College football’s first weekend produced stunners such as Houston over Oklahoma — and some silly oversimplifications.
ESPN deemed the Big Ten to have had “the best opening weekend” based on its 12-2 record.
Hmmm … going 2-1 against the Power Five and losing at home to a MAC team constitutes achievement?
Anyway, don’t look for Big Ten behemoths Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State to be tested again this week. The first two are heavy favorites, and the idle Spartans can chill and watch their next opponent, Notre Dame, duke it out with Nevada.
On to the games. Please note: These picks (selections in bold) are against the spread. Games featuring FCS teams or played Friday are not listed. And the lines, taken from Pregame.com at noon Thursday, might have shifted.
Ball State (plus 18) at Indiana: My guy Danny Mac (aka sports-talk vet Dan McNeil) says jump on Ball State, his alma mater: “I’m taking the points … plus our communications department. #JoyceDeWitt.”
Central Florida (plus 36) at Michigan: The Wolverines are a trendy pick to make the playoffs, and speaking of trends … UCF is 2-7 in its last nine as a double-digit underdog. So go with Big Blue.
Wyoming (plus 24.5) at Nebraska: Wyoming outlasted Northern Illinois last week in a triple-overtime game that ended at 2:35 a.m. Mountain time Sunday. Take those gritty Cowboys.
Penn State (plus 5) at Pittsburgh: Pitt is asking its fans to keep it classy, with a PSA imploring students not to “let your fun come at the expense of someone else.” Cool, but isn’t that the essence of competition? Go with PSU.
Cincinnati (minus 6) at Purdue: Gunner Kiel is still playing college football? I think he verbally committed to Indiana in the ’90s. Take him and the Bearcats.
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Tulsa (plus 30) at Ohio State: There’s a 90 percent chance of showers in Columbus and a 90 percent chance of a beatdown. Go Bucks.
Akron (plus 24.5) at Wisconsin: The Badgers should take a bow after stunning LSU. They also should cover this number.
North Carolina (minus-9) at Illinois: The Illini were awesome last week, winning 52-3. Of course they also won their 2015 opener 52-3. Carolina is the pick.
Iowa State (plus 15.5) at Iowa: Crazy to lay this many points in a seesawing rivalry. Except that Iowa State might be terrible. Take the Hawkeyes.
Last week: 3-5.
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein