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Here's what the other minds at ESPN think is going to happen this weekend. Once again, as a reminder: These are not my picks. My picks were posted this morning.Pac-10 blogger Ted Miller:
Nebraska 28, Washington 21: The Huskies are going to challenge the Cornhuskers. But they aren't going to beat them.
National blogger Andrea Adelson:
Oklahoma 24, Air Force 20. The Falcons present a unique offense to defend, and Oklahoma has looked helter-skelter in its first two games. Air Force did a fantastic job slowing down the BYU offense, limiting the Cougars to 88 yards through the air. Oklahoma struggled against Diondre Borel. But give the Sooners the win here based on the play in the trenches.
TCU 24, Baylor 20. The Bears are one of three teams that have yet to allow their opponent into the end zone this season, but they haven’t played anybody as good as TCU. Don’t think that streak will continue against veteran Andy Dalton and an experienced offense.
Southern Miss 20, Kansas 17. The Golden Eagles dropped a close one to the Jayhawks last season, and though they looked pretty unspectacular against South Carolina in the opener, Austin Davis and DeAndre Brown could be in line for big games. This is a huge test for a defense that has played inconsistently. But, hey, so has Kansas.
Hawaii 37, Colorado 30. Going with the upset in this one. I know Hawaii has been away from home for a really long time, increasing its chances of losing this game, but Bryant Moniz and the offense have looked good in the first two games. The Buffaloes? Not so good, especially last week.
Columnist Pat Forde:
Oklahoma 31, Air Force 20. On paper it shouldn't be close -- but the Sooners have a couple of unforgettable losses to Mountain West competition in recent years. They lost their opener last year to BYU, and lost in 2005 at home to TCU. Something will have to give between the passing prowess of Oklahoma QB Landry Jones (380 yards and four touchdowns against Florida State) and an Air Force defense that held BYU, of all schools, to 88 yards throwing Saturday.
Texas 24, Texas Tech 16. From the Tech coach to the Texas quarterback, a lot has changed since the Longhorns lost their shot at the 2008 national title in Lubbock. See who wins in the trenches: a Texas offensive line that hasn't allowed a sack in two games, or a Tech defense that has rung up nine sacks.
TCU 28, Baylor 13. Baylor hasn't played anyone capable of containing dual-threat quarterback Robert Griffin III. That will change here. TCU QB Andy Dalton has just been OK so far, not great. That could change here as well.
Missouri 27, San Diego State 24. The Aztecs are 2-0 for the first time since 1994, which is probably more of an indictment of the program as a whole than an affirmation of this team. But SDSU has been authoritative enough under second-year coach Brady Hoke that it should get the Tigers' attention.
Insider Bruce Feldman:
Southern Miss 34, Kansas 27. Two really inconsistent teams meeting up in Hattiesburg, where you just feel like some bizarre stuff is bound to happen. USM's secondary is really shaky. But I'm not sure freshman Jordan Webb can come up big two weeks in a rowl, especially on the road here.
Oklahoma 35, Air Force 13. The Falcons are coming off an impressive win over BYU, but coming into Norman will be too much. Don't expect QB Landry Jones to be as outstanding this week against a more sound defense than he was against FSU last week, but the Sooners speed will eventually overtake AFA.*
Nebraska 30, Washington 27. T-Magic, also known as Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez, brings his team into a tough roadtrip, where Washington has knocked off top 20 teams before -- having upset USC and Cal last season. The bad news: for U-Dub this will probably be the best defense Jake Locker faces all season. Expect Locker to scare the Huskers, but in the end will wear down a team that can't match up with the physicality on both lines.*
TCU 47, Baylor 24. Intriguing match-up with defensive whiz Gary Patterson facing Art Briles' creative offense and the blazing speed of QB Robert Griffin III, who has done more damage with his arm than legs thus far. Baylor is just 3-9 in road openers and I don't think their D can keep up with QB Andy Dalton and an underrated offense.
Texas Tech 27, Texas 24. The Red Raiders have one of the quirkiest stats going for them this week: new Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville, who turns 56 on Saturday, has never lost a game when coaching on birthday, going 4-0. I like his team's chances to make it 5-0. The Red Raiders won't be intimidated by UT. They beat them the last time the Longhorns came to Lubbock and gave them a battle last year in Austin. Tech has done a lot of blitzing thus far; Texas coach Mack Brown says they've blitzed on 46 percent of the snaps in their first two games. UT QB Garrett Gilbert has done very well against the blitz in the first two weeks, but I think he has more trouble here and Tech has enough firepower with a good stable of backs to pull the upset.*
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