Last week: 9-6
Good calls: None. I was horrible last week. Arizona almost squeaked out a victory against #11 Oregon, but ended up losing in overtime 44-41.
Bad calls: I’ll happily admit that I was dead wrong picking OU to beat Texas Tech (Tech win 41-13). Also, Clemson proved me wrong for the second week straight.

ACC vs. SEC

#15 Clemson (8-3) at South Carolina (6-5)
So is this the week I finally accept Clemson as a top-15 team and pick them to win a game? Now that they’ve clenched a spot in the ACC title game? Nah. South Carolina wins.

Florida State (6-5) at #1 Florida (11-0)
It’s Tim Tebow’s last home game. It’s Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrew’s last game, period. So will Tebow come out and wow the home fans with one final, legendary performance? Or will Andrews channel the Seminole defenses of the 90’s and shock their hated rival. Pffffft. Please. Gators.
Georgia (6-5) at #7 Georgia Tech (10-1)
I can’t believe how bad Georgia has been this year. Seems like some heads are gonna roll in Athens during the offseason. Yellow Jackets.

ACC

#23 North Carolina (8-3) at NC State (4-7)
I thought NC State was better than this. I guess not. Tarheels.

Wake Forest (4-7) at Duke (5-6)
Isn’t it remarkable that two of the greatest basketball players in the NBA, Tim Duncan and Chris Paul, both went to Wake Forest, while Duke has churned out only a few decent pros? It’s okay, they’re a football school anyway. Blue Devils.

Boston College (7-4) at Maryland (2-9)
And Maryland is still terrible. Eagles.

#19 Miami (8-3) at South Florida (7-3)
Hmm. I’m tempted to make this my upset pick of the week. But I just can’t. Hurricanes.

#14 Virginia Tech (8-3) at Virginia (3-8)
Virginia continues to be terrible. Hokies.

SEC

#2 Alabama (11-0) at Auburn (7-4)
The Iron Bowl! An Alabama grad that I know has been posting Auburn jokes on her facebook profile all week.

How do you get an Auburn grad off your porch? Pay him for the pizza (rimshot!). What do you call a possum and a six pack in Auburn? A seven course meal!

HARHARHAR!! For that reason alone, I’ll take the Tide.

#20 Ole Miss (8-3) at Mississippi State (4-7)
The Egg Bowl. You know, there are some fascinating rivalry games nicknames and trophies out there. The Battle of the Golden Egg (its formal title) started like this (from wikipedia):

When Ole Miss beat MSU, then known as Mississippi A&M College, 7-6, the Ole Miss fans rushed the field, some trying to tear the goalposts down. A&M fans did not take well to the Ole Miss fans celebrations, and fights broke out. Some A&M fans defended the goal posts with wooden chairs, and several injuries were reported. To prevent such events in the future, students of the two schools created the “Golden Egg”, a large trophy which has been awarded to the winning team each year since 1927. The trophy is a large football-shaped brass piece mounted to a wooden base and traditionally symbolizes supremacy in college football in the state of Mississippi for the year. The footballs used in American football in the 1920s were considerably more ovoid and blunter than those in use today and similar to the balls still used in rugby; the trophy thus, to modern eyes, more resembles an egg than a football.

I guess that’s interesting, right? The trophy was created to prevent Mississippi State fans from going all Hacksaw Jim Duggan on jubilant Ole Miss fans? Not this year! Rebels.

Tennessee (6-5) at Kentucky (7-4)
One team, Tennessee, that has been surprisingly bad but has gotten a lot of media attention thanks to their goofball coach vs. another team, Kentucky, that has been surprisingly good but has gotten zero media attention because of a classy, resilient coach. Wildcats.

Arkansas (7-4) at #17 LSU (8-3)
The Battle for the Golden Boot! I don’t even need wikipedia for this one. The state of Arkansas sits on top of Louisiana. If you look at the two states together, it resembles a boot. Sometimes it’s just that simple. And remember, Arkansas is better than you think (though their record is starting to reflect that). Hogs. Guaranteed (non-binding) Upset Lock of the Week!

Pac-10

Arizona (6-4) at Arizona State (4-7)
I’m not sure what this game is called…(googling)…ooh, “Duel in the Desert.” I like that. What’s at stake? The Territorial Cup. Well, let’s be honest, Arizona is the only team here with anything at stake. Wildcats.

Washington State (1-10) at Washington (3-7)
The Apple Cup. And for the second straight year, a completely forgettable matchup. Huskies.

Notre Dame (6-5) at Stanford (7-4)
Am I the only one who didn’t know that this was a rivalry? The Legends Trophy is at stake, which is much less cool than the trophy that Notre Dame and USC play for (the Jeweled Shillelagh). Anyway. Toby Gerhart will forever be a Stanford legend, setting the standard for Cardinal running backs for years to come. Charlie Weis will forever be a Notre Dame disgrace, setting the standard for misguided extensions for years to come. Cardinal.

UCLA (6-5) at #24 USC (7-3)
Battle for the Victory Bell! UCLA is getting better. USC seems to be getting worse. Still. Trojans.

Big XII South Game(s) of the Week

#3 Texas (11-0) at Texas A&M (6-5)
The Lone Star Showdown. You know, A&M beat UT two years in a row recently. Buuuut, that was under Coach Fran. Can Mike Sherman stop the Longhorn locomotive on its way to the Big 12 Championship game? Uhhh….no. Longhorns.

#11 Oklahoma State (9-2) at Oklahoma (6-5)
Bedlam! If Oklahoma State can win this game, then they might get an at-large invite to the Fiesta Bowl. Obviously this would suck for Boise State, who could go 12-0 and end up in a second or third-tier bowl. You know who this wouldn’t suck for? Texas Tech. Assuming OK State wins and assuming Nebraska gets murdered by UT in the Big 12 Championship game (both possible), then Tech would be the obvious first choice for the Cotton Bowl. Or maybe the Holiday Bowl. And that would be awesome. However…umm…Sooners.

