Do you smell that?!?!?? The air has become noticeably chilly. Baseball is in the home stretch. Hockey season has started. The NBA’s preseason has begun, even if no one cares. Christmas decorations are already trying to muscle Halloween decor off store shelves. October has its own vibe, and as I’ve matured I have finally begun to understand the charm of it all. Of course, especially for our purposes here, football is still the best thing going right now, which is fine by me.

Observations from Last Week:

• It was always Tom Brady…and cheating, never Bill Belichick. He’s been exposed as a fraud.
• God help me, but my initial reaction to Penn St. QB Drew Allar suffering a season ending leg injury was “Great…now his draft stock will fall and the Steelers will pat themselves on the back, expecting fans to be in awe of their genius for picking him in the 3rd or 4th round 🤦🏻‍♂️.” Anyway, the James Franklin Era in Happy Valley is over, which is a bit shocking since the Nittany Lions were a Top 5 team not long ago.
• I guess the Indiana Hoosiers might actually be legit. Too bad their head coach will probably bolt for “greener pastures” by the end of the year.
• Are my Steelers peeps still upset they let Justin Fields walk??
• Biggest NFL surprises thus far: Colts 👍🏻, Ravens 😂, and Patriots 🤔.

My Season: 23-18

Zach’s Season: 13-28

Texas A&M (-7.5) at Arkansas

The undefeated Aggies have really snuck up on everyone. After six good but certainly not transcendent seasons with Jimbo Fisher at the helm, the Aggies made a change last year and brought in Mike Elko from Duke. He went 8-5 a season ago, and his team was ranked in the Top 20 in most preseason polls, but I don’t believe anybody expected A&M to be in the mix with Alabama, Georgia, and LSU for the SEC crown. Conversely, the Razorbacks are 2-4 and already fired their head coach. Bobby Petrino has been handed the interim gig, which is kind of like casting Charlie Sheen as the lead in a community theater project. You know he brings a certain level of talent & experience, but are understandably nervous about possible collateral damage. I don’t expect an upset, but I feel like Petrino might know enough Jedi mind tricks to make sure his team doesn’t get embarrassed. I still think that means a 10-15 point loss though. Zach likes A&M’s defense to hold the line.

My Pick: Texas A&M 

Zach’s Pick: Texas A&M

Texas Tech (-11.5) at Arizona State

I ranked the unbeaten Red Raiders 14th in the preseason and made note of three important games. In the first of those Tech beat the snot out of Utah by more than three touchdowns. This is the second big one, and the 4-2 Sun Devils have to be asking themselves alot of questions after a beatdown by…Utah. I believe the home field helps State a little bit, but I remain high on Tech and foresee a two TD victory. Zach doesn’t think it’ll be much of a contest and likes the visiting favorites to win big.

My Pick: Texas Tech

Zach’s Pick: Texas Tech

Southern California at Notre Dame (-7.5)

Wow, this old rivalry has really lost its mojo, huh?? Notre Dame leads the all time series 50-37-5 and has won six of the past seven meetings. Citizens of The Manoverse are aware by now that The Irish were my preseason #1, but once they lost their first two games that blew up in my face. They’ve since won four in a row though, so good for them. The Trojans are 5-1, with only a last second field goal by Illinois blemishing their record, which makes the odds for this game feel disrespectful. I sense a hard fought battle on the horizon. Low scoring. Lots of defense. Field position. Time of possession. Perhaps a turnover or two or three. A score of 20-ish to 16-ish. I don’t know who wins, but it’ll be by less than a touchdown. Zach believes Notre Dame was always overrated, while USC is playing at a higher level than they have in several years.

My Pick: USC

Zach’s Pick: USC

Utah (-3.5) at BYU

When we think of football hotbeds places like Texas, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania spring to mind. Most folks probably don’t think of The Beehive State, home of the Sundance Film Festival, The Osmond Family, the Great Salt Lake, and Wilford Brimley, as a place to find great football. However, right now, it is where you’ll see two Top 25 teams with a combined record of 11-1, and the Utes shouldn’t feel bad about losing to Texas Tech. BYU’s double OT triumph over Arizona might’ve been the best game of them all last weekend, but it makes me wonder if they can rise to that level again so soon, especially freshman QB Bear Bachmeier. Don’t miss this game on Saturday night if you can possibly set other things aside for a few hours. Zach thinks the Cougars are better defensively and that’ll be the difference.

My Pick: Utah

Zach’s Pick: BYU

Houston at Seattle (-3.5)

The Texans are the AFC’s forgotten team. At 2-3 they sit below the Jags and the surprising Colts, who’ve been the talk of the NFL, but are better than the Titans, who just fired their head coach. It’s going to be tough for Houston to position themselves as a playoff contender, but there is still plenty of time. Conversely, the Seahawks are in a much better position in their division but can’t afford to take their foot off the gas. There’s just too much competition. The home field is big in this one, and I think the fans will show up & show out for the MNF audience. Zach predicts a Seattle victory on the strength of their special teams.

My Pick: Seattle

Zach’s Pick: Seattle