Week 4. Nevada

This is a game I really wish my Tigers weren't playing. Very little upside, other than being the only show in town on a Friday night. If you win big, well, you were supposed to. If it's close or God forbid lose, then every pundit declares you a fraud. Plus it's an away game, which; in my opinion we shouldn't be playing in a stadium that holds 30,000 people. Dare I say it? Troy. This was ESPN's reward to Mizzou for agreeing to move the Nebraska game to a Thursday night. It's a nice payday for both schools, with good exposure though and that's what college athletics are about when you come down to it.
Nevada was the pre-season pick to finish 2nd in the WAC to those blue turfed bastards from Boise State. They returned a number of starters from a team that finished 7-6 last season, including a 69-17 beatdown in Columbia. They promptly went out and layed an egg in week 1, losing 35-0 to Notre Dame, sending Lou Holtz into orgasmic convulsions. They followed up with a 35-20 loss at surprising Colorado State. This will be their home opener and they get very few stand alone nationally televised games. The place will be as rocking as it can get, considering a minimum of 5,000 Mizzou fans will be stopping in for the game before heading out to various Reno brothels for the weekend.
So far Nevada has shown little interest in playing defense, giving up 70 points in their first 2 contests. They don't throw the ball especially well, and the running game is doing all right, but a lot of teams will let you move the ball on the ground when you're 3 scores behind. They also have shown an ability to hurt themselves with penalties at critical times. Everything points to a Tiger blowout Friday night which makes me nervous.
That being said, Missouri opens as a 7 1/2 point favorite. The rumor has it that the Wolfpack intends to stack the box and force sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert beat them with his arm. That didn't work out to well for Illinois, and Gabbert may well be a kid that loves being in the spotlight. Denario Alexander and Jerrod Perry are looking like senior receivers that don't want to quit playing football after this year and that's why I'm picking the Tigers to cover, winning 34-24.
In other games around the conference, Northwestern State visits Baylor. The Bears are still smarting from the 30-22 loss they suffered at home last week at the hands of UCONN, and will be looking to bounce back in a big way. I expect Robert Griffin to have a big week and Baylor to roll against the hapless Demons 44-7. Las Vegas doesn't think enough of this game to post a line.
2-1 Army visits 2-1 Iowa State in a classic cripple fight. The Cyclones are a 10 point favorite against the Black Knights. I'm going to pull this one out my behind and say ISU covers 31-17. The human turnover machine, Austen Arnaud will complete more passes to his receivers than opposing defensive backs and the 'Clones will move to 3-1. Reality will set in on October 10th when they meet the mighty chickenhawks in lawrence on October 10th.
Southern Mississippi (3-0) visits the above mentioned beakers in larryville. I'd like to think that this is the week the red leggers get tossed back to reality, but it probably isn't happening. The Golden Eagles opened the season with a 52-0 thrashing of mighty Alcorn State before engaging in a couple of nail biters, winning 26-19 over Central Florida and 37-34 over Virginia. The win over the Cavaliers gave me some hope, until I saw they'd lost to William & Mary in their season opener on their way to an 0-3 start. Pick the beaks to win and cover the 14 point spread, 45-28. I hate to say this, but I still have to go with kansas as the favorite to win the Big XII north. (* I was thinking about changing this after the off field problems in lawrence this week. I still believe the beaks win, but they may well have their attention diverted)
Kansas State, now 1-2 hosts Tennessee Tech this weekend. I was really kind of impressed with the effort they gave against UCLA last weekend. I still think they finish 5th in the division, but Snyder will not let them quit. At least not until the ink drys on the contract extension he just signed. No line on this game but I see the Wildcats winning 31-10.
Louisiana (2-1) makes the trip north to hick nation. Bo Pelini has a brand new headset this week after sending his last one into orbit as the corndogs snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Va Tech last Saturday. "Big Gold" already owns a win against Big XII competition, winning 17-15 in week 2 against Kansas State before getting leveled last week against LSU. The line here is 26. I think the huskers win and cover, 38-9.
Grambling State visits Oklahoma State. Another classic barker with no line given. Expect the Cowboys to win, say by a 42-13 score.
(1-2) UTEP visits the Longhorns in Austin. Texas is 3-0, as was expected, but they still haven't managed to impress me. They're winning, but it's mostly been 2nd half pull aways, when their depth finally takes over. The line is 35 points and I think Texas will cover. If you're the number 2 team in the nation, you need to show up in the first half. Longhorns 52-17.
UAB visits Texas A&M. The line here is 15 1/2 points and I think the Aggies cover, 38-10.
Finally, my 2nd favorite coach, Mike Leach and his Red Raiders visit the Houston Cougars. Houston already has a Big XII win over Oklahoma State and they've opened as a 1 point favorite here. Logic tells me they should win but I'm going with Tech and the upset, 27-24.
I'll try to look outside the conference next week to give 10 picks. Hate begins in earnest on October 8th when Big Dead invades Columbia. Have a great week!