Not only did FAU cover, they won straight up.

2010: + 2 units

I won’t be picking any of tonight’s games, but I will post my Saturday picks later today!

Florida Atlantic (0-0) at UAB (0-0)
Line: UAB by 15.
Thursday, 8:00 ET

Why is UAB favored by 15? I don’t get it. They won five games last year, and their starting quarterback is now with the Vikings. Are they really 15 points better than any Division 1-A team at this point?

Prediction: UAB 24, Florida Atlantic 14
Florida Atlantic +15 (2 Units)

That being said, it is time to start looking at the story lines of week one.

FSU’s first game in decades without Bobby Bowden?

USC’s first game under sanctions, and with new coach Lane Kiffin?

Those are just two of the games that do not make the top 5 of the first week.

But, don’t worry, there are some good ones.  And, as usual, I will be making my picks for Week 1 very soon….check back soon.

My previous records:
2008: 13-2-1 +37 units for the regular season.

The quirky, imperfect method of choosing a national champion succeeded Sunday in matching top-ranked Alabama against No. 2 Texas in the BCS championship — a Jan. 7 game between undefeated teams that will bring together Heisman Trophy hopefuls Colt McCoy of the Longhorns and Mark Ingram of the Crimson Tide.

And, of course, it also produced plenty for the little guys to get upset about.

TCU (No. 4 BCS, No. 3 AP), Cincinnati (No. 3 BCS, No. 4 AP) and No. 6 Boise State also finished undefeated. All three were included in the BCS, but none will play for the title — a predictable result that will renew the annual debate about college football’s way of determining the best team in the land.

“It’s a fair question,” said BCS executive director Bill Hancock. “The fact is that the charge of the BCS is to match 1 and 2 in the bowl system. It’s a limited charge. It’s what the BCS is designed to do. Based on the season’s play, we’re confident we’ve matched 1 and 2.”

Seeking its first national title since 1992, Alabama opens as a 3-point favorite for the game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. That’s the place where Vince Young almost single-handedly led Texas to a victory over Southern California in 2006 to claim the national title.

The other BCS matchups: Oregon against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl; Iowa against Georgia Tech in the Orange; Florida against Cincinnati in the Sugar and TCU against Boise State in the Fiesta.

The TCU-Boise State game also will pit a pair of undefeateds against each other, two teams from small conferences that don’t always get automatic spots in the BCS. This is the first time in BCS history that two of the small schools have been selected. Both should be expected to use the title-game snub as motivation.

“We’re here to prove a point,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “I voted for us No. 2 in polls today when we voted. We believe we have a great football team and we’re out to show we could be the No. 1 team in the nation.”

The Longhorns (13-0) have been on both sides of the BCS debate in the past.

Just last year, their chances for a national title were squashed when they lost a three-way tiebreaker for the Big 12 South title.

This time around, Texas defeated Nebraska 13-12 in the Big 12 title game Saturday to secure its spot in the national championship, though the less-than-dominating performance certainly left things open for debate.

Still, there was a big gap between Texas and TCU in the BCS rankings, the coaches’ poll and The Associated Press poll, which is not included in the BCS formula. The AP awards its own national championship.

“You can still win the AP, so that’s what our whole goal is within the next month,” Patterson said.

Behind 113 yards rushing and three touchdowns from Ingram, Alabama (13-0) defeated Florida 32-13 in the SEC championship game, an overwhelming victory over the defending national champions that made the Tide an easy choice for No. 1.

But is anything really easy when it comes to the BCS?

TCU was ranked 17th in the preseason polls and never really had a chance to rise above the bigger, more traditional programs that were ahead of them.

Cincinnati made it through the Big East, one of the six so-called power conferences, and needed a 21-point comeback against Pittsburgh on Saturday to move to 12-0.

Boise State finished its fourth undefeated regular season in the last six years, but still found itself ranked behind No. 5 Florida, in large part because it plays in the Western Athletic Conference.

A perfect scenario for an eight-team playoff, perhaps, but that’s years off. The current system is set for the next four years. And to hear the BCS officials tell it, there’s nothing really wrong with their system, anyway.

“We do feel like it’s working and college football is thriving,” Hancock said. “We recognize there are elements in each constituency that don’t like it, but the fact is, it has a consensus. The critics, the playoff proponents, do not have a consensus.”

Certainly, he’ll get no argument from Texas or Alabama, who meet for the first time since the 1982 Cotton Bowl — a 14-12 Longhorns win over the Tide and Bear Bryant.

“The system put us in the game,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “We were told for the last three weeks if we won, we’d be in the game. We did that.”

Not by much, though.

It took a 46-yard field goal from Hunter Lawrence with no time left to lift the Longhorns to the victory over Nebraska. Now it’s Brown, long known for not being able to parlay all that Texas talent into a national title, who’s a win away from taking his second in five years.

