First off, congrats to the Peabody Veterans Memorial High School Tanner football team, who took Thanksgiving rival Saugus behind the woodshed for the twenty-somethingth time in a row. Nothing says successful season like beating a 1-8 team 28-0. Good times. From my remote location today, here are the picks:
Last Week - 3-2
Season - 13-6-1
Tennessee -8.5 @Kentucky
SPOILER ALERT! Tennessee will win this week, and cover the spread. I'm not sure if Casey Clausen is subbing in for Rick Clausen, or maybe over Thanksgiving dinner Rick's parents took out old newspaper clippings about how good Casey was when he was the Vol's quarteback, but this week it will happen. I'll be honest, I've bashed Tennessee a lot this year, but this is the same quarterback that threw for 5 TDs in the first half of the 2005 Cotton Bowl. I'm going out on a limb and taking the Vols to cover.
@ Miami -17.5 UVA
The U has had a season full of Ups (a 27-7 win over VA Tech), Downs (last week's loss to GA Tech) and "Thug U" moments (mad props to the 7th floor crew, whatever that means). I see them ending the regular season with a big win over Virginia. Remember, this is the same Miami team that beat potential Big East champion South Florida. I'm taking the Canes to cover 17.5 against UVA, with or without those awful orange sleeved uniforms.
@ Florida -3.5 FSU
I must have some sort of obsession with ACC and SEC football. Yes, I'm perfectly aware that college football is played in places other than the southeast United States, thank you very much. Florida has a shot to improve to 8-3, one more win than they had last season, a nice gift for new coach Urban "Legend" Meyer. By the way, I can't stand Bobby Bowden. Even his stupid Burger King commercial from a few years ago made me stop eating there until they stopped running the promo. Either way, to say FSU has been struggling during the second half of the season would be like saying that the French government has been struggling against rioters lately. I'll take the Gators over the Noles by a touchdown.
ND -15.5 @Stanford
Rumor has it that Charlie Weis has this awful phobia of trees. Ok, I made that up, but I really couldn't find any reason for Weis and the Irish to unload on Stanford this weekend. Well, almost no reason. Notre Dame is 8-2, and with a win, could become BCS bowl eligible for the first time since 2000. The Irish roll over Stanford, Brady Quinn throws for at least 3 TD's on his way to locking up the Davey O'Brien award (Vince who?), and Penn State and Notre Dame move one step closer to meeting in the Orange Bowl.
I really should pick the Georgia/GA Tech game here, but it wouldn't be like me to do that. instead . . .
@UL Monroe -2 UL Lafayette
Yes, the yearly battle of University of Louisiana teams. This year, though both teams are 5-5, and the winner will likely move to play in the New Orleans/Lafayette Bowl. A nice reward for two teams who have had to endure some serious off-field distractions this year. I'm going with ULM here for two reasons. a) They've got some of the best names in college football (Kinsmon Lancaster, RoShon Jacobs, DeMarcus Carmouche, LaGregory Sapp, and my favorite, Chance Payne. Seriously, how cool is that? And, he's a quarterback. I don't care if he rides the bench all year. You know any opposing coach takes one look at the depth chart and gets nervous when he sees the name Chance Payne. "Well guys, we match up well against their secondary, our defense should be able to hold their running backs, but Lord help us if Chance Payne comes into the game. I hear he's 7 feet tall, weighs 300 pounds, runs the 40 in four point two, and can throw the football over a quarter mile." Sorry, I think I've lost my train of thought), and b) the NCAA is striking down against teams with Indian-related mascots. I'm all for un-PC mascots. I mean, who wouldn't like to see Brandeis University rename their team the Fighting Jews, or BYU be called the Polygamers, or West Virginia the Cousin **ckers? Am I alone on this one? Um, yeah, I'll take UL Monroe to win this one by at least three.
Anyhow, enjoy the games - next week we have such gems as Army-Navy, USC-UCLA, and the ever popular Akron-Northern Illinois MAC matchup. Whoooo! Until then . . .
Friday, November 25, 2005
Friday, November 18, 2005
Not much time to post - I'm leaving to go on tour with the University of Miami football team. Don't bring your ho' to the 7th flo'.
On to the picks:
Last week - 4-1 (That's what happens when Rutgers f**ks a stranger in the @$$) Lesson - when you dance on your opponent's 50 yard line a la T.O. in Dallas, you're bound to get beaten 56-5.
