Week 2 was more interesting than most people first thought because there was not any matchups with ranked teams. The Central Michigan ending was unbelievable…even though it might not have been the correct call, but, Wow! TCU-Arkansas was insane as well with a 2OT thriller that the Hogs snorted past the Horned Frogs. Then, Arizona State and Texas Tech lit up the scoreboard in Tempe with a score of 68-55….man, I feel bad for those light bulbs! And, now athletic directors everywhere will try to one-up the Battle at Bristol as UT-VT played in front of over 150,000 fans inside Bristol Motor Speedway! Good luck with that!
Last week we picked 13 games and wow did Eli do it again….going a whopping 9-4 to move him to 13-7 after two weeks (65%). I followed in his footsteps and had a 9-4 week as well, taking me to a 12-8 through 2 weeks (60%). Hopefully, I can get back into the first spot after week 3 picks! One can dream, right?
Alabama @ Ole Miss
All the talk around Oxford and Tuscaloosa this week is can Ole Miss Freeze the Tide for the 3rd straight year…which is unheard of for any opponent against Saban-led teams! Last week both teams had warm-up contests to get ready for this barn burner. Kudos to Saban and his scheduling staff as they played WKU, who features the same offense that Ole Miss runs (sort of) whereas, Ole Miss played Wofford who runs the triple option and rarely throws the football. Advantage Alabama! I think Ole Miss out smarts themselves this weekend and the Tide continues their near-unanimous stranglehold on the best team in the country! Look for Tide playmaker Calvin Ridley to light up the depleted Rebel secondary as the Black Bears fall to 1-2.
Cov’s Call—Tide—30 Rebels—14
Eli’s Elite—
East Carolina @ South Carolina
I went out on a very fragile branch last week and picked the Gamecocks to knock off the Bulldogs in Stark-Vegas! So much for that and after seeing the Pirates play N.C. State in an early game Saturday I am second guessing the Gamecocks chances this week. Scottie Montgomery has provided some renewed energy that could quiet the sold out Williams-Brice Stadium crowd early and often on Saturday. The one area where everyone knew USC would struggle was in the defensive backfield and if the Pirates don’t throw the ball at least 40 times on Saturday afternoon Montgomery and his staff need to rethink their position in coaching. The problem with an early deficit, i.e. Saturday in Cowbell City, is that the Gamecocks are not built to outscore opponents in 2016. BOOM and his boys make some corrections and McIlwain gets the starting nod, but ECU pulls out another Power 5 minor upset!
Cov’s Call—ECU—31 USC—21
Eli’s Elite—
Mississippi State @ LSU
Les Miles did it, people! He actually did it and I know the reason he did it! He removed QB Brandon Harris after a dismal 1st quarter because over the huge smattering of boos from the Tiger faithful he saw his grasp on being the head Tiger slipping away! I believe he knows he is fighting for his job after that opening loss to Wisconsin. The 3rd and 4th quarters didn’t leave too much to be desired but the game Saturday night was pretty much over after the 27-point onslaught that knocked out the JSU Gamecocks. Switching gears, if I am Dan Mullen I run the QB draw off of motion all night until the Tiger defense proves they can stop it…just saying! Also, Hiliarie will hold me true to this…If Brandon Harris starts this week’s game I will stop watching in protest…I swear! It shouldn’t be this hard, Mad Hatter! It really shouldn’t, but somehow, someway Miles pulls a huge rabbit out of his high raised white LSU hat!
Cov’s Call—LSU—31 MSU—27
Eli’s Elite—
Texas A&M @ Auburn
The Aggies make the trek into Jordan-Hare riding high after their opening win against UCLA and last week’s prep session vs. Prairie View! The Tigers are 1-1 after a hard fought loss against Clemson and a dismantling of Arkansas State that saw them matriculate the ball up and down the field for more than 700 offensive yards! That number gets decreased by more than half against the Aggie defense. The high powered Aggie offense will have to run to open up the pass and mix it up against the Tiger defense. I see high scoring affair and close for all 4 quarters.
