Week 13 - A little bit of luck

Big week for college football - OU-Texas Tech, Utah-BYU, and the always intense Florida-Citadel!! Some of these teams are very evenly matched and I could have a hard time picking the winners without a little bit of luck. Granted with people losing their savings, and a report by the government that a huge earthquake could devastate middle America, I figure a 2-3 week isn't such a horrible thing, right? Now a 1-4 week on the other hand . .

On other thought - I know that their SEC schedule is done, but #4 Florida scheduled Citadel for a late season match up? I know its a good game for their stats and helps out the bowl picture, but that's just mean. Although, as Michael Scott says, "Sometimes the ends justifies the mean."

BONEHEAD OF THE WEEK

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, who said about his fans, "It's amazing some of the things that people would say [on a message board] or yell at you of a personal nature. You almost want to tell them, 'Get a life.'" Yeah, seriously. Who are these people that spend multiple hours on college football message boards? They need to get a life! On to my picks.

Unlv -12 San Diego State

This game will be the last of the season for the Aztecs, and could very well be the same for a good number of their coaching staff. UNLV (5-6) on the other hand is on the verge of being bowl eligible after going 2-10 last year. Let's not over think this game. SDSU ranks 112th or worse in both offense and defense. UNLV is paying for a postseason spot. I'm going to take the Rebels to cover.

NOTE: When Gary Busey calls shotgun, LET HIM HAVE IT!! When you make Sean Stewart and Jeff Conway look sane, and Rodney King is mediating your disputes, you are not playing with a full deck. Gary's love for Jeff lives, "5,000 miles past Heaven." Right.

Oklahoma -6.5 Texas Tech

Let's get this one out of the way. I don't want to sound cocky, and I've realized that the Sooners have a real advantage going into this game. Star of my fantasy college football team, Sam Bradford! Bradford, who leads the top scoring offense in the nation, will be playing at home in arguably the biggest game of his young career, and he'll be doing it in front of a very friendly home crowd (where the Red Raiders haven't fared that well in the past). However, on the opposite side of the ball, is the top QB-WR tandem in the nation in Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree who have connected for 18 TDs this season, and head up the #1 passing offensive in the NCAA. Unfortunately, neither team defends the pass especially well, with Texas Tech ranked 99th and OU ranked 94th. I'll go out on a limb and take the over in this game, even if its 75.5. As for the line, I like Oklahoma to win this one, making a total mess of the Big XII South with one week to play. I'll take the Sooners with the points.

NOTE: I just saw the new Guitar Hero commercial featuring Kobe, A-Rod, Tony Hawk and Michael Phelps. Oh please - like those four guys hang out in their boxers and lip-sync to Old Time Rock & Roll together. Clearly that would never happen; A-Rod wears Madonna's panties.

Washington -7 Washington State

Really, someone has to win this game? This is like the anti-OU/TX Tech. If these two teams put up a negative score, it wouldn't surprise me. Granted with Washington ranked 117th in scoring defense, and Washington State ranked 119th, it could be a real shootout. Granted both teams rank at the bottom in scoring offense, so that makes it a bit of a moot point. Rumor has it, to boost their offense, the Huskies are heavily recruiting Cody Paul. Looks like he could help. Maybe this is the week that the Washington steps up and defends the honor of Ty Willingham.

Nah. I'll take the Cougars and their Tardy RB with the points.

Vandy -3 Tennessee

Yikes. The Vols are a 3 point underdog to a team without an athletic department. Better skip that one. I don't think Bruce Pearl would come out for games at this point.


CINCY -5 Pitt

The Big East title will likely come down to this game. I hate to keep beating a dead horse, but barring a miracle, one of these two teams will likely play North Carolina in the least exciting Orange Bowl ever. Meanwhile #14 BYU will play in the Armed Forces Bowl against Rice or Houston.

I'm sorry, but when the two "dominant" teams in the Big East are outscoring opponents by under a touchdown per game, we need to rethink some of these automatic bowl bids (and yes, I know that Big East teams went 4-2 in bowl games last season).

My key takeaway from this game - field goals. I think the game will be close, and could possibly go into sudden death overtime (wouldn't that be exciting!!) Here's where it gets interesting. The Bearcats rank 103rd in defending against field goals. Pitt ranks 10th in field goals this season, connecting on 88.9% of them. Is this a relatively meaningless stat? YES!! But you try finding a unique angle about this game. I'm taking The Panthers with the points.


UTAH -6 Byu

Utah is still undefeated, and goes into this game looking to win the MWC title outright. BYU, and Utah have managed to end up just about where they were ranked in the pre-season coaches polls, which makes you wonder if any of the coaches have watched either of these teams play. I'd say its doubtful, since they play most of their games on the same days as the coaches do, and most of the Utah/BYU games aren't televised nationally (thanks Notre Dame & NBC! - although last week's near comeback victory by Navy where the Irish allowed Navy to recover two onside kicks in under a minute reminded me of how fun a real-life Madden game can be.) This game will air on "The Mtn." which is the TV network of the MWC. Fantastic programming here - I think the BYU-Utah game is preceded by "A Day in the Life - UNLV Cheerleaders." You can click it - its safe for work.

Bottom line - I don't see how BYU can stop Brian Johnson, and I salute him for it. And yes, I've been waiting all season for that. I'll take the Utes to cover the spread.


Until next week . . .