Boise State | OKST | BOISE | OKST | BOISE | BOISE | BOISE | BOISE | BOISE | BOISE | OKST | BOISE |
| #1 Alabama (-21) @ Ole Miss | BAMA | MISS | BAMA | MISS | BAMA | BAMA | BAMA | BAMA | MISS | BAMA | BAMA |
| Missouri (-7) @ Purdue | PURD | PURD | MIZZ | MIZZ | MIZZ | MIZZ | MIZZ | PURD | PURD | MIZZ | MIZZ |
| #4 Ohio State (-12.5) @ #15 TCU | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | TCU | OSU | OSU | TCU | OSU | OSU | OSU |
| Texas (-3.5) vs. #22 Southern Cal | USC | USC | TEX | USC | USC | USC | USC | USC | USC | USC | USC |
| #23 Arizona State (-4.5) @ San Diego State | SDST | SDST | AZST | AZT | SDST | AZST | AZST | AZST | AZST | AZST | AZST |
| #10 Washington (-6.5) @ Utah | WASH | UTAH | WASH | UTAH | WASH | WASH | WASH | WASH | WASH | WASH | WASH |
The Buckeyes head to the Lone Star State for a showdown with the country's No. 15 team. Gary Patterson is a dang good coach and the Horned Frogs have had a formidable defense in years past. The Dwayne Train will look to keep chugging along as Ohio State is a 12.5-point favorite in the neutral site/semi-road game. The bulk of the 11W crew likes the Buckeyes, but a few are siding with TCU to cover the spread.
Joe Burrow and the Tigers will square off against Auburn in what may be the weekend's top matchup. A spread of nine points seems a bit high for this one, but the fans at Jordan-Hare are sure to be wound up for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Burrow totaled three touchdowns last weekend but I believe the Auburn defense may be slightly better than that of Southeastern Louisiana.
Ole Miss has been a thorn in Nick Saban's side before, but it's hard to imagine that being the case again this year. The Rebels have some outstanding receivers but the defense is simply not good. Bama is a 21-point favorite on the road.
Some had Purdue pegged as a sleeper in the West Division, but things haven't gone as planned as Jeff Brohm is off to an 0-2 start. Missouri and future first-rounder Drew Lock are now heading to West Lafayette and the Boilers are a seven-point home underdog. The 11W staff seems to be split on that one, but Mizzou is averaging close to 580 yards per game on offense, so that will be a challenge for Brohm and his cronies.
These Texas fans seem disinterested in Tom Herman as the Head Horn implores them to stand and cheer as he heads to halftime locker room. @news9 #Horns #Sooners @news9 pic.twitter.com/JYLJPkgo9X
— Dean Blevins (@DeanBlevins) September 9, 2018
Tom Herman's sophomore season didn't get a whole lot better last week as the Longhorns only topped Tulsa by a touchdown. Texas and USC went at it last year in The Coliseum and it turned out to be a great one with the Trojans coming out on top by a field goal. The Horns are 3.5-point favorites at home this time around.
Who are your picks for week three? Any upset specials in the works?
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