9-23-11 Week 4

My Weekly Picks

These are based on the choices given for the football pool I'm in. They sometimes don't include the most obvious games, but the goal is so each entrant must do some research/guessing themselves rather than relying on “expert” picks.

INDIANA   VS   NORTH TEXAS

ARIZONA STATE   VS   USC

TEXAS A&M   VS   OKLAHOMA STATE

VIRGINIA   VS   SO MISSISSIPPI

OREGON STATE   VS   UCLA

FRESNO STATE   VS   IDAHO

FLORIDA STATE   VS   CLEMSON

NOTRE DAME   VS   PITTSBURGH

GEORGIA TECH   VS   NORTH CAROLINA

LSU   VS   WEST VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON   VS   CALIFORNIA

ARMY   VS   BALL STATE

MIAMI OH   VS   BOWLING GREEN

RUTGERS   VS   OHIO

SYRACUSE   VS   TOLEDO

*****SPREAD GAMES*****

ALABAMA(-11.5)   VS   ARKANSAS

GEORGIA(-9.5)   VS   MISSISSIPPI

*****NOT IN THIS WEEK'S POOL*****

OHIO STATE   VS  COLORADO

USC has only allowed 4 sacks this year and Arizona State's starting pass rusher Onyeali has a knee injury and won't be playing. USC's QB Something Barkley has completed 44% of his passes longer than 25 yards and is 72% this season in overall pass completion, he has had 19 TD passes and only 2 interceptions when up against a blitz. Arizona State's QB Brock Osweiler completed 24 of 32 passes for 353 yards and no interceptions against Missouri, but against Illinois last week he completed only 25 of 45 passes for 256 yards and had two interceptions. That was his fourth career start as a junior but Barkely who is also a junior has been starting since he was a freshman so he has more experience. USC has beaten AZ State the last 11 times but the Trojans are a young team and that's why the Sun Devils are favored by 2 1/2. That's not a wide spread so I'm going with USC.

FRESNO STATE   VS   IDAHO: This game is definitely a who sucks less pick. Unfortunately Fresno State has some major injuries with two of their three safeties out for the entire season, and two of their starting offensive lineman are out this week. Fresno gave #10 Nebraska a run for their money by scoring 29 points but that was before all the injuries. Idaho only scored one TD against #9 Texas A&M. Both teams played North Dakota but Idaho beat them by 44 points only allowing 14 points, while Fresno State only beat them by 27 points last week and allowed 22. This seems to show the impact of the injuries on their game. Since I know so little about the WAC I have to go with this last stat to determine my pick: Idaho.

FLORIDA STATE   VS   CLEMSON:  This is a tough pick, but Clemson has a balanced game and they're at home. Florida State's QB is questionable as a starter but Clemson's coach is assuming he'll start and has been planning accordingly. 

NOTRE DAME   VS   PITTSBURGH: Unless there's an upset I think Notre Dame will pull it off.

GEORGIA TECH   VS   NORTH CAROLINA: I believe North Carolina could upset Georgia Tech since they've been practicing against the Yellow Jacket's triple-option style offense since last spring, but I think the edge goes to Georgia Tech since they're at home.

LSU   VS   WEST VIRGINIA:  Okay, this will be a good game but there are so many other awesomely funny things surrounding the game that make it even better and they all involve the West Virginia fans. This is the first time that ESPN's College Game Day will visit Morgantown, WV and it has prompted action from the university to suppress promote the true Mountaineer image. First there's the unofficial Mountaineer fan favorite t-shirt that West Virginia University officials don't want you to see, they haven't gone so far as to have a t-shirt burning (you'll get that joke shortly) but they have offered an amenesty program where fans can turn in such t-shirts in return for a $20 voucher to purchase an officially licensed/boring WVU shirt, more suitable for PG-13 audiences and uptight members of academia. (This particular tee has the added benefit of instructing other WVU fans on the English language.) 

Then there's the West Virginia stereotype of having a couch on one's porch, mix that with Mountaineer football fanaticism (or patriotism) and you have a good old fashioned couch burning. Apparently WVU is known for this phenomenon to the point that the city of Morgantown has recently made couch burning a felony causing a collective sigh of relief by area couches. (I can just imagine "felony couch burning" on someone's record.) There was a roundup of homeless couches where 36 truckloads of couches and furniture were unceremoniously dumped outside city limits in an effort to keep them away from Game Day cameras. Many see this as is a wet blanket on another longstanding college tradition. Maybe they could offer fans this tee instead in the amnesty program. Check out Mountaineer fan site www.wemustignitethiscouch.com....you just can't make this stuff up. With all this fun surrounding the game it's hard to turn my attention back to picking a winner but here it is: I think West Virginia will be tough but LSU is supposed to be very good on both sides of the ball so I have to go with LSU. There could be an upset here but it's not as likely as some other games. And long live the couches!

California's defense is good at home but play poorly on the road. Washington's QB is only 51% in pass completion but Washington's pass defense is last in the PAC-12. But with Washington's QB Keith Price's accuracy and the Huskies scoring 36 points per game I think they'll outscore Cal.

I think Ball State is the better team but due to injuries and it being a non-conference game they don't have the incentive to win like Army does who needs six wins before their game with Navy December 10th to be bowl eligible. They also are favored by 4.

I want to pick Ohio but I feel they're a bit unproven at this level for me to feel confident in picking them. Their no-huddle offense is very effective but it has been against much lesser teams than Rutgers. Rutgers is coming off a bye-week and had an easy first game but a tough opponent in NC State two weeks ago where they lost by only 2. With Rutgers at home and favored by 4 I'm going with them.

Toledo is the third most penalized team in the nation and they're on the road. This could be close but Syracuse has the edge.

Ohio State vs Colorado: This game is not in my football pool but since I always do an Ohio State segment each week I need to address this, plus Ohio State is my team! I'm going with Ohio State; we're at home, Braxton Miller is starting at QB, and amazingly enough Ohio State is favored by 16 1/2.

Games I’m Most Likely to Watch If I Don’t Have Anything Better to Do

This section lists the games I’ll likely watch if I don’t get distracted by something else. I have A.D.D., so it’s not that I don’t want to watch these games but sometimes my brain has other ideas.  

ARIZONA STATE   VS   USC: Should be a good game, let's see which pundit looks like a genius. 

FLORIDA STATE   VS   CLEMSON: I really want to see how each team does in this game, it will tell us a lot about each team this season.

LSU   VS   WEST VIRGINIA: I'd like to say I want to watch to see if LSU can beat WVU, but I really want to see if one of those T-shirts  make it on ESPN.

RUTGERS   VS   OHIO: Hopefully Ohio can beat Rutgers and show that the MAC can compete with the Big East.

ALABAMA  VS   ARKANSAS: I want to see if Arkansas can beat the spread.

OHIO STATE   VS  COLORADO: I'll watch it if it's not as painful as last week's game. 

Games I Will Not Watch If I Have Anything to Say About It*

These are the games I have no interest in whatsoever and would find more torturous to watch than taking up stamp collecting.

OHIO STATE   VS  COLORADO: If it becomes as painful as the Miami game I refuse to look, even if it's as compelling as staring at an auto accident.

*These are always subject to change because football can be as unpredictable as a herd of cats and any game could become unexpectedly interesting...also, I often do not have control of the remote.

Things That Annoy Me This Week

This is the section where I talk about the stuff annoying me this week related to college football...or not.

People wishing for coach Tressel to return: Because it wouldn't change a thing.

Little Else: I've been on vacation this week.  

The End