Picks for Oct. 23rd Games

Last week went 2-1 with wins by Southern Miss and Iowa last week and a loss by Air Force put me at 8-8-1 for the season.  Time to get over the .500 mark.

at Ohio State -23.5 Purdue - Take the Sweater Vest to extract some revenge for last year's sloppy loss to the Boilermakers and also to get back on track after the loss last Saturday to Wisconsin.  Buckeyes will have this covered by halftime.

at Louisiana-Lafayette -6 Western Kentucky - This isn't so much a pick for the Rajin' Cajuns as it's a pick against the Hilltoppers.  Never mess with a streak and when you have a team that has loss 26 in a row including blowing a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter last week giving up 28 straight points in the quarter.

at Utah -30.5 Colorado State - Utah is maybe the best team in the country that nobody knows about.  Their offense is averaging almost 46 a game, the defense is in the top 10 in scoring defense.  The Rams are down near the bottom in scoring defense and scoring offense.  Look for the rout at Rice-Eccles on Saturday.

Fresno State -19.5 at San Jose State - Bulldogs tend to beat the Spartans like a red-headed stepchild in this series and this year shouldn't be any different.  Fresno State wins this one by four touchdowns.

Week 7 Top 10

Week 7 saw some big teams go down and a shuffling in the Top 10.  If we get a season even half as crazy as 2007, it's going to be an entertaining next few weeks.

1. Boise State - Kellen Moore and Co. continue to put up impressive numbers, continue to play sound football on both sides of the ball and since regular pollsters and computers seem to like looking at the history and pedigree of the teams they vote for, I will too (they beat Oregon last year and they took out Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in 2007).  Yes, I see the flawed logic in that argument, but you should also see the flawed logic of looking at what a team did one year, five years or 20 years ago when you're supposed to be ranking them based on this year.
2. Oregon - They had a bye week and drop a slot.  I get the feeling the Ducks aren't real pleased with being ranked #1 in both polls, pounding everyone they play and yet get leapfrogged in the BCS by an Oklahoma team that struggled with Utah State (huh...a WAC team that Boise will probably beat by 30+), Air Force (hmmm...a MWC team that TCU and Utah will beat by double-digits) and Cincinnati (a Big East team.  A conference that probably half of college football fans think shouldn't even have an automatic BCS berth).  Oregon gets to be the showcase game on Thursday night, hosting UCLA (with a starting QB who is questionable at this point...and even when he's playing he's somewhat questionable).  Think they'll want to show those coaches and media members who don't have time to watch all the games on Saturday who might be the real #1?  Oregon by four touchdowns.
3. Auburn - The Tigers look like they might be for real.  They are finishing games and winning the fourth quarter.  Big one this weekend hosting LSU.  With Les Miles roaming the LSU sideline, this is a must watch game.
4. TCU - Horned Frogs again a little slow putting a bad team (BYU) away, but the defense again holds an offense under 200 yards (147 for the Cougars) and the final score is a 28-point victory.  When the offense finally starts to click, the games are going to get really ugly.
5. Michigan State - After the big rivalry game win against Michigan, they took out Illinois.  A slow start, but dominated the second half.
6. Utah - Another easy win for the Utes and they keep rolling towards that showdown with TCU for the Mountain West title.
7. LSU - McNeese State?  This is why people on the west coast think the SEC isn't as good as they think they are.  Don't give me the line about "the SEC is a grind every week with tough team after tough team.  They deserve a breather."  The SEC may not have the complete bottom feeders that some of the other conferences have (Vandy excluded) but there is a whole lot of mediocrity there (hello, SEC East).  And how about traveling outside of a 300 mile radius once in awhile.  McNeese State needs to be down 35 by the half.  282 yards of total offense, at home.
8. Oklahoma - I'm not buying the Sooners.  The BCS might say they're the top team in the country, but they don't pass the eyeball test.  Too many close wins against supposedly inferior talent (if Utah State and Air Force are garbage for Boise State and TCU, they're garbage for Oklahoma as well).  Take out Missouri this Saturday night and we'll see.  I like the Tigers with the upset (Stoops and the Sooners don't do well out of the state of Oklahoma).
9. Oklahoma State - This might be the best team in Oklahoma.  They are hanging points on everyone and if they can play just a little bit of defense, they might win the Big-12.  Let's see if they can stay in the Top 10 after the showdown with Nebraska this weekend.
10. Vacant

