My Insane and Bold Prediction of the Week

Last week, much to the dismay of some Clemson readers, I picked the Troy Trojans to upset the Tigers at Memorial Stadium.

Troy was actually leading Clemson at halftime, 16-13, but the Tigers would open things up in the second half, outscoring Troy 30-3 en route to a 43-19 win.

Once again, if you’re unfamiliar with how I do this, I try to avoid trendy picks while also making sure I pick a legitimate upset. I won’t pick any FCS schools because that’s just a bit over the top. I am 0-1 on the season, and my goal is to get four picks right. That will be rather difficult.

Without further delay, this week’s insane and bold prediction of the week is…

Look out Bevo, here come the Cougars.

BYU at Texas
The Line: Texas -7
Kickoff: 6 PM CST, ESPN2

Brigham Young quarterback Jake Heaps throws a pass against Ole Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

After stealing a victory away from Ole Miss last week, Bronco Mendenhall and the Cougars look to do the same in Austin on Saturday night against the Texas Longhorns.

The Longhorns are looking to prove they are still a top program after stumbling to a 5-7 record last season and missing a bowl game for the first time since Mack Brown took over.

Texas didn’t help matters by getting off to a slow start last week, but they would rattle off three straight touchdown drives in the second half to pull away from Rice, winning 34-9. The Longhorns piled up a lot of yards on offense, which was a nice change compared to last season, but I still don’t trust them.

BYU’s defense will present a challenge to Texas’ offense. A young and talented Cougar defense suffered minimal losses from last year, and they flexed their muscles last week against Ole Miss—allowing just 208 yards of total offense and shutting down what was one of the top rushing teams in the country last year.

The Cougars should be able to move the ball on the ground against a Texas run defense that uncharacteristically allowed 130 yards rushing  (4.3 yards per carry) to Rice last week. I expect BYU to pound it out on the ground and use play action to free up the secondary for sophomore quarterback, Jake Heaps.

Both teams like to grind it out on offense, so we should see a fairly low-scoring game. BYU can stop Texas on the ground and force Garrett Gilbert to beat them. I don’t see it happening. Texas will cough the ball up a few times, and BYU wins this one 24-20.

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box below. You can e-mail me suggestions or questions at jtmcadams@aol.com. Follow me on Twitter @JoeSportswriter.