Here we go again football fans. The moment you wait for like a kid on Christmas Eve. It’s Big Jim’s Lockdown Picks of the Week! I’ll wait for the applause to die down before we begin.

Last week we had a few surprises. National Power House Maryland was able to get by Nation Champ contenders Texas. It’s a game that will go down in the history books. It was a BIG shock to the start of the Tom Herman era at UT. Then the Baylor Bears falling to Liberty Community College was a surprise to some but Big Jim fully expected that to happen. Don’t get me wrong, the bears will be good again but I think we will be talking about that in the 2020’s. On the brighter side of things we did get to see the LSU Tigers being as dominant as any team that took the field last week. I still have them in the College Football Playoffs and headed to the National Championship game.

Now that’s enough of what could have and should have been lets get on with the slate of GREAT football ahead of us this week. We have some good power match ups and a couple of surprises this week that BIG JIM can really see shaking things up.

Arkansas over TCU

That’s right we are calling a big upset right off the bat. Arkansas is an SEC Power Program that never gets the respect is deserves. Last year they shocked the world a few times with wins over the atm aggies and Florida. This week will be no different when they dismantle TCU. The Razorbacks will launch their POWER running game with running back Chase Hayden, who is an unstoppable beast at the position, and the TCU D-line will have no answer. Mean while the Horned Frogs will rest their hopes on a recycled atm aggie quarterback Kenny Hill and we all know how that’s going to work out.

Auburn over Clemson

Here we go with upset number 2 for the week. We have the only team from Alabama that frowns upon dating your own sister. We won’t discuss that anymore. The Tigers or War Eagles or whatever hybrid animal they are is ready to play ball this season. They have a power running game and a far superior passing attack. The defensive side of the ball is going to be punishing this year and make other teams regret trying to run the ball. However in this game its going to be more what Clemson is lacking. They are looking for an identity as a football team. With their entire offensive scheme being drafted by the Houston Texans they are still trying to figure out who they are on the football field. They have one of the best three coaches in college football in Dabo Sweeny but its going to take a few more weeks to get this team on the right track.

Oklahoma over Ohio State

The upsets just keep on rolling. I realize that even the head coach of the Sooners couldn’t take staying in Oklahoma for another year but they still have Baker Mayfield. This kid is one of the BEST quarterbacks in college football and will be a top three pick next spring. Ohio state came into the year ranked #2 but there is really no reason for that ranking until they play someone and earn it. This wont be the week for earning rankings. Urban Meyer is great at getting his team ready to go but he just doesn’t have much talent on the field and this week he is going to get exposed. The Sooners win this one big and send Ohio State out of the Top 10.

Stanford over USC

First of all Big Jim doesn’t buy into the Sam Darnold hype. This is the same program that gave us Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez and we all know how well they worked out. The Trojans barely got past a JUCO program in week one but now they have to see a true POWER running back in Bryce Love. This kid can’t be stopped by a good defense much less a soft program like USC. This game is going to be embarrassing for a team who thinks they deserve to be in the top five but it should drop them back to the top 15 where I think they are still ranked too high.

LOCK OF THE WEEK ALERT

Texas over San Jose State

There were some hiccups in week one. Tom Herman and his coordinators are still implementing their new offensive and defensive schemes. This team is going to do great things this year on the way to winning the BIG 12 championship. The players didn’t really lose the game in week one as much as they over-played the game in week one. They need to be more instinctive and more violent at the point of attack. UT has spent a week addressing a few minor issues to get them ready for this weeks game against a regional POWER PROGRAM, San Jose State. The Spartans knocked off another top team in Cal Poly last week and could be looking at getting into the top 25 pretty soon but this week they will hit the wall when they run into the Long Horns and get hooked.

LSU over Chattanooga

Chattanooga is no cream puff team to use as a tune up game. They have a POWER running game and a superior air raid passing attack that could be found at any of the 5 power conferences. This week they have to run into the LSU Tigers and at Tiger Stadium. Even with all the weapons the MOC’s have at their disposal I think this one is going to get out of hand fast. I see Derrius Guice going for 250 yards on the ground and the passing game adding another 350 for the Tigers. Final score 68-3 for an LSU win.

There you have it friends. All of Big Jim’s Lockdown Picks of the Week. This is going to be a week of EPIC upsets and GREAT football. There could be a few surprises that even I can not see happening but if you are ready to be the BIG WINNER you are now equipped with ALL the knowledge that BIG JIM has on this game we all love. Have a great weekend and we will see you back next week for the next round for MASSIVE football knowledge.

See Ya Soon,
Big Jim