The Picker: Time for kickoff is nearly upon us
BY The Picker
Thursday, August 30, 2012
8/30/12 at 5:30 AM
Out Pick the Picker: Pick college and
NFL games against
the Picker this
season. New games are posted
each Monday at noon.
Here are the stories we're working at kickoff time:
Should Danica Patrick try something else, like poker?
Does Rickie Fowler iron his hats? Do those nutty hats cost him an average of two strokes per round?
Is OSU's first foe, Oh Susanna State, the only school named for a song?
Is ORU's conference, featuring Incarnate Word, Abilene and Steve Austin, a home-school league?
Was a nation pulling for Al Roker to be blown away by Hurricane Isaac?
The nation's meteorologists first predicted Isaac would hit Tampa. It hit New Orleans. How could so many geeks miss the prediction by the entire Gulf of Mexico?
How come OSU's wild receiver bunch in the NFL never got in trouble in Stillwater?
Is "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" the best sports show ever?
Is "Lizard Lick Towing" the best reality show ever?
What does it mean when sports talk radio plays music instead of advertisements?
What did Lee Corso just say?
Will John Daly and Anthony Kim team up to win a municipal course four-ball title?
Does Arkansas have a better chance than OU to get to the national title game?
Is USC's defense lousy enough to spoil ESPN's love affair with the Trojans?
This last one is about the great show "Hard Knocks" on HBO. This brilliant production puts viewers in the positions of flies on walls: You get to see and hear everything. This year's inside look is at the Miami Dolphins. Will the current "Hard Knocks" series cost the Dolphins, who will be fortunate to win a game or two, 15,000 in season ticket sales?
PICKS
Tonight
The Texas A&M-La Tech game has been washed out and will be a no play in the picking contest.
We loved Tech and will again.
South Carolina (-7) at Vanderbilt: The ancient ball coach has a top-10 team at Carolina.
Why?
Because the second 10 is pretty lousy.
SC by 4.
Washington State at BYU (-13 1/2): Leach's first game since escaping the Lubbock insanity, should be over by breakfast.
BYU by 9.
Friday
Tennessee (-3 1/2) vs. North Carolina State (at Atlanta): Tennessee's free fall is in at least its second decade.
Tennessee by 3.
Boise State at Michigan State (-7): You have to hand it to Boise State, it having the guts to play tough first games.
After this, it's tiptoeing through the pansies.
Michigan State by 9.
Saturday
OU (-31) at UTEP: You don't see many top-5 teams opening on the road in the middle of the night this near a foreign country.
Chance to see if quarterback Jones has developed more charisma than a goal post.
Two major new college rules on the books this year, one that virtually bans on-side kicks - you can fair catch a one-bouncer - the other moving the kickoff up 5 yards to the 35, then spotting touchbacks at the 25.
This marks the return of local hero Mike Stoops, who couldn't tackle the job at lowly Arizona.
We could rush for 148 versus UTEP.
OU by 28.
Tulsa (-1 1/2) at Iowa State: Talk about a gale of fresh air. TU coach Blankenship says that his team has already worked on Tulane BEFORE THE IOWA STATE GAME!
While startlingly honest, we're not sure how smart that is.
That TU is favored on the road says this about the mighty Big 12: It isn't so mighty.
Word is, TU has pulled in its offensive wings and will hang its hard hat on defense.
Iowa State by 7.
Michigan vs. Alabama (at Dallas) (-12 1/2): Tired of the SEC bragging?
Do something about it.
Why would either schedule a game this tough?
If you're great, or lousy, it doesn't really matter who you play.
The Mich quarterback has had trouble with aiming.
Bama by 14.
Notre Dame (-17) vs. Navy: Talk about a motherland edge, this one goes in Dublin, Ireland, at 8 in the morning.
The ND coach is a hot head showboat.
ND by 14.
Southern Mississippi at Nebraska (-19 1/2): Is the Nebraska QB swatting away bees or passing?
Nebraska by 17.
Colorado (-6) vs. Colorado State (in Denver): Colorado will be missed (by Big 12 bullies).
Colorado by 7.
Wyoming at Texas (-29): Experts consider Texas to be back "just because."
Texas by 35.
Clemson (-3) vs. Auburn (in Atlanta): Chance to see Clemson's Venables, who was thrown under the Sooner Schooner and blamed for everything except construction on I-35.
Clemson by 7.
Sunday
Kentucky at Louisville (-14): Headlines would be four times bigger for basketball.
Louisville by 10.
SMU at Baylor (-11): Bad news for Baylor, Griffin is gone, its defense is back.
Baylor by 10.
Monday
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech (-7 1/2): Wishbone versus hambone offenses.
Final could be around 6-5.
Without getting too technical, home team by 10.
Original Print Headline: Time for kickoff is nearly upon us
Out Pick the Picker: Pick college and NFL games against the Picker this season. New games are posted each Monday at noon.
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