Blowouts are always tough to predict, and there were several over this past weekend.
Of the eight games we picked that made sense (Western Washington sent B sides to play non-league games, so we took that prediction out), we were correct on the winner six times.
However, we were not really all that close on the margins (only three were really accurate).
We didn't see Baylor's 42-point win or UCLA's 58-point win coming in last week's pick column. Grand Canyon's upset of San Diego State rocked everyone, while Oregon State beating Oregon is news that the Beavers might well be back.
So on to this weekend, and a much larger slate of games.
The Pacific Western Conference gets going with all sorts of questions. Teams such as Nevada, newcomer Sac State, and Chico State are strong — perhaps improved — and most think this conference is a bit up in the air.
Cal Poly at UC Davis is kind of a must-win for both teams if they want to be thought of highly in the D1A rankings. Cal Poly got thumped by Cal last week, but that kind of loss can be enlightening.
BYU kicks off its season hosting a Grand Canyon team that has absolutely nothing to lose.
In the Red River, Texas A&M is currently the team everyone is worrying about, and a win at TCU will do much to forward the Aggies' fortunes. Texas is a team we touted some time ago as one to watch — the Longhorns have to perform well against Texas Tech at home.
Arizona State unveils a new-look program, while in the NCRC it all gets started for real. Washington State had a strong first conference outing of 2018 with a win over Eastern Washington. Western Washington at Boise State is a big one.
Florida International continues to enjoy success in the SIRC South and sits at 5-0. Daniel Czaplinski and new scrumhalf Dawson Neves de Araujo have enjoyed a solid season so far, while Jack Freixa is an impact player and Mahmoud Ahmad actually represented the British Virgin Islands at the RAN Sevens. FIU plays Florida Atlantic.
Lindenwood makes a trip to Central Washington, and the Olympic Club travels to Cal in a tuneup for the PRP.
Now for our picks.
| Nevada | at | Sacramento State | Pac West | Sac State by 17 |
| Chico State | at | Fresno State | Pac West | Chico by 21 |
| Stanford | at | San Jose State | Pac West | Stanford by 30 |
| UC Santa Cruz | at | San Francisco State | Pac West | UCSC by 23 |
| Cal Poly | at | UC Davis | California D1A | Pick 'em |
| San Diego State | at | St. Mary's | California D1A | Saint Mary's by 42 |
| Grand Canyon | at | BYU | D1A Independent | BYU by 50 |
| Baylor | at | Houston | Red River | Baylor by 60 |
| Texas Tech | at | Texas | Red River | Texas by 22 |
| Texas A&M | at | TCU | Red River | A&M by 49 |
| Arizona State | at | UCLA | PAC D1A Conf. | UCLA by 17 |
| Arizona State | at | USC | PAC D1A Conf. | Pick 'em |
| Western Washington | at | Boise State | NCRC | WWU by 15 |
| Oregon | at | Washington State | NCRC | WSU by 24 |
| Idaho | at | Gonzaga | NCRC | Gonzaga by 10 |
| Eastern Washington | at | Western Oregon | NCRC | EWU by 8 |
| Oregon State | at | Southern Oregon | NCRC | Oregon State by 30 |
| Loyola Marymount | at | Claremont | Gold Coast | Claremont by 22 |
| FIU | at | FAU | SIRC | FIU by 30 |
| FSU | at | UNF | SIRC | FSU by 25 |
| USF | at | UCF | SIRC | UCF by 40 |
| Memphis | at | Georgia Southern | SIRC | Memphis by 20 |
| MTSU | at | Georgia Tech | SIRC | MTSU by 44 |
| Olympic Club | at | Cal | Non-Conf. | Cal by 11 |
| Lindenwood | at | Central Washington | Non-Conf. | Lindenwood by 4 |