The College Football season is underway, but it has been a week where I've had little time to really get an in-depth thread together.
Below I have written out a few thoughts on four games and added a number of other selections to my opening Picks of the season.
Ohio Bobcats @ Penn State Nittany Lions Pick: The last two seasons have been relatively disappointing for the Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0) having produced a combined 11-11 record, but they did recover from a losing record to return to Bowl action in 2021. There will be some pressure on Head Coach James Franklin to lead the team closer to the double digit mark this season even though the Nittany Lions operate in the very tough and competitive Big Ten East, but the win over the Purdue Boilermakers on the road last week will be a big help.
This Week 2 game is in an awkward spot between Purdue and the Auburn Tigers and Penn State will be trying to avoid overlooking the Ohio Bobcats (1-0) who were narrow winners the underdog in Week 1.
Last season was a tough year for the Bobcats with injury and having a new Head Coach leading the way, but the only way is up after the 3-9 record in 2021. They have brought back fourteen starters, with the majority on the Defensive side of the ball, and that continuation should be a big help after what was a disappointing season.
This is a school that has simply not been used to losing seasons under previous Head Coach Frank Solich and the returning starters will be a big help to second year Head Coach Tim Albin. They showed that in the upset last week and having a steady force at Quarter Back in Kurtis Rourke should be a big help for the Bobcats after his four Touchdowns thrown last week.
Of course, performing at that level against FAU is a credit to Rourke, but the Quarter Back will be the first to admit that this is a totally different level of challenge. The Penn State Defensive unit has lost a number of key starters from last season, but some of the injuries that occurred in 2021 may have given the replacements enough experience to expect them to step up and help produce a big time Defense as they had last season.
You can never tell, but games like this is where I would expect the Nittany Lions to show some dominance on that side of the ball and it should help Sean Clifford and the Offensive unit. In Week 1, the Nittany Lions needed Clifford at his best at Quarter Back to produce the late drive to edge to the win over the Boilermakers, but that is a tough road opener and ultimately a very solid win for Penn State.
They will want to show off some of their talent in the home opener before another big road game and I do think the 35 points produced in Week 1 means they can put up some big numbers against the Ohio Bobcats too. The MAC team are experienced, but slowing down Sean Clifford and the Nittany Lions will be a challenging test after allowing the Owls to score 38 points in their own opener.
The Nittany Lions have been a strong home favourite to back in recent years and the Bobcats ended with a 0-4 record against the spread in their games against non-Conference opponents last season. The Bobcats were well beaten in road games at Louisiana and Northwestern and I do think the Penn State home crowd will be expecting their team to show off some of their Offensive power in pulling away in this one too.
Kurtis Rourke could help lead some strong drives, and the Bobcats will be competitive, but I think Penn State will grind them down and they can cover what is a very wide spread.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles @ Miami Hurricanes Pick: 2017 has proven to be a high point for the Miami Hurricanes (1-0) in recent seasons and they have not won more than eight games in a single season since the ten they recorded that year. Manny Diaz saw his three year tenure as Head Coach ended after a disappointing 7-5 record and he has been replaced by Mario Cristobal who is trying to instil a new era here in Miami.
Gone are some of the traditions of years gone by, like the 'Turnover Chain', and the former Oregon Ducks Head Coach is very much of the mindset of 'my way or the highway'.
The Hurricanes have seven returning starters on both sides of the ball, but the feeling is that the team are buying into their Head Coach and a crushing win over a FCS team in Week 1 will have at least given the players a chance to shake off some of the cobwebs. This is another game in which the Hurricanes will be expected to dominate as they host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (0-1) who did not start of the season as they expected to.
A narrow loss in Week 1 means the Southern Miss Golden Eagles are already on the back foot having finished with a 3-9 record last season. Head Coach Will Hall has been bullish about their room for improvement with nine returning starters on the Offensive unit being backed up by seven more on the Defensive unit, but the loss behind more Quarter Back issues makes it very hard to see how the Golden Eagles can be competitive.
Frank Gore Jr will be the player arriving with the most focus and that is because he is not only following in the footsteps of a NFL legend in Frank Gore Sr, but playing at his father's alma mater.
He will continue to try and run the ball hard and play some limited Quarter Back, but it is going to be a huge test for the Running Back considering how big and strong the Miami Defensive Line looks like it can be. I think Frank Gore Jr will be someone that people will want to see have success, but that may come in other Golden Eagles games and the Hurricanes will be strong enough Defensively to largely shut down what they face.
The Hurricanes should be able to do what they want Offensively behind Tyler Van Dyke at Quarter Back with many believing he is destined for big things in the NFL. He did not need to do a lot in the Week 1 blowout, but I think the Hurricanes will ask Van Dyke to do a little more in this one, even if they have a strong Running Back unit that can break down the doors.
That unit is boosted by a returning Jaylan Knighton and the Miami Offensive Line is going to be highly encouraged by what they saw from the Golden Eagles Defensive Line against the Liberty Flames in Week 1. While Rooster is unlikely to be given a huge amount of work, Henry Parrish Jr did plenty in the win last week and the Hurricanes should be able to work their way to a very strong win.
My only real concern is that the Hurricanes have a huge game on deck in Week 3 when they are visiting the Texas A&M Aggies on the road. That is a massive test for Miami and we will learn much about them, but they are expected to be in a strong position in Week 2 before they call off the dogs.
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles have been really poor in non-Conference games in the last couple of seasons having compiled a 2-7 record against the spread, while they are 5-8 against the spread as the road underdog in their last thirteen in that spot. They were crushed at the Alabama Crimson Tide in mid-season in 2021 and I do think the Miami Hurricanes will want to keep the strong momentum behind them by overwhelming another opponent they are expected to beat.