Good calls: the SEC (7-0), North Carolina over #12 Miami

Bad calls: NC State over #24 Clemson (Clemson win 43-23), #11 USC over #25 Stanford (Stanford win 55-21)

ACC

North Carolina (7-3) at Boston College (7-3)
This would be an excusable loss for either team, so no one is playing desperate here. It’s basketball season in Chapel Hill now. BC wins.

Maryland (2-8) at Florida State (5-5)
Yup, Maryland continues to be terrible. Florida State wins.

Duke (5-5) at #21 Miami (7-3)
If you think UNC fans have lost interest in football for the year, how do you think Duke fans are feeling? The Blue Devils had a nice little run and flirted with bowl eligibility. Maybe next year. Miami wins.

NC State (4-6) at #16 Virginia Tech (7-3)
For some reason, I’ve felt all year that NC State was better than their record. Still, I can’t see them winning at Blacksburg.

Virginia (3-7) at #18 Clemson (7-3)
Believe it or not, this is a tough one to pick. I feel like it’s only a matter of time before Clemson “pulls a Clemson” and collapses under the weight of any expectation. They’re playing for a spot in the ACC championship game, for cryin’ out loud! Has Dabo Sweeney changed the culture? Hmm…I still say a Tiger can’t change his stripes. Clemson loses and befuddles/exasperates the media yet again in my Guaranteed (non-binding) Upset Lock of the Week!

SEC

Chattanooga (6-4) at #2 Alabama (10-0)
Nice work, Tide. Alabama rolls.

Mississippi State (4-6) at Arkansas (6-4)
I say this every week, so I’ll spare you this time. No I won’t. Arkansas is better than you think! Hogs win.

Florida International (3-7) at #1 Florida (10-0)
Way to one-up Alabama, Gators! Florida rolls.

#10 LSU (8-2) at Ole Miss (7-3)
LSU was losing at halftime to Louisiana Tech last weekend. Ole Miss looked solid against Tennessee. Will this game show us the Ole Miss team we expected to see all season? Hmm. Nope, sorry. I can’t do it. That LSU defense is gonna eat Jevan Snead for lunch. Tigers win.

Vanderbilt (2-9) at Tennessee (5-5)
It’s a good thing Tennessee wears orange so all of their players will feel right at home in jumpsuits. I predict at least one prison shanking in the pileup this weekend. Tennessee steals (zing!) a win.

Kentucky (6-4) at Georgia (6-4)
Kentucky isn’t “6-4” good. Georgia probably isn’t “6-4” bad. Bulldogs win.

Pac-10

Arizona State (4-6) at UCLA (5-5)
It seems that the Sun Devils have packed it in for the season. Hell, maybe UCLA has too. I’ll take the Bruins because they’re at home.

#20 Oregon State (7-3) at Washington State (1-9)
Another week, another Washington State loss.

Cal (7-3) at #14 Stanford (7-3)

I promise to get through this entire paragraph without once mentioning a certain play that gets shown over and over and over again ad nauseum. Can we just retire this particular play from television? And while we’re at it, can we get rid of Flutie’s hail mary? I can easily think of two plays that are more way exciting and simply had more at stake.

#11 Oregon (8-2) at Arizona (6-3)
“Good season, Arizona. Better luck next year. Ducks win.” Is what I typed off the top of my head. But it didn’t feel right. I like Arizona to win in the upset. Call it my clairvoyant gut.

Big XII South Game of the Week

Oklahoma (6-4) at Texas Tech (6-4)
This matchup has lost some of its luster this year, but the past few years have been really compelling. Which speaks well for Tech considering Oklahoma is almost always in the national championship discussion. Observe:

2004: #2 Oklahoma beats an unranked Tech team 28-13. OU would get blown out in the national championship game against #1 USC (55-19), while Tech would go on to shock #4 Cal 45-31 in the Holiday Bowl.

2005: #19 Texas Tech surprises OU 23-21 after a controversial Amendola first down and a controversial Henderson touchdown run. Whatever. We’ll take it.

2006: #17 OU beats an unranked Tech team en route to a surprising Big 12 title. I say “surprising” because OU lost their star quarterback before the season due to NCAA violations. Cry me a river, Sooners. You still had Adrian Peterson.

2007: Unranked Texas Tech shocks #3 Oklahoma, spoiling their hopes at sneaking into the national championship game.

2008: Riding high after beating #1 Texas (39-33) and destroying #8 Oklahoma State (56-20), the #2 Red Raiders (number two!) were humbled by #5 Oklahoma in an embarrassing 65-21 loss. Still. Do you see all those single digit rankings? Oh, the halcyon days of the Big 12.

2009: Both teams are 6-4. We’re simply playing for bowl position at this point. So…uhhh…not quite the sexy matchup we’ve had in the past. No matter. The OU/Texas Tech game has been one of the most competitive and unrecognized rivalries of the last five years. Can Tech hold serve and keep the rivalry alive? With so much uncertainty at quarterback? Gehhhh….I hate to do this, but I have to say no. OU is gonna run the ball and run the ball and then run the ball some more. OU wins.

The second point of his article was that Boise State was getting the shaft because no one was scheduling them. I’m gonna play devil’s advocate here and take the side of the major conference teams.

What good did it do Oregon to play at Boise State this year? If they had won, the pollsters would’ve thought, “well, you’re Oregon. You’re supposed to beat teams like Boise State.” And when they lost, the pollsters dropped them further in the polls than they probably should have (despite the fact that they lost on the road, to ostensibly a top-15 team). So as unfair as it is, it doesn’t benefit major conference teams to play Boise State. It only benefits Boise State who desperately needs to bulk up their schedule.

Is it their fault that they play in the WAC? Well…sort of. They’ve only been a division one football team since 2001. So, it’s nice that they’ve been so successful, and in a perfect world, they would get a shot at a national championship, but the fact remains that until they get invited to the Mountain West (don’t even dream of joining the Pac-10, Boise), then they’ll always fight the perception that they’re just “good…for a WAC team.”

As far as the major programs being “pu$$ies” because they schedule weak non-conference opponents…why should Florida have to schedule another difficult game when they’ve already got games against Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Georgia and an annual non-conference game against Florida State? Just because they’re the #1 team in the country doesn’t mean they should have to kill themselves week-in and week-out.

