Bob's Picks - Take the Bears, the Ducks, the Utes and the Boys from Provo

Avoid Stanford and Sac State and pray that Portland State can finally score

Okay, this business of picking college football winners is not as easy as it might seem. I found that out in Week One.

Even though I've been pleased to offer these picks every week in the fall for the last 56 seasons, I'm clearly not the expert I'd like to be.

However, with the dramatic and unfortunate explosion of sports gambling - give me 10 bucks on the waterboy getting knocked unconscious on the sidelines by a beer bottle thrown from the stands - I realize some folks are seriously relying on these very picks to pay next month's rent. I can feel the pressure even as we speak.

As a result, I've invested in a new and improved crystal ball to help me along the way. If that doesn't work, I'll try flipping a coin.

This week's picks are as follows:

BRIGHAM YOUNG over STANFORD ... You can't win with an interim coach who is not even a candidate for the permanent job. "Don't listen to him, he's headed out the door." The Boys from the Y are loaded. Stanford, meanwhile, is in for the longest season in school history.

CAL over TEXAS SOUTHERN ... Any time a Blue State football team can beat up on a Red State football team is a happy day indeed.

OREGON over OKLAHOMA STATE ... Nike U. is poised to make a run at the national title game.