Hey Guys,

I have enjoyed participating in the roundtables with Peter and figured I would jump on here to give you my picks this week. I will try to dumb it down a bit from the computer language used at AccuScore, but nevertheless thought I would lay out my thoughts.

I am big on UCF -5 over FIU. I am glad FIU won last week b/c the headline didn't match the story. FIU only had 9 first downs and were outgained 293 to 446. What really stood out to me is FIU only had one drive over 38 yards. 21 of their 24 points came on big plays over 70 yards. I don't suspect they can duplicate that performance again this week.

Moreover, there is a talent discrepency here. UCF has built a solid brand under George O'Leary by going after undersized yet speedy players. They have a controlled running offense that has a high success rate passing the ball and has averaged 275 rushing yards a game while scoring 11 td's in their first two games.

I am also a big fan of West Virigina +1.5 over Maryland. I am less into this game as I am with UCF/FIU, but I really like it. I am a big fan of Dana Holgerson and you can go back and look at his history at Houston and Oklahoma State and see the immediate impact he has with an offense. Already, Geno Smith has thrown for 6 td's and no interceptions and has completed 67% of his passes to 11 different receivers. I am a bit concerned that WVU does not have a proper rushing attack, but neither did Houston two years ago when they broke through as a program. WVU's slow start vs Norfolk State and their shortened game vs. Marshall are big reasons they are not getting respect in Vegas and also reasons I am looking to jump on them.

Lastly, I made the mistake in the roundtable of saying Maryland is not a good team. What I meant to say is Maryland is not a great team. They are solid, but that is about it. Real good quarterback, good running back and that is about it. Edsall is a good coach, but his team got dominated last year when UCONN played WVU, but were able to cash in on the Mountaineers turnovers, which were a staple of Bill Stewart football teams.

As I said, my WVU pick is far less scientific than UCF, but feel both will pay.