Week Eight

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. 

UL LAFAYETTE   VS   WESTERN KENTUCKY

UTEP   VS   COLORADO STATE

WISCONSIN   VS   MICHIGAN STATE

LSU (-22 ½)   VS   AUBURN

SO MISSISSIPPI   VS   SMU

NOTRE DAME   VS   USC

PENN STATE   VS   NORTHWESTERN

WASHINGTON STATE   VS   OREGON STATE

CALIFORNIA   VS   UTAH

OKLAHOMA STATE   VS   MISSOURI

UTAH STATE   VS   LOUISIANA TECH

BALL STATE   VS   CENTRAL MICHIGAN

SOUTH FLORIDA   VS   CINCINNATI

ARKANSAS (-16)   VS   MISSISSIPPI

WAKE FOREST   VS   DUKE

MIAMI FLA   VS   GEORGIA TECH 

ILLINOIS   VS   PURDUE

VIRGINIA   VS   NC STATE

UL LAFAYETTE   VS   WESTERN KENTUCKY: UL Lafayette is 4-0 in the Sun Belt conference and 6-1 overall, while Western Kentucky was my best choice last week in a who-sucks-less game with FIU who is dead last in anything ever...and Western Kentucky scored only two TDs and two whole field goals against them. With that they don't exactly get my vote of confidence despite the fact that they won against ULL last year on the road. Even WKU coach Whatever Taggart said of ULL: "They are a very, very, very, very, very, very good football team." I'm not saying an upset couldn't happen but when a competing coach prefixes six "very's" in front of a positive adjective in describing an opponent I'd say that's a man who knows his fate. 

UTEP   VS   COLORADO STATE: I really don't know what to do here since I'm unfamiliar with the conference and the teams, but it seems they are similarly matched...both are 3-3 overall and 1-1 and 1-2 respectively in the conference. But UTEP is favored by 8 1/2 at home and they lost to an undefeated Houston by one TD. Colorado State has so many injuries at the linebacker position that they are playing a freshman they wanted to redshirt while UTEP has a strong running game. Oh, and our totally useless stat for the week is that Colorado State leads the series with the Rams last beating them 20 -17...in 19-freaking-98. Regardless of that unconvincing win over a decade ago, I can't not pick UTEP.

WISCONSIN   VS   MICHIGAN STATE: My question for both of these teams is who have you beaten? Wisconsin has beaten the likes of UNLV, South Dakota, and Indiana, with their big win against Nebraska. Michigan State has beaten Youngstown State, Florida Atlantic, and Ohio State, with their big win against Michigan. The difference is that Wisconsin has beaten the lesser teams by a minimum of 31 points while Michigan State has only beaten the lesser teams by a minimum of 3 points (Thank you Ohio State.) With the Big Ten's penchant for playing a lame pre-conference schedule their teams are often as unproven as Boise State, but since Wisconsin seems to be way outplaying the competition the edge goes to them. 

SO MISSISSIPPI   VS   SMU: This is a tough one, but I think Southern Methodist is the tougher team even on the road...they beat TCU at TCU for crying out loud. Both teams have a balanced offense, meaning they are good at both running and passing. The thing that scares me about SMU though is their turnover average, if they lose it will likely  be due to that stat. Southern Miss is favored by only 3 1/2 but SMU has proven they can beat a good team on the road so I'm going with them. 

NOTRE DAME   VS   USC: I'm struggling with this one, I don't think USC deserves a 9 1/2 point underdog spread but they are not as great against the pass and Notre Dame's offense, led by QB Tommy Rees, is 29th in the nation in passing. BUT...USC is 21st in the nation in passing. Okay, I'm getting weary of all the stats. I honestly think this could go either way, USC's QB Something Barkley is good but he screwed up royally on the road against Arizona and totally choked. Notre Dame at home is tough so I'm just going to go with them. 

PENN STATE   VS   NORTHWESTERN: I keep wanting to believe in Northwestern but they keep disappointing me and we just can't have that. Penn State held #1 Alabama to 27 points, that may seem like a lot but to hold a team like Alabama to 3 TDs and 2 field goals is pretty decent. Penn State's two QBs struggle with accuracy and consistency in the Red Zone but Northwestern ranks dead last in the nation (120th) against the pass. What it comes down to is Penn State's players wear 3XL jerseys while Northwestern's players wear XL. I just think Northwestern is going to get super-sized by Penn State. 

CALIFORNIA   VS   UTAH: I wanted to pick the Utes but Cal should be able to put more pressure on their backup QB John White than Pitt could manage. With Cal at home I have to give the edge to them. 

UTAH STATE   VS   LOUISIANA TECH:  Another who-sucks-less game. Utah State can run, Louisiana Tech can stop the run but not the pass. Louisiana can pass, Utah State can stop the pass but not the run. Who knows? Flip a coin. 

BALL STATE   VS   CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Well, I went to Ohio University's homecoming parade last week and I generally hate parades, but Ohio's marching band is so fun to watch and the small town atmosphere was invigorating. I say all that useless trivia to emphasize that Ball State beat Ohio last week for their homecoming in a very small town rah-rah-go-team atmosphere so they have to be decent...and Ohio is no pushover team. Given that Ball State is at home this week in the great state of Ball -- wherever that is -- I have to go with them.

SOUTH FLORIDA   VS   CINCINNATI: I really don't know, I think Skip Holtz could pull this one off but I'm guessing on Cinci.  I would change this but I changed my pick from Ohio State last week to Illinois and that didn't turn out so well. It's just like my knack for picking the wrong line in the grocery store (which I did the other day) no matter who I choose it will be the wrong one. 

WAKE FOREST   VS   DUKE: Wake's QB Tanner Price is pretty good and I hear nothing about Duke's QB.  In the strange world of college mascots I think the half evil Demon Deacons will outplay the full evil Blue Devils.

MIAMI FLA   VS   GEORGIA TECH : I continue to be unimpressed by Miami and GA Tech has a great record. Miami could win with Jacory Harris being more picky in his passing and minimizing interceptions, but I'm just going to go with the Yellow Jackets. 

ILLINOIS   VS   PURDUE: Illinois is terribly overrated because they just havn't really played anyone. Last week I wanted to pick OSU but couldn't because they didn't give me quite enough to go on, but in the end they proved that with a good defense a poor offense can beat the Illini. Purdue isn't great by any means but I feel they're at least more honest in their record. Despite that I have to go with Illinois because Purdue isn't giving me enough to go on. I hate how the Big Ten teams are so unproven in the middle of the season due to lame pre-conference schedules. No wonder the conference is soft. 

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.  

WISCONSIN  VS  MICHIGAN STATE: Should be an interesting game since Michigan State beat Wisconsin last year.

ILLINOIS  VS  PURDUE: Wondering if there will be an upset that will neither surprise nor upset me.

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.

Lots of snoozers this week...too many to list.

*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.

My Laptop: It's dying a slow death and will likely fail me when I need it most.

The MAC Conference: They are so freaking inconsistent that it's impossible to make good picks. Miami Ohio is the worst for that.

Time: It seems to be going faster and faster. I didn't have time to post my picks last week or do a follow up. I'd like to think that's because I have a life, but I could just be saying that. At least I'm still holding out at #3 in the football pool!

The End