FRIDAY FOOTBALL PICKS

Last week I was (gulp!) 9-8 in my picks for a second week in a row.  Yikes!  Let's hope this week is better...

COLLEGE PICKS

TCU at Texas Tech.  My pick:  HORNED FROGS.  Have you seen the over/under on this game? The oddsmakers think these two teams will combine for 82 points...at least!  Not much respect for either defense.  Some may think, due to their injuries on D, that TCU could be ripe for an upset.  TCU will give up some points; but that Frog offense is so prolific they can outscore anyone.  Look for TCU to triumph.

UCLA at Arizona.  My pick:  WILDCATS.  Time for U of A to win a big one at home; it'll be a great atmosphere there.

Utah at Oregon.  My pick:  DUCKS.  Oregon may have one loss already; but they still have a prolific offense; I don't think Utah can keep up.

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NFL PICKS

Atlanta at Dallas.  My pick:  FALCONS  20-13.  The Cowboys are fortunate to be 2-0.  But now...with both Romo and Dez out, while the Falcons still have Matt Ryan and Julio Jones...that's too much to overcome.

Indianapolis at Tennessee.  My pick:  COLTS  27-20.  I just can't believe the Colts are really as bad as they've looked so far.  Remember--they've dominated their division for several years.

Oakland at Cleveland.  My pick:  BROWNS  24-14.  The steady Josh McCown returns at QB for Cleveland; and remember--for the past several years, the Raiders have done very poorly traveling east.

Cincinnati at Baltimore.  My pick:  RAVENS  24-20.  I think Cincinnati looks very solid this year so far.  But--the Ravens, at 0-2, will be the desperate team here.  Joe Flacco will find a way.

Jacksonville at New England.  My pick:  PATRIOTS  34-14.  Do we really have to state the obvious reasons here?  The Pats get a breather.

New Orleans at Carolina.  My pick:  PANTHERS  27-14.  Two big problems for the Saints:  Drew Brees has a sore arm; and they can generate little pass rush.  Meanwhile Cam Newton seems just fine.

Philadelphia at NY Jets.  My pick:  JETS 23-13.  I too was impressed with the Eagles in the pre-season.  But watching them now in the regular season tells me something different; they have problems.  Meanwhile, the Jets' defense is good.

Tampa Bay at Houston.  My pick:  TEXANS  27-16.  The Bucs and Jameis Winston played better last week; but they were helped by several Saints turnovers.  Look for the Texans defensive front to harass Winston all day.

San Diego at Minnesota.  My pick:  CHARGERS   24-23.  Adrian Peterson will run for some more yards.  The Vikings looked better last week.  But...I just have a feeling Philip Rivers will work the short passing game and will the Chargers to another tough victory.

Pittsburgh at St. Louis.  My pick:  RAMS.  The Steelers were impressive last week.  The Rams meanwhile had a bewildering performance at Washington.  So that should add up to...well, to a Rams win; because for the past 2 years, we've seen the Rams perform well against good teams.  And Jeff Fisher knows the Steelers well.

San Francisco at Arizona.  My pick:  CARDINALS  29-14.  The Cardinals are impressive. And the Niners?  Well...not as good as they looked in week 1.

Buffalo at Miami.  My pick:  BILLS  23-21.  Just a gut feeling here. Both teams are 1-1 and coming off tough losses.  But I think overall the Bills look a bit better than the Fish.

Chicago at Seattle.  My pick:  SEAHAWKS  28-10.  The Bears must start Jimmy Clausen at QB; the Seahawks must have a win. It all adds up to a long day for the Bears.

Denver at Detroit.  My pick:  BRONCOS  24-21.  The Lions just have not looked good running the ball or stopping the run.  Not a good combo against the Broncos.

Kansas City at Green Bay.  My pick:  PACKERS  31-21.  Aaron Rodgers is playing about as well as he ever has; the Pack may just be set up for a truly outstanding run this year.