College Football Week 3 Picks: Wisconsin Will Wake Up
By Kyle Koster
Two weeks in and we’re sitting at .500. That’s not great. But it’s nothing some hard practices with big hitting can’t fix. Coach has been working us to the bone and hopefully the results will show in Week 3. Otherwise, you know, it’s gassers until someone passes out.
BYU at WISCONSIN (-22): The Badgers have been sluggish in their first two games, both at Camp Randall. Eventually they’ll have to start looking like a team competing for a national championship. That starts Saturday. So too will Jonathan Taylor’s Heisman Trophy campaign, as Bryce Love appears to be out of the conversation already. The running back has averaged 7.8 yard/carry thus far and will have ample opportunity to ground and pound as BYU will be three-and-outing all afternoon long. The Cougars are often tougher on the line than opponents due to an older roster, but that’s simply not the case against Wisconsin. Wisky 40, BYU 10.
Rutgers at KANSAS (-3): Don’t look now but the Jayhawks are hot. Fresh off winning a road game for the first time in nine years, football fever is spreading in Lawrence. And folks, when these two juggernauts get together, you can count on seeing playmakers and brilliance all over the field. Kansas forced six turnovers against Central Michigan. Rutgers’ young quarterback, Artur Sitkowski, has thrown four picks already. You smell that recipe? It smells like a winning streak. Kansas 29, Rutgers 21.
LSU at Auburn (OVER 44): Joe Burrow is the competent quarterback LSU has been pining for all these years. Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham is battle-tested and reliable. While a lot of people are predicting a grind-it-out affair, Vegas included, we believe there will be more aerial attacking than expected. An over-under of 44 is delicious bait for suckers but a few defensive or special teams plays could lead to scoring opportunities. Auburn 24, LSU 21.
DUKE (+6) at Baylor: David Cutcliffe has his team humming. The quarterback whisperer seems to have found a way to reach Daniel Jones and the Blue Devils are buoyed by a stout defense holding opponents to 10.5 points per game early on. Baylor has yet to play a real opponent and has been extremely shaky in recent years — good one week and not so good the next. Go with the somewhat proven entity here. Duke 30, Baylor 27.
Fresno State at UCLA (+3): Honestly, everything in our fiber is telling us to fade Chip Kelly until he proves he can win with this team. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson looked halfway decent against Oklahoma and Fresno State allowed Minnesota off the hook last week. But, hey, no more reasons. This is mostly a George Costanza Opposite situation. UCLA 20, Fresno State 19.
2018 Record: 5-5