Anyway. I agree with his points, but if you look at it from Texas’ perspective…they can take a home date against Texas State, steamroll them and it won’t affect their national championship hopes. Why on earth would they risk losing a non-conference game to Boise when they’ve still got to play OU, Tech, A&M and Oklahoma State?

Really, the only way to solve this would be to have a playoff system. Then Boise would get a crack at the big boys.

Let’s get to some picks, shall we?

Last week: 16-3

Good calls: the ACC (5-0), the SEC (8-0), Stanford over #7 Oregon (Stanford win 51-42), “USC wins, but not by much” (USC win 14-9)

Bad calls: the Pac-10 (3-2), Oklahoma over Nebraska (Nebraska win 10-3)

ACC

Florida State (4-5) at Wake Forest (4-6)
If you traveled back in time to 1996 and told a Florida State fan that their beloved Seminoles would be absolutely owned by Wake Forest in the latter part of the 00’s, he would’ve choked on his orange juice (that’s what they drink in Florida, right?). Let the domination continue! I’ll take Wake.

#24 Clemson (6-3) at NC State (4-5)
This may be the easiest upset pick I make all year. You can almost guarantee that Clemson + any kind of positive expectations = immediately losing. Congrats for making it into the top 25 Clemson. Please see yourself out.

#7 Georgia Tech (9-1) at Duke (5-4)
Duke has been a nice story this year. And you kinda forget how smug their fans are when you see them in the context of a scrappy, overachieving football team. Still. Don’t forget – Duke fans are the worst. Georgia Tech wins.

Just because they've got a quaint little football team, don't forget that THIS is what a Duke fan looks like.

#20 Virginia Tech (6-3) at Maryland (2-7)
Yup, Maryland is still terrible. Hokies win.

Boston College (6-3) at Virginia (3-6)
Yup, Virginia is still terrible. BC wins.

#12 Miami (7-2) at North Carolina (6-3)
This is a tough one to call. UNC has one of the best defenses in the country, allowing a paltry 250 yards per game (good for fifth in the nation). Their offense, however, is abysmal, scoring only 22.3 points per game (good for 93rd, sandwiched between Maryland and UL-Lafayette). Still, there’s something about this team. Which is why I’m making UNC my Guaranteed (non-binding) Upset Lock of the Week!

SEC

Tennessee (5-4) at Ole Miss (6-3)
I’m sure you get your sporting news elsewhere, so you’ve probably seen the story about three Tennessee players being arrested for armed robbery. Nice work, guys. You’d make the Miami teams of the 80’s and 90’s incredibly proud. Ole Miss wins.

Kentucky (5-4) at Vanderbilt (2-8)
What’s the opposite of “game of the week?” Whatever it is, this is it. Kentucky wins.

#1 Florida (9-0) at South Carolina (6-4)
It sure seems like this year the SEC is Florida and Alabama and then everyone else. Look at all those 5-4 records. Anyway. Can Spurrier derail his old team’s chances at another national championship? At this stage in his career when he’s got nothing left to prove and he knows he’s not fielding another BCS-caliber team…does he really want to? Florida wins.

#3 Alabama (9-0) at Mississippi State (4-5)
Just like last year, I can’t imagine Alabama making it all the way through this season unscathed. Whether that happens on December 5th against Florida or here…it’s gonna happen. Hmm. Nope. It won’t be here.

Auburn (7-3) at Georgia (5-4)
I still can’t believe Georgia is as bad as their record indicates. I also have a hard time believing Auburn is as good as their record indicates. Georgia needs this one to salvage their season. I’ll take the Bulldogs.

Louisiana Tech (3-6) at #9 LSU (7-2)
Okay, saying the SEC is “Florida and Alabama and then everyone else” probably isn’t fair to LSU, who might just be the least talked about top-ten team in the history of the sport. They’ve once again run into the same problem that’s plagued them over the years – a great defense and a so-so offense. Which is confusing, because they’ve got some of the most talented skill position guys in the nation. Hell, I don’t know. LSU rolls in this one.

Troy (7-2) at Arkansas (5-4)
I’ve been riding the Arkansas bandwagon all season long. There’s still plenty of room! Hogs win.

Pac-10

Washington (3-6) at Oregon State (6-3)
This is the first week since I’ve started doing this that the Pac-10 games actually seem to have a clear winner and loser. No more just closing my eyes and blindly picking a team. Oregon State will win!

#25 Stanford (6-3) at #11 USC (7-2)
Stanford is coming off their huge upset over #7 Oregon, a team that beat the tar out of USC just a week earlier. USC, on the other hand, has been underwhelming, squeaking by a bad Arizona State team last week. However. This seems like a classic big-brother-little-brother game where USC reminds Stanford that “we’re USC and you’re Stanford.” USC wins.

UCLA (4-5) at Washington State (1-8)
UCLA wins!

#18 Arizona (6-2) at Cal (6-3)
Of all the Pac-10 games this week, this is the only one that could go either way. I don’t really trust Arizona because they’re new to this whole “top 25” thing and haven’t really showed me enough. I don’t really trust Cal because they’ve got a bad habit of sliding late in the season. Hmm. Vegas likes Cal (-3), so I like Cal.

Arizona State (4-5) at #14 Oregon (7-2)
Oregon wins!

Big XII South Game of the Week

Texas Tech (6-3) at #17 Oklahoma State (7-2)
Texas Tech, however, has always had the opposite problem of LSU. A consistently high-scoring offense, but a consistently so-so defense. Whatever. I’d feel better about Tech’s chances if they had the quarterback position figured out. For a team that relies so heavily on quarterback play, it’s a small miracle that we’re 6-3 despite using three different guys this year. I’d like to think we can win this game, but it all boils down to the fact that the home team always wins the Tech/Okie State game. Always. Sigh. Cowboys win a high-scoring game. Robert rips out most of his hair.

Those days are over, obviously, culminating in Nebraska’s disastrous 9-7 loss – at home – to Iowa State a couple weeks ago. That’s right. Iowa. State.

