Rock Chalk Pick'em: Week 1

I'm sure you've seen them everywhere else. You know what I'm talking about, the panels of "experts" who get together to tell you who is going to win various football games each week.  Here at Rock Chalk Talk, we decided that we couldn't let the other guys have all the fun, so we rounded up everyone we could find to give us their predictions for the weekend, starting with the Baylor/SMU game tonight.

All these picks are straight up, not against the spread.  Like my predictions threads from last year, that information is provided to give you the reader an indication of just how big an upset would be if it went down as predicted.  First, we have the picks of the panel, then I'll break down each game itself and give you my usual score prediction.  Look for guest commentors in future editions.

Game Time	TV	Away Team	Home Team	Spread (Home)	misterbrain	mikeville	Winmore	David	"Brad"	Grad	Fizzle
Fri. 6:00pm	ESPN	4 Baylor	SMU	+36.5	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Sat. 11:00am	ESPN	21 Stanford	Northwestern	+12.0	Stanford	Stanford	Stanford	Stanford	Stanford	Stanford	Stanford
Sat. 2:30pm	CBSSports	Louisville	6 Auburn	-10.5	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn
Sat. 2:30pm	ABC	Brigham Young	Nebraska	-6.5	BYU	BYU	BYU	Nebraska	Nebraska	BYU	BYU
Sat. 2:30pm		Sam Houston State	Texas Tech	None	Texas Tech	Texas Tech	Texas Tech	Texas Tech	Texas Tech	Texas Tech	Sam Houston
Sat. 2:30pm	FOX	Virginia	13 UCLA	-19.5	UCLA	UCLA	UCLA	UCLA	UCLA	UCLA	UCLA
Sat. 3:00pm	SECN	SE Missouri State	24 Missouri	None	Missouri	Missouri	Missouri	Missouri	Missouri	Missouri	Missouri
Sat. 6:00pm		Akron	19 Oklahoma	-31.5	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
Sat. 6:00pm	ESPN	15 Arizona State	Texas A&M	-3.5	Texas A&M	Arizona State	Texas A&M	Texas A&M	Arizona State	Arizona State	Arizona state
Sat. 6:10pm		South Dakota	Kansas State	None	Kansas State	Kansas State	Kansas State	Kansas State	Kansas State	South Dakota	Kansas State
Sat. 6:30pm	NBC	Texas	11 Notre Dame	-10.0	Notre Dame	Notre Dame	Notre Dame	Notre Dame	Notre Dame	Notre Dame	Texas
Sat. 6:30pm		Georgia Southern	West Virginia	-19.5	West Virginia	West Virginia	West Virginia	Georgia Southern	West Virginia	West Virginia	West Virginia
Sat. 7:00pm	ABC	20 Wisconsin	3 Alabama	-10.5	Wisconsin	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama	Wisconsin	Alabama
Sat. 7:00pm		Northern Iowa	Iowa State	None	Iowa State	Northern Iowa	Iowa State	Iowa State	Northern Iowa	Northern Iowa	Iowa State
Mon. 7:00pm	ESPN	1 Ohio State	Virginia Tech	+14.0	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio state

#4 Baylor @ Southern Methodist

Do I really need to get too far into this one?  I'm confident in saying that SMU is improved from last year, but that isn't really that difficult, and Baylor is still going to be one of the best teams in the nation.  Baylor 64, SMU 17

#21 Stanford @ Northwestern

In the early slot to open the season, Stanford struggles with the time difference, but settles in after a rocky first half.  There just isn't enough talent on the Wildcat squad to capitalize on some early momentum.  Stanford 27, Northwestern 17

Louisville @ #6 Auburn

Auburn is ranked highly for many reasons, and not all of them have to do with the fact they are in the SEC. Despite the fact that Auburn never seems to be able to handle lofty pre-season expectations, I don't expect them to come close to falling apart this early in the year.  Auburn 24, Louisville 13.

Brigham Young @ Nebraska

I'm looking forward to this game a whole lot, and not just because I'm LDS and a fan of BYU.  This looks to be one of the more evenly matched games of the day, and while Nebraska is looking to build on a solid campaign from last year, BYU has even more to look forward to this year.  BYU steals one on the road. BYU 28, Nebraska 27.

Sam Houston State @ Texas Tech

Not much to say about this one.  An overmatched opponent comes in to play a mid tier power conference team.  Said power conference team notches a fairly easy victory. Texas Tech 35, Sam Houston State 9.

Virginia @ #13 UCLA

Despite just now getting a full-size practice field - temporarily - the Bruins should have no problem running up and down the field on Virginia.  UCLA 42, Virginia 17.

SE Missouri State @ #24 Missouri

I can't bring myself to say anything good about the Tigers, so all I will say is that there will NOT be a freak tornado that demolishes the football stadium, trapping the team inside the locker room for two weeks and causing them to forfeit their first two games.  Missouri 48, SEMO 3

Akron @ #19 Oklahoma

Oklahoma gets a nice tune-up to get them ready for Tennessee next week. Oklahoma 52, Akron 13.

#15 Arizona State @ Texas A&M

I'm not really sold on either of these teams coming into the year, but someone has to win this game.  My guess is that the home team does just enough to get the victory, failing to cover the spread when they break a late tie with a last second field goal. Texas A&M 27, Arizona State 24.

South Dakota @ Kansas State

See Texas Tech. Kansas State 38, South Dakota 3.

Texas @ #11 Notre Dame

The Irish look to actually be pretty good this year, and while Texas is going to be improved, I don't think they added quite enough to pull this game out.  If they were playing at home, then I might be tempted to pick them in the upset, but I think they wear out in the 4th quarter and the Notre Dame pulls away in a game that looks more lopsided than it actually was. Notre Dame 34, Texas 17.

Georgia Southern @ West Virginia

West Virginia looks to stay on the scene after their coming-out party last year, and a cupcake game is a good way to build some early confidence.  West Virginia 31, Georgia Southern 14

#20 Wisconsin @ #3 Alabama.

The only game between two ranked teams all weekend long, and this one appears to be a doozy.  Wisconsin will have another strong team this year, and while Alabama will be fighting tooth and nail in a stacked SEC West this year, they have the talent to turn this one into a laugher if they are hitting on all cylinders.  That being said, Wisconsin pulls a stunner and gets a huge resume-building win. Wisconsin 31, Alabama 27.

Northern Iowa @ Iowa State

Can Iowa State get the year started right after a dismal campaign last year?  Northern Iowa seems to be good at pushing them, but I think they get it done. Iowa State 20, Northern Iowa 17 (OT)

#1 Ohio State @ Virginia Tech

Tech will be looking to start another season with a win against the Buckeyes, but this Ohio State team is just too deep and talented.  Ohio State lets them hang around a little too long for comfort, but ultimately puts them away.  Ohio State 27, Virigina Tech 14

Feel like you can do better picking the games than our "experts"?  It's not too late to join us for next week.  Shoot me an email and you can see your name up here for the rest of the season.