Alabama, meanwhile, is in the midst of a resurgence brought about by Nick Saban, who three years ago took over a program in turmoil and now has the faithful believing again.

“There’s so much tradition and so much passion,” Saban said. “There are great expectations for what people like to accomplish around here, and it’s a feeling of tremendous self-gratification for everyone involved in the program.”

Line: Central Michigan by 13.

Friday, 8:00 ET

I really don’t understand how one MAC team can be a 13-point favorite over another if they have similar records. All of these teams are the same.

Prediction: Central Michigan 31, Ohio 30

Ohio +13 (2 Units)

Two more picks after the ads.

San Jose State (2-9) at Louisiana Tech (3-8)

Line: Louisiana Tech by 23.

Saturday, 2:00 ET

How cute, a 3-8 team favored by 23.

Prediction: Louisiana Tech 26, San Jose State 14

San Jose State +23 (4 Unit)

New Mexico State (3-9) at Boise State (12-0)

Line: Boise State by 47.5.

Saturday, 3:00 ET

How is Boise State favored by 47.5 when they average 44.3 points per game? Makes no sense.

Prediction: Boise State 45, New Mexico State 3

New Mexico State +47.5 (2 Units)

picks picks prediction free football nfl ncaa

TCU has passed Boise State in the Bowl Championship Series standings, putting the unbeaten Horned Frogs in position to be this season’s BCS buster.

Florida, Alabama and Texas held onto the top three spots in the standings released Sunday night, keeping control of their chances to reach the national championship game.

Unbeaten Iowa moved up two spots to fourth place after beating Michigan State 15-13 with a last-play touchdown pass by Ricky Stanzi.

Fifth-place USC and sixth-place TCU also moved up two spots.

Boise State dropped from fourth to seventh. The big swing between undefeated Broncos and Horned Frogs came after TCU won 38-7 at BYU (6-2) and Boise State won 54-9 at Hawaii (2-5).

The Gators (.988) are in first, just ahead of the Crimson Tide (.952). Texas (.891) is third.

Boise State (.808) is fourth, but the Broncos still seem to be a long shot to play for a national championship.

Florida is No. 1 in the two polls used by the Bowl Championship Series — the USA Today coaches’ poll and Harris poll — and rated highest by the computers. The polls make up two-thirds of a BCS grade and a compilation of six computer ratings accounts for the other third.

Alabama is second in all the components. Texas is third in the two polls and sixth in the computer ratings.

With the strength of their remaining schedules, the Gators, Tide and Longhorns just need to win out to reach the BCS title game on Jan. 7 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., according to BCS analyst Jerry Palm.

Alabama and Florida would play each other in the Southeastern Conference championship game if each remains undefeated.

Florida’s first test as the top BCS team comes on Saturday at Mississippi State (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

While the top teams in the standings are in good position, history is not on their side.

In the first 11 years of the BCS, the top two teams in the first standings have reached the title game once. Texas and Southern California did it in 2005 season. Overall, 10 of the 22 teams that were ranked first or second in the first standings made it all the way to the championship game.

That would seem to be good news for unbeaten Boise State, but the Broncos have other problems.

“The national championship is not realistic for them,” Palm said. “They’re going to get passed. Their support in the polls is eroding each week.”

Poll points, not rankings, are used in the BCS formula. Boise State lost 17 points in the coaches’ poll despite moving up a spot to No. 5 this week.

Palm said fifth-place Cincinnati, sixth-place Iowa, both unbeaten, and seventh-place Southern California, which has lost a game, are all in position to pass the Broncos if they keep winning because those three teams play tougher schedules the rest of the way.

Boise State, from the Western Athletic Conference, does not have another ranked team on its schedule.

The Broncos are trying to reach the BCS from a league without an automatic bid for the second time. To earn an automatic bid, teams from the WAC, Mountain West Conference, Sun Belt, Mid-American Conference and Conference USA need to finish in the top 12 of the final BCS standings.

But only one team from those leagues can bust the BCS and Boise State has competition.

“The only team that matters to Boise is TCU,” Palm said.

Undefeated TCU is in eighth place. If the Horned Frogs run the table in the Mountain West, Palm said they have a good chance to pass Boise State.

If I had to bet I would bet TCU eventually does,” Palm said. “Because they’re going to win a better league.”

Ball St. (0-2) at Army (1-1)
Line: Army by 8.
Saturday, 12:00 ET

Army -8 (3 Units)

Ohio State (1-1) at Toledo (1-1)
Line: Ohio State by 20.5.
Saturday, 12:00 ET

Toledo +20.5 (2 Units)

Michigan State (1-1) at Notre Dame (1-1)
Line: Notre Dame by 10.
Saturday, 3:30 ET

Michigan State +10 (4 Units)

Connecticut (1-1) at Baylor (1-0)
Line: Baylor by 10.5.
Saturday, 5:00 ET

Baylor -10.5 (2 Units)