Anyway, Nebraska had every opportunity to recapture that offensive glory by hiring Paul Johnson as their coach, but chose to go in a more conventional direction. Did they make the right call? Have other teams whiffed on their coaching hires? Let’s take a look, shall we?

Nebraska
Who the could’ve hired: Paul Johnson
Who they hired instead: Bo Pelini

Paul Johnson is the mastermind behind the triple-option offense, and before moving over to Georgia Tech, he managed to make Navy (Navy!) an offensive force. Georgia Tech decided to roll the dice on his “gimmicky” offense, and currently sits at #10 in the BCS standings with an 8-1 record.

Nebraska, meanwhile, decided to focus on the other side of their storied tradition, and brought in former Nebraska defensive coordinator Bo Pelini to revive the feared blackshirt defense. And their defense is good (ninth nationally). However, they’ve got an offense that’s averaging a paltry 368 yards per game, good for eighty third in the nation. They’re 5-3.

Miami

Who they could’ve hired: Mike Leach
Who they hired instead: Randy Shannon

As a diehard Texas Tech fan, it pains me to imagine our loveable pirate anywhere but Lubbock. But the Hurricanes would’ve been deadly with Mike Leach’s offense and Miami’s speed.

In a segment on Leach for 60 Minutes, CBS correspondent (and Texas Tech alum!) Scott Pelley spoke to Michael Lewis, author of Money Ball and this piece on Leach for the New York Times Magazine. He asked, “What would you say someone who says ‘This is all well and good but he’s never won the conference championship, let alone a national championship?’”

Lewis responded, “I’d say first, he’s young. Just wait. I’d say also, God help you if he gets hold of the sort of athletes they get at Texas or Oklahoma or USC. Nobody else will stand a chance.”

Miami chose Shannon instead (much to the dismay of Donald Trump), and while they are 6-2 and ranked #16 in the current BCS, you can’t help but wonder what might have been.

Notre Dame

Who they could’ve hired: Urban Meyer
Who they hired instead: Charlie Weis

When Notre Dame fired Ty Willingham, it was clear who they had in their sights. Urban Meyer was a Midwestern guy who called Notre Dame his dream job (he coached their wide receivers from 1996-2000). He’d just finished an undefeated season and Utah and it was clear he was ripe for the plucking. Then he did something the Irish didn’t see coming – he took the job at Florida. It was a genius move on his part. Florida already had the pieces in place for his offense and could be competitive right away (evident by the fact that they won the national championship in his second year). Notre Dame would’ve been a rebuilding project. They were too slow, too Big Ten-ish, too conservative. Could he have turned them around? Probably. Would he have two championship rings today? Who can say, but personally, I doubt it.

When Meyer jumped to Florida, Notre Dame searched frantically for a suitable second candidate, eventually landing on the lumpy, nerdy, off-putting Mrs. Charlie Weis. They started strong, causing the officials at Notre Dame to stupidly offer Weis a ten-year extension. Still, the biggest wins of his career thus far have been two moral victories against USC. Would that have happened with Meyer? Again, I doubt it.

Florida’s record under Meyer (2005-present): 52-9 (3 bowl wins, 2 national championships)
Notre Dame’s record under Weis (2005-present): 35-23 (one bowl win over powerhouse Hawaii)

Let’s get to some picks, shall we? Last week: 12-6

ACC

#22 Virginia Tech (6-3) at East Carolina (5-4)
Oops. A day late on this one. Virginia Tech beat East Carolina 16-3 last night. Umm…nice work, Hokies?

Virginia (3-5) at #16 Miami (6-2)
Virginia continues to be terrible. The Leach-free Hurricanes continue to be decent. Miami rolls.

Maryland (2-6) at NC State (3-5)
Maryland continues to be terrible. NC State continues to be maddeningly mediocre. I’ll take NC State.

Wake Forest (4-5) at #10 Georgia Tech (8-1)
This has been a disappointing year for Wake who almost became an ACC power. Georgia Tech wins this one.

Duke (5-3) at North Carolina (5-3)
Ah, the classic rivalry! Duke and Carolina. So much history. So much bad blood. Yes, I know. That only applies to the basketball programs. Still, I think UNC will derive a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction from taking the air out of Duke’s tires this weekend.

Florida State (4-4) at Clemson (5-3)
Hell, I don’t know. One team that has been inconsistent all season long (Florida State) playing the poster child for inconsistency (Clemson). I guess I’ll take Clemson, but only because they’re at home.

SEC

South Carolina (6-3) at Arkansas (4-4)
I know, I know. I say this every week, but I’m gonna say it again. Arkansas is better than their record. I’ll take the Razorbacks at home.

Eastern Kentucky (5-3) at Kentucky (4-4)
I finally give Kentucky a little credit and pick them to win last week. So naturally they went out and lost to Mississippi State. Thanks guys. I’ll take Kentucky to win, but I don’t want to.

Tennessee Tech (5-3) at Georgia (4-4)
Wow, what a disappointing season in Georgia. Still, they should be able to handle Tennessee Tech.

Furman (4-4) at Auburn (6-3)
Great mid-season non-conference match-ups, SEC! Eastern Kentucky? Tennessee Tech? Furman?! Is there not a single game in the SEC this week worth watching?!

#9 LSU (7-1) at #3 Alabama (8-0)
Oh right. This one. I’ve gone both ways on this game. On the one hand, Alabama is at home and their defense is tough and they’ve got Ingram in the backfield and LSU’s offense is suspect. On the other hand, LSU’s defense is just as tough, they’ve got Scott in the backfield and Alabama’s offense is one-dimensional. I just don’t know. I’ll take Bama at home, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see LSU eek out a low scoring win.

Memphis (2-6) at Tennessee (4-4)
DeAngelo Williams, where have you gone? Tennessee in a blowout.

Vanderbilt (2-7) at #1 Florida (8-0)
Jay Cutler, where have you gone? Florida in a laugher.

Northern Arizona (5-3) at Ole Miss (5-3)
Eli Manning, where have you gone?! Er…actually, I like Ole Miss to win this game.

