The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.
I suppose it shows how far the Arkansas State program has come that they are now the one’s scheduling in state cream puffs to start the season, before they used to be the cream puff. Last week they beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 62-11, with their third head coach in as many seasons.
Nebraska was probably the most disappointing that still got a win last week – certainly among ranked teams. Some have them pegged as challengers in the Big 10 but they barely beat Wyoming last week and the Cowboys did a number on their defense racking up more than 600 yards, pitiful.
That’s not a typo, its Bulldogs vs Tigers again from Clemson, this time just with slightly less hype than last week’s monster tilt. The Tigers were very impressive against Georgia last Saturday night and I am sure there are some out there who think they are primed for a fall, especially after what we saw from the FCS squads last week.
UAB is not a very good team but there might be just enough wins for them to push for a spot in a bowl game at season’s end. This will not be one of them as they are on the road again after losing at Troy by three last week. It was an emotional loss as they let their opponents tie the game late and win in overtime so their emotions could be low.
Florida Atlantic joined Conference USA this season but little is expected of them in terms of really competing, heck they were barely worth mentioning in the Sun Belt, a much easier league.
These two teams met last year in the playoffs, a game famously won by the Ravens on their way to winning the Super Bowl last season. Less than a year later there will be a lot of new faces on the field when they kick off the NFL season on Thursday Night.
Welcome to the ACC Pittsburgh. One of the conference’s newcomers wastes no time getting started with a conference game and they couldn’t have asked for a for challenging opponent even though there are some questions about just how good this Florida State really is.
There are some very good games in the first week of the season as we have been offered some fun neutral site contests and even some rare conference games…but this one is the prize of the week pitting two Top 10 teams in an on-campus BCS Championship elimination match before we even get to Labour Day (neutral sites are cool but they often lack emotion).
Louisville is getting about as much preseason buzz as the program ever has heading into this season and it is for good reason.
Rising up in the SEC is very difficult. Since head coach Dan Mullen came to campus he has had a high level of success at a school that really isn’t accustomed to it, but they still haven’t broken through.
Boston College is trying to regain its footing on the gridiron and thinks it is easing into this season by scheduling an FCS opponent.
Ole Miss finished strong last season winning both their annual battle with Mississippi State and their bowl game against Pittsburgh, creating a feeling of confidence heading into the 2013 season.
Auburn had a staggering fall last season to a season of zero wins in the SEC and a 3-9 overall record. The performance, or lack thereof, cost coach Gene Chizik his job and it is hard to believe that this program won a national title within the last recruiting cycle.
Last year was a disaster of a season for Arkansas. They followed up an offseason of upheaval with a season that included embarrassing performances against Alabama and Texas A&M – getting outscored 108-10 – as well as a loss to Louisiana-Monroe of the Sun Belt.
Ever since Alabama rose to the top of the SEC West, and the nation, LSU has been forced to take a backseat…and they don’t like it. These two teams have waged some great battles over the last few seasons but the majority of the time Alabama has come out on top so they have grabbed the spoils.
Teams from deep in the heart of Texas often don’t like to leave the state during the first month of the season – and they usually don’t have to with all the programs down there.
