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Week 14

Due to an unforeseen circumstance, Thursday didn't go according to plan, nor did most of the weekend. Believe me or don't, but I did make five picks . . . and went 2-3. I was correct about Alabama and GA Tech, but missed Cincinnati, Texas, and California.  I finished the season at a shockingly mediocre 31-37-2.  Now I have to sit and wait for the bowl lines to come out, though I might even break out the microphone and do a Super Special Bowl Podcast.

Week 13 Results - Slightly Better Than The One That Charlie Weis Had

With the season on the line, my picks went about as well as Elin Woods using her husband's cell phone to call the police after his car accident - surprisingly bad. Touting a 29-29-2 record, I dropped 5 of 5 games and dug myself a pretty large hole this week. I must have been drinking between picks or something.

Temple (-2.5) failed to show up against Ohio (and may have damaged their bowl chances in the process), Pitt (even) couldn't stop the running game of West Virginia, Clemson (-3) got doubled up by South Carolina, UNC (-5.5) remarkably lost outright, giving NC State their first (and only) non-Maryland ACC win of the season, and yes, Laura, the Sooners played spoiler against Oklahoma State (+8) and managed to show a little bit of pride late in the season.

Week 13: 0-5
Season: 29-34-2 (.462)

Stay tuned as I attempt to resurrect my season with the SEC, ACC, and Big East Championship games.

Week 13 - On Even Ground

With Thnksgiving upon us, I'm thankful that a 3-2 week put me back at .500 this late in the season.

Week 12: 3-2
Season: 29-29-2

Let's get right to the Week 13 Picks.

Pittsburgh   EVEN   West Virginia

I really don't know a heck of a lot of what has happened in the Big East this season, other than Cincinnati has managed to run the table in and out of conference, and is looking like a dark horse candidate for the BCS Championship should Texas, Florida and Arkansas lose games. After the Bearcats, however, Pitt has been racking up a pretty decent string of wins as well. The Panthers' only loss has come to North Carolina State, but their biggest test is yet to come (with the aforementioned Bearcats lined up for December 5th). Before they get to Cincy, the Panthers need to take care of this week's opponent - a formidable West Virginia squad that is looking to exact some revenge after Pitt's 2007 upset knocked the Mountaineers out of the National Title race. West Virginia played Cincy well last week - nearly eking out an upset win.  Though I don't think Pitt is better than Cincy, I do think they'll give West Virginia trouble - and with the Mountaineers' leading rusher Noel Devine nursing a bad ankle, I think Pitt will hold West Virginia in check. Don't believe me? Ask Charlie Weis and Notr Dame. I'm taking Pittsburgh straight up.


Temple  -2.5  Ohio

The train just keeps rolling. Riding a nine(!) game winning streak, the Owls look to capture their first MAC East title. A smart person would attribute Temple's turnaround to Freshman RB Bernard Pierce (who will not play this week due to an injured shoulder) or the fantastic job that Al Golden has done in his 4th year as head coach, but I'll give the credit to Jesse Martineau who is backing this team as if it came from Manch Vegas. Even if the Owls are missing Pierce (and his 15 TDs), I think Temple can win this one by 3 or more. I'll take the Owls giving the points.


Clemson  -3   South Carolina

The South Carolina State Championship Game. With Clemson heading to the ACC title game, this one really just comes down to pride. The Tigers have won the ten of the last twelve meetings between the schools, and are coming in with a six game winning streak. The Gamecocks and the Ol' Ball Coach have seen their season fall apart since losing to Alabama, having dropped 4 out of 5 games. I really don't think SC has enough motivation to win this one, and it looks like Steve Spurrier is destined for a .500 season - only the third non-winning season of his college coaching career. I'm taking Clemson giving three points.


North Carolina  -5.5  NC State

Sticking with the in-state rivals theme, we'll travel north for the North Carolina State Championship Not Involving Duke or Wake Forest. UNC demolished Boston College last week and I don't see the Wolfpack giving them much more trouble than the Eagles did. On a side note, my dad won two tickets to the BC game last week, and went with my uncle. I asked my dad - who is not a huge college football fan - what he thought of the game. "Well, we had to take a shuttle bus from satellite parking, and by the time we got there, BC was already losing by 14. We should have just got back on the bus and gone home." As usual, my story has no relevance to anything whatsoever. I'll take UNC giving 5.5.


Oklahoma  -8  Oklahoma State

I'll bet no OU fan saw this one coming. The Cowboys are ranked and looking for a big bowl game. Oklahoma is just trying not to embarrass themselves too much. Even though OSU is ranked, the Sooners are favored. Sorry OU fans, I'm smelling upset here and taking OSU with the points. 

Week 12 - Video Links Galore

Going into the final 3 weeks of regular season play, I’m still 8 wins away from being bowl eligible. It’s a good thing I work for a PR agency, and can make a public push for a spot in the post-season. With six teams still undefeated – including Texas, Alabama and Florida – it looks like TCU and Boise State (who has hired a PR firm) will have to play in the Orange, Fiesta or Sugar Bowls, while two of the three schools mentioned above duke it out for the BCS Championship.


