The Sun Belt got an upset last night, although not the one they might have preferred. They’ll have a lot more opportunities this weekend, but I don’t have a good feeling about any of them. Also, I said I’d put Navy & Army here when they don’t play Fringe schools, but Navy plays on Monday so I’ll get them then.
12:21 PM, SEC Network- Louisiana at #21 Georgia: The Rajin’ Cajuns could make a game of this one for a while, but these games against the SEC always come down to depth, and most non-BCS teams just don’t have enough. Line: Georgia by 28. Seems high to me, Georgia should win comfortably but not by that much. Probably something like 38-17.
3:30 PM, ESPNU- North Texas at Clemson: North Texas may have drawn the least fearsome of the Sun Belt’s BCS opponents Saturday, but they’re also not known to be very good. Hide your eyes, Mean Green fans. Line: Clemson by 26.5. The Tigers did blow out their one FCS opponent last year, but was kept close by MTSU in their only other non-BCS game. Even so, North Texas is not MTSU, Clemson 42-7.
7:00 PM, Fox Sports South/espn3- Arkansas State at #23 Auburn: A-State is a bit of an enigma, as they have some talent coming back, but they weren’t particularly good last year anyway. Auburn is obviously a much more talented team and should have little trouble here. Line: Auburn by 31. Auburn didn’t beat anybody in FBS by that much last year, which suggests that Gene Chizik doesn’t see the point. Expect the Tigers to coast through the second half, call it 35-10.
7:00 PM- Western Kentucky at Nebraska: Have I mentioned how awful Nebraska’s OOC scheduling is lately? It’s a joke. Anyway, this one could be really, really bad. Line: Nebraska by 38.5. Nebraska beat Sun Belt teams by 46, 29, and 55 last year, so clearly they have no shame in running up the score. This one will be something like 56-0. Sorry Hilltoppers.
7:00 PM- Bowling Green at Troy: I’m really ready to get some football played so I can stop writing about how we don’t know what we’re going to see from what team, etc. Because we don’t know what we’re going to see from either one of these teams. Both are completely restocking their teams. Line: Troy by 14, a ton of points for a nearly-new team, even if the other guys are too. I agree that Troy should win (although they didn’t last year), but it won’t be by 14. Troy 24-17.