Overall, 10-4-1
@ UVA +7 VA Tech - The Hokies lead the "Commonwealth Classic" series VT leads 44-37-5. Plus, Jimmy Williams of VA Tech is one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Award. That's just fun to say, "Nagurski." I'm taking Tech to cover.
@ Mich. State +7.5 Penn State - The BCS committee is pitching a major tent over the possibility of a Notre Dame/Penn State bowl game. Personally, I can think of a few people who would be morally torn over who to root for. PSU won't disappoint this week, covering against the Spartans. Speaking of the Irish . . .
Syracuse +34.5 @ Notre Dame - Though it is a long shot, Brady Quinn could throw for like 7 TD's and a solid 400 yards this week and move in as a legit Heisman candidate. I swear I did this the other night on my X-Box. Syracuse is just the team to let this happen. However, I don't see Charlie Weis running up the score, and although ND is 6-2 against the spread this season, I don't see them beating it this week. Syracuse will still lose the game, but they'll cover the spread.
@ Michigan +3 OSU - I'm only picking this one because my buddy Jeff is going to the game with his step sister and her friends. I'll be honest - a lot is made of this rivalry, but since neither team is spectacular this year, I'll probably play Madden rather than watch it. That being said, I'm taking Michigan to win. Go Blue!
Temple +28 @Navy - On their quest for perfection, Temple should have no trouble losing their last game of the season. When the AD drew up the schedule at the beginning of the year on the premise that Temple as an independent school would play a tough schedule, I'm not quite sure he thought he'd lose every game. If that was his intent, well congrats on a successful season. Navy will sure up bowl eligibility with this win; Temple will sure up their worst season ever (0-11). I see Navy steamrolling the Owls (with starting OT/Goon Nehemiah Ingram) by a solid 35 points this week.
Until next week . . .
On to the picks:
Last week - 4-1 (That's what happens when Rutgers f**ks a stranger in the @$$) Lesson - when you dance on your opponent's 50 yard line a la T.O. in Dallas, you're bound to get beaten 56-5.
Overall, 10-4-1
@ UVA +7 VA Tech - The Hokies lead the "Commonwealth Classic" series VT leads 44-37-5. Plus, Jimmy Williams of VA Tech is one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Award. That's just fun to say, "Nagurski." I'm taking Tech to cover.
@ Mich. State +7.5 Penn State - The BCS committee is pitching a major tent over the possibility of a Notre Dame/Penn State bowl game. Personally, I can think of a few people who would be morally torn over who to root for. PSU won't disappoint this week, covering against the Spartans. Speaking of the Irish . . .
Syracuse +34.5 @ Notre Dame - Though it is a long shot, Brady Quinn could throw for like 7 TD's and a solid 400 yards this week and move in as a legit Heisman candidate. I swear I did this the other night on my X-Box. Syracuse is just the team to let this happen. However, I don't see Charlie Weis running up the score, and although ND is 6-2 against the spread this season, I don't see them beating it this week. Syracuse will still lose the game, but they'll cover the spread.
@ Michigan +3 OSU - I'm only picking this one because my buddy Jeff is going to the game with his step sister and her friends. I'll be honest - a lot is made of this rivalry, but since neither team is spectacular this year, I'll probably play Madden rather than watch it. That being said, I'm taking Michigan to win. Go Blue!
Temple +28 @Navy - On their quest for perfection, Temple should have no trouble losing their last game of the season. When the AD drew up the schedule at the beginning of the year on the premise that Temple as an independent school would play a tough schedule, I'm not quite sure he thought he'd lose every game. If that was his intent, well congrats on a successful season. Navy will sure up bowl eligibility with this win; Temple will sure up their worst season ever (0-11). I see Navy steamrolling the Owls (with starting OT/Goon Nehemiah Ingram) by a solid 35 points this week.
Until next week . . .
Friday, November 11, 2005
6-3-1 . . . and still looking good
First off, let me say that my detailed analysis of why UCLA would whup Arizona last week was just a little misguided. And the Patriots had just a little bit of a hard time stopping the Colts last week. I'm glad we got that out of the way.
Even though I goofed on the UCLA and BC games, Notre Dame, Penn State and the mighty Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (who are on the verge of dropping to Division I-AA) came through 45-7. So after going 3-2 on the week, I am 6-3-1 after two weeks. Here are my picks for this week.
@ Louisville -22 Rutgers
I never thought I'd see the day when Rutgers (6-3) was having a better season than their NJ professional counterparts, the Jets (2-6).