North Carolina Tar Heels @ Georgia State Panthers Pick: Having a team run all over you and being almost knocked off on the road seems to have some worried about the level of the North Carolina Tar Heels (2-0), but you have to remember they survived. They were also playing what may be the best team in the Sun Belt Conference and the Tar Heels had been set as the underdog in Week 1.
This time they are the road favourites as they prepare to visit the Georgia State Panthers (0-1) who were beaten at the South Carolina Gamecocks.
There are plenty who will think the underdog home team can earn the upset, but the Panthers are also being well supported with more than a Touchdown worth of points in their favour. A team that has eight returning Offensive starters and seven returning Defensive starters will be pretty well set with what is expected of them and Georgia State can only be encouraged by seeing the numbers that the Appalachian State Mountaineers were able to put up on the ground last week.
However, I have already mentioned that the Mountaineers may be the cream of the Sun Belt Conference and the Panthers could have some difficulties in challenging them in the East Division. I do think Georgia State's Offensive plan will see them give the Tar Heels trouble, but I also think the North Carolina Defensive Line has much more potential than they showed in that tough road win and they may be able to make one or two more plays against a weaker opponent.
A real problem for the Panthers is that they will struggle to remain competitive if they end up chasing this game and that was the issue in the loss to the Gamecocks in Week 1. The Panthers only produced 111 yards through the air and I don't think they will have a lot more joy against the Tar Heels Secondary, even if it is not as strong as some of the others in the ACC.
Establishing the run will not be an easy task for the North Carolina Tar Heels, but they should have enough success on the ground to keep the Panthers unbalanced. Head Coach Mack Brown has to be pleased what he has seen from Drake Maye early in his College career with almost 650 passing yards produced in his first two games where nine Touchdown passes have been thrown without a single Interception.
There has been much encouragement about the new Quarter Back and I do think Drake Maye will have successes against this Panthers Secondary, which is weaker than the Defensive Line.
North Carolina can put it all on the line as they go into an early Bye Week before the big game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and I do think they can win this one by double digits.
The last couple of seasons have seen the Tar Heels overrated when playing on the road and it has led to a poor record as a road favourite, but the Georgia State Panthers have not exactly thrived as the home underdog.
It feels like the Panthers may be a bit too much one-dimensional and I think the Tar Heels can make the big plays to pull clear and move to 3-0 as they bid to erase the disappointing 6-7 record produced last season.
Marshall Thundering Herd @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish Pick: You have to believe that the Independence of Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-1) will soon come to an end as the top Conferences continue to shift.
In future years it may be tougher for a team like the Fighting Irish to schedule their games as they do now, but that is for another day and the 2022 edition of the team are going to have to put some wins together if they are going to be a title contender. The loss at the Ohio State Buckeyes in Week 1 will have hurt, but Notre Dame showed enough to believe they can overcome that loss and challenge for a PlayOff spot with a strong run.
This is not one of those games that the Committee are going to take massively seriously as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the Marshall Thundering Herd (1-0) off a crushing Week 1 win over a team from the FCS. You cannot read anything in that win and this is a much tougher challenge for the Thundering Herd as they face a Fighting Irish team that have won their last ten home openers.
New Head Coach Marcus Freeman was happy with what he saw in Week 1, but he also accepted that the Fighting Irish have to show more if they are going to put some wins together. He has been given fifteen returning starters with seven on the Offensive side of the ball, while Freeman felt pretty comfortable with Tyler Buchner's performance even if he had a tough second half against the very strong Ohio State Buckeyes team.
Tyler Buchner is expected to have a lot more success against a Sun Belt Defense, especially as Marshall are only returning six players on this side of the ball. The blowout win over a team from the FCS doesn't tell us anything and I do think the Quarter Back is going to have success throwing in this Secondary as he looks to rebuild any confidence lost in the defeat last week.
It very much helps that Notre Dame are expected to run the ball pretty efficiently and I do think they will be able to move the ball much more efficiently than against one of the top contenders to win the National Championship.
A bigger issue for the Thundering Herd will be trying to move the ball themselves considering how strong the Fighting Irish Defensive unit looked last week. They only allowed 21 points and they should be improved from last season which was the first under Marcus Freeman as the Defensive Co-Ordinator.
Notre Dame allowed 19.7 points per game in 2021 and I do think they will make life difficult for Marshall and their five returning starters. One of those is actually absent for personal reasons and unfortunately for the Thundering Herd that is Rasheen Ali who is their best player on this side of the ball.
After a strong Week 1 Offensive showing, Marshall are expected to be brought back down to earth in this one and I do think Notre Dame can cover this big number.
The Fighting Irish are 6-4 against the spread in their last ten home openers, while they were 5-1 against the spread as the home favourite in 2021 and have a strong recent history of dealing with non-Power 5 Conference opponents.
I have to respect how well the Thundering Herd have played as a road underdog, but they may be running into the Fighting Irish at a bad time coming in off a loss. Notre Dame are 4-1 against the spread in their last five following a straight up loss and I think they can produce a big, strong win in this one before hosting the California Golden Bears in Week 3.
MY PICKS: Penn State Nittany Lions - 28 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)
Miami Hurricanes - 26.5 Points @ 1.91 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
North Carolina Tar Heels - 7 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish - 20.5 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)
Wisconsin Badgers - 17 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Texas Tech Red Raiders - 4 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)
Iowa State Cyclones + 3.5 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Boston College Eagles + 3 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)
Mississippi State Bulldogs - 10.5 Points @ 1.85 Coral (1 Unit)
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