Pac-10

#7 Oregon (7-1) at Stanford (5-3)
Oregon is coming off a huge win over USC. Stanford is unbeaten at home. This has “letdown” written all over it. I’ll take Stanford in my Guaranteed (non-binding) Upset Lock of the Week!

Washington State (1-7) at #21 Arizona (5-2)
I plan to pick Washington State to lose every game for the rest of the year. Just so you know.

Washington (3-5) at UCLA (3-5)
I haven’t picked UCLA to win in quite some time. And to be honest, I think I’ve been right every time. Sorry, Bruins. I can’t do it. Washington wins.

Oregon State (5-3) at #23 Cal (6-2)
I think Oregon State could win this game if it were in Corvalis. But it’s not. Cal wins.

#12 USC at Arizona State (4-4)
USC is probably pretty upset after losing last week. You might think they’d come out and score 80 points against Arizona State. Personally, I think this will go the other way. USC wins, but not by much.

Big XII South Game of the Week

#20 Oklahoma (5-3) at Nebraska (5-3)
Pretty slim pickins in the Big 12 South this weekend. What are my other options here? Baylor vs. Mizzou? Texas A&M vs. Colorado? Yuck. There isn’t a single game that even matches up two Big 12 South teams! At least I don’t have to pick another UT game. And to be fair, the Oklahoma/Nebraska rivalry used to be huge when these two teams played in the Big 8. Not that that has any effect on this game. The Oklahoma defense will come up big. Sooners roll.

Good calls: SEC (5-1), Pac 10 (5-0). Don’t be fooled by that 14-4 record, I can’t really brag about my predictions from last week. Nothing terribly surprising happened and even when I got the predictions right, I whiffed on the margin (Auburn keeping it close against LSU? Pssshaw.)

Bad calls: I was feeling pretty good about myself following some good calls the previous week, so last Thursday I emailed a link to my weekly predictions column to Stewart Mandel, Sports Illustrated’s senior college football writer. I’ve been emailing him questions for years trying to get into his weekly mailbag. Nothing. But somehow, for some reason, he followed the link, read my column and actually sent me an email:

You’re doing a much better job prognosticating than I am. Mizzou hasn’t shown me anything the past 2 weeks, so if they pull it off, you’ll look like a genius.

You may have noticed that Texas beat the ever-loving dogsh*t out of Missouri last weekend. Sigh.  Onto the picks…

ACC

North Carolina (4-3) at #14 Virginia Tech (5-2)
Strange things always seem to happen during these Thursday night games. This should be the exception to the rule though. Virginia Tech wins.

NC State (3-4) at Florida State (3-4)
Apparently all of the dirt-shoveling over Bobby Bowden and this year’s team was slightly premature. They showed some life against UNC last week and may actually have a QB these days. FSU wins this one.

Coastal Carolina (3-4) at Clemson (4-3)
I’m tempted to make this my upset pick of the week, because if anyone was gonna lose to Coastal Carolina, it would be Clemson. They’ve got a bonafide Heisman candidate in CJ Spiller though, and his 207 all-purpose yards/game average will likely spike after this one.

Duke (4-3) at Virginia (3-4)
Thanks, Duke. The last thing we needed was another middle-of-the-pack, we-can-beat-anyone-AND-lose-to-anyone ACC team. But here you are. Virginia is favored by a touchdown, but this feels like a coinflip to me. Okay, coin flipped. I’ll take Virginia.

Central Michigan (7-1) at Boston College (5-3)
Will Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour become the NFL’s next great and/or mediocre MAC quarterback, joining the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich and Chad Pennington? It’s possible. A big game at Boston College could put him on the national radar. I’ll take Central Michigan in the upset.

#18 Miami (5-2) at Wake Forest (4-4)
Miami keeps giving us glimpses of what they could be, then the next week they’ll remind us that they’re not there quite yet. I still think they’ll win at Wake.

#11 Georgia Tech (7-1) at Vanderbilt (2-6)
Technically, Vanderbilt is in the SEC. So technically, Paul Johnson’s triple-option offense is about to face one of those notoriously fast SEC defenses. And technically, Georgia Tech is going to win this game by 30.

SEC

#24 Ole Miss (5-2) at Auburn (5-3)
One team started the year with expectations that may have been unfairly high. The other started the year with expectations that may have been unfairly low. So who pulls it out this week: the underachiever or the overachiever? Always go with the overachiever. I’ll take Auburn.

Georgia (4-3) vs. #1 Florida (7-0) in Jacksonville
The SEC doesn’t want the media referring to this game as the World’s Largest Cocktail Party. Well, I’m calling it the World’s Largest Cocktail Party, because what a cool name for a rivalry game. What are you gonna do about it, SEC?! What’s that? Oh, no one from the SEC reads this column? Oh, no one reads this column? Hmm. Then I guess it won’t matter when I’m wrong about picking Georgia in my Guaranteed (non-binding) Upset Lock of the Week!

Eastern Michigan (0-7) at Arkansas (3-4)
Arkansas is going to win this game by 40 points. Let’s not waste anymore time on it.

Mississippi State (3-5) at Kentucky (4-3)
I gotta be honest, I don’t know anything about Kentucky. I keep saying they’re awful, but…well, they’re 4-3. And they’ve only lost to the ranked teams on their schedule (Florida, Alabama and South Carolina). I’m gonna give them the benefit of the doubt this week and pick them to win.

#21 South Carolina (6-2) at Tennessee (3-4)
I keep waiting for Tennessee to have a breakout game. And you could argue that last week was it, taking Alabama to the wire and almost beating them with a last second field goal (that was blocked). I think this is their breakout game. Gotta start somewhere, right? Tennessee in the upset.

Tulane (2-5) at #9 LSU (6-1)
I love New Orleans. And Tulane sits on a beautiful stretch of St. Charles Avenue, surrounded by majestic Victorian mansions, magnolia trees and drive-thru daiquiri stands. It’s a magical place, really. Unfortunately that won’t help them this weekend. LSU wins.

Pac 10

Cal (5-2) at Arizona State (4-3)
Another week, another slate of head-scratching games in the Pac 10. Arizona State hasn’t shown us anything, losing to every decent team on their schedule (Georgia, Oregon State, Stanford). Cal had potential, but got blown out against Oregon (42-3) and USC (30-3). Arizona State ain’t Oregon and USC. I’ll take the Bears.

