College Football Picks Week Two: The Record and Recap

I'll get this out of the way: I went 14-9 against the spread this week, which brings my total for the season to 29-17 (that's 63 percent for those of you without a calculator), and I am now up 14.5 units for the season—not too shabby.

I never gave my pick for last night's Florida-Miami game, but I think you all know where my heart was; I would have traded the winning record yesterday for a win in the Swamp.

I was proud of the way the Canes played yesterday and, while in true media fashion they will act like the the Gators beat the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers, in reality this was a Canes team that was primarily true freshmen and sophomores and had gotten four total votes in all of the preseason polls combined.

Let's talk about the games we picked and see how we ended up where we did.

I really liked Wisconsin, and the Badgers didn't disappoint. They started slow, but once the passing game began to click, Marshall was history and it was a cover. Win

I'm not sure what the game plan was for Central Michigan; it looked scared and Georgia looked motivated. I thought it would be closer. Loss

Tulsa proved once again that it can score all day; North Texas showed once again that it could get scored on all day. Win

Oregon is one of the better teams out there and left no doubt about it; Utah State solidified it's place on my "teams that stink" list. Win

Have I mentioned in any of my articles lately that I think Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson can out-coach anyone? Add Boston College to that list and I'm still not sure why the Eagles were favored. Win

South Florida appeared to have the cover sealed, up by 14 late in the fourth quarter; obviously it forgot to tell Central Florida that they wanted the cover as well as the win. Loss

I have once again underestimated Joe Paterno and his Penn State team. From the looks of it, Oregon State did, as well. Loss

Many thought Stanford was on its way back; we knew Arizona State was already back. Win

How does the Alabama offense celebrate a big win last week in Atlanta? Obviously by taking a week off in a home game against Tulane. Loss

Northern Illinois seems to care more about covering than winning; Western Michigan didn't seem to care and neither did I. Win

Florida Atlantic scored on a 73-yard run with 40 seconds left to get the cover; Alabama-Birmingham didn't seem to care but I sure let out a scream. Win

I don't think anyone is too surprised by Texas winning big. Mike Price doesn't look too good while serving his sentence as head coach at UTEP. Win

Every trend in the world pointed to a Middle Tennessee cover at Maryland, an outright win as a 13.5-point underdog works for me. Win

As I have been saying for weeks now, Temple doesn't stink anymore; Connecticut was a little better, but this was an entertaining game and a smooth cover for the Owls. Win

Utah went into the half tied but came out in the second half and was poised to cover; UNLV was the last to score and the extra half-point we gave was our undoing. Loss

We had Vandy all the way on Thursday night; we weren't surprised at all when South Carolina lost yet another SEC game. Win

I lost going against East Carolina two weeks in a row now. Do you think they miss Rich Rodriguez in West Virginia? Loss

Note to self: Never go against Oklahoma in Week Two. Note to Cincinnati: Don't get into the extracurricular stuff with a deeper team; it will cost you a cover every time. Loss

We thought the Air Force-Wyoming spread was inverted and knew this was a road team-dominated series. We were right on both counts. Win

I thought Wake Forest was going to be one of the easier wins this week. While I ended up taking them in the second half and won, Ole Miss was the covering team for the game. Loss

I had a hunch the home cooking would sit well with Michigan State. I don't think Eastern Michigan ever wants to see Jevon Ringer again. Win

Everyone told me to take Nevada, and feel good about it. I think if I would have taken Texas Tech I would have felt better. Loss

I really liked the line move with Buffalo getting more points. They needed all of them as Pittsburgh almost sneaked in a cover—almost. Win

Most people don't pick this many games, but I'm guessing most people don't watch as many games as I do, either. Next week, we have a really nice slate of games as we move closer to conference play. We have some rivalries and battles that will be important in the rankings all season; I can't wait to get picking.

Mitch's commentary on Florida-Miami and a look ahead at The College Football Place