Month: September 2014

College Football Picks: Week 5

Notre Dame takes on Syracuse in the Meadowlands this Saturday night. (Photo courtesy Flickr / user babyknight)
Notre Dame takes on Syracuse in the Meadowlands this Saturday night. (Photo courtesy Flickr / user babyknight)

I’m officially declaring this “take the points week” here on… umm… Take the Points. A lot of teams have huge games coming up next week. Others are matched up against teams that always play them tough. Whatever the reasons, I like many of the underdogs to cover. Here are my week 5 picks.

 

North Carolina State +19 over Florida State

Florida State showed resolved winning over Clemson without Jameis Winston. Watching Sean Maguire take the reigns was rough; it was like seeing a kid take drivers’ ed for the first time, except in football you don’t have a 65-year old chain smoker who can hit the brake pedal from the passenger side. Let’s not kid ourselves, though: this team has issues that reach beyond a nervous backup QB. The offense isn’t nearly as dynamic as in 2013. I think the loss of Kelvin Benjamin to the NFL has played a much bigger role than we could’ve imagined. Although the Noles have a couple decent receivers, Benjamin was always Winston’s go-to guy last year, as evidenced by the final drive of the National Championship Game. The O-line has also struggled somewhat, and the defense appears to have taken a slight step backward this season. If this was a night game, I’d say look out for an upset — NC State always causes trouble for FSU at night — but since it’s a 3:30 game, I’ll only go as far as to say take the points. And no, NC State is not good, but that’s never stopped them from surprising FSU before. (more…)

Week 5 Preview: Take the Points Podcast

Lane Kiffin has Alabama's offense really clicking. (Photo courtesy Flickr / user Neon Tommy)
Lane Kiffin has Alabama’s offense really clicking. (Photo courtesy Flickr / user Neon Tommy)

Tom and Dan take a look back at some of the most exciting games from last weekend. Then they preview the biggest games of week 5, including Stanford vs. Washington, Florida State vs. North Carolina State, Notre Dame vs. Syracuse, USC vs. Oregon State, Baylor vs. Iowa State, Penn State vs. Northwestern and more. Plus, Tom discusses his upcoming Fantasy Felon League draft.

Listen using the player below, or subscribe to the Take the Points College Football Podcast on iTunes or the iPhone Podcast app.

Week 4 Preview: Take the Points Podcast

Tiger Stadium

After a bye week, Tom and Dan are back with a week 4 preview. The guys start by discussing some of college football’s recent off-field issues. Dan explains how, despite the way things may seem, athletes’ behavior is actually improving. Then, they break into the week 4 lines, with picks for Auburn-Kansas State, Alabama-Florida, LSU-Mississippi State, Iowa-Pittsburgh, Miami-Nebraska, BYU-Virginia, and all of the other big games of the week. They end with a breakdown of Florida State vs. Clemson, and what role Jameis Winston’s suspension will play in the outcome.

Listen using the player below, or subscribe to the Take the Points College Football Podcast on iTunes or the iPhone Podcast app.

Thanks, as always, for tuning in.

College Football Week 3 Picks

Williams-Brice Stadium

Notre Dame -28.5 over Purdue

If you thought Michigan sucked against Notre Dame last week, wait until you see Purdue. If football operated like soccer, the Boilermakers would have been relegated to the FCS after last week’s 21-point loss to Central Michigan. (more…)

No New Podcast This Week

Due to scheduling issues, Dan and I weren’t able to record a podcast for week 3. You can visit my weekly column to see my picks. I apologize and we’ll be back strong next week.

-Tom