The Goldin Guarantee: Week 3

*Disclaimer* As always, take these picks with a grain of salt. These ramblings are in no way intended to be advice on which teams to wager money on, should you decide to engage in betting. Enjoy what (little) entertainment value they provide.

Last week, despite receiving a more positive vibe in the comments section, I went 2-4. My 2 wins were calling Clemson over SC State (easy pick) and GT over Tulane (not quite as close as I had it, but Tulane gave them a game). Fortunately, I don't think anyone outside of Blacksburg saw that upset coming, and I decided to take a risk with Michigan over Notre Dame and lost. Also, Pitt beat BC, which gave me loss number 3.

Also, an update on our STS College Football Pick'em League where we pick all the ACC games and AP Top 25 games, it looks like a handful of people are up at 27-2 with 29 picks made so far this season. We've got two folks who I haven't seen in the comment section before leading the way (name yourselves people!) followed by Writer Ryan Kantor and with only three misses, AParker who you should recognize from our comment secrion. So without further ado, here are week 3's picks.

Thursday 9/11

Houston (+18.5) @ BYU (-18.5) 9:00 (ESPN)

Last week, BYU ran all over Texas (yes, that Texas) for a 41-7 rout in Austin. Unfortunately for Longhorn fans, this game didn't air on the Longhorn Network, so more than 10% of the country could actually watch it. There's no reason to think that Taysom Hill and Co. won't be able to do this again to a Houston Squad that lost by 20 to UT-San Antonio. The Goldin Guarantee: BYU 47 Houston 10

Saturday 9/13

Louisville (-6.5) @ Virginia (+6.5) 12:30 (ACC Network)

Louisville has started off its first year in the ACC with a nice 2-0 start, including a Labor Day night 31-13 conference victory over Miami. UVA, at 1-1, has looked better so far than they have over the past few years, hanging with UCLA in a 28-20 loss and the beating Richmond 45-13 last week. Louisville travels to Charlottesville, land of wine, cheese, and pergola. In their third straight home game, UVA should give Louisville a fight, but the Cards are a more talented and better coached team. The Goldin Guarantee: Louisville 30 UVA 21

Georgia (-5.5) @ South Carolina (+5.5) 3:30 (CBS)

This line looks low to me, but I keep forgetting we have only seen Georgia in one game. And while Georgia (Todd Gurley) looked impressive in their game against us, we can't forget that it was neck and neck going into the third, and we did UGA a lot of favors in the second half. Either way, they are a darn good team, and Gurley, Chubb, Marshall, and whoever else they have back there is probably the best stable of running backs in the country. The Gamecocks, on the other hand, have looked less than stellar in their 2 games. Opening weekend, they were drubbed by Kenny Hill and the Texas A&M Aggies, and last week, ECU gave them all they could want. As a team, ECU ran for 132 yards on South Carolina, while the Aggies ran for 169. Both teams really made their plays against the Cocks through the air. The Dawgs' strength is obviously their run game, so if South Carolina can buck up and somehow slow up Gurley in any way, then they may have a shot. But, I don't think that happens, and I don't think Spurrier's offense will out score UGA. UGA has recently struggled in Williy-B, but I think they overcome that this week. The Goldin Guarantee: UGA 38 South Carolina 24.

East Carolina (+10.5) @ Virginia Tech (-10.5) 6:00 (ESPN)

A week or more ago, I would've licked my chops at this line. A trouble maker like ECU taking on a good program that has been under achieving over the past few years. That was before VT decided to shock the world with a solid performance and a big win at Ohio State. I know Ohio State didn't have Braxton Miller, but that is still a talented team. However, I am still a little weary of buying into the Virginia Tech hype. Definitely think they deserve to be ranked, but I want to sit back and watch them some more before I hand over the Coastal Division Title to Frank Beamer. They are more talented than ECU and will beat them, but don't be shocked if the Pirates make Ole Frank work for this one, especially if the Hokies get caught up in a hangover from last week. The Golding Guarantee: VT 35 ECU 27

Tennessee (+20.5) @ Oklahoma (-20.5) 8:00 (ABC)

The Vols have been dadgum near watchable for the last 2 weeks, playing against the likes of Utah State and Arkansas State, and the folks on Rocky Top are thinking Butch might have the boys starting to get on the right path. Down in Oklahoma, however, Bob Stoops has thoroughly enjoyed the whipping his team gave to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and wants to keep his streak against the SEC going. Like Tennessee, the Sooners have a pair of blowouts against lesser teams to their name right now. This would be a huge signature win for Butch Jones and would get people talking about the Vols, but I don't feel that it will happen. Not this year, at least. The Goldin Guarantee: Oklahoma 45 Tennessee 17

UCLA (-7.5) vs Texas (+7.5) (in Arlington, Texas) 8:00 (FOX)

Despite being 2-0, UCLA has dropped in the polls due to some close games against teams that a true top 10 team would've disposed of easily. This week they head to a "neutral" game right at AT&T Stadium, which is right in the heart of Longhorn Country. Texas has been less than impressive as well in Charlie Strong's first year at the helm, dropping a 41-7 game to BYU last week. A team like UCLA that has struggled with UVA and Memphis will face a challenge going into a 100,000 person stadium that will probably be at least 70% Texas fans. Charlie Strong is definitely the type of coach to use last week's loss as a motivational tool, so I like the Horns in an upset. The Goldin Guarantee: Texas 30 UCLA 28

USC (-17) @ Boston College (+17) 8:00 (ABC)

Boston College doesn't match up well with USC, but one thing I learned after the opening weekend is to never count out the factor of a West Coast team traveling to the East Coast. I think that helped UVA a lot, even though I dismissed it when making picks, but I think it may have some effect, even though this game will only be a 5:00 kickoff local time for USC. Regardless, I still think USC is the better team and will overcome any struggles to get the job done. It'll be closer than the experts think. The Goldin Guarantee: USC 28 BC 16

It's weird not being able to enjoy watching our Tigers play this early in the season, but there should be plenty of good games to keep y'all entertained. Enjoy this weekend, Tiger Fans, and get ready to go All In on your FSU Hatred on Monday.