How weak has the Big East become when the Scarlet Knights are bowl eligible and there is only one legitimate top 25 team in the conference? This week Louisville is out to prove that they are a second top 25 contender, and that they are still in the hunt for a shot of the Big East title. I'm pretty sure they'll win the game, but not by 22. In the first of my "Hot Dog" picks this week, I see Rutgers losing by less than 22 points, and happily heading off to the Insight.com bowl in a few weeks.
@ Georgia -3 Auburn
After Georgia's loss to Florida ended their perfect season, it was hard not to pick this game. It has all the elements of a big win for the Dawgs - the return of an injured team leader in D. J. Shockley (who I still think sounds like a bad Long Island club emcee), the hope to rebound and grab a piece of the conference title, being able to prove to the nation that they are in fact as good as their 7-1 record says they are. And all of this happening at home! So why are they only favored by 3? Oh, maybe its because Georgia is just 2-9 against Auburn at home in their last 11 meetings. Or the fact that while Shockley is returning, he's a pretty mobile quarterback coming back from a knee injury. Either way, I'm going out on a limb and taking my second underdog of the week. Chances are this will be the game I blow, but if I guess right, I look like a genius. That and $1.50 gets me a cup of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. Pick Auburn with the points over Georgia.
@ Tennessee -18 Memphis
Who's beginning to see a pattern here? Tennessee went into last week's game against Notre Dame boasting a great defense - as had much of the SEC. The Vols had held #5 Alabam to 6 points, and #6 Florida to 16. When Tennessee gave up 20 straight points to the Irish in the fourth quarter the great defense arguement lost some credibility. Enter Memphis. With a 4-4 record, the Tigers are having a decent year, averaging 274.8 yards rushing per game (5th in the nation) and scoring 27.8 per game, 11 more than Tennessee's avergae points scored. However, if Tennessee plays some defence this week, and can hold Memphis to under 20 points, then they should have no trouble. Memphis is 1-14 since 2001 when they score fewer than 20 points. I think this game will be a lot closer than the spread indicates, and because of that I'm taking Memphis with the points.
@ UCLA -3.5 ASU
Lee's Note: I can't hear any of you laughing at this pick, those chants of "Overrated" are still ringing in my ears.
"Hi, we're UCLA, and we used this gimmic last week. You might remember, we got embarassed by Arizona when we lost by 38. Um, yeah, we're sorry about that. But this week we're playing another team from Arizona - this one has more than 2 wins though, and now we're only favored by three and a half points. We still think you should pick us to win, but you might want to hedge your bet by taking the over in this game too. We can pretty much guarantee that between Drew Olsen (25 TD) and Sam Keller (20 TD) there's going to be a lot of scoring.
@ Notre Dame -23 Navy
In the battle for the Jesse Martineau trophy, Norte Dame has the distinct advantage. They're bowl eligible for the first time since I was in college, they're coming off of a big win against Tennessee, and they have beaten Navy 41 straight times. Navy is having a very good season, and though I don't see an upset here, I do see an interesting matchup. First off, today is Veterans Day, and as the old saying goes, "Don't bet against the service academies on Veterans Day weekend." Okay, there is no saying like that, but there should be. Second, Notre Dame has only beaten one team by more than 23 points this season (BYU) and Charlie Weis doesn't strike me like the kind of guy who would run up the score against a) a service academy or b) an intersectional rival who will remember this game for the next decade if the Irish blow them out. That being said, Noter Dame will dominate, Brady Quinn will shine, and the Irish will win the game by no more than 21 points. Yes, I know that just to spite me, D.J. Fitzpatrick will nail a 40+ yarder to put them up by 24, but I'm sticking with my gut here, and I'll take Navy and the points.
Even though I goofed on the UCLA and BC games, Notre Dame, Penn State and the mighty Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (who are on the verge of dropping to Division I-AA) came through 45-7. So after going 3-2 on the week, I am 6-3-1 after two weeks. Here are my picks for this week.
@ Louisville -22 Rutgers
I never thought I'd see the day when Rutgers (6-3) was having a better season than their NJ professional counterparts, the Jets (2-6).
