2006 College Football Picks Review & Wrapup For Week 2
2006 College Football Week Two Review and Wrapup From the Writers at Bankroll Sports Picks
This week two in college football was one of the most hyped in history. With so many monster battles between big time programs, many national championship contenders were sure to become pretenders. With big time games like LSU at Auburn, Michigan at Notre Dame, Florida at Tennessee, Nebraska at USC, and Miami at Louisville, it would be impossible to catch all of the action with just one TV. So we will fill you in on what happened just in case you missed anything.
The weekend all started on Thursday night, when the Maryland Terrapins paid a visit Morgantown to take on the explosive offensive attack of the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Mountaineers did not disappoint, as Steve Slayton and Pat White were everything they were hyped up to be and more. West Virginia got out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back. Steve Slayton ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns against the team he once thought he would be playing for, until they rescinded his scholarship during his senior year in high school. Coach Ralph Freidgen recruited Slayton in high school, but had to withdraw his offer because he was already stacked at the running back position. Slayton used this as his motivation for the game; it worked. The fifth ranked Mountaineers clobbered the Terps 45-24, and as the Terps are one of the few true tests on West Virginia’s schedule, a BCS Championship Game appearance is not out of the question, nor is a Heisman Trophy for Steve Slayton.
One of those teams that will be standing in the way of West Virginia is the Louisville Cardinals, who hosted the 17th ranked Miami Hurricanes on Saturday. Many felt Miami had the advantage in this game and chose them as one of their college football picks because Louisville was without their star running back, Michael Bush, who was lost for the season with a broken leg. However, the Cardinals still had Heisman hopeful Brian Brohm, and the Louisville faithful still felt they had the better squad. As if the sellout crowd at Papa John’s Stadium needed anything else to get them fired up for their biggest game in school history, Miami disrespected the Cardinals’ logo at midfield before kickoff, setting off a near brawl between the two squads. This got the stadium in frenzy and the Cardinals now had a dominant twelfth man on their side. While Miami got out to a hot start, Louisville controlled the rest of the game, pummeling the Canes 31-7 in front of a sea of red. Although the Cardinals got a huge win against Miami, they also suffered a huge loss in losing Brian Brohm through the end of October with a hand injury. Brohm and running-back Michael Bush were both pre-season Heisman hopefuls, and now the Cardinals will have to make due without the dynamic duo. Miami is now out of the top 25 for the first time in over 100 weeks, and while “The U” dominated the college football world throughout the beginning of the decade, they have fallen off the map, which has led many in Coral Gables to call for Larry Coker’s job. Bankroll Sports Picks has Louisville -4 in this matchup and clients won this game.
Another big game on Saturday took place in Eugene, as the 18th ranked Oregon Ducks hosted the 15th ranked Oklahoma Sooners. This was one of the best games of the weekend, going right down to the wire and many bettors where on this game as their picks. Adrian Peterson dominated this game like he does most every game, rushing for over 200 yards and eventually wearing down the Oregon defense. While the Ducks controlled nearly the entire first half, they found themselves down two scores late in the fourth quarter. They drove right down the field to cut the lead to 6 with only a couple of minutes remaining. After the Ducks recovered the onsides kick, it was revealed that they had touched the ball before it went ten yards. But after further review, the Pac 10 officials ruled that it was Oregon’s ball indeed; making this one of the several blunders that went in favor of the Ducks in this game. Oregon then went right down the field, capping off the drive when Dennis Dixon hooked up with Brian Paysinger for a 23 yard go-ahead-touchdown. After the Sooners missed a game-winning field goal attempt, the fans stormed the field, and the rest is history. The Pac 10 has since apologized for the mistakes, but a “sorry” is hardly enough to make up for Oklahoma’s National Championship hopes that were crushed due to poor officiating.
One of the most surprising college football games in week 2 of the weekend took place in South Bend, where the second Notre Dame Fighting Irish played host to the eleventh ranked Michigan Wolverines. These are the two most winning programs in college football history, and this clash of two titans is a great game year in and year out. However, this Saturday we saw something we have rarely seen before. We saw Charlie Weiss get out-coached, Brady Quinn making several costly mistakes, and Notre Dame’s great receiving core do next to nothing. The Michigan Wolverines set the tone right off the bat and people who chose them as their college football picks were happy from the start. Prescott Burgess intercepted a Brady Quinn pass and took it 31 yards to the end-zone; Michigan never looked back. Chad Henne hooked up with sophomore sensation Mario Manningham for three touchdowns and the Wolverines defeated the Fighting Irish 47-21, ending a two game skid against their rival. Lloyd Carr also got a gigantic monkey off his back, as many in Ann Arbor were starting to question Carr’s ability to win the big game. Michigan is now 3-0 and playing host to Wisconsin, while the Irish fell to 2-1 and travel to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans.
