Off to Eugene this weekend...plus other college football picks/thoughts
#NCAA
Last Week: 36-17
Overall: 48-22
So last week I ventured out and picked every game on the
slate (for Friday and Saturday). Overall
I would say not too bad of a result, going 36-17, a 67.9% winning
percentage. Not great, but not
embarrassing. Some weekly highlights included
picking UMass to get their first win of the season and Iowa State finally
winning at home. I had a few bad picks
though as well, such as betting against both Mississippi schools. I am still not of the belief both these
schools will sustain their high quality of play over the remainder of the
season. I was also duped with Troy
picking up their first win of the year and I tried to go out on a limb and picked
against Vanderbilt. Lessons learned I
suppose....
I am VERY EXCITED for this week of college football
action. The main reason is I finally
will return to Autzen Stadium to watch my beloved Ducks battle the much-hated
Washington Huskies, otherwise known as #HuskieHateWeek. It is also alumni weekend in Eugene so the
atmosphere is going to be amazing. It
has been a few years since I have been to a game at UO, I cannot tell you how
incredible it is. The stadium is loud,
you have no voice by halftime and you are on your feet all game. I cannot wait to just look around and soak it
all in again!
Week 8 should see more fantastic match-ups as teams are
jockeying for position within their conference, with a handful of teams still
in the hunt for the big Final Four playoff.
A few teams should have their dreams of a national championship season
dashed this weekend. The real question
is will any team finally look like the best in the country and solidify
themselves as the favorite? I doubt
it...
Here are my Week 8 picks:
Boise State over Fresno State – As a Ducks fan, I dislike
Boise State still...but I like their chances at home.
Temple over Houston – So Houston burned me last week with
their upset win vs. Memphis on the road no less. Which Cougs team shows up this week though: the
one who beat Memphis or the one who lost to UTSA? Houston has gone L-W-L-W-L-W this season, why
mess with the trend?
South Florida over Tulsa
UCF over Tulane
Wake Forest over Syracuse – The combination of Wake’s D plus
home field advantage is enough to make me pick a mild upset here.
West Virginia over (4) Baylor – This has trap game written
all over it. Baylor coming off an
emotional win last weekend and looking like the best team in the Big 12. West Virginia is also coming off a nice win
and is playing at home. A few years ago
West Virginia was one win away from playing in the national championship game
and was upset by an inferior Pitt squad.
Could they turn the tables on Baylor this week? Baylor has looked vulnerable the past few
weeks and the Mountaineers look ready to pounce.
(11) Oklahoma over (14) Kansas State – I am very tempted to
go with the Wildcats but the Sooners are at home. They play the same time as Baylor so they
will not know how the Bears are doing, which could be a good thing. I just cannot see the Sooners losing at home,
they are too good of a team to suffer another loss.
Iowa over Maryland – Another Big 10 game where either team
can win...or is either team is capable of losing? No idea on this one. Maryland is at home. Iowa doesn’t give up a lot of points. Why not go with the surprise Hawkeyes to
continue winning and go to 6-1? Still no
love from the polls though.
Minnesota over Purdue – A Big 10 team everyone is rallying
behind and excited about? Well, how
about them Gophers? Big matchup at home
against a weak Purdue team should send them to 6-1 on the season. Who would have thought that one? Might be time to give them some love in the
polls.
Western Kentucky over Florida Atlantic
Louisiana Tech over UTSA
South Carolina over Furman – SEC vs inferior opponent? Middle of the season? Yup, that sounds about right!
Virginia over Duke – Duke looked great last week in its win
over GTech. I think Virginia is a better
team though.
Akron over Ohio
Bowling Green over Western Michigan
UMASS over Eastern Michigan – Can UMASS put together a
two-game winning streak? They are
playing at home and this is a winnable game.
Why not?
Troy over Appalachian State – The trend continues. A team coming off their first win of the
season last week, wins again this week.
I bet against you last week Troy, I will not make that mistake again
this week.
(21) Texas A&M over (7) Alabama – Ok so how would have
thought at the beginning of the season the Aggies would be glad to get out of the
state of Mississippi and be excited to venture into Alabama? Mississippi was not kind to the Aggies but I
think Alabama will be. The Tide have not
looked good all season. They are lucky
to have only one win and could very easily be 3-2, not 5-1. The Aggies are playing to save their season
and I think they can take advantage of a weak ‘Bama squad.
UCLA over California
Air Force over New Mexico
Army over Kent State – Kent State is winless and just lost
to UMASS. Even at home, I am not taking
them to finally crack the W column.
Central Michigan over Ball State
(13) Ohio State over Rutgers – Sure Rutgers record of 5-1
looks good, but come on now. This week
will show just how ready for Big 10 play Rutgers really is. Ohio State at home, this game should be over
by halftime.
Middle Tennessee over UAB
Louisville over NC State – Can you believe NC State s 0-3 in
the ACC? I feel like they should have at
least one win already (probably against Florida State). But they are too inconsistent. Take Louisville at home!
Cincinnati over SMU – Stay winless Mustangs!
(24) Clemson over Boston College – The Eagles could pull off
the upset this week. This feels like the
USC game all over again.
(8) Michigan State over Indiana – Sparty wins big on the
road..ho hum!
Texas Tech over Kansas
(12) TCU over (15) Oklahoma State – A battle of one-loss
teams with hopes of still making the Final Four. One will have their dream end this
weekend.