Bonehead of the Week

In lieu of a Bonehead of the Week, I want to give a shout out to my favorite newsman and Canadian, Pat Kiernan of NY1. Not only is today Pat’s birthday, but he offered a personal apology for his spotty attendance on NY1 and to top it off, Lauren ended up winning $25 to Amazon.com in Pat’s daily trivia contest. Pat, if I could, I’d buy you a “Happy Birthday” Molson or Labatt’s. Just when I thought I couldn’t like him any more, today’s double dose of the “Canadian Cronkite” moves him ahead of Bobby Orr, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Darrin O’Brien (a.k.a. Snow) on my list of favorite Canadians. Thanks again, Pat.

On to the Picks!



Ohio State -12 Michigan

Its time to play The Game. Time to play The Gaaaaaaaaaaame. Sorry – I got a bit carried away. If Michigan has shown one thing this year, it’s that they can beat their non-conference opponents (4-0) and lose to their Big Ten rivals (1-6). Ohio State has already locked up a trip to the Rose Bowl, but don’t think they aren’t going to take the opportunity to keep Michigan from becoming bowl-eligible. This season is turning into one to forget for Coach Rich Rodriguez, and it won’t get any easy this week in Ann Arbor. I’m taking The Ohio State University giving 12. No word on whether Lemmy Kilmister is a Buckeyes or Wolverines fan, but with those mutton chops, I’d guess Michigan.



UL Monroe -2½ UL Lafayette

The Battle of University of Louisianas! The Warhawks have strung together a decent 6-4 record, albeit against some pretty crappy teams. The Ragin’ Cajins on the other hand are 5-5 having beaten - you guessed it – some equally crappy teams. With a two teams so evenly matched, I’ll have to look at the deciding factor. Which team has the best named player? I was leaning towards the Warhawks’ wide receiver LaGregory Sapp (and that hard-hitting interview), but then was drawn to the running back tandem of the Cajins, Undrea Sails and Yobes Walker (and that gag reel). Congrats, ULL, you guys have the better names, so I’ll take the Ragin’ Cajins getting the points.



Florida -45 Florida Intl

These are the kinds of spreads that I hate. The ones that are so big that you can't even believe you're going for it. Sorry - this is one of those “we’ll have no trouble whupping you” games for Florida. With 5-5 FSU on the schedule next week, and then the SEC title game against unbeaten Alabama, I can’t imagine that the Gators will go all out against FIU. HOWEVER, I also can’t imagine that the Golden Panthers will fare much better than Troy (56-6) or Charleston Southern (62-3). Because of my lack of imagination, I’m going to take Florida giving an astounding 45 points here.



Colorado State -4 New Mexico

Due to mathematical reasons, both of these teams cannot end the game having zero conference losses. Colorado State started the season 3-0, and has since lost seven straight. The Lobos didn’t wait until week 4 to start losing, they’re a perfect 0-10, and have lost 14 in a row dating back to October of last year. Don’t let the records fool you though. New Mexico stuck with #22 BYU last week, despite gaining just 41 yards rushing. If the Lobos’ passing game can have another solid week, and given the fact that CSU is allowing nearly 250 yards passing per game, I think New Mexico has a shot to win. I’m going out on a limb, and taking the Lobos getting the points.



Stanford -7 California

While this doesn’t have the pizzazz of the USC-UCLA rivalry, it does carry the Big Game moniker (I guess OSU-Michigan isn’t as concerned with adjectives). Stanford has been scoring like John Mayer lately, with big wins over top-ten squads Oregon and USC. Cal managed to put up a combine six points against those two teams earlier in the season. This one seems to be an open and shut case, even with the crazy mascot of the Cardinal. On a side note – the GW women’s basketball team played Stanford in the NCAA Tournament one year while I was the mascot. The Stanford mascot could not have been more annoying if she was in that Pizzazz video. As much as I’d like to see him/her/it lose, I’m taking Stanford giving seven.

Until next week . . .

Week 11 Results - Sub .500 . . . again

As it turns out, my double duty week was all over the place. Most of the games with blown out spreads ended up covering (to my chagrin) and I went a less-than-stellar 4-6. Without going into a game-by-game breakdown, Boises State, TCU and Oklahoma made repeated trips behind the woodshed, Florida didn't, and the upstart Temple Owls are bowl eligible and staring at a post-Thanksgiving matchup with Ohio for a spot in the MAC Championship game.

A quick Bonehead of the Week mention as well. Since I've missed about three of these, I feel comfortable singling out a few players on the Tennessee Volunteers. Redshirt Freshman Oliver was cited for allegedly stealing a brown Polo shirt valued at approximately $110 five and a half hours before kickoff (maybe he had nothing to wear to the field?), and three other players - Janzen Jackson, Nu'Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards - were arrested early Thursday morning on charges of attempted armed robbery.