Cov’s Call—Aggies—31 Tigers—24
Eli’s Elite—
Georgia @ Missouri
I thought UGA was possibly underrated after week 1. Now, I think the Dawgs are overrated after week 2. Which team will show up in the Show Me State? If week 1, UGA will waltz out of Columbia with a huge SEC win, but if week 2 it will be a long night for the silver britches. Missouri has new coach and a QB in Drew Lock that is trying to find his way as the Tiger leader, but their defense will keep them in the game late into the 4th quarter. Georgia’s Nick Chubb takes over in playmaker time and the Dawgs Smart their way back to Athens!
Cov’s Call—UGA—27 Mizzou—17
Eli’s Elite—
Kansas @ Memphis
The Jayhawk faithful had high hopes going into week 2 but the Ohio Bobcats took that enthusiasm and moved their thoughts to basketball season in Lawrence really quick. Things don’t get better this week in a weird trip to the FedEx capital of the world as the Jayhawks look to get back on track! The Tigers are trying to recover from losing their coach to Virginia Tech and their QB to the Denver Broncos, but this is a game that they get that chance and some more. The Liberty Bowl will be rocking as the Tigers have an unpleasant welcome for Kansas!
Cov’s Call—Memphis—24 Kansas—20
Eli’s Elite—
Duke @ Northwestern
If you had that betting ticket that the Wildcats would be 0-2 in 2016 please let me know so we can split the winnings and wash our sorrows away at some private island in the Dominican. Their loss this past week on a walk-off field goal against Illinois State was almost unwatchable unless you were a Redbirds fan. Duke lost a mind-numbing game to Wake Forest…at home…last week and their offense didn’t look good at all. The first one to 6 points win and I see the home team pulling out the W here!
Cov’s Call—NU—12 DU—10
Eli’s Elite
Michigan State @ Notre Dame
The Spartans get back on the big stage in front of Touchdown Jesus in primetime! Brian Kelly solved the QB controversy by placing DeShon Kizer in the role after opening weekend loss to Texas. Kizer is the man and will have to show some true grit and determination against this difficult Spartan defense. This game has all the makings of a defensive battle that could come down to a last second field goal. If it does get over 20 points early I don’t see Michigan State being able to light up the scoreboard at all. Notre Dame plays their cards right and earns a huge home win to get back to on the right side of the win column with 2-1 record!
Cov’s Call—ND—27 MSU—20
Eli’s Elite—
https://youtu.be/l171kCUavVk
Boston College @ Virginia
In one of the most obscure games of the weekend to write about (Eli picks all of these) the Eagles and their high powered offense travel down to Charlottesville to take on the Wahoos. UVA is coming off of an impressive loss on their trip West to Autzen. BC went a long way to beat Georgia Tech in week 1 and will move to 2-0 in the ACC with a huge win in northern Virginia. Bronco Medenhall has the Cavs on the right track but has to get some more players in town before they can contend!
Cov’s Call—BC—21 UVA—17
Eli’s Elite—
Florida State @ Louisville
ESPN’s College Gameday will be there! Noon kickoff! It doesn’t get in any better in Louisville except maybe in May when the horses race for the roses in the Kentucky Derby! The 2 QBs for these respective teams will seem like horses running their offenses up and down the field. This game could be the best of the day, or at least provide a prelude to the rest of the day’s actions! Buckle your seat belts, people, this is going to be fun and will be must-see TV. The coaches on the sidelines are offensive geniuses and athletes will be all over the field, but I believe the FSU defense is slightly better than the Cardinals. In the end, that does UL in and FSU gets the big Top-10 win!
Cov’s Call—FSU—35 UL—31
Eli’s Elite—
Ohio State @ Oklahoma
Norman will be rocking Saturday night as the Top-5 ranked Buckeyes make the southwest trek to heartland of America! Another game with unbelievable QBs that will light up the opposing defenses all night! After watching OU against Houston and how they did with a mobile QB I believe OSU QB JT Barrett will have a field day with the OU defense. Sooner QB Baker Mayfield will make some plays of his own, but I think the OSU defense will corral him and make him force things late in the game. Another must-see TV as this game closes a great day of ranked vs. ranked games!
Cov’s Call—OSU—30 OU—21
Eli’s Elite—
That is it for week 3! Enjoy this week’s games….they will be great! Let me know what you think and as always, thanks for reading!
Son Knows Best 