UCLA (3-4) at Oregon State (4-3)
Another week, another pick against UCLA. Sorry, Bruins.

Washington State (1-6) vs. #25 Notre Dame (5-2) in San Antonio
Why the hell is this game being played in San Antonio? The Alamodome is 1,300 miles from Notre Dame’s campus and 1,500 miles from Washington State’s campus. This makes no sense. Well, both of these teams have watched that rich, fertile Texas recruiting pipeline make their competitors far better – Stanford (Andrew Luck) and Oregon State (the Rodgers bros.) for Wazzu and Texas, Oklahoma and LSU for Notre Dame. Anyway, whatever. Notre Dame wins, gets to 6-2, climbs up the rankings, inches ever-closer to a BCS berth and an inevitable blowout from one of the teams that actually deserves to be there.

#4 USC (6-1) at #10 Oregon (6-1)
You don’t need me to tell you that this is easily the best game of the weekend. USC has a more impressive win this season (at Ohio State), but Oregon has beaten some decent teams too, including Utah, Cal and the same Washington team that knocked off USC (although, let’s be honest, to say Oregon should beat USC because they beat Washington and Washington beat USC is ridiculous. You don’t think USC would bend Boise State over if they played?). Anyway. Vegas likes USC (-3) but just barely. That stadium at Oregon is gonna be rockin’. Then again, so was the stadium at Ohio State. I’ll take USC.

Big XII South Game of the Week

#3 Texas at #13 Oklahoma State
I’m so sick of picking UT games! And I’m so sick of being wrong!! Oklahoma State always seems to give Texas fits, and this game is being played in Stillwater. Still. I can’t pick against UT again. Not in this game anyway. UT wins.

But that’s what makes the sport so compelling. If you don’t show up each and every week, your national title hopes can be snuffed out in the blink of an eye. So who’s gonna get the snakebite this week? And who will slither from the weeds and do the biting? And who will suck the poison?! This metaphor is falling apart. Let’s move on, shall we?

Last week: 12-4

Good calls: ACC (4-1), SEC (5-1), Pac 10 (3-1), #19 Georgia Tech over #4 Virginia Tech (Georgia Tech win 28-23), “Ole Miss will win this game by 35+ points” (Ole Miss win 48-13), “Miami will win this game by three touchdowns” (Miami win 27-7).

Also, prior to the Texas/OU game, I wrote this:

That being said, I really don’t see how Oklahoma can pull this off. They’ve lost too many key guys, their offense hasn’t had time to find its rhythm…on the other hand, can we really live in a world in which an Oklahoma team with a Heisman-winning quarterback is unranked?! I say no.

This ended up being the most prescient paragraph I’ve ever written in my life. Oklahoma did lose too many guys, their offense hadn’t had time to find its rhythm and after OU somehow stayed in the top 25 after dropping to 3-3, we still don’t live in a world in which an Oklahoma team with a Heisman-winning quarterback is unranked. Go figure.

Now then. There’s a reason I’m spending so much time patting myself on the back for a stellar week. This week is gonna be a bloodbath. I may go 4-12. There are a lot of evenly matched teams and a lot of potential upsets…scanning the games, I don’t feel good about any of them. It’s gonna be ugly.

ACC

Florida State (2-4) at North Carolina (4-2)
It’s hard to believe that Florida State has fallen so far, so fast. Not just this season, but as a program. Do you realize Florida State finished in the top 5 of the AP poll every single year from 1987 to 2000? That’s unfathomable. They lost a total of 19 games in that span. Since 2000 they’ve lost 36 games. Even more unbelievable (even less believable?), they were in the top 25 at one point this season. And now they’re 2-4. I don’t feel comfortable picking UNC to win this game, but I kinda have to, don’t I?

#11 Georgia Tech (6-1) at Virginia (3-3)
This just screams “trap game.” Georgia Tech is coming off a huge win over Virginia Tech, they’re on the fringe of the top ten, they’re playing a Virginia team that has improved every week since that inexcusable loss to William & Mary…so is this my upset pick of the week? Nah, we’re not there yet.

Maryland (2-5) at Duke (3-3)
I don’t know what to make of Maryland. I can only figure that their win over Clemson was a total fluke. I mean, this is a team that lost to Middle Tennessee State, for cryin’ out loud. I’ll take Duke in this one.

Boston College (5-2) at Notre Dame (4-2)
Average margin of victory for BC’s five wins: 25 points
Average margin of defeat for BC’s two losses: 26 points

Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish have been within 7 points for every win and loss this season (excluding a season-opening 35-0 pasting of Nevada). What does this mean? Well, either Notre Dame is going to hold true to form and win by 3 points or BC is going to hold true to form and lose by 26.

Wake Forest (4-3) at Navy (5-2)
Even though Paul Johnson left Navy for greener pastures, his former team has managed to stay competitive, beating the bad teams (Rice, Western Kentucky) and losing to the good ones (Ohio State, Pitt). The problem in picking this game is figuring out which category Wake Forest falls into. I’ll take Navy.

Clemson (3-3) at #8 Miami (5-1)
Well, if Clemson isn’t the quintessential ACC team…they beat Boston College, then lose to Maryland, then beat Wake Forest. This is irrelevant, of course, because there’s no way they can hang with Miami. It will be interesting to see what they do during the upcoming three-game stretch against fellow head-scratchers Florida State, NC State and Virginia.

SEC

Arkansas (3-3) at Ole Miss (4-2)
This is a critical, make-or-break game for each of these teams. One of them will see their season officially go off the rails. It’s been well-documented in this column (all two weeks of it, anyway) that I believe in the Razorbacks. I’m just not quite sure what that last-second loss to Florida did to them mentally. Vegas likes Ole Miss (-6), but I’ll take Arkansas.

Tennessee (3-3) at #1 Alabama (7-0)
If Lane Kiffin does what he did against Florida – not trying to win, but trying simply to keep it respectable – then…well, I guess he’ll keep it respectable. If he plays to win, however…he’ll get blown out. Alabama cruises.

