Shocking.

My picks last week were pretty poor. About par for the course. Last year I was awful, so why would anything change this year. If there's one thing, however, that I felt like I could do for the fine folks who read my babbling each day is give them a lock of the week.

So, I attempted to...and boy, did I deliver?

I gave you Iowa State +6 against Iowa in Ames.

Final score?

Iowa 35 Iowa State 3

So, we're off to a lovely start.

I finished the week 2-3 with my picks. The truth is the game I liked the most---and this is recorded in last week's column---was Ohio State at home +7. I also liked Syracuse getting 28 versus Penn State, but I didn't have the balls to pick it after I saw Syracuse blew their Week 1 lead against Minnesota. So, I went completely against my logic in picking Ohio State (ie, a Week 1 team that barely escaped playing in a big game in Week 2 when many would bet against the them)...and bet against a team that struggled in Week 1. Perfect.

Producer Joe, on the other hand, was 4-1. Maybe he actually knows what he's doing. All I know is this: I have to rally this week, and most importantly, so the handful of power nerds who actually took the time to post comments on a Saturday afternoon giving me shit for some random football pick that I thought over for 10 seconds will leave me alone, I have to deliver on my Lock of The Week. So, this week, I'll spend 20 seconds on it.

Game on.

Since Missouri is not on the board this week against Furman, we have two different college games picked.

Tennessee @ Florida -29.5

Producer Joe: I am not sure there has been a head coach that has come into a school and before having even played a game made more bold statements than Lane Kiffin. One of those statements was that he was looking forward to singing "Rocky Top" all night long after beating Florida, and this was before he accused Urban Meyer of being a cheater when recruiting a player.

You don't often see conference coaches run up the score against one another, but just last year Florida beat the hell out of UGA 49-10 one year after Georgia decided to bring the entire team on the field to celebrate a touchdown. Urban Meyer is going to kick the shit out of Lane Kiffin, and he has the players to do it as well. Also: Florida is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 as a home favorite, 6-0 ATS in their last 6 as a 10.5+ favorite and 10-1 ATS in their last 11 conference games. Take the Gators and lay the points.

McKernan: Only a handful of coaches would take something like Lane Kiffin's comments personally, and Urban Meyer just happens to be one of them. This could be a massacre. Florida -29.5

Nebraska @ Virginia Tech -5

Producer Joe: Nebraska goes on the road for the first time this season and travels to a tough Top 15 program. Frank Beamer always has good special teams and has consistent top tier program in his conference. The only problem with that statement is the fact that the ACC hasn't been knocking on the door of the BCS National Championship game for the last 5 years. I am not sure why there has been a whole lot of praise for the Nebraska program this year and this will be a good test for first year starter Zac Lee. Nebraska has been good ATS the spread in their last 6 games overall (5-1), but they are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a road dog with spreads between 3.5-10. I like Virginia Tech to win at home and I am very comfortable laying the points.

McKernan: I think this spread is strangely low. Anytime a spread seems too good to be true, it probably is. Personally, I'm not sold Nebraska is "back," but all I know from the good old days of my sports wagering is that when everybody is betting on one team because the number looks so good...bet the opposite. Nebraska +5

Rams @ Redskins -9.5

Producer Joe: Was the start of the 2008 season for the Rams worse than the start of the 2009 season? The Eagles were at least a team that a lot of experts thought had a chance to make a move in the Playoffs last year...not so much from the talking heads on the Seahawks. This has been a week filled with questions about Richie Incognito and his temper, but the bigger question needs to be about how the entire offense plans to score this season.

The Redskins brought in a real run stopper with Albert Haynesworth in the off season, and if he has his way the Rams better find a passing game soon. Both teams come in at 0-1, but the real pressure in this game is on the 'Skins and oh yeah, they will be looking to make up for last seasons loss to the Rams. The Skins come in having a 7-3-2 ATS record in their last 12 against NFC teams & 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games in September. The Rams on the other side have a matching 1-4 ATS record in their last five games on the road & as a road underdog. The same Rams, just a different year...I'll take the Redskins and lay the points.

McKernan: I legitimately thought the Rams defense looked better...all the way up until the awesomeness that was putting 12 men on the field for the Seahawks' 2nd quarter field goal attempt. However, the offense was shockingly atrocious. 18 touches for Steven Jackson? No protection for Marc Bulger? Who the hell is going to catch the football? The thing is...I don't think the Redskins are that great. I don't think they're going to put up many points. And, with that belief, I think 9.5 is too big of a number. I'm going to do it...Rams +9.5

Ravens @ Chargers -3

Producer Joe: Watching the back half of Monday Night Football's doubleheader one thing stuck out to me...the Chargers look old. Sure they came back and won the game against the Raiders, but they were meant to beat the Raiders regardless of where they were playing. On the other hand the Ravens struggled with the Chiefs, but just by watching the two games things looked differently.

I believe in Joe Flacco, I believe in any defense the Ravens trot onto the field, and I believe that LDT's best years are behind him. All of the trends go for the Ravens in this one: 4-0 ATS in their last 4 in the following categories: as a dog between 0.5-3.0, in September, and as a road dog between 0.5-3.0. This is the only dog I am taking this week and I feel pretty good about it, and just remember how the Chargers started out last year and backed their way into the playoffs....Ravens +3

McKernan: I think the Chargers had their Bowling Green moment last Monday night against Oakland: a lesson learned in victory. Plus, Producer Joe used "meant to beat" the Raiders. Therefore, I must pick against him. Chargers -3

Lock of The Week

Producer Joe: Michigan State @ Notre Dame -10

There is a wise soul in the insideSTL.com World Headquarters that
had the following statement before Week 1 of the CFB season: "The fatass has to win this season or he's gone." Following a tough loss last week at Michigan, the Fighting Irish get to take on a team that lost at home to Central Michigan (Hey Spartans, you are meant to beat any directional school from your own state, that is why you pay them to come and play you). I don't really think that Notre Dame is all that good, but they are going to roll in this one. Michigan State comes into this one with a 1-4 ATS record in their last 5 & 0-4 ATS in their last 4 as a dog. Ride on the Fatass this week and lay the points.

McKernan: Duke @ Kansas -23.5

You know I have to like this game a lot if I'm going to be a Missouri guy picking KU, but I think that's a good football team, and I think Duke is a bucket of shit...sans bucket. I think the Jayhawks put up around 45 to 50 points, and I don't see Duke scoring more than 20. I've got to make up for last week's debacle...and I'll go with my first instinct, which I failed to do in Week 1. RockChalkClitHawk -23.5

Log-in and post your comments on a beautiful Saturday afternoon when one of us gets one of these picks wrong and run your Internet tough guy mouth, or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.