The biggest game of the weekend occurred in Auburn, where two Southeastern Conference rivals battled it out to determine the front-runner in the SEC. The third ranked Auburn Tigers played host to the sixth ranked LSU Tigers. Both teams brought dominant defenses to the table, and they didn’t disappoint. The Auburn Tigers edged out LSU 7-3, tackling LSU receiver Craig Davis inside the five yard line as time expired. The Auburn defense stuff the LSU offense again and again, as Jamarcus Russell and company were held without a touchdown. While it was Kenny Irons, Brandon Cox, and the rest of the Auburn offense that was getting all of the hype going into the game, it was the Auburn defense that undoubtedly won this game for them. While LSU drove the ball several times on the Auburn defense, they were unable to finish any drives. LSU had five different drives in Auburn territory that did not put any points on the board. Auburn is now the front-runner in the SEC, and the second ranked team nationally behind Ohio State. Bankroll Sports Handicapping won this game as one of their college football picks as customers won with Auburn -3.
While it may not have been as hyped as the LSU vs. Auburn college football game, there was another pretty big game being played in Knoxville, where the thirteenth ranked Tennessee Volunteers played host to the seventh ranked Florida Gators. Tennessee was coming off a very tough 5-6 campaign from a year ago, and was looking to show the country that they were back and more people should pick them for the National Championship of college football. However, Urban Meyer and the Gators had other ideas. Chris Leak threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns, the final coming late in the fourth quarter with Dallas Baker being the recipient. Baker’s 21 yard touchdown reception gave the Gators a 21-20 lead that would hold up as the final. While both defenses played great, Florida’s offense was able to come up with enough big plays to win the ball game. Urban Meyer is now 2-0 against Tennessee and looks to become one of the coaches who is said to “own Phillip Fulmer”.
A game that had a lot of smack talk surrounding it was the Nebraska Cornhuskers visiting the USC Trojans. During the week, a Nebraska defensive back guaranteed a victory over the Trojans. And while Nebraska is once again on the rise in the college football world, they were nowhere close to beating USC. Dwayne Jarrett physically dominated the Cornhusker secondary time and time again, catching eleven passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. John David Booty was equally impressive in the rout of the Huskers, completing 25 of 36 passes for 257 yards and three scores. USC continued to show the college football dominance it has shown over the past several years, but in different fashion. While the Trojan offense may not be as good as it was over the past several years, its defense is greatly improved. The USC defense is as dominant as any in the country, and with the overall team-speed as well as playmakers in the secondary and a dominant front seven, this team looks to head to the National Championship once again.
After going into Austin and taking it to the second ranked Texas Longhorns, the Ohio State Buckeyes were at home in the Horseshoe facing the Cincinnati Bearcats. While the Buckeyes got off to a slow start and trailed 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, they eventually got their offense in gear and blew out the Bearcats 37-7, remaining the #1 team in the country. The Buckeyes got all star performances from all of their big play weapons on the offensive side of the ball. Antonio Pittman ran for 155 yards and one touchdown, Troy Smith went 21-30 for 203 yards and two touchdowns, and Ted Ginn had another multi touchdown game. The Buckeyes offense is the most explosive in the country, and it seems as though nobody will be able to stop them. However, what most people are starting to notice is the dominant Buckeyes’ defense, which was the question mark coming into the season. The Buckeyes’ are giving up less than nine points a game, and are controlling the line of scrimmage. Quinn Pitcock had three sacks against the Bearcats, being the catalyst of the relentless attack that they pursue. If this defense can continue to play the way they have been, accompanied by their dominant offense, there is no team in the country that can beat them.