On the outside looking in:

• Alabama - A somewhat lackluster effort against Mississippi, especially coming off the loss to South Carolina.
• Missouri - You get your chance this week against Oklahoma.  Win that one and the Tigers might be in the Top 5.
• Wisconsin - The Badgers did a number on the Buckeyes.  Can they follow it up with a win against the last tough team on their schedule.  Take a look at that Murder's Row the Badgers play and tell yourself that that schedule is so much tougher than Boise State or TCU's.
• Stanford - The USC win looks a little more impressive after the way the Trojans absolutely rolled Cal.  This week's win against Washington State isn't going to move them up much, but they're within striking distance of the Top 10.
• Arizona - If QB Nick Foles is out for an extended period of time, that's going to make it extremely tough for the Wildcats to beat Stanford and Oregon in the coming weeks.

Oct. 16th Games

Picking early this week as flying to Lousiville tomorrow for Friday's "Battle for the Keg of Nails" game against Cinicinnati and then down to Lexington to watch South Carolina try and follow up a big win with a victory over Kentucky.

6-7-1 on the season after the poor 1-2 showing last weekend (NC State was a big winner, Stanford didn't cover and Florida couldn't even win, let alone cover).

Iowa -3 at Michigan - Iowa, like Michigan State, plays a very physical defense and has a great defensive line.  Denard Robinson may be a special player, but this isn't a creampuff like the Wolverines first five opponents.  Iowa will have similar results as the Spartans did last weekend.

Air Force -1 at San Diego State - Maybe this is why I'm sub .500, but I don't see how the Aztecs are nearly a pick 'em against the Falcons.  This seems like easy money , but when you're right 46% of the time, you're wrong 54% of the time.  Bet accordingly.

Southern Miss -14.5 Memphis - Memphis lost 56-0 last week to Lousiville, who isn't nearly good enough to be putting 50-plus on an opponent.  The Tigers have lost by more than 40 three times already.  The Golden Eagles have enough offense to put this one away early and the only way they don't cover is with a backdoor cover down the stretch.  Like NC State last week, I'm going with the good team who lost to an unpredictable team (East Carolina) over a bad team who lost to a bad team.

Week 6 - Top 10 and Thoughts on This Weekend's Games

Week 6 Top 10





#1 Team and #1 Cheerleaders


1. Oregon - Lose one of their running backs, lose their starting quarterback, no problem, still win by 20.  Yes, they let Washington State stay in the game a little too long (the first quarter), but the team seemed very shaken by the loss of Kenjon Barner and still managed to easily put away the Cougars.
2. Boise State - The Broncos led by 50 in the third quarter before giving up a garbage touchdown in the fourth to Toledo.  This is what very good teams do to inferior competition...jump up early and keep the pressure on until the opponent is blown away.  500 yards of offense and forcing 5 turnovers helps.
3. Ohio State - They drop a spot this week and it's mainly because I keep asking, "Who have they beaten?"  If you're going to rip on Boise State for their schedule, you need to take a better look at who Ohio State is playing this year.  They have Wisconsin this weekend and Iowa in late November.  Two big games, just like Boise State.  Miami was at home, and after what Florida State just did to them, that win looks less impressive.
4. TCU - If defense wins championships, the Horned Frogs have a shot.  Second shutout in a row and this time the offense decided to get involved, beating Wyoming 45-0.  Total yards: TCU 578, Wyoming 191.  The Cowboys also managed 8 first downs and were 0-10 on third down.  Back-to-back weeks of holding an opponent to 8 first downs and less than 200 yards of offense.
5. Nebraska - The Cornhuskers are nearly there.  Against Kansas State, you could almost see that swagger, that dominance, that "forcing our will on you and there is nothing you can do about it" attitude.  They have the opportunity this weekend to get payback for a questionable call at the end of the Big 12 title game last year and do bad things to Texas.  Bad, bad things.
6. Auburn - Cam Newton is a freak.  The pass he completed falling down and out of bounds should have gotten more play on SportsCenter.  The way he runs, he looks like he's just gliding.  The way he's led the Tigers back against Clemson, South Carolina and Kentucky is impressive.  Alabama...you better watch out.
7. Michigan State - Big win at the Big House and this has the makings of a special season in East Lansing.  Again though, who have they played?  Iowa is the lone ranked team left on their schedule and they should be favored against everyone else.
8. Utah -  After that opening three-point win over Pitt, the Utes have quietly beat their last four opponents by 28 or more.  The original BCS buster, that game against TCU the first Saturday in November is shaping up to be a war.  Gameday?  You have to be looking at Rice-Eccles Stadium as a destination that week, right?
9. LSU - Undefeated is undefeated and a win in the Swamp is a win in the Swamp.  I don't know how the Tigers keeps doing it, and this style of play has to come back to bite them in the ass at some point, but so far, so good.
10. South Carolina - I said last week if the Gamecocks beat Alabama they'd be in the Top 10.  Dominating performance against the defending National Champs.  Not sure why the AP and Coaches' polls have Alabama ahead of South Carolina...maybe they didn't watch the game or maybe they're just not registering the fact that the Head Ball Coach took Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide to the woodshed.  Both teams have one loss; South Carolina beat Alabama; South Carolina gets ranked ahead of Alabama.

