Gravley's Pig Pickin' Week 3

Hello fans and welcome to week 3 of the college football season. I sure wish the ACC would have landed West Virginia instead of Boston College in the expansion process. The Mountaineers are great in football and have been a recent, yearly entry in the NCAA basketball tournament. Don't you think West Virginia fits in the ACC footprint a bit better than BC. Plus the "Neers" have a past with Maryland and Virginia Tech. Oh well, so much for wishing. Here are a few nuggets for the weekend.

NC State @ Southern Miss

I am picking NC State but don't have a good feeling about this one. Cornerback A.J. Davis is out again and it's the Pack's first road game. Southern isn't as good offensively as they were last year but defensively they are better. They've been challenged by the staff to wrap up Andre Brown who rushed for 248 yards against the Eagles last year. If the 2nd half Marcus Stone, or should I say the 2nd half play calling, could be implemented in the 1st half we could see some fireworks from the Pack. Actually we won't see it...there is no TV coverage of the game.

Furman @ North Carolina

Remember October 30, 1999??? Furman 28 North Carolina 3...John Bunting says it has no bearing on this game and it doesn't except for the fact that the Purple Paladins have shown an ability to knock heads with the D-1 schools. If Carolina loses this one, Bunting will have a plank waiting for him at the next old well walk. Cam Sexton gets his first college start. I'm guessing the coaching staff likes his decision making a bit more than Joe Daily who has 4 picks in 2 games. No Purple Rain this time and no parties like it's 1999.

Duke @ Virginia Tech

The Devils couldn't hold a 13-0 lead at Wake Forest but they did find their quarterback. True freshman Thaddeus Lewis threw for over 3 bills against the Deacs. Va. Tech's defense is much better and will force Lewis into some quick decisions....hopefully for Duke, not bad decisions. I like Duke's defense in parts and if they could just force a few Hokie turnovers it may be a close game.

Memphis @ East Carolina

Skip Holtz is glad running back DeAngelo Williams is with the Carolina Panthers and not the Memphis Tigers. The Pirates are a little dinged up with QB James Pinkney nursing a sore ankle. He has rested most of the week so he should be fine for the Pirates home opener. EC is 0-2 having lost both road games by 5. Navy and UAB. I like the Pirates in this one. If not, they'll likely be 0-4 after West Virginia rolls through Greenville.

Panthers @ Vikings

Just wanted to throw a word in on the Panthers. The offense didn't score last week against the Falcons. Steve Smith still hasn't practiced and I don't think he'll play Sunday. The offensive line has been shuffled around (and that's an area that breeds off of cohesiveness). So how are the Panthers going to win in Minnesota??? Better limit the Vikings offense and score defensively or on special teams. You can catch the Panthers and Vikings on Fox 50, Sunday at 1pm.
Till next week...

Jeff Gravley