Recap
Oklahoma -10.5 at Nebraska HIT! Oklahoma 49 Nebraska 14
Notre Dame -10.5 vs Cal Miss. Notre Dame 24 Cal 17
Giants -2 vs Panthers HIT! Giants 19 Panthers 16
2022 NCAAF 2-1
2022 NFL 2-0
2018-22 206-183-8 52.96%
All week I’ve been mentally in Piscataway for the Rutgers Iowa night game. I was not able to go to the Wagner opener so this will be my first time back at the stadium this year. This is my most anticipated game since 2014 when Rutgers hosted a Brady Hoke led Michigan and Rutgers took the victory. Coach Flood had the wheels fall off and Coach Ash burnt down the ship – but the Schiano man is back! Rutgers is a touchdown dog but there is no reason why they cant win. Rutgers best weapon, their punter #AdamKorsakForHeisman will dual probably the second best punter in the nation in Troy Taylor. For once, that matchup is null, but Rutgers still has the edge in special teams. Aron Cruickshank and Josh Youngblood are two hellova returners. Any time Cruickshank touches the rock whether its a return or an offensive play design has house potential. For Rutgers to win he will need to find the endzone and activate the cannon. Rutgers has always been a boom-or-bust team breaking free for those long touchdowns and once Kyle Monangai bruises the Iowa team, Al-Shadee Salaam will have to break one out and find the endzone as well. And speaking of bruisers, please over-use Johnny “Offense” Langan. The wildcat quarterback just finds three yards a pop. Use his consistency to keep drives alive. Rutgers has a combo of power and speed that gives them an advantage on offense. If Rutgers can continue to playing good run defense they’ll scrap out a win. Iowa’s passing game is just as bad as Rutgers and it’s only going to take 17 points to win this game. Cruickshank – Salaam – Langan – Chop – Win.
Rutgers 17 Iowa 14
Wake Forest +7 vs Clemson o/u 55.5
The Play: Clemson -7
College Football is a spinning wheel of talent with the plays graduating every year. Faces come and go but Wake Forest hasn’t beaten Clemson since 2008, and only one time in Clemson’s 13 game win streak has Wake kept it within single digits. Yes, Sam Hartman is in his fifth season for Wake, but their one dimensional attack is still missing a run game. Clemson’s defense is so complete that Wake will need a run game to break the code and that’s just not their style. Wake’s defense has been poor to put it lightly so the balanced conservative approach of Clemson will eventually rack up points. Wake might do damage early with the passing attack but good luck keeping that energy up for four quarters. Clemson has outscored opponents in the first half 41-12 but as the game went on they piled on a second half total of 83-30. Clemson’s defensive line will be too much for Wake. Clemson’s offensive line will wear the soft Wake defense down. Clemson will do what they do and pull away when it counts.
Clemson 31 Wake 21
Louisville -14.5 vs South Florida o/u 64.5
The Play: South Florida +14.5
The way to attack this Louisville team is on the ground. Louisville gives up 5.25 yards per rush which is good for bottom 25 in the nation. On the other side, USF knows how to run it, gaining 6 yards per carry! I think this USF team is undervalued. They lost to BYU on opening night where BYU owned the trenches and lost to Florida by 3 points. Nothing to feel bad about as those are both ranked teams. Quarterback Gerry Bohanon was benched at Baylor but still led the Big 12 Champs to a 10-2 record when he played. He’s played better than the 0 touchdown to 4 interception ratio because of the opponents he’s faced. Malik Cunningham is a stud for Louisville, but he’ll need the rest of his team to step up, and his coach is on the hot seat. USF will continue to compete and make this a game.
Louisville 35 USF 24
There’s some similarity in both NFL picks I’m making this week. Divisional Home Dogs against the two hottest teams in the NFL. The Bills and Eagles look primed to make Super Bowl runs, but that’s a lot of points to cover on the road in a divisional game.
Dolphins +6 vs Bills o/u 53
The Play: Dolphins +6
We’ve seen how both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle can take over football games. The Dolphins have not reached their full force yet with their run game still not fully established. LT Terron Armstead and Fullback Alec Ingold have been great editions, now it’s time for Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert to get going. To beat the Bills I think it’s wise to keep the ball out of Josh Allen’s hands. The two running backs will need to be closer to 20/25 carries a game compared to their 16 they are getting. The Bills have shown to be able to be ran on in the past. They’ve done a great job this season but Derrick Henry just seems off. There is no stopping Stefon Diggs at the moment but Xavien Howard is a great cornerback who has 4 interceptions in 8 games against the Bills. I think the Bills get slowed down with the Dolphins riding high, the thick humidity, and the Dolphins coach scheming up a great gameplan.
Dolphins 28 Bills 27
Commanders +6.5 vs Eagles o/u 47
The Play: Commanders +6
The Commanders have the offense to keep up with the balanced attack of the Eagles. Carson Wentz will have a lot to prove to the first team that gave up on him and throwing for 325 yards and 3.5 touchdowns per game will help him get there. The Commanders are attacking at all levels, Curtis Samuel is doing damage short, McLaurin is swissing the intermediate, and Jahan Dotson has stretched them out vertically. Darius Slay was a beast on Justin Jefferson last week but he can only cover one guy at a time. For as good as Hurts has been, he has one touchdown pass in 2 games this season. I think the Commanders front will be able to hold the Eagles to a few field goals if they get behind in the drive especially when the field shrinks. Scoring has been down in the NFL, but this smells like a close shootout.
Eagles 30 Commanders 27
Thank you,
Goose
Kowal's Korner 
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