Take it to the Bank: Week 9 Football Picks
Another L.A. weekend. If there is a problem with college football, it is that there are too many Lame Ass games regardless of the prospect of Michigan vs. Ohio St, Cal vs. USC, and the SEC championship game in the distant future.
The beauty of the college game, though, is that they all mean something-at least to conference opponents. They all carry bragging rights to some extent to the schools and fans involved-much more so than Pittsburgh vs, Tampa Bay or San Francisco vs. Cleveland in the NFC.
So, Lame as they may be, on with the games:
1. Colorado +2 at KU
Are these the two worst BCS conference teams not named Northwestern, Stanford, or Duke? Not really. Both have been in position to win games (plural). However, Colorado lost to Baylor at HOME! HOME for god’s sake. Not even Mangino is going to be able to screw this game up-not against a team that doesn’t have the firepower to come from three scores back no matter how passive KU’s defense becomes.
KU
2. A&M -5 at Baylor
Baylor REALly does suck. Forget the curtain composed of k-state, Colorado, and KU, behind which they play at being wizards. The curtain gets dra this Saturday. When the Aggies get three scores clear of the Bears, they will step on their throats, rather than employ the KU tactic of hoping time runs out before they lose their lead.
A&M
3. Iowa St +5.5 at k-state
This game looks even too me in Manhattan. k-state might pull it out at home, but 2-3 points seems more likely.
4. Texas -11 at Texas Tech
Tech has a chance in this one if it plays an error free game. The Longhorns’ beef, however, will wear Tech down by the fourth quarter, at which time a close game will become a spread coverer.
UT
5. Nebraska -5.5 at Okie St
Now that NU has its moral victory, let’s see if it can do any better on the road vs. Okie St than KU did at home. If Bobby Reid is healthy, this is the Lock of the week. If not. . .the Cowboys will likely lose by a point thanks to missing a PAT in OT.
OKIE ST
6. Oklahoma +2.5 at Mizzou
On paper, Mizzou SHOULD win. They have the league’s best offense. OU has lost both its starting QB and AA running back. But until they beat a physical team, I’ll go with strength over finesse.
OU
7, Notre Dame -14.5 at Navy
The longest winning streak against an opponent in the country. N.D. downs Navy for the 134th time in a row. But who can the Irish beat by more than two TD’s? Well, yeah-MAYBE Navy. But I’ll have to see it before believing again that they are a truly strong team, rather than a merely resourceful one.
NAVY
8. Illinois +22 at Wisconsin
The Badgers have the best running game in the Big 11
WISCONSIN
9. Michigan St -7 at Indiana
Michigan St can finally forget the Notre Dame fiasco and revel in its own role in the fiasco in Evanston. Call the Spartans orange marmalade, because they are on a roll.
MICHIGAN ST
10. Vanderbilt -10.5 at Duke
Duke makes it two in a row. Covers that is. With a little luck, they might even beat the SEC’s version of Duke at home.
DUKE
11. Georgia +14 at Florida
A few weeks back, this spread would have been unthinkable. As poorly as Georgia has played, however, it almost looks like a gimme for Florida.
FU
12. Miami (Fl) -6 at Georgia Tech
Easy money last week taking Duke and 15 points against the depreciated Hurricanes. They will be back physically this week, but until they show that they have overcome the trauma to their psyche of the events in the FIU game and its aftermath, I will take their opponent to cover.
GEORGIA TECH
13. USC -13 at Oregon St
Vegas is starting to wise up. The USC spread is slowly but surely retreating from the 18-20 point mark where it resided for a number of weeks. 13 is still too many points against a decent team on the road.
OREGON ST
14. Arizona St +1 at Washington
Both teams came within a whisker of knocking the Trojans out of REAListic Fiesta Bowl aspirations. This game is a toss-up-meaning go with the team tasting home cooking.
WASHINGTON
15. Washington St -2 at UCLA
How will UCLA respond to its near miss at Notre Dame? Another toss-up. Another hom-cooking pick.
UCLA
Rocky Mountain Low: Colorado.
–Mark
_____________________________________________________________
These picks are for entertainment purposes only. You get what you pay for. There are no refunds.
Leave a Reply
Comment Policy:Be polite.You must be logged in to post a comment.