How weak has the Big East become when the Scarlet Knights are bowl eligible and there is only one legitimate top 25 team in the conference? This week Louisville is out to prove that they are a second top 25 contender, and that they are still in the hunt for a shot of the Big East title. I'm pretty sure they'll win the game, but not by 22. In the first of my "Hot Dog" picks this week, I see Rutgers losing by less than 22 points, and happily heading off to the Insight.com bowl in a few weeks.@ Georgia -3 Auburn
After Georgia's loss to Florida ended their perfect season, it was hard not to pick this game. It has all the elements of a big win for the Dawgs - the return of an injured team leader in D. J. Shockley (who I still think sounds like a bad Long Island club emcee), the hope to rebound and grab a piece of the conference title, being able to prove to the nation that they are in fact as good as their 7-1 record says they are. And all of this happening at home! So why are they only favored by 3? Oh, maybe its because Georgia is just 2-9 against Auburn at home in their last 11 meetings. Or the fact that while Shockley is returning, he's a pretty mobile quarterback coming back from a knee injury. Either way, I'm going out on a limb and taking my second underdog of the week. Chances are this will be the game I blow, but if I guess right, I look like a genius. That and $1.50 gets me a cup of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. Pick Auburn with the points over Georgia.
@ Tennessee -18 Memphis
Who's beginning to see a pattern here? Tennessee went into last week's game against Notre Dame boasting a great defense - as had much of the SEC. The Vols had held #5 Alabam to 6 points, and #6 Florida to 16. When Tennessee gave up 20 straight points to the Irish in the fourth quarter the great defense arguement lost some credibility. Enter Memphis. With a 4-4 record, the Tigers are having a decent year, averaging 274.8 yards rushing per game (5th in the nation) and scoring 27.8 per game, 11 more than Tennessee's avergae points scored. However, if Tennessee plays some defence this week, and can hold Memphis to under 20 points, then they should have no trouble. Memphis is 1-14 since 2001 when they score fewer than 20 points. I think this game will be a lot closer than the spread indicates, and because of that I'm taking Memphis with the points.
@ UCLA -3.5 ASU
Lee's Note: I can't hear any of you laughing at this pick, those chants of "Overrated" are still ringing in my ears.
"Hi, we're UCLA, and we used this gimmic last week. You might remember, we got embarassed by Arizona when we lost by 38. Um, yeah, we're sorry about that. But this week we're playing another team from Arizona - this one has more than 2 wins though, and now we're only favored by three and a half points. We still think you should pick us to win, but you might want to hedge your bet by taking the over in this game too. We can pretty much guarantee that between Drew Olsen (25 TD) and Sam Keller (20 TD) there's going to be a lot of scoring.
@ Notre Dame -23 Navy
In the battle for the Jesse Martineau trophy, Norte Dame has the distinct advantage. They're bowl eligible for the first time since I was in college, they're coming off of a big win against Tennessee, and they have beaten Navy 41 straight times. Navy is having a very good season, and though I don't see an upset here, I do see an interesting matchup. First off, today is Veterans Day, and as the old saying goes, "Don't bet against the service academies on Veterans Day weekend." Okay, there is no saying like that, but there should be. Second, Notre Dame has only beaten one team by more than 23 points this season (BYU) and Charlie Weis doesn't strike me like the kind of guy who would run up the score against a) a service academy or b) an intersectional rival who will remember this game for the next decade if the Irish blow them out. That being said, Noter Dame will dominate, Brady Quinn will shine, and the Irish will win the game by no more than 21 points. Yes, I know that just to spite me, D.J. Fitzpatrick will nail a 40+ yarder to put them up by 24, but I'm sticking with my gut here, and I'll take Navy and the points.
Friday, November 04, 2005
College Football - Week 2 (sort of)
After a strong 3-1-1 week (stupid Florida pushed), I'm confident to say I've still got it. As the other LL put it, "Don't call it a comeback. I've been here for years." On to the picks.
BC -4.5 @ NC
I like the Eagles this week, even if they got tripled up last week by the Hokies. The QB's are the key to this game, but if I were BC coach Tom O'Brien, I'd tell my team that there is no way a team with a guy named "Cooter" (RB James (Cooter) Arnold) should beat you. BC covers over UNC.
@PENN STATE -11.5 Wisconsin
Plain and simple, PSU wins this one because they have more black athletes. Just ask Paterno
@MIDDLE TENN ST -4.5 Arkansas State
Honestly, the only thing I know about either team is that in my XBox game, I've scheduled Middle Tenn State to play my created GW team twice, and they've beaten me both times. You know that team that no matter how hard you try, you're unable to beat? That's MTSU for me. I may even keep them off the schedule next year just because I secretly fear them.
