I am a day or two later on these picks than I intended to be but it’s all good. I knew we weren’t picking any Thursday night or even Friday games so as long as we do what needs to be done by Friday night we’re all set. The season didn’t get off to as great a start as I’d hoped last week, as I went 2-3 and Zach went 3-2. LSU & Oklahoma St. took care of business, while Nevada & Boise St. did not. I really didn’t see that Boise St. loss coming. And in the big game…the one contest that Zach & I split on…he came out ahead as Clemson beat Georgia. This week the NFL starts which adds a whole new layer of intrigue because there’s always a couple of surprise teams on both ends of the spectrum.
South Carolina at Georgia (-3)
I don’t usually like to pick games involving teams that just appeared here last week, but this one is just too good to pass up. The Gamecocks took care of business last week, though the victory wasn’t quite as impressive as I would have thought it’d be. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs came up short at Clemson. The point spread is interesting and tells me two things. First is of course the all-important home field advantage. But secondly it says to me that there are others beside myself that weren’t all that overwhelmed by South Carolina’s ho-hum win over North Carolina. I’m a little bit torn on this one because I pegged South Carolina as a Top 5 team in my pre-season poll, but I had Georgia at #11 and
if they start the season 0-2 they are pretty much done, especially with games against LSU and Florida still remaining. For the second week in a row I am going with Georgia, simply because going 0-2 would be catastrophic. And for the second week in a row Zach is going in the other direction. He isn’t impressed with Georgia QB Aaron Murray and feels as though he caves under pressure. He is somewhat concerned with South Carolina’s endurance but thinks that Jadeveon Clowney will get 3 sacks en route to a close Gamecocks victory.
My Pick: Georgia
Z’s Pick: South Carolina
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Notre Dame at Michigan (-3.5)
The Fighting Irish & the Wolverines both began their season like so many others…beating up on a team far beneath their skill level, meaning we don’t know much more about
them than we did a week ago. The spread tells us nothing either other than Michigan is getting a slight home field advantage. However, maybe that advantage isn’t so slight. Coach Brady Hoke is now 15-0 at The Big House. That’s good enough for me. Zach agrees but in all honestly he’s a huge Michigan fan and is picking with his heart.
My Pick: Michigan
Z’s Pick: Michigan
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Cincinnati at Chicago (-3)
Our first NFL pick of 2013 and it’s a dandy. Both teams are coming off of a 10-6 season last year. In Cincinnati that was cause for an optimistic outlook for the future. In 
Chicago it was a reason to fire the coach. In retrospect those may have been appropriate reactions. I think the Bengals are moving forward while I am predicting the Bears to take a nominal step back this season. Zach…a fellow Steelers fan…looks for the Bengals to dominate the AFC North, isn’t a believer in Bears QB Jay Cutler, and thinks Cincinnati wins this game easily. I concur.
My Pick: Cincinnati
Z’s Pick: Cincinnati
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Atlanta at New Orleans (-3)
What a great game to start the season!! A lot of pundits are picking the Falcons to have another great year and finally take that last step toward The 
Super Bowl. In my pre-season prognostications I predicted that the Saints would win the division and the Falcons would settle for a wildcard. This game will be a huge indicator as to whether or not I am a genius or an idiot. Conversely, Zach is all in on the Falcons and isn’t buying that the Saints are back just because head coach Sean Payton has returned to the sidelines. He thinks Falcons QB Matt Ryan will have a big game and RB Steven Jackson will be a difference maker.
My Pick: New Orleans
Z’s Pick: Atlanta
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Green Bay at San Francisco (-5)
Let’s hop in the ol’ DeLorean and go back in time just a bit. On Saturday January 12, 2013 the Packers traveled to ‘Frisco for a big playoff game. It was a tremendous battle,
but in the end the 49ers gained a solid 45-31 victory and eventually made it to The Super Bowl. The question one must ask is “Has anything changed in the past 8 months??” Well…yes…but not a whole lot. Green Bay drafted stud running back Eddie Lacy so now they have a rushing attack. And San Francisco added WR Anquan Boldin to offset the loss of Michael Crabtree due to an achille’s tendon injury. One thing to remember about that playoff game is that it was QB Colin Kaepernick’s first post-season game and he did pretty darn well…he set the NFL single game record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 181. I feel rather confident in saying that he won’t do that again, but still think San Francisco pulls this game out and covers the points. Zach believes that the 49ers have more weapons and thinks Kaepernick’s legs will be the difference.
My Pick: San Francisco
Z’s Pick: San Francisco
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