Down in Tallahassee, the fans were getting ready for the eighth annual Bowden Bowl. Bobby Bowden and the ninth ranked Florida State Seminoles were playing host to his son, Tommy, and the Clemson Tigers in a very hyped college football game. While Florida State came into this game as the favorite, many had doubted the ‘Noles after their near loss to Troy the week before on their home turf. Clemson is a very talented football team, who lost the week before at Boston College due to a blocked extra point in the second overtime period. Most bettors lost their college football picks in that game. Clemson came out firing in this game, getting off to an early 6-0 lead. But just like last week, the Tigers had their extra point blocked and subsequently returned for two points by the Seminoles. At 6-2, the Tigers were once again attempting a field goal, and once again it was blocked and returned, this time for a touchdown. The game went back and forth the rest of the way until James Davis plunged into the end zone with eight seconds left to give the Clemson Tigers a 27-20 victory against Florida State, their second straight victory over the Seminoles. While Clemson got back in the ACC race, the Seminoles likely fell out of any chance to win a National Championship.
In Iowa City, there was an in-state rival going on between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Although the Cyclones were not ranked in the top 25, they came into this game at 2-0 with one of the more talented teams in the Big 12. However, Drew Tate and the Hawkeyes put an abrupt stop to their undefeated run, as Tate threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns in a come from behind victory over their in-state rival. The Cyclones led by as much as eleven in the first half, but could not hold their lead as Tate and the Hawkeye offense took control. After last year’s 23-3 routing to the Cyclones, this was a very important victory for a team that many think have the team to win the Big 10.
The biggest week two game in Texas on Saturday did not involve the Longhorns, but the Red Raiders from Texas Tech and the Horned Frogs of TCU. This was a clash between two in-state top 25 programs looking for respect in their home state. The Horned Frogs were embarrassed to the Red Raiders just two seasons ago and were waiting desperately for redemption, which is exactly what they got. The Horned Frogs put a halt to the dominant Red Raider passing attack, which puts up over 50 points on a regular basis; not on this night. TCU beat Texas Tech 12-3, a game dominated by their defense. TCU now has the longest win streak in the country at thirteen straight, including four straight against Big 12 teams. After this dominating victory over Texas Tech, the Horned Frogs are now one of legitimate BCS Bowl picks in 2006.
Perhaps the game with the most twists and turns this weekend was played in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, between the 23rd ranked Boston College Eagles and the BYU Cougars. Matt Ryan and the Eagles came into this game after a double overtime win over Clemson, due to a blocked extra point. However, this time it was Boston College’s turn to mess up the special teams. Boston College missed two extra points, allowing BYU to send the game to overtime. In the first overtime period, both teams had chances to put points on the board, with BYU getting the ball first. However, both teams missed field goal attempts, sending the game into a second overtime. On Boston College’s first play in double-overtime, quarterback Matt Ryan found Tony Gonzalez on a 25 yard touchdown pass. When it was BYU’s turn to tie it, quarterback John Beck was intercepted by line-backer Jamie Silva to end the game. While it was first ruled incomplete, replay later showed that Silva’s hands were indeed under the ball, and Boston College had won. The Eagles are now 3-0 and a real threat to challenge for the ACC Championship.
After Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns were defeated by three scores on their home turf, many wondered how the freshman quarterback would respond to adversity. It was the first loss in almost two seasons for the Longhorns, who forgot what it was like to play without all-world quarterback Vince Young. However, McCoy and the Longhorns responded greatly, trouncing the Rice Owls 52-7 in Houston. Jamaal Charles rushed for 109 yards and one touchdown and Colt McCoy threw for two more. While Texas might not be looking at a National Championship this year, they are still not out of it and can defiantly find themselves in a BCS Bowl come January.
One of the most ironic games of the week 2 college football picks occurred on Friday night in Toledo. It was a clash between the Big 12’s Kansas Jayhawks and the MAC’s Toledo Rockets. Coming into the game, Kansas was dismal on the road. They hoped to change their luck under the lights on Friday. Trailing 24-23 in the fourth quarter, freshman cornerback Barry Church intercepted a Kerry Meier pass in the flat and returned it 84 yards for a touchdown, giving the Rockets a 31-23 lead. On the very next drive, with 3:55 left in the game, Meier found Dexton Fields on an 18 yard touchdown pass, putting the Jayhawks within two. Kansas completed the two point conversion, tying the game which would eventually go into overtime. In the first overtime, Toledo got the ball first, going three and out and attempting to go for it on 4th down unsuccessfully. However, on Kansas’s very first play with the ball, while trying to get into position to kick the game winning field goal, they fumbled the football, sending the game into a second overtime. Toledo intercepted Meier in the end zone, getting the ball back with a chance to win. This time Toledo would take no chances, running in from 25 yards out to win the game, 37-31. It was a great game, for Toledo. For the Jayhawks, well, they will just have to wait until their next road game to see if they can win one.
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