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August
30, 2003
PICKS OF THE WEEK
Georgia -2.5 over Clemson
Wisconsin -3 over West Virginia
Virginia Tech -20 over UCF
Georgia (-2.5) over Clemson
This one
may catch the average college football follower off guard.
Just how can a Top 10 team like Georgia be favored by so little
over a Clemson team still trying to find an identity from
2002's 7-6 record (culminating in a 15-55 Tangerine Bowl bashing
by Texas Tech)? Maybe the odds makers know something the pollsters
don't. The reasoning has to be in that Georgia is still suffering
from off-the-field suspensions and the loss of starting DE
Will Thompson due to a season ending injury. Too, the Dawgs
must replace the entire offensive line. The problem is Clemson
doesn't appear to be a major defensive threat (once again)
with only four starters back. Teams were successful at pushing
around the undersized Clemson front to the tune of 158 ground
yards per game (60th in I-A) in 2002. Clemson LB John Leake
appears to be the only real stud out of this front seven,
and since the arrival of Tommy Bowden, Clemson has not shown
the ability to stop many teams. Heisman QB David Greene will
keep any opponent on their heels. Granted last season's opener
between these two proved quite a tussle 'Between The Hedges',
and this one is in Death Valley. The odd man out in this formula
is Clemson QB Charlie Whitehurst, now that Willie Simmons
has transferred. Only a sophomore, Whitehurst shows promise
and he has a stable of WRs to choose from. It boils down to
Georgia either being overrated or just getting overlooked
due to the low number of starters back. But don't sell the
Dawg's talent short, regardless of experience. They have prime
time talent. That's why they sit so high in early polls without
a proven OL. If this spread is truly less than a field goal,
someone royally goofed in the preseason polls. Our Lou Groza
predicted winner, kicker Billy Bennett, is good for the three
points.
Wisconsin
(-3) over West Virginia
If NationalChamps.net
had such a thing as "Lock of The Week", this one
would qualify. Growing up not far from Morgantown, it has
been easy for me to follow the Mountaineers on the tube and
in person. With it comes a ton of friends/fans that regularly
join with me dating back to the early 1980's. With that said,
WVU lost the kitchen sink after 2002. Don't look at last season's
upstart because Coach Rich Rodriguez has his hands full. WVU
has QB Rasheed Marshall, TB Quincy Wilson, and WR Miquelle
Henderson...but the buck stops there. The Mountaineer OL is
one huge question mark. If you believe that is the real concern,
think again - the front seven on the other side of the ball
brings back one, and a good one, in LB Grant Wiley. An easy
prediction at this point would be noting that TB Anthony Davis
starts his Heisman campaign by rattling off a 150-yard plus
performance. Badger QB Jim Sorgi will keep a fairly decent
WVU secondary on their heels just enough to keep them from
crowding the box. When you look at the key 2003 losses for
WVU, this early statistic tells the whole story. We've heard
some folks that have been in the business a long time claim
Wisconsin has a great shot at winning the Big Ten outright
with a whopping 16 starters back. I recall listening to this
game on the radio last year in early September at Camp Randall.
After a 34-3 half time score I turned it off. Similar truth
this year -look for Wisconsin to do much the same again, if
not worse.
Virginia
Tech -20 over UCF
No doubt
the Hokies win this one - outright. This game could, however,
come down to the wire in terms of covering those 20 points
as VT subs start to rotate in once ahead. The good news here
is that fans will finally get to see the debut of Marcus Vick.
Therefore, the possibility of subs may not be such good news
for a tired UCF defense. The bottom line will be the 'Blacksburg
Effect', the locale where these two will open up their 2003
campaign. UCF QB Ryan Schneider is 'All That' - he is the
active national leader in current touchdown passes (69). VT
will counter with possibly the best lock down corner in all
of college football - DeAngelo Hall and his sub-4.3 forty
speed. After looking at last year's 8-0 eye-popping Hokie
opening run, one has to wonder if subsequent defensive injuries
had anything to do with VT's inability to stop the run as
the season ended. It should be noted they are healthy right
now. UCF will likely not offer much of a running threat at
this time. The Golden Knight offensive front has its share
of departures, and most of the replacements are exceptionally
green. When VT has the ball, UCF counters with the third best
defense in the 2002 MAC. It doesn't help matters that two
of UCF's defensive directors are no longer with the team -
sack leader DE Rashad Jeanty, who left for football in Canada,
and FSU-transfer LB Chad Moscoe. On paper, this one spells
a 42-7-type of drubbing, and VT can then start to make its
claim (once again) for national prominence. Bank on VT scoring
at least one special teams touchdown. This dimension will
least of all set up descent field position all day long, and
that usually spells trouble in Lane Stadium.
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