Arkansas over (10) Georgia – This is my upset special of the
week. Yes Georgia looked very good last
weekend in beating Mizzou. But Arkansas
looked more impressive in their loss.
The Hogs are 0-3 in the SEC but I think they are due for a conference
win and what bigger way than knocking off a 5-1 Bulldogs team at home?
Wyoming over San Jose State – Oh Cowboys, I went with you
last week when I knew I shouldn’t when you are on the road in Hawaii. Don’t make me wrong with this one!
Idaho over New Mexico State – New Mexico State game Troy
their first win of the year last week.
Why not do it again and give the Vandals their first win? Plus Idaho is at home and the favorite
actually.
Northern Illinois over Miami (OH)
(25) Marshall over FIU – The Herd continue their run towards
an undefeated season. Glad to see them
finally get ranked at least.
(22) USC over Colorado
(3) Ole Miss over Tennessee – My bad Rebels for picking
against you last week. I have learned my
lesson!
Missouri over Florida
Southern Miss over North Texas
Utah State over Colorado State
North Carolina over Georgia Tech – UNC looked very good last
week in almost knocking off the Irish. Georgia Tech, as I mentioned last week, wins
when I bet against them and suffers a loss when I finally pick them. With this pick, expect Tech to go to 6-1.
(19) Nebraska over Northwestern
South Alabama over Georgia State
Kentucky over LSU – Time to take the Wildcats serious. LSU is a 10 point favorite in this game but
Kentucky can go on the road and knock off the Tigers. This would be a huge upset, given just the
history of both programs. Imagine the
Wildcats at 6-1.
(9) Oregon over Washington – My game of the week, mostly
because I will be there! Huge rivalry
game. Both teams 5-1 and 1-1 in the
Pac-12. The Ducks looked like their old
selves last week on the road against UCLA.
The Ducks have won the last 10 games vs. the Huskies. Those trends should continue. The Huskies will keep it close at halftime
but the Ducks will pull away in the second half.
Texas over Iowa State
(2) Florida State over (5) Notre Dame – I do not think
either of these teams have looked impressive this season. The bad news here is whoever does win will be
a huge favorite to make the playoff, when neither team looks like a top 4. I will roll with the Seminoles at home
though. I think the Irish have been
overrated all season. Prove me wrong
Irish!?
BYU over Nevada
San Diego State over Hawaii
(23) Stanford over (17) Arizona State – Playing in AZ is
never easy but I think the Stanford D will be the difference in this game.
#CIS
Last Week: 4-2
Overall: 14-4
Last week was a quiet one on the CIS front given the
Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Full
schedule of action this week though.
Teams are getting into the playoff grind with only 2 or 3 weeks of the
season remaining (depending on the league).
Here are my thoughts:
(8) Saskatchewan over Manitoba – The Bisons last game was an
upset loss against UAlberta Golden Bears.
They need to turn their season around and fast. The Huskies on the other hand are trying to
stay with Calgary for tops in Canada West.
The Huskies are the better team and, although Winnipeg is not an easy
place to play, I think the better team can win on the road this week.
(7) Mount Allison over Acadia – Continue destroying the
Atlantic, Mounties!
St. FX over St. Mary’s – I thought the X-men would win last
week, I was wrong. Will they prove me
wrong again this week and hand the Huskies their first win of the season? I don’t think...
(3) McMaster over Laurier
(10) Windsor over Carleton – The Ravens are having a
surprisingly good season but the Lancers are even better.
Sherbrooke over McGill
Queen’s over York – Pillowfight of the Week #1. 1-5 Queen’s vs. 0-6 York. Queen’s won their first game last week, why
should the winning ways stop against a winless York team? Queen’s for the winning streak!
(4) Western over (6) Guelph – Battle of two 5-1 teams should
be the highlight of the week. Both teams
have strong defences, two of the best in the country. The difference is the offense. Western has a high-octane offense. It may not be able to put up as many points
as usual but it will have enough firepower to make at least one extra score to
squeak out the win.
Waterloo over Toronto – Pillowfight of the Week #2. 1-6 Toronto vs 0-6 Waterloo. I never expect
Toronto to win, as I mentioned
last week. Time to see Waterloo pick up
their first win of the season.
(2) Calgary over Alberta – Last time they played, Alberta
put up 70 points. Then they had their
win stripped from them due to an academic ineligible player. I think Calgary is going to take out some
frustration on their provincial rivals this week.
Regina over UBC – The Rams are trying to make a playoff
push. UBC has not looked good all
season. I expect a Rams road victory. Both teams are 1-4 and Regina is on a 4 game
slide. Time to right the ship. The loser of this game will basically be
eliminated from playoff contention.
Sidenote: hoping to see another outstanding game for my cousin #21
(1) Laval over Bishop’s – The top ranked team in the
country demolishes another weak Quebec team....and the sun comes up in the
morning and the moon comes up at night.
Boring!
As an aside, there is always talk about the jersey
combinations for NCAA teams but CIS teams also have some great looks. For those unfamiliar with the CIS and some of
the teams, take a look at this great article by Sportsnet personality Donnovan
Bennett (@donnocanbennett) breaking down the Top
10 CIS looks.
Enjoy the action this weekend! I know I will from Eugene, OR :)
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