Big East Week 3 Picks

Week 3 is already here and last week Mike pulled ahead in the weekly contest, improving to an impressive 15-1. Jim came in at 14-2 while I fell off a bit at 13-3, but I will make up ground this week, I am sure of it (no I am not). Here are our picks for week 3.

Friday

Iowa State at UCONN

Matt: Usually I would pick the home team here, but I don't have much faith left in UCONN, then again, Iowa State doesn't impress me either, so this is actually a hard pick. It will probably be an ugly, low scoring game, but I think the Cyclones take care of business. Pick: Iowa State

Jim: Iowa State just came off a HUGE 3OT victory against in-state rivals Iowa. Iowa State is riding a cyclone of momentum (pun intended.) Much like Matt, my faith in UConn is running thin. Was the Paul Pasqualoni hiring a joke? Pick: Iowa State

Mike: Luckily for me, I never had any faith in UConn. That's why this pick is easy. But if UConn wins this, does it mean that they're also better than Iowa? Well, we won't have to worry about all that, because they aren't going to win this one. I'm going with the Cyclones.

Saturday

WVU at Maryland

Matt: I pray my eyes don't have to witness the awful flag uniforms of Maryland again. With that said, I think WVU comes out much faster than they did vs. Norfolk State and wins this game, closer than many think though. Pick: WVU

Jim: I'm picking WVU, and while I'm not going to say it's a blow out, Maryland's nothing to sneeze at... not even with Randy Edsall coaching. And, whatever uniform combo MD comes out with, our eyes are sure to be sore.

Mike: People, do not adjust your TV sets. West Virginia may have a handful this week as they go to play the first real football team on their schedule. This one will seem like a cupcake compared to next week, though. I'll have a little faith and go with West Virginia, but they better get that running game moving this week.

Pitt at Iowa

Matt: I'm not a big fan of the Big 10 and Iowa especially, but then again, a Big East team on the road here, not feeling comfortable about that either. Pick: Iowa

Jim: I can finally pick against Pitt! Pick: Iowa

Mike: I haven't seen anything from Pitt that has made me believe that they'll even score a touchdown against a BCS team. The birds beat the cats here. Notre Dame is up next for Pitt and it's looking like a quick turnaround from undefeated into a 2-2 record.

Akron at Cincinnati

Matt: Cincinnati looked bad against Tennessee, but Akron is much worse than they are. Game shouldn't be close at the end. Pick: Cincinnati

Jim: What Matt said. Cincinnati

Mike: Cincy will get a week to lick their wounds after getting blasted by a crappy Tennessee team that's also going to get killed by Florida this weekend. Put in the backups, Akron isn't going to shock anyone here.

FAMU at USF

Matt: Not even a game. Pick: USF

Jim: South Florida. I'm sure you folks at The Bull Rush will read about this game plenty leading up to Saturday.

Mike: The best part of this night will be the tailgating. Maybe I'll go to the Journey concert at the amphitheater this night instead. There's a disturbing (although slim with the Cincinnati game) possibility that USF may be the only Big East to win this week.

Louisville at Kentucky

Matt: Another ugly Big East team facing an ugly SEC team. The Cardinals got torched by FIU last week, but Kentucky doesn't throw the ball worth anything, so it could be a low scoring affair. Pick: Louisville

Jim: "They s'posed to be SEC" vs. "Yeah, they're Big East." Pick: Louisville

Mike: Maybe if UL wins this game Kentucky will consider moving to the Big East. I'm literally tossing a coin in the air to choose this one, and it landed on tails. I'm going to regret letting that choose my pick, but it looks like I'm going with Kentucky this weekend.

Syracuse at USC

Matt: Syracuse traveling to Los Angeles? I wonder why they would schedule a beat down so far away from home, maybe they just want to see Hollywood on the way home. Pick: USC

Jim: Syracuse has been struggling, although they do win. But, I'm going with the Trojans on this one. Pick: USC

Mike: After I saw USC struggle against Minnesota I was feeling good about the USC-Syracuse game in two weeks. Now, after seeing SU lay an egg against an FCS team, my mind is not so settled. My pick might be a little different if Utah didn't get that kick blocked, but I'll go with the Trojans