Presto's picks--what a sack of....

There are a handful of things that perplex me in college football; actually more than a handful—quite a few. One of these is the fact that the college game lumps sack yardage into the ground game instead of with the air attack. What’s the big deal? Sack yards are yards lost attempting a pass—but not so in the eyes of the NCAA. Against East Carolina Virginia Tech is credited with 33 yards on 31 rushes—but the Hokies lost 19 yards on four sacks; the actual adjusted running game gained 52 yards on 27 carries—a much more accurate take of how effective—or ineffective—the running game was. Counting sacks towards rushing yards also drastically alters a quarterback’s stats as well.


#9 VIRGINIA TECH (1-0) at #2 LSU (1-0)—the early season battle-royale in a dynamic venue--in 1988 after upsetting unbeaten Auburn the Baton Rouge faithful caused such a ruckus the stadium actually registered on the Richter Scale as a a virtual earthquake. At first glance I would have given the Hokies more than an even chance to upend the Tigers (not having a lot of confidence in Les Miles)—but after last week’s performance against East Carolina, one can’t help but have questions. Where’s the running game? Will Sean Glennon settle down? And how spicy will the pregame meal be? Tigers handcuff the Hokies 15-13.


MARYLAND (1-0) at Florida International (0-1)—last year the Terrapins squeaked out a 14-10 win in College Park where they were outgained by an 0-12 team. Not their finest hour. One wonders which defense we'll see-- the lamb that gave up a last-minute scoring drive in the first half-and surrendered big chunks of yardage, or the lion that choked Villanova after intermission (just 28 yards allowed). When you're 0-12 there are plenty of lowlights--the worst moment from FIU's winless 2006? How about that bench-clearing brawl against Miami—making “you don’t come into the OB like that” a catch-phrase for 15 minutes… Well guess who’s coming into the OB Saturday? Terps top the Golden Panthers 30-10.


VIRGINIA (0-1) vs Duke (0-1)—thank goodness for the ACC’s worst team. UVa looked absolutely horrible at Wyoming-and that's being kind. It's akin to Daniel LaRusso getting whaled on by Johnny at the beginning of Karate Kid; his expectations changed from struggling to fit in at a new school to struggling to stay alive. The Cavaliers expectations go from competing for a division title to fighting for bowl eligibility. For Jameel Sewell’s confidence and Al Groh’s future, a victory here is paramount—if they fall this week… do you even want to imagine the possibilities? Cavaliers dispose of the Blue Devils 27-6.


NAVY gets ripped by Rutgers, GEORGETOWN outlasts Lafayette, HOWARD humbles Hampton, JAMES MADISON beats New Hampshire in a Championship-Subdivision Clash not to be forgotten.

(4-2 last week)