NCAA College Football 2009 Week 2 Picks early games

NCAA College Football 2009 Week 2 Picks

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Fearless Rick's 2009 College Football Week 2 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | September 10-12

All times Eastern - Click here for late games.

Thursday, September 10

7:30 pm Clemson Tigers at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-5 1/2, 43) - Both teams are coming off convincing wins over inferior opponents and are looking at this game as a stepping stone to the ACC title. Since they play in different divisions, winning will impose bragging rights at least. Last year's ACC battle was one of the most contentious ever, with most of the conference teams in it until the final two weeks of the season. Georgia Tech must avoid looking ahead to Miami, winners of a very entertaining game over Florida State, whom they meet - in Miami - next Thursday night. The Coastal division is loaded, with North Carolina and Virginia Tech in the mix as well, so a loss to the Tigers could prove very damaging to the Yellow Jackets.

This is a pretty even match, as Clemson was 4-4 in the ACC last season, with one of those losses a 21-17 defeat at Georgia Tech. The Jackets weren't much better, even though 5-3 in the conference sounds it. The game could turn on a key play or two and both teams have talented running backs - C. J. Spiller for the Tigers and Jonathan Dwyer for GaTech. - though Tech seems to thrive at home, winning 6 of 7 last season.

PREDICTION: Yellow Jackets 27 Tigers 20

Saturday, September, 12

12:00 pm Pittsburgh Panthers (-10 1/2, 49) at Buffalo Bulls - Both teams opened their respective seasons with wins, but the Panthers may get gored here by a very aggressive Bulls program under Turner Gil. The Bulls won their first-ever MAC championship by beating #12-ranked and previously-undefeated Ball State, 42-24, last season, and are looking to become one of the premier programs in the East. Buffalo is coming off a nifty, 23-17 win at UTEP, while the Panthers opened their 2009 campaign with a resounding 38-3 home win over Youngstown State. These two met last year, with Pitt narrowly avoiding embarrassment, scoring 10 points late in the game to win 27-16. The Bulls are poised for an upset win here and will get extra encouragement at home.

PREDICTION: Bulls 21 Panthers 17

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Syracuse Orange at Penn State Nittany Lions (-29, 52) - As a Syracuse alum, it's great to see this once-classic rivalry renewed. Especially after the Orange came so close to beating Minnesota last week, this becomes a very interesting game. Are the Orange actually improved enough to stay within four TDs of Penn State? Are the Lions as good as their 31-7 win over Akron indicates? Will it rain? I'll go out on a limb and take the points, even though Paterno's record against the Orange is 22-4. Most of those games were back in the 1970s and 80s, when Syracuse was turning from a football school to a basketball-oreinted university.

Newly-minted head coach Doug Marrone has Greg Paulus at QB and things are looking up for the Syracuse program, once one of the best in the country. Having played hoops at Duke, Paulus won't be intimidated by the noisy crowd in Happy Valley.

PREDICTION: Penn State 31 Syracuse 14

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12:00 pm Stanford Cardinal at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-3, 44 1/2) - This is a game which Wake Forest may regret scheduling. The Cardinal stunned Washington State last week, 39-13 and appear to be much improved over their 5-7 record last season. One reason is freshman QB Andrew Luck, who threw for 193 yards against the Cougars, and two more are their starting backfield of Toby Gerhart and Chris Owusu. The Dekes were much less impressive, losing their home opener, 24-21 to Baylor, The trip cross-country may take some of the bite out of the Stanford attack, and they'll have to be better to beat Wake Forest, but not by much. Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner tossed a trio of interceptions and has to be more disciplined.

Defense is the mainstay for the Demon Deacons, and they should step up their play against the Cardinal. This one has all the makings of a low-scoring affair, which normally would favor Wake, but Stanford seems to be on the right path and the PAC-10 does not get enough credit when teams from that conference travel. Stanford is not a great road team, but they're measured against teams like Oregon and USC, so toss those stats.

PREDICTION: Cardinal 23 Demon Deacons 21

3:30 pm TCU Horned Frogs (-11, 40 1/2) at Virginia Cavaliers - The oddsmakers have this one pegged just about right, though they may be a little short on the line. TCU has a potential top 10 team and Virginia, despite having home field advantage, will be lucky to stay on the field for much more than a half. After losing at home to William and Mary, 26-14, last week, the Cavaliers have the look of a last place team, not what you want to project against the talented Horned Frogs. The eventual slaughter may be worst than expected.

PREDICTION: Horned Frogs 34 Cavaliers 14

3:30 pm Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-3, 48) at Michigan Wolverines - After pasting Nevada last week, 35-0, the Fighting Irish appear to have some fight in them this season. The importance of this game for both programs cannot be understated. It is ENORMOUS, so don't expect Michigan to simply roll over. There's been enough discussion and chatter about Rich Rodriguez's training regimen and spread offense, so this is a put up and shut up situation for the Michigan faithful.

The Wolverines did a little end zone dancing of their own in week 1, topping Eastern Michigan, 35-7. Michigan will get a taste of what a real offense plays like, having to slow down Irish receivers and put pressure on QB Jimmy Clausen, though there's no telling how good the Wolverines are on defense, making this a very tough call. While just about every Irish fan will plunk down their beans on Notre Dame, getting a field goal juice at home is pretty special for Michigan and will serve as motivation. A battle until the end, but Michigan quiets its critics.

PREDICTION: Wolverines 21 Fighting Irish 17

All times Eastern - Click here for late games

Copyright 2009, 2010, Rick Gagliano, Downtown Magazine. All rights reserved. Downtown Magazine is located in the Uinted States of America and is not affiliated with the National Football League or the NCAA. For more information, contact us here. Use of this site is for entertainment purposes only.

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