Week 3 College Football Picks Against the Spread

First, thanks to Joker for the shout-out, even if you did take a shot at my picks the first 2 weeks (well-deserved, except for the Cubs reference, that's just low, go Cards!). Also enjoy it as it opens the door for shots the other direction when Mr. Joker has a less than stellar performance. Definitely nothing to brag about in weeks 1 or 2, but here we go with the Chicago Kid's week college football picks against the spread.

Cincinnati -1 @ Oregon State. Cincinnati surprised a lot of people (including me) with their impressive start this year. They were a very solid team last year, but lost a lot of players and so people were expecting them to struggle a little. Brian Kelly seems to have successfully replaced the lost players and has the Bearcats in position to have a solid year and likely win this week on the road. I also think Cincy has a little chip on its shoulder for the lack of respect given to the Big East teams and this will give them a shot to knock off an Oregon State team that has gotten a little hype - which I don't think is deserved. I see this as the first real game for Oregon State and expect them to struggle with a physical team like Cincy. Cincy already proved it can go on the road and win in their first contest against Rutgers.

Cal -13.5 @ Minnesota. Cal is loaded and fired up for a run at a BCS bowl, Minnesota is not. They struggled to sneak out of the Carrier Dome with an improbabe OT win in Mr. Paulus' first game as QB in 5 years. Yeah, Cal struggled on the road last year, so what, that is last year. This team is much more athletic than Minnesota and should dominate this game in every respect. Minnesota may (or may not) hang around for a while, but in the end Cal will have a lopsided victory, even on the road.

Kansas -22 @ home versus Duke. Another game in which 1 team is good and 1 team is bad, and in this case really BAD. Duke will struggle in every game this year, but this will be especially tough for them against a KU team that is explosive with Reesing at QB, but also relatively balanced with a solid running game. KU has even shown a little success recently against quality opponents, but typically feasts on lesser opponents like Duke (side note: you'd think they'd have some sympathy since they aren't far removed from being the lessor team, but no). This one should start ugly and get worse; and although 22 is a big number, I expect KU to be near 50 points and can't see Duke scoring 20.

Boise State -7 @ Fresno State. As they have been the past several years, BSU is for real again this year. Moore is a very capable QB and even though Ian Johnson is gone (after what feels like 7 years, including a marriage proposal) they have an improved running game. Their D is also stout. Fresno St. tried to upset a mediocre Wisconsin team on the road last week, but ultimately fell short due to being undisciplined. Even though they are now playing at home, that lack of discipline (and talent compared to BSU) will really haunt them in this game as I expect BSU to capitalize on mistakes. BSU just wins, blue field or green, and the same will be true here. At first I was a little leery to lay 7 on the road, but the more I thought about it the more confident I felt that BSU would win by double digits as they have become accustomed to doing.

Washington +18.5 @ home versus USC. Yes, USC is very good and Washington is not very good. USC is playing its 2nd straight road game and the last one was a very emotional win at Ohio St. Will USC really be excited to travel to Washington to play the Huskies? Unsure? However, I know Washington will be excited to have USC coming to town, this is almost certainly the biggest game on their schedule. Coach Sarkisian just left USC so you know he is fired up and will get his players to follow, not to mention that he will have a pretty good handle on the USC personal, including their strengths and weaknesses. Clearly just knowing what USC does not mean you can capitalize because they are very good, but it gives you a chance. Also, with Barkley being young and maybe less than 100%, I expect USC to be a little conservative on offense. In addition, Carroll may not be too quick to run it up on his former OC in his first year (back up plan for me). So, a lot of factors here weigh in favor of Washington covering the number.

There are a few other games that interest me and so I may have a few more picks before the games begin on Saturday (or tonight), but for now here they are. Also, want to note that I also really like Jokers pick of Nevada -3 @ Colorado St. I can not claim that pick as my own (although I do with BSU as I would have picked that irrespective of Joker), but I will likely have an "interest" in Nevada on Saturday.