Washington State (+3) at Idaho (Changed to WSU home field) - 1:00pm Pacific
The Cougars are an angry and hungry football team right now. They are 0-2 this season and have lost 10 straight games dating back to last season. 1998 was definitely a rebuilding year as they only returned 6 starters, but this year they are much more experienced, returning 16 starters, and good things were expected. In the first two games this year the Cougars have been their own worst enemy. They amazingly fumbled the ball away (4 lost fumbles, 5 turnovers in all) every time they had something going offensively in the opener vs Utah. That game was much closer than what the score indicated. Then last week vs Stanford all hell broke loose. WSU fumbled on the second play of the game which led to a Cardinal touchdown. Their next two drives ended in a missed field goal and a touchdown. Trailing 10-7, with the ball in Stanford territory, QB Birnbaum (10 for 11 at the time) was intercepted for a TD the other way. Later in the half, WSU dropped a sure TD pass, and then had a punt blocked for a TD. At half-time the Cougars had decisive edges in first downs, rushing yards, passing yards, total plays, and time of possession yet incredibly trailed 38-10! In last years game vs Idaho, WSU dominated with 479-333 yard and 24-14 first down advantages. Cougars led 24-3, and Idaho scored 13 garbage points to make the final score (24-16) seem close. WR Nian Taylor had 254 receiving yards in the game. Star WR Taylor said his performance in week 1 vs Utah was his worst in 3 years and last week dropped a sure TD vs Stanford. He will be out to make amends this week. Idaho's secondary is very suspect and there is no way they will be able to contain talented Cougar receivers Taylor & Hackett. Especially when WSU goes into its 4 & 5 receiver sets. Freshman RB Deon Burnette (notable recruit) has looked good and is ready to emerge. He may get his first career start this week. The offensive line has been slowed down by minor injuries but is getting healthier each week. Senior QB Birnbaum has been playing well and grading out with a high efficiency rating, just has not caught many breaks yet. This offense looks ready to explode! The Cougar defense has more than held its own despite being on the field far too often. They are one of the Pac-10's deepest units which is a big plus in case of a high scoring game. Idaho returns the majority of its team from last year but did suffer a few key losses in last years leading rusher Joel Thomas and leading tackler Ryan Skinner. *They also suffered a big blow losing starting QB John Welsh (last years bowl MVP) for the season with a broken ankle in last weeks 23-30 loss to Auburn.* His replacement Ed Dean threw two quick interceptions last week and was knocked out with a concussion last year by WSU. Idaho trailed 23-0 in the 4th Qtr last week before a very late rally that was fueled by 3 Auburn fumbles. The final score is a bit misleading. A struggling Auburn offense completed only 45% of its passes in week 1 vs Appalachian State yet Tiger starting QB Leard was able to set a new school record by completing 84% of his passes vs the Idaho defense last week! The Cougars have had some very intense practices this week, including a closed session on Wednesday. They definitely will be all out and ready to go in this must win situation vs their cross state rival. Head coach Mike Price has a solid non-conference ATS record and has won 5 straight out of conference as an underdog. If all of that is not enough, the Cougars get a FREE HOME GAME because Idaho's new field is not ready yet. Pac-10 talent and depth will prove too much for Vandals today. Cougars end losing streak. Washington State  2 UNITS

Kentucky (+7.5) at Indiana - 9:00am Pacific - ESPN
Do not count the Wildcats out yet. They are very young and were simply no match for a hungry and talented Louisville team in their season opener. The Cats now have two full games under their belt and surely have matured and improved. Hal Mumme is nothing short of an offensive mastermind and his offensive system is going to score points no matter what. It was against division II Connecticut, but QB Dusty Bonner was very sharp last week completing 34 of 40 passes to 9 different receivers and had no interceptions. More importantly, the defense that they expected big things from this year responded to a halftime challenge and shut out UConn in the 2nd half. RB Anthony White also rushed for 199 yards. Believe it or not, the 1999 version of Kentucky may end up being a better overall team than last years. They have a more balanced offensive attack and the defense is much deeper and may be the best they have had here since 1993. Indiana has now dropped six straight games against the spread dating back to last year. They surprised teams last year with talented QB Randle El but are surprising no one anymore. The very suspect Hoosier defense gave up 6 touchdowns and almost 500 yards to North Carolina last week! The secondary allowed UNC to complete 20-26 (77%) of their passes. What will Kentucky do? In last years game, Tim Couch had one of the worst outings of his career. He threw 4 interceptions and the Cats had 6 turnovers overall. UK had to come from way behind to win 31-27. They were a -21 point favorite that day and are getting +7.5 today. Have these two teams changed that much? We do not think so. The most intriguing aspect of this game is that IU coach Cam Cameran bragged to other coaches throughout the offseason that he had the secret to stopping Hal Mumme's offense. He even wore a button with Mumme's picture and a line through it and brought the game tape to show off. Our money is on Mumme to get some payback today. Kentucky keeps their bowl hopes alive with an upset win here. Kentucky  1 UNIT

Oklahoma State at Mississippi State (-3) - 12:30pm Pacific
It is early in the season, but Bulldog fans are already calling this game one of their biggest in years. A win here would give Miss State a 3-0 record and they have a very favorable upcoming schedule this year. All of their remaining games are winnable. Besides that, this is a huge revenge game. Oklahoma State embarrassed Miss State's defense last year as they racked up 42 points and 561 total yards! This year should be a much different story. Defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn's Bulldog defense has looked great thus far. They have 8 starters back from last year and are about as speedy and aggressive as a defense can be. Free Safety Ashley Cooper is playing like an All-American right now. Dunn's confusing blitzing schemes are sure to cause OSU's young QB's problems. The Cowboys are rotating two young and inexperienced QB's after their starting QB Tony Lindsay (also teams 2nd leading rusher last year) suffered a knee injury. Despite inferior opponents and defenses that were focussed on stopping the run, the new duo in two games has only completed 24 of 48 and have combined for 4 interceptions. You can almost count on there being no significant passing yardage this week, and probably not much significant offense overall by OSU. Miss State QB Wayne Madkin threw two interceptions in the meeting last year, which was one of his very first career starts. He has much more experience and poise this time around. Miss State started to show signs of a good running game in the 2nd half vs Memphis last week. Dicenzo Miller broke through for some impressive runs and super frosh RB Dontae Walker is getting better with every carry. WR Kelvin Love also impressed. Oklahoma State was 1-4 on the road last year and will be making their first visit to Scott Field in a long time. What a difference home field advantage will make. The cowbells will be ringing loud and the Bulldogs intensity will be at its peak level. Cowboys young QB's and team are in trouble. Mississippi State  1 UNIT