UL-Monroe (4-2) at Kentucky (3-3)
The summer after my junior year of college, I decided to spend a month living at my mom’s house in Monroe, LA. And since I had a Spanish requirement to fulfill, I decided to take a summer class at UL-Monroe. My final grade in the class: 104. Unfortunately, their athletics are on par with their academics. Kentucky rolls in this one.

Vanderbilt (2-5) at #23 South Carolina (5-2)
South Carolina wins this one. What a disappointing season for Vandy. It almost appeared that Bobby Johnson had this program headed in the right direction. This is a column for another day, but can we please take these highly-respected private universities and start a separate conference? Duke, Tulane, Vandy, Rice, SMU, Baylor…this would make sense, right?

#2 Florida (6-0) at Mississippi State (3-4)
Dan Mullen was Florida’s offensive coordinator last season, now he’s Mississippi State’s coach. If USC’s former offensive coordinator (U-Dub’s Steve Sarkisian) could knock off the Trojans then surely…nah. At least Washington had some recruits in place. Florida wins this one easily.

Auburn (5-2) at #9 LSU (5-1)
Oh, Auburn. You get everyone’s hopes up by winning your first five games, beating an underrated West Virginia team and handling Tennessee on the road. Then you follow that up by losing at Arkansas (understandable) and…uhh…at home to Kentucky?! Not the best time to slump, heading into a night game at Death Valley. LSU wins, but (to borrow from Lee Corso), it’s closer than the experts think.

Pac 10

#12 Oregon (5-1) at Washington (3-4)
This is the game where everyone says, “Oh, Oregon is looking ahead to USC, but don’t sleep on Washington! Look what they did to USC!” You think the Oregon coaches and players haven’t picked up on that already? Oregon wins.

Washington State (1-5) at Cal (4-2)
Washington State continues to be one of the worst major conference teams in the country. Cal wins.

UCLA (3-3) at Arizona (4-2)
Arizona might be better than I gave them credit for. They’ve beaten some decent teams (Oregon State, Stanford) this year, and this game is at home. I’ll take Arizona.

Oregon State (4-2) at #4 USC (5-1)
The word “revenge” will be batted around by the Gameday crew, I’m sure. And I guess that’s fair, considering Oregon State ruined USC’s chances of playing for a national title last year. USC wins big.

Arizona State (4-2) at Stanford (4-3)
Hell, I don’t know. These Pac 10 games are tough to pick. Luckily, most of the games this week have an obvious winner, aside from UCLA/Arizona and this one. I’ve had a lot of faith in Stanford this season (for some strange reason). Why stop now? Stanford wins.

Big XII South Game of the Week

#3 Texas (6-0) at Missouri (4-2)
I still think Texas is overrated. They played an OU team last week that was without Sam Bradford, and they still barely won. The one thing they did well was defend the run. The one thing they didn’t do well was defend the pass. And guess what Mizzou likes to do? I’ll take Missouri in my Guaranteed (non-binding) Upset Lock of the Week.

But the more I thought about it, the more I began to shift my opinion. If Boise State beats everyone on their schedule, why shouldn’t they go to a BCS game? Would a two-loss Miami team or (god help us) a nine-win Notre Dame team really deserve it that much more?

If you really want to make a college football fan wring his hands, talk about the possibility of Boise State making the National Championship game. As much as we all love an underdog story, people are very uncomfortable with the idea of a non-power program playing for it all. This is a tangent for another time, but the game last night reminded me why a playoff would be so good for this sport. Then there’s no second-guessing, no wondering “what if” and no complaining that this team and that team got shafted. Just something to chew on. Let’s get to some picks, shall we?

Last week: 10-9

Good calls: Arkansas over #17 Auburn (Arkansas win 44-23), the entire ACC (6-1)

Bad calls: UCLA over #13 Oregon (Oregon win 24-10), the entire Pac 10 (1-3)

ACC

Wake Forest at Clemson
The media has been talking a lot lately about parity in the ACC. What this means, basically, is that this league is littered with mediocre teams. Each of them is capable of either surprising one of the “good” teams or losing to one of the bad teams. So what happens when two mediocre teams play each other? It means one team squeaks by the other and the collective football universe utters “meh.” I’ll take Clemson.

NC State at Boston College
First I’d like to thank NC State for making me look like an idiot after I said last week that they were “sneaky good” before they went out and lost to a team that has gone 19-101 in the last ten years and hasn’t won a bowl game since Eisenhower was in office (seriously). Secondly, I’d like to thank BC for making me look like an idiot after I predicted they’d “keep it close” against VA Tech, before they went out and lost 48-14. I’ll take Boston College.

Virginia at Maryland
Remember what I was saying about the ACC being littered with mediocre teams? That doesn’t mean there aren’t a couple of legitimately bad teams. I’ll take Maryland, but I don’t want to.

#4 Virginia Tech at #19 Georgia Tech
I had Georgia Tech beating Florida State last week and felt pretty good when they did. I can’t say I feel as confident about their chances against Virginia Tech, the only real contender in the ACC. However. We’ve seen it week-in and week-out, strange things happen in college football. I’ll take Georgia Tech here in my Guaranteed (non-binding) Upset Lock of the Week.

#9 Miami at Central Florida
Miami will win this game by three touchdowns. Let’s not waste any more time on it.

SEC

Georgia at Vanderbilt
Georgia is reeling after a disappointing loss to Tennessee. And Vanderbilt is reeling after a disappointing loss to Army. A loss in Knoxville is understandable. An SEC team losing to Army? Yikes. I’ll take Georgia.

Mississippi State at Middle Tennessee State
I gave Mississippi State too much credit last week thinking they could beat the University of Houston . Aaaand I’m giving them too much credit again. They should win this game handily.

Arkansas at #1 Florida
I’d feel a whole lot better about the Razorback’s chances if this game were being played in Fayetteville. As it stands, there’s no way in hell they waltz into the Swamp and leave with a win. I still think Arkansas is better than their 3-2 record indicates.