For this reason, I'm not even looking at records, stats or rosters and I'm picking MTSU to cover over Arkansas State. By the way, pictured is Sr. Quarterback Josh "Mr. Consistent" Harris. I wish my nickname was Mr. Consistent. Not "Mr. Wonderful" or "Mr. Perfect" just "Mr. Consistent." No mention of "consistently comes up on third down," or "consistently throws interceptions on key drives," just "consistent." Just like me, pretty much half-assed.
Ucla -9.5 @ARIZONA
"Hi, we're UCLA, you may have heard of us. We're that other undefeated team from Southern CA. In case you were wondering, we're playing Arizona this week, and the only team they've beaten by more than a field goal is Northern Arizona. We haven't scored fewer than 21 points in any game this year, and we're averaging 42.6 points per game. Oh yeah, we're only favored by 9.5. You may want to pick us."
@NOTREDAME -9 Tennessee
You don't get where I am by picking the winner of the Florida Atlantic/Troy State game. That being said, I'm sitting in a stuffy office on a Friday afternoon waiting for my boss to call me and discuss a book about Scanning Electron Microscopes. Good Times! Either way, I'm kind of torn on this game. Notre Dame is back, they have a successful head coach locked up for the next ten years (or until he drops three straight to USC) and there is a general good feeling in Souith Bend. On the other hand, Tennessee followed up a 3 point showing against Alabama by losing their third game in a row in a squeaker against South Carolina. Hmmm, a team with a struggling offense taking on a head coach who is arguably one of the greatest offensive minds in football. Sounds like a real tough one here. HOWEVER, Tennessee is primed for a big win, and if they want to be even considered for a bowl game, they need to win now. I see the Vols putting up a good effort for 3 quarters, but when the game goes final, the Irish will win by 10 in my LOCK OF THE WEEK.
Well, that's it for this week. As always, comments are appreciated.
BC -4.5 @ NC
I like the Eagles this week, even if they got tripled up last week by the Hokies. The QB's are the key to this game, but if I were BC coach Tom O'Brien, I'd tell my team that there is no way a team with a guy named "Cooter" (RB James (Cooter) Arnold) should beat you. BC covers over UNC.
@PENN STATE -11.5 Wisconsin
Plain and simple, PSU wins this one because they have more black athletes. Just ask Paterno
@MIDDLE TENN ST -4.5 Arkansas State
Honestly, the only thing I know about either team is that in my XBox game, I've scheduled Middle Tenn State to play my created GW team twice, and they've beaten me both times. You know that team that no matter how hard you try, you're unable to beat? That's MTSU for me. I may even keep them off the schedule next year just because I secretly fear them.
For this reason, I'm not even looking at records, stats or rosters and I'm picking MTSU to cover over Arkansas State. By the way, pictured is Sr. Quarterback Josh "Mr. Consistent" Harris. I wish my nickname was Mr. Consistent. Not "Mr. Wonderful" or "Mr. Perfect" just "Mr. Consistent." No mention of "consistently comes up on third down," or "consistently throws interceptions on key drives," just "consistent." Just like me, pretty much half-assed.Ucla -9.5 @ARIZONA
"Hi, we're UCLA, you may have heard of us. We're that other undefeated team from Southern CA. In case you were wondering, we're playing Arizona this week, and the only team they've beaten by more than a field goal is Northern Arizona. We haven't scored fewer than 21 points in any game this year, and we're averaging 42.6 points per game. Oh yeah, we're only favored by 9.5. You may want to pick us."
@NOTREDAME -9 Tennessee
You don't get where I am by picking the winner of the Florida Atlantic/Troy State game. That being said, I'm sitting in a stuffy office on a Friday afternoon waiting for my boss to call me and discuss a book about Scanning Electron Microscopes. Good Times! Either way, I'm kind of torn on this game. Notre Dame is back, they have a successful head coach locked up for the next ten years (or until he drops three straight to USC) and there is a general good feeling in Souith Bend. On the other hand, Tennessee followed up a 3 point showing against Alabama by losing their third game in a row in a squeaker against South Carolina. Hmmm, a team with a struggling offense taking on a head coach who is arguably one of the greatest offensive minds in football. Sounds like a real tough one here. HOWEVER, Tennessee is primed for a big win, and if they want to be even considered for a bowl game, they need to win now. I see the Vols putting up a good effort for 3 quarters, but when the game goes final, the Irish will win by 10 in my LOCK OF THE WEEK.
Well, that's it for this week. As always, comments are appreciated.
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