Thoughts on games played this week:

Taylor Martinez is really, really fast.  Kansas State may not have the fastest defense in the country, but Martinez looked like a bolt of lightning out there, zig-zagging his way through the defensive line and then into the open field.  If the Cornhuskers don't make it to the BCS Title Game, can we get them matched up against Michigan and Denard Robinson for a showdown of the blazing fast quarterbacks?

Oklahoma State took a little while to get rolling against Lousisiana Lafayette, but when they did, they were unstoppable.  I'm looking forward more to Nebraska at Oklahoma State in two weeks more than Texas vs Nebraska next week.

Can Penn State's offense get a shot at Tennessee?  Seems to have done wonders for Georgia today.  Nittany Lions offense is on life support and there might be a DNR on it.

Why is Coors Light making a big deal in their commercial about a resealable bottle?  Do a lot of people have problems finishing a beer?  I can't ever think of a time that I thought, "Oh, I can't finish this beer.  Where's my cap so I can put this back in the cooler and have it later?"  I'm loving their new commercials for their budget Keystone brand with Keith Stone.  Both have been funny and looking forward to more.

Baylor vs. Texas Tech was the most entertaining game to watch Saturday morning.  Bears QB Robert Griffin III is a dynamic player and I wonder what he could do on a Top 25 team.

Georgia receiver A.J. Green is really, really good.  While it's nice that he feels he owes the fans for missing the first four games this year for selling his bowl game jersey and is thinking about coming back for his senior year, he'd be making a big mistake if he doesn't go pro after this year.

Gamecocks absolutely dominated Alabama.  Great win for South Carolina and Steve Spurrier.  The excuses made by ESPN analysts for Alabama playing three tough games in a row is making me want to throw up.  Crimson Tide, you lost.  Suck it up, that's the way the schedule goes sometimes.  As for Alabama being ranked ahead of South Carolina in the latest polls, when the Gamecocks just beat the Crimson Tide...

After two dominating wins against Houston and Texas, a come from behind victory against lowly Washington State (which raised red flags), UCLA looked completely less-than-ordinary against Cal.  This is my fear with the Bruins running the Pistol offense...QB Kevin Prince can't run and he's not much of a passer either (13 for 31 for 99 yards).  They have this week off and then travel to Autzen to take on the Ducks on a Thursday night.  Bring body bags, it's going to be ugly.  It doesn't get any easier with Arizona the following week and then Oregon State.

Arkansas vs Texas A&M was supposed to be more like Baylor vs Texas Tech and ended up being like Pitt vs Notre Dame.  I suppose it was exciting if you had a rooting interest in either team, otherwise, what other game is on?

Apparently, The U is not quite back after getting run out of the building by Florida State.  I'm still not sold that the Seminoles are back yet (remember the Oklahoma game a few weeks ago), but they might be closer than Miami.

Is Utah the quietest team in the country averaging almost 50 points a game?  Third straight week they've gone over 55, poleaxing an Iowa State team that the previous week laid 52 on Texas Tech.  The Big 12 is good from top to bottom and only behind the SEC?

Auburn Coeds

Cam Newton of Auburn is just a beast.  When he's running he looks like he's just taking a leisurely stroll, but his stride is so long, defenders just keep falling behind him.  Tigers, you may be able to beat 'Bama this year and really ruin their season.

