WASHINGTON 鈥� College football lost a friend this week when actor Burt Reynolds died at the age of 82. Years before tearing up interstate highways as the Bandit, Reynolds was turning defenders inside-out as a running back at Florida State. The recruit from West Palm Beach made his entrance with a 33-yard reception against Georgia (the Bulldogs played away nonconference games then? How ABOUT that!) and as a freshman and would score touchdowns against Louisville and Stetson (OK, so the Seminoles’ schedule wasn鈥檛 necessarily the toughest in the 1950s).
Injuries prevented 鈥淏uddy,鈥� as he was called, from being any more than a flash in the pan on the gridiron, so he found a different stage 鈥� literally 鈥� for his talents.聽Reynolds found a sweet spot from the mid-1970s to the early ’80s during which most everything he touched on the cinematic gridiron went for a touchdown.聽And perhaps a little bit of Burt rubbed off on his roommate at Florida State 鈥� explaining Lee Corso鈥檚 entertaining presence on ESPN鈥檚 College Gameday.
Your Burt Reynolds playbook:
First Down 鈥� 鈥淪mokey and the Bandit鈥� (1977)
Reynolds helped turn what聽was basically a beer run into 96 minutes of pure cinematic fun.聽If you have to audible out of that film. check out 鈥淭he Cannonball Run鈥� (1981). More cars, more characters, more fun.
Second Down 鈥� 鈥淭he Longest Yard鈥� (1974)
Prisoners vs. guards, as nature intended 鈥� no offense to the Adam Sandler remake.聽Audible into聽 “Semi-Tough” (1977).聽Reynolds shares the field with Kris Kristofferson in the adaptation of Hall of Fame sports writer Dan Jenkins鈥� novel.
Third Down — 鈥淒eliverance鈥� (1972)
When you want to move the chains, you go with critical big plays.聽鈥淒eliverance鈥� proved that Reynolds was more than just the guy from 鈥淕unsmoke,鈥� and it’s not for the faint of heart.聽You can audible out of some grisly scenes, but you can鈥檛 avoid death in聽鈥淏oogie Nights鈥� (1997), which garnered Reynolds his only Oscar nomination.
Fourth Down 鈥斅�If the first three plays don鈥檛 get it done for you, I鈥檓 going to punt with Norm MacDonald鈥檚 parody/portrayal/homage/imitation of Reynolds on 鈥淪aturday Night Live.鈥澛燜rom auditioning for 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� to wearing a funny hat as Turd Ferguson on 鈥淐elebrity Jeopardy,鈥� MacDonald turned Reynolds鈥� cool ’70s persona inside-out.
Saturday games
#12 Virginia Tech (1-0) vs. William & Mary (1-0), 2 p.m. (ACC Network)
So, my doubts regarding a Hokies defense that was replacing eight starters may have been unfounded.聽They came out of Tallahassee with an ACC win, but head coach Justin Fuente鈥檚 team has to battle the dreaded five-day turnaround. They also need to find better offensive consistency, as they were held under 20 yards on six of their seven possessions in the second half.
William & Mary began its final season under Jimmye Laycock with a victory at Bucknell, but will be hard-pressed to repeat that feat in Blacksburg.
Presto鈥檚 Pick: Hokies make it happen, 41-16
Navy (0-1) vs. Memphis (1-0), 3:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
The Midshipmen’s flight back from Hawaii was made longer by their 59-41 loss to the Rainbow Warriors. The option offense is built for many things, but rallying from 28 points down is definitely not one of them. While the offense appears to be in midseason form with Malcolm Perry and Zach Abey, the defense looks like it鈥檚 going to go through some growing pains minus last year鈥檚 top tackler, Micah Thomas.
Things don鈥檛 get any easier this week, as Navy attempts to contain a Tigers team that tacked 66 points on the board in their opener.聽Memphis replaced starting quarterback Brady White after the junior threw five touchdown passes with freshman Brady McBride.聽I think they both get a discount at Vineyard Vines.
Presto鈥檚 Pick: Midshipmen fall 37-31
Maryland (1-0) at Bowling Green (0-1), 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
The Terps try to follow up their upset of Texas by winning on the road against a Falcons team that actually led Oregon 10-0 behind quarterback Jared Doege.聽While Maryland鈥檚 offense provided quite a bit of sizzle in Week 1 with Jeshaun Jones scoring on touchdown runs and receptions while throwing for a score, the steak is a defense that turned the Longhorns over three times in the fourth quarter.聽They鈥檒l need another superior effort to get out of Mid-American Conference country with a victory.
Fun fact:聽The second-leading rusher in Bowling Green history is Dave Preston, who led the MAC in rushing as a sophomore before playing six years with the Denver Broncos in the NFL. Sadly, I鈥檓 not him.
Presto鈥檚 Pick: Terrapins triumph, 30-20
Virginia (1-0) at Indiana (1-0), 7:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
The Cavaliers of 2017 won on the arm of Kurt Benkert, tried to run to keep foes honest, and employed a defense that hung on for dear life. If Week 1 was any indication (and we know that Week 1 wins against FCS schools carry a caveat), this year鈥檚 success is going to arrive thanks to a punishing running game and stingy defense. I wouldn鈥檛 expect UVa to air it out 66 times against the Hoosiers like they did last September. Peyton Ramsey led IU to victory in Charlottesville last year as redshirt freshman; expect plenty of short stuff in the passing game (in nine career games, Ramsey averages under 10 yards per completed pass).
Kippy & Buffy aren鈥檛 messing around with any short stuff at their tailgate. Conundrum White 2015 鈥�lures you with scents of apricot, pear and honeysuckle.鈥� There鈥檚 also a 鈥�hint of oak鈥� that I think is more of a strong suggestion. I suggest a pairing with Brie and crostini.
Presto鈥檚 Pick: Cavaliers come up short, 31-28
Georgetown beats Campbell, Howard slips at Kent State, James Madison beats Norfolk State,聽Richmond handles Fordham, Towson tumbles at Wake Forest.
Last Week: 5-4 | Season: 5-4
Ed. Note: With legal sports gambling coming soon to a state near you, we鈥檙e including two more picks this year. Chris Cichon鈥檚 鈥淭he Big Chee鈥檚鈥� will pick a Top 25 game each week, while Noah Frank鈥檚 鈥淔rankie鈥檚 Flyer鈥� will pick an underdog of at least 7 points to cover and possibly spring an outright upset.
The Big 颁丑别别鈥檚: Georgia (-10.5) at South Carolina
Last Week: Winner | Season: 1-0
Frankie鈥檚 Flyer: Pittsburgh (+9) vs. Penn State
Last Week: Winner vs. spread, Winner outright | Season: 1-0 vs. spread, 1-0 outright
