Down to the last full week of regular season games before Championship Saturday next week. A 3-2 weekend last week moved the season record to 37-22-1. A couple games for Friday this week in addition to Saturday.
at Central Michigan -18 Eastern Michigan - When the Michigan directional schools get together for a game, you can throw out the records; it's a battle for compass bragging rights. Central Michigan can finish their season with a 6-6 record with a win and a chance to go to a bowl game. Eastern Michigan can finish their season with 10 losses with a loss. The Chippewas have been playing better of late while the Eagles have been dreadful all year. Chips get up early and cruise in the second half.
at Central Florida -27 South Florida - Another directional battle, down in the Sunshine State. This one means a little more than the one in Michigan as UCF can clinch at least a tie for the American Athletic Conference with a win and be one step closer to a BCS bowl game. The Bulls have been a mess all year and have scored all of 9 offensive touchdowns this year. Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds had 7 in one game last week. The Knights have burned me in the past against the number but this week they take care of business and get their 10th win.
Rutgers -2.5 at Connecticut - This might be a trap game as Rutgers has looked really, really bad 4 of the last 5 weeks. But Connecticut has looked terrible all year (even though they finally got their first win by beating Temple last week). This game will probably be a dumpster fire to watch but I'm counting on the Scarlet Knights to pull out a close 7-3 or 14-10 type of game.
Alabama -10.5 at Auburn - Auburn has been a great story this year and have had a miracle season (see Auburn vs Georgia ending). Alabama has been a great story for five years. The Crimson Tide are a team on a mission. The Tigers may get a score or two early to get the fans roaring, but Alabama will do what Alabama does and continue to pound the ball on the ground and wear down the Auburn defense. It may be close at the half, but by the fourth quarter the Tide will have things well in hand as they get ready to go to the SEC Championship game.
Ohio State -16 at Michigan - I know, it's a rivalry game and you throw out the records when two long-time rivals play. But seriously, if you really look at rivalry games, how often does it happen that the vastly superior team loses to the inferior team? Not too often. They make for great stories when they do (UCLA over USC in 2006 comes to mind), but generally the better team wins. The Buckeyes are far superior to this year's version of the Wolverines. Michigan turns the ball over too much, the offense is erratic and they just won't have the firepower to keep up with Ohio State. Ohio State might hang half a hundred on the Maize and Blue and this won't be close.
Baylor -13 at TCU - Last week's loss to Oklahoma State was devastating for the Bears. They lost their undefeated season, lost control of the lead in the Big 12 and possibly a BCS bowl berth and an outside chance to play for the National Title. TCU has struggled all year and has not looked like a typical Gary Patterson coached team. Baylor bounces back from their whipping last week and gets back to being Baylor, hanging 40 plus on the Horned Frogs.
at Georgia Tech +3 Georgia - The loss of QB Aaron Murray for the Bulldogs last week seems like the unfortunate perfect exclamation point for the season of injuries Georgia had this year. Without him and the other season-ending injuries they've suffered, the Yellow Jackets triple-option attack will have a chance to move the ball and run off the clock. I'm picking Georgia Tech to win this game outright and line themselves up for a slightly better bowl game.
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