By Robert Perea and Tony Erquiaga
Robert
You might think that after all these decades on the planet I’d have learned by now that time waits for no man. Still, here I am Thursday afternoon writing the intro to this column from the airport terminal in Las Vegas, on my layover waiting for my flight to Albuquerque.
Why am I doing that? I’m so glad you asked.
The reason I’m flying to Albuquerque is for a funeral, but the reason I’m writing this in a terminal in the Las Vegas Airport is because, like Dan Quinn, David Blough or Jayen Daniels, whichever Washington Commander you want to lay the blame on for that colossal debacle at the end of overtime last Sunday.
Like whoever called that play, I completely overestimated either how much I could get done in the amount of time I had on the clock when I started packing for the trip or underestimated how fast that time would actually go by.
Like Jayden Daniels when he was laying on the ground and realized that people were screaming at him because the clock was at 4 seconds and ticking while he was laying on the ground thinking who knows what.
Time to leave for the airport arrived before everything on my to-do list was finished, so here I am sitting at a counter people watching and writing the intro to these picks that I did at least get written Wednesday night.
Whether the fault lies with Quinn, Blough or Daniels, their mistake at least didn’t cause them to lose, just turned a chance to win into a tie. I’m glad my bet last week was against them and not on them and their blunder ended sealing a win for me, but I’ll gladly take a metaphorical tie for my own lack of time management skills.
But sitting in an airport terminal feels like the exact opposite of the normal track of time. I need to amend the statement I started this column with: Time stands still for no man, except when you’re sitting in a crowded airport waiting for a flight.
Memphis (-7) at Tulane: The last tow Southern Mississippi coaches go head-to-head here. Tulane’s Will Hall was there for four years, going 14-35, including 1-11 in 2024. Then Charles Huff went there from Marshall last year and was 7-6 before moving to Memphis this year and bringing 17 players with him. Huff was 32-19 at Marshall and won the Sun Belt championship in 2024 before his year at Southern Miss. The Tigers have a powerful and explosive offense and an excellent pass rush, as UNLV found out on Aug. 29. Tulane QB Kadin Semonza has been sacked 14 times in five games and will be under pressure all night, while Memphis is explosive on the ground and through the air.
Maryland (-4 ½) over Rutgers: The Terrapins under Mike Locksley have done extremely well in this kind of game, where they are equal or even superior in talent. And after two blowout losses where the fan base and local media began counting Locksley’s days, they put up a valiant fight last week against Ohio St. Greg Schiano is under as much heat as Locksley. If the Maryland players fight the way they did last week they will get the better of this one.
UNLV (-1 ½) at Air Force: Last season went straight downhill for Air Force after quarterback Liam Szarka broke his arm against UConn. He’s out for the season again, after suffering a leg injury against Navy two weeks ago. They beat Northern Illinois last week without him, but a) Northern Illinois is terrible and b) with two different quarterbacks playing the Falcons didn’t complete a pass, and attempted only one. Of course they didn’t need to, running 67 times for 439 yards. But they will need to this week, and of their two options, Kemper Hodges was 6-of-14 last season and Evan Medders was 3-of-7.
Texans (+2 ½) over Jaguars: If this game was in Jacksonville or Houston, it might be my strongest opinion of the week, but I still like in enough to give it a shot. I normally don’t like betting these games in other countries, because you don’t know which team will handle the trip better. But The Texans’ season was on the line last week and they came up big, so I expect that to be a springboard, not a one-off.
Bears (-1 1/2) at Falcons: The Bears might be getting Caleb Williams back, although coach Ben Johnson isn’t saying so publicly. The Falcons may or may not have Michael Penix, who got hurt at the end of regulation against the Ravens. I’m expecting both to start, and so is William Hill, which has both listed on its passing props. Assuming Williams goes, I like the Bears to bounce back off that anemic effort against Green Bay last week.
Eagles (+1 ½) over Panthers: Not that it means anything, but who would have guessed six weeks ago the Eagles would be a home underdog to the Panthers here? Sure, they have all kinds of injuries, and might be down to their 4th running back if Saquon Barkley can’t go. But if he does it completely changes the complexion of this one, and even if he doesn’t, the Eagles are a proud team off an embarrassing ending last week. (Note: I originally wrote this before I knew Jalen Hurts was out, but I’m sticking with the pick even without him, getting +3 ½ instead of +1 ½.)
Last week
College: 2-1
NFL: 3-0
Season
College: 13-8
NFL: 10-5
Tony
After a good run for a couple weeks, I suck again, I was 1-5 with my picks, including 0-3 in college. If anyone has any advice, send it to me please. Apparently, I have no idea what I am doing.
Fresno State (-7.5) at San Diego State: Welcome to the new Pac 12. Where is my throwing-up emoji. San Diego State is just awful right now. Crazy for a program that was pretty good. Fresno State might be the third best team in the league behind Boise State and Oregon State. Fresno State 41, San Diego State 17
Oklahoma State at Houston (-4.5): Oklahoma State is the darling of college football this year. The memories of a 69-3 loss to Oregon are over, as the Cowboys shocked the Ducks this year. Houston is a tough place to go to and get a win. A win by the Cougars could position them into the Big 12 championship game against more likely BYU. Houston 38, Oklahoma State 30
Ohio State (-3.5) at Indiana: It will be a chore for Ohio State to go into Indiana and win. However, the Hoosiers are not playing at the level they did last year. The Buckeyes have the best player in college football in Jeremiah Smith. If Indiana doesn’t stop him, it will be a long day. Ohio State 28, Indiana 24
Steelers (-2.5) at Buccaneers: Tampa Bay caught lightning in a bottle with a win over Dallas. Can they keep it up with undrafted free agent Jalon Daniels? A Aron actually looks like the QB in Green Bay. The Pittsburgh defense is better than Dallas. Steelers 20, Buccaneers 14
Panthers at Eagles (+1.5): How in the heck is Philadelphia favorite by just 1.5 points? The Eagles need to turn it around like yesterday. Carolina is going from a laughing stock to respectability. I am counting on the Eagles to show some signs on consciousness. Eagles 27, Panthers 17
Cowboys at Packers (-1.5): Can Green Bay create the same fun they had against Chicago? Can Dallas actually play defense? Can Dallas show they actually want to play? The Cowboys are a mess. Packers 30, Cowboys 17
Last week
College: 0-3
NFL: 1-2
Season
College: 7-14
NFL: 6-8-1
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