USC vs Stanford was surprisingly entertaining.  I thought the Cardinal would blow the Trojans out by the second quarter, but USC traded blows and then literally threw a blow that helped lead to the game-winning field goal.  What does USC play for now?  The undefeated season is gone.  The Pac-10 title is all but gone with two losses in conference now.  How confident are you that Lane Kiffin can keep the team together and rally for a nine or ten win season?

Hawaii might make things interesting.  They take on Nevada this weekend and Boise State the first weekend in November.  Their offense, while not running at Colt Brennan efficiency levels, appears to be rolling again behind Bryant Moniz and they might take out one of the ranked WAC teams.

LSU vs Florida...how does Les Miles keep doing it?  Watching LSU in the last few minutes of a game is like watching a Chinese fire drill or a Keystone Cops movie.  Unfortunately for Florida, watching their offense this year is like watching an 80-year old grandma driving for the first time in a vintage Ferrari and grinding the gears every 50 feet.  Each play seems to take so much effort, is so painful and makes you wince with every stagger, stutter and 2 yard gain.  I hope Gator fans realize how fortunate they were to have an engineer like TimTebow the past four years (and Chris Leak before that).  Another loss by the Gators and Urban Meyer may want to think about letting Trey Burton start a game or two.  Meyer seems uncomfortable running a conventional style offense and needs a spread quarterback to get his mojo back.

The Ole Miss Mascot Search & Week 6 Picks

Ole Miss revealed the three finalists for the mascot to replace Colonel Reb, who was removed from sporting events in 2003.  I didn't grow up in the South, so I'll admit I may be missing something on why the Colonel was so offensive, but really, these three to me are even worse.

• Land Shark.  A land shark?  A land shark???  And the reasoning for this brainstorm of an idea is because some player made shark fins with his hands?  Does Saturday Night Live know you're stealing their creative property?  I know when I think of Mississippi wildlife, the first animal that always comes to mind is a shark.  Oh, but you've made it walk on land.  I wonder if Southern Miss is considering changing the name of their mascot to Land Golden Eagles?  See how stupid that is?
• Black bear.  Wow, that's a hell of a stretch to use that as a mascot just because Teddy Roosevelt didn't shoot a bear back in 1902 in Mississippi.  Hmmm....Teddy looks a bit like the old mascot.  Can TR be the mascot?  People would be okay with him, wouldn't they?  Oh, yeah, he liked to hunt and kill animals, so that's a no.  But, there are Gators, Tigers, Wildcats, Razorbacks and Gamecocks that could be hunted...



           Colonel Reb                     Col.Theodore Roosevelt

• Hotty Toddy.  This is the worst idea of them all.  You're jumping on the bandwagon of the colored full body suit that fans are wearing the last couple years.  Yeah, that's a trend that's going to last like avocado shag carpet, bell bottom jeans and Billy Ray Cyrus.  The artist's rendition of him makes him look like someone who would be breaking into my house to steal stuff...or worse.

Good job Mississippi.  Glad to see this is an issue that's taken you seven years, countless dollars and endless hours that could be used to improve the literacy rate of your state, and all you can come up with is a land shark, a bear and some sort of gray man who at the very least looks like he should be in a medium security prison and should never be allowed near children (which is apparently a big concern for the Ole Miss Mascot committee.  In my experience going to college football games, children make up somewhere less than 2% of the total crowd.  Ahhh, America.  Where the vocal minority makes the rules for the apathetic majority.).

Whichever one of these spawns of Satan you end up with, you lose.  I can't see how any of those are going to inspire anything but thoughts of depression and journeys to the porch to take a long draw on that jug with the "XXX" on the front of it.  Fortunately, you have the Grove and those lovely southern belles in their sun dresses to take your mind off that atrocity of a mascot.  You know, southern belles are certainly associated with the South and what it represents...I hope no one gets the idea that they're offensive and represent a way of life that is outdated and backwards in it's thinking.

Picks for October 9th

Last week was a disaster, as Iowa was the only team that covered in a 1-3 week.  The season record falls to 5-5-1.  So, time to get our head above water.

at Florida -6.5 LSU - Les Miles might have a deal with the devil, but that isn't going to save him from himself or the Gators defense this week.  The LSU offense is inept (and that's being kind), so unless they score a couple of defensive touchdowns and have a punt return or kickoff return for a score, this one won't be close.

at North Carolina State -9.5 Boston College - The Wolfpack imploded at the end of last week's game against Virginia Tech while Boston College barely went through the motions in their loss to Notre Dame.  I'll take the good team who lost to a good team over the bad team who got blown out by a bad team.  Pack wins by 14+.

at Stanford -10 USC - The Cardinal hung double nickles on the Trojans last year at the Coliseum.  Coming off a bad loss to Oregon, I look for Harbaugh and Company to get physical, smash the Trojans right in the mouth and not take their foot off the gas until they're back near 50 again...and maybe they'll still keep the pedal down.

Week 5 - Top 10

Week 5 and  a couple of newcomers leave the Top 10 after only a week.

1. Alabama - Dominating performance against Florida.  At the start of the season, I thought someone would take the Crimson Tide down, just because it's so hard to repeat.  They seem determined to keep their focus, kick ass and take names on their way to another shot at the crystal football.
2. Ohio State - I'm leaving you here...for now.  Shoddy performance against Illinois, but you still got the win.
3. Oregon - Impressive showing after falling behind early 21-3, before absolutely catching up to and then blowing right by Stanford.  There isn't an offense in the country that's as scary as the Quack Attack right now, except for...



Washington State Cougar Fan -
The team's not in the Top 10 but
their fans get an honorable mention

4. Boise State - This is what elite teams do to mediocre to bad teams.  Never a doubt as the Broncos carved up New Mexico for 608 yards and 59 points in the shutout.
5. TCU - Once again, took a little longer than it should have to put away Colorado State, but even when the offense struggles, the defense is a beast.
6. Nebraska - A bye week, but they move up a couple of spots due to LSU being coached by Les Miles and winning in spite of his horrible clock management skills and Stanford getting lit up like a Christmas tree (or like the Stanford tree before a game).
7. Auburn - They get a breather after three close games against Mississippi State, Clemson and South Carolina and lay into Louisiana-Monroe like a hobo into a 40 oz. of Olde English 800...it's neither pretty nor something you want your children to see, but it gets the job done.
8. Oklahoma - Sooners, you're in here because you keep winning and you show signs of being very good and then revert back to being the team that is a brain fart away from a clunker of a game.
9. Michigan State - Very nice win against Wisconsin this past weekend.  Now that you're in the Top 10, you need to step up and beat Michigan convincingly this weekend.
10. Utah - Takes advantage of the bye week to slide into the Top 10.  Travels to Ames, Iowa to take on an Iowa State team that just laid 52 on Texas Tech (think Mike Leach would have lost to Iowa State? No, I didn't think so).

On the outside looking in:

• LSU - Ahh, Les Miles.  Does your brain just go into a complete vapor lock when there is less than a minute to go in the game?  And how do you keep getting away with it?  You're undefeated, but it's far too ugly to let you stay in the Top 10.
• Iowa - The Arizona loss might have been an aberration and this team is really good.
• South Carolina - Gamecocks...you have your shot this weekend.  Alabama and Gameday are rolling into Columbia for the prime time game of the week.  Try not to repeat the appearances of Gameday like 2001 (54-17 loss to Florida), 2004 (20-16 loss to Georgia) and 2006 (31-24 loss to Tennessee) and you'll rocket up the Top 10. 

Oct. 2nd Games

A late touchdown by Connecticut helped save a .500 weekend last week.  After a 2-2 week, 4-2-1 on the year.  Four more games for tomorrow.

Georgia Tech -10 at Wake Forest - The Yellow Jackets have to play better than they did against North Carolina State last week.  The Demon Deacons are just the team to help them out.  NC State may be better than people think, but Wake gives up points in bunches and the Ramblin' Wreck will take them.

Northwestern -5.5 at Minnesota - Northwestern has been solid, if unspectacular.  Minnesota has been horrible.  Unless someone is throwing the game on the Wildcats side, I don't see this one being close.

at Iowa -7.5 Penn State - Hate to pick against the Nittany Lions, but the reality is they're not very good and their freshman quarterback Robert Bolden is making too many mistakes right now.  An experienced defense like Iowa's is going to eat him up.  And Penn State has had trouble beating the Hawkeyes for the past decade, even when PSU is good.

TCU -33.5 at Colorado State - It's a lot of points to give, but the Horned Frogs are on a mission.  It took them too long to separated from SMU last week.  They won't make that mistake against the Rams.  Look for the Frogs to hang half a hundred on Colorado State.