Week 11 - Part 2

In the words of the co-founder of Half Jewish Sports, Jesse Martineau, "Holy Jeebus." Last night's Rutgers - Louisville game was one to remember for a long time, or at least until the collective elation from 50,000+ students and faculty gives way to the realization that they still have to beat West Virginia on the road to even have a shot at the National Championship. Until then, live it up, Scarlet Knights. You played one heckuva game last night. Just don't tell any of my Seton Hall classmates that I was rooting for Rutgers. The fact that Rutgers was nearly always the butt of jokes both in New Jersey and on my radio show (they were 1-11 my senior year) makes this such a "feel-good" story. That and the fact that by Rutgers winning, it totally screws up the BCS. I can't wait to see which Big East/SEC/Big XII/Pac-10 team makes a stink this year.

In more somber news, the University of Miami made headlines for a different reason this week as defensive lineman Bryan Pata was shot and killed on Tuesday night. As much as I joke about Miami being a bunch of thugs, this really shows how unimportant wins and losses can be to a team. I'll be rooting for the Canes this weekend to use this as a rallying point and make the most out of what has been the season from Hell. Plus I'd love to see Maryland take it on the chin.

Maurice Clarett Award nominee: Florida wide receiver Nyan Boateng who was stabbed in the leg by a female student during an argument this week. Please, you're a wide receiver, not a punter. Injuries like this are soooooooo last month. On to the picks.

Last Week: 0-5
This season: 23-26-1

0-5 is what happens when you claim that the odds for a game aren't listed when in fact the game is scheduled for the next week. My deepest apologies to the gambling gods who must have been offended enough to have me lose 2 games by .5 points. If I wasn't so psyched about correctly calling the Rutgers upset, I'd be calling in sick this week. Good times.

Cal -13.5 ARIZONA

Call it a hunch, but USC is no longer the dominant team in the Pac-10. This will be shown in the coming weeks when USC has to play Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame and an underrated UCLA team. Cal on the other hand is 6-0 in the conference, with their "trap" game this week against the Wildcats. I hate the term "trap" game. I get the argument that Cal might be focusing more on USC than on Arizona, or that they don't want to risk injuring their key players the week before a big game, but frankly I think its a load of bull. The fact of the matter is, if Cal wins out, beating two top ranked BCS opponents (Oregon and USC) with their only loss coming in week 1 to a strong Tennessee squad (we know, we know), they have a good shot at playing in the Rose Bowl. Depending on how other teams finish out, they could have a shot at the National Championship. My point is that Cal has been solid against stronger teams all season, and if last week's 3 TD, 0 INT performance from QB Nate Longshore is any indication, the Golden Bears should have little trouble picking apart Mike Stoops' defense this week. Cal covers the spread unless Big Brother Bob shows up to coach instead.

FRESNO ST. -11.5 New Mexico State

Um, yeah so I was looking over the games this week, and after realizing that NM State is 2-7 against the spread, and that Fresno State is 0-8 against the spread including a dismal 1-3 record at home, I figured that this game was the perfect storm (hey anything to get the gambling gods back on my good side, right?). How bad are these teams? New Mexico State is averaging 67.6 yards rushing per game. Fresno State is being outscored on average by more than 12 points per game. What’s the most telling stat here? The Bulldogs have allowed 11 passing touchdowns combined in their last three games, including 6 to Hawaii. New Mexico State just happens to have a QB in Chase Holbrook who has thrown for 3451 yards and 25 TDs this season. Good luck to Fresno State in trying to keep the Aggies out of the end zone this week. I'll take New Mexico State with the points and at least 2 passing touchdowns, please.

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL -1 UL Monroe

In the second game of the Crappy Teams doubleheader, the winless Golden Panthers are actually favored at home against the Warhawks of University of Louisiana - Monroe. I'm seriously at a loss as to how bad two teams in the same conference can be. The downside is one of these teams is going home without a Sun Belt victory this year. The upside is . . . um I'm still looking for one. I'll take UL - Monroe with the points in this one. They might be bad, but FIU is just plain awful.

Boise State -14 SAN JOSE ST.

"Hi there, we're Boise State; you might remember us as the team with the blue turf, or the team that gets screwed out of a National Championship spot ever other year despite having a better record than almost every team in the country. In fact, we've only lost one in-conference game since 2002. More importantly, we're averaging 420+ yards per game, and our running back Ian Johnson has 20 TDs this season. Seriously, you haven't heard of him? That's weird; he has 17 fewer yards than that Rice guy from New Jersey, and 36 more than that Hart kid up in Ann Arbor. Well you must have heard of our line backer Korey Hall, right? No? Hmm - he has 6 interceptions this year, and he recovered a fumble too. Doesn't ring a bell? Well you've definately have heard of our quarterback Jared Zabransky. He has a 16:5 TD/INT ratio and he's top 12 in passing efficiency. Come on, his last name is Zabransky! Anyway, we're Boise State, we're undefeated too, and we're favored by 14 this week. We think we'll cover the spread.

FLORIDA -13 South Carolina

And you thought I was going to go an entire column without mentioning the return of the Ole Ball Coach to Gainesville, didn't you? Where to begin on this one? With Louisville losing last night, Florida will move up into the top 5 in the nation. Florida is on track to meet Either Arkansas (if they can survive the next 3 weeks) or Auburn in the SEC title game. The winner of that will likely get a shot at either Ohio State or Michigan in the national title game (sorry Big East/Pac-10 fans). HOWEVER, Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks could muck all that up with a win in the Swamp, and don't think they don't know it. As much as Steve Spurrier made a name for himself with the Fun-n-Gun offense with Danny Wuerffel, don't think he wouldn't love to come back to Florida and play spoiler. And I think he can do it. Stories of Gators' QB Chris Leak playing with a concussion against Georgia were only intensified after he threw three picks against Vanderbilt last week. Combine that with the fact that Tim Tebow hasn't scored a touchdown since the loss to Georgia, and it looks like the Florida two-headed QB monster might be breaking down. Unless RB DeShawn Wynn can get things together against a South Carolina defense that only gives up 17 points per game, the game may very well rest on the dizzy and weary Chris Leak. South Carolina and the points are the best bet this week.

Until next week . . .