Lockdown -- Week 3

What a rough weekend Week 2 was. In the nine-man picks league I'm in, I finished with the weekend's top record at 12-12-2.

In this feature, I pulled a big goose egg. That brings my locks of the week down to 2-4, and my upset specials down to 0-2. Playing my picks to win $100 each and a $50 parlay translates into -540.

It's frustrating because I bumped two good picks (FAU +7 and TB +3) in the end for losers UConn and Indy.

Last weekend showed every 'dog has its day, so here's hoping my picks for this weekend get better.

Buffalo (+3) vs. Baylor
Get this one while you still get the field goal, not that I think it will matter. For years the Bison have been doormats in the MAC, but with nearly every starter back from a team that made progress, I like the Bison a lot.

Baylor is 2-1, but their wins come against a I-AA school and a team that lost to a I-AA school.

Buffalo is 1-2, but their losses come at Penn St. and at Rutgers. They actually finished the Penn State game with a slight yardage edge.
The Bison will show up a Big 12 team I expect to be overconfident.

Buffalo 35 Baylor 20

Wake Forest (-3) vs. Maryland
Prior to the Deacs drubbing the Terps in College Park last year, Maryland had covered seven straight in this rivalry. Expect the reversal trend to continue this weekend.

Maryland had a few extra days of prep time after falling to W. Virginia on Thursday. But this seems like a spot for a let down after their annual rivalry game with the 'Neers.

Wake Forest meanwhile is off to a 1-2 start, but they gave BC the toughest fight they've had all year in Boston and easily could've beat Nebraska. Wake QB Skinner is listed as probable this weekend, although they will win even if he doesn't play.

Wake Forest 31 Maryland 17

Pittsburgh (-9) at San Francisco
The Steelers have blown out both their opponents this year, and I expect that trend to continue. The Niners are 2-0 and were labeled a sleeper by so many people they can hardly be called a sleeper. But I don't think they have enough outside of Frank Gore to compete with one of the leagues top teams.

Pittsburgh 27 San Francisco 10

Upset special (+10 or more to win)
Air Force (+400) at BYU
The Falcons have had everything go right. They look to sweep the Mountain West's top three talented teams in the first four weeks of the year Saturday.

They'll need a little luck, as the Cougars should be fired up after stumbling to a 1-2 start. BYU has superior talent and home field advantage.

But I've kind of committed to picking one of these upsets a week, so why not call for luck to remain on the AFA's side. It was between them and New Mexico St. at Aurburn and Oregon St. at Arizona State.

By default: Air Force 34 BYU 31