UAB at Ole Miss
Nice work, Mississippi. You’ve somehow gone from the #4 team in the country to unranked in the span of two weeks. I think they’re gonna take their frustrations out on UAB in a big way. Ole Miss will win this game by 35+ points.

Kentucky at Auburn
Like I said last week, Kentucky stinks. Auburn is gonna rebound from a tough loss and smack the fightin’ Ashley Judds around a bit in this one. I’d like to point out, NFL fans, that Gus Malzahn, the current offensive coordinator at Auburn, is the architect behind the fancy pants Wildcat formation that’s taking the league by storm right now. He devised it at Arkansas as a way to get Darren McFadden and Felix Jones on the field at the same time. So the idea that the college schemes are less sophisticated just because they’re simpler is complete malarkey. Please, NFL, keep borrowing from college offenses. I would give my left testicle to see Peyton Manning run the option.

#22 South Carolina at #2 Alabama
As with the Arkansas/Florida game, I’d feel a lot better about the Gamec*ck’s chances if this game were in Columbia. Alabama has been plugging along, methodically and dutifully beating everyone in their path. It’s possible, just possible, that they’re the best team in the country. Never sleep on Nick Saban.

Pac 10

Cal at UCLA
Well, I stupidly picked UCLA to knock off Oregon last week. I guess the Rick Neuheisel/Norm Chow experiment is still in its early stages. Once they actually have a quarterback, look out. Cal wins this one.

#6 USC at Notre Dame
Notre Dame is gonna be all kinds of jacked up for this game. They’ve got a Heisman candidate at quarterback, a coach with multiple Super Bowl rings and…snort…chuckle…I’m sorry, does anyone honestly believe Notre Dame has a chance here?! They’ve done nothing but squeak by terrible teams all year! In all seriousness, they’ve got as good a chance this year as they’ve ever had. But until they actually beat USC, I’ll never pick them to win this game. Ever.

Stanford at Arizona
Stanford isn’t half bad this year. Arizona, despite being favored in this game, is disappointing, as always. I’ll take Stanford in the mild upset.

Washington at Arizona State
Washington got everyone’s hopes up by knocking off big, bad USC then followed that up by losing two straight and barely beating Arizona. You have to assume the real Huskies are the ones we’ve seen these last three weeks, not the ones who played out of their minds against the Trojans. I’ll take Arizona State.

Big XII South Game of the Week

The Red River Shootout – #3 Texas vs. #20 Oklahoma
Texas is overrated. There, I said it. They’ve got no running game and no real leadership. This team lives and dies with Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley on one side of the ball and Sergio “I got wasted and rammed my car into a house but somehow my lawyers convinced everyone it happened because I was sending a text message” Kindle on the other. That being said, I really don’t see how Oklahoma can pull this off. They’ve lost too many key guys, their offense hasn’t had time to find its rhythm…on the other hand, can we really live in a world in which an Oklahoma team with a Heisman-winning quarterback is unranked?! I say no. OU wins in a stunner.

I myself am a Big XII man, through and through. I went to school at Texas Tech, which has allowed me to develop a seething hatred for A&M (brainwashed), UT (arrogant) and OU (hicks). Personal preferences aside though, I’m an avid fan of the sport. And I’m thrilled that Jeremy has asked me to contribute to the site.

Before we begin, I’d like to take this moment to formally thank Jack for agreeing to take the Big East, as I would rather smack myself in the nuts with a ball-peen hammer than watch one second of Big East football.

Let’s get to some predictions, shall we?

ACC

Boston College at No. 5 Virginia Tech
At the time, most people assumed that Virginia Tech’s opening week loss to Alabama exposed them as frauds. Now the pendulum is starting to swing the other way after their wins over Nebraska and Miami and people are retroactively impressed that they hung around with such a dominant Alabama team. I don’t know, I think they fall somewhere in the middle. Virginia Tech is a two touchdown favorite, and they should win the game, but BC will keep it close.

Southern at North Carolina
Yikes. North Carolina’s offense has been putrid these last few weeks. Either this game will end 16-9 or UNC will go all big nuts on lowly Southern and try to rack up 500 yards of offense to make themselves feel better.

Indiana at Virginia
Geh, do I have to pick this game? Indiana looked respectable in a close loss to Michigan. Virginia beat the previously-overrated-now-accurately-rated Tarheels. I’ll take Virginia, but only because they’re at home.

Duke at North Carolina State
I think NC State is sneaky good this year, despite their recent bed-sh*tting against Wake and opening season loss to the Gamec*cks. Duke is still Duke for the time being. NC State wins this game by four touchdowns.

Maryland at Wake Forest
Egads, these ACC matchups are painful. These two teams have been battling all season for the title of “who can disappoint their fans more.” Maryland’s marquee win is over Clemson and Wake’s is over Stanford. Seriously. Way to go, ACC. I’ll take Wake here because I think Maryland is actually worse than their 2-3 record would lead you to believe.

Florida A&M at No. 11 Miami (FL)
Miami will win this game by 40 points. Let’s not waste anymore time on it.

No. 22 Georgia Tech at Florida State
This is actually a pretty intriguing match-up, since Florida State has the team speed to slow down Georgia Tech’s weirdly productive triple option offense. Although, times are tough in Tallahassee right now, and Bobby Bowden’s got a full-blown student mutiny on his hands. I’ll take Georgia Tech in this one.

SEC

No. 17 Auburn at Arkansas
Now we’re talking! I was actually in Fayetteville last weekend for a wedding, and I can tell you, their fans are insane. I heard them “call the hogs” in person. At a wedding reception. I like Arkansas to win this game and end all of the premature “how good is Auburn?” talk.

Vanderbilt at Army
Yikes. Uhh…I’ll take Vandy, but I don’t feel confident about it. Moving on…

Georgia at Tennessee
Can Lane Kiffin please stop being such a jackhole? Look, coach, I get it. There’s no such thing as bad publicity and you need to draw as much attention to the school (and yourself) as you can. Still, you’ve been straddling that fine line between “provocative” and “galling” for awhile now. Chill out. Georgia wins by 3.

Houston at Mississippi State
I hated that UH was beaten last week by UTEP, and thus, exposed as complete and total