From ESPN.com: According to the police report, the victims of the robbery were in their car outside a Pilot convenience store, parked next to a Toyota Prius, when a black male approached wearing a hooded sweatshirt, brandishing what appeared to be a handgun, opened the driver's side door and said "Give me everything you have." A second black male also wearing a hooded sweatshirt then came around to the passenger side of the victims' car, opened it and said, "Give us everything you've got." But when the victims opened their wallets and showed they had no money, a third black male approached the other two and said "we've got to go," and all three got into the Prius and drove away, according to the police report.
As bad as all of this looks, it gets even worse when we learn that the night before, coach Lane Kiffin praised his team for not having any off-the-field issues. Well, besides the curfew violations from Jackson and Edwards in August or the supposed failed drug test by Jackson last week. But other than those minor things, life is good over in the Smokey Mountains, huh Lane?
 
As of 3PM, Edwards was still a member of the team, while Jackson and Richardson have been dismissed from the team. I have to hand it to Kiffin - just the threat of being named Bonehead of the Week was enough to act.

Week 11: 4-6

Season: 26-27-2

Week 11 - Oops

Since I never got a chance to post last week, I'm doing double duty this week. Without any further ado, here are the picks:

Boise State -31.5 Idaho

Boise State has a huge chip on their shoulder –and that wasn’t just a potato joke. This is a team that has a PR firm working for them to show just how deserving they are of going to a BCS bowl game this year. The Broncos are going to have a tough time arguing that point as long as TCU stays unbeaten as well, so they’ll have to make some noise on the field as well. For a team that routinely puts up 41+ points a game, that would seem like an easy task against the Vandals, who are 7-3 despite allowing an average of 31 points per game (including giving up 70 in their loss to Nevada). However, the Vandals are having one of their best seasons in quite some time, rattling off a string of five straight wins. The key to keeping this game close will be Idaho’s ability to keep pace with the Boise State offense. Unless starting QB Nate Enderle has fully healed from his rotator cuff injury, it is going to be a long day for Idaho. I’m not so sure he’ll be back or at 100%, but 31.5 points is an awful lot to win by. I’ll take the Vandals getting the points.


Temple -4 Akron

Temple is 7-2, has a very good shot of winning the MAC East division, and could very well wind up playing in *gasp* a bowl game this year. At 2-7, the Zips really shouldn’t pose much of a problem for the Owls, and I see Temple cruising to their first 8-win season since 1979. Gas up the RV, Jesse – it looks like Temple is heading to the post-season. I’ll take the Owls giving 4 points.

Miami -3 UNC

What a weird season the Hurricanes have been having. At 7-2, they still have one of the better records in the ACC, but despite beating GA Tech, they have almost no shot at making it to the ACC title game. In fact, the Hurricanes – who navigated a very top-heavy schedule – may find themselves on the outside looking in at the BCS. On paper UNC shouldn’t be a tough foe for Miami. But, as we know, games aren’t played on paper. They’re played on television. The Tarheels have a 3-0 record in Chapel Hill against the Hurricanes, and despite a 2-3 ACC record, have a 3 point upset win against VA Tech (who beat Miami) to brag about. This game should be closer than most people think, but I see the Hurricanes covering the spread. I’ll take Miami giving 3.

Pittsburgh -6.5 Notre Dame

I know it’s a tough economy, and Notre Dame is all about Catholic values and charity, but enough is enough with this Charlie Weis business. After last week’s embarrassing loss to Navy, Charlie is about as popular with Notre Dame leadership as the Trojan Man. On the field, the Bill Stull/Dion Lewis combo of Pittsburgh is just too much for the Irish, and I think this game is the one that might have resumes coming in to the AD’s office in South Bend. I’m taking the Panthers to cover.

Florida -15.5 South Carolina

The Gators ripped apart the Old Ball Coach last season – drubbing the Gamecocks by 50. As much as I’d love to see SC exact some revenge and throw the BCS into a tizzy, there isn’t much of a chance for the Gamecocks to knock off Florida. While the Old Ball Coach probably has a few tricks up his sleeve, they won’t be enough to end the Gators’ streak of 19-straight wins. Even with Tim Tebow poised to have his worst statistical season as a starter, I see the Gators winning this one and covering the spread. I’ll take Florida giving 15.5.

BONUS PICKS

Since I missed last week, here are five additional picks to bring me back to where I need to be:

Penn State -25.5 Indiana

That seems like a lot of points for the Nittany Lions to beat a team like Indiana (who only lost by 3 to both Michigan and Wisconsin). I’ll take the Hoosiers getting 25.5.

Cincinnati -9 West Virginia

I smell upset. I’ll take the Mountaineers getting 9.

TCU -19.5 Utah

See explanation of Boise State-Idaho. I’m taking Utah with the points.

Oklahoma -20 Texas A&M

Do the Zambutos even care at this point? I think the Aggies getting the points is a safe bet.

Western Michigan -12 Eastern Michigan

The battle of Directional Michigan Schools! I’ll take WMU to roll over the winless EMU Eagles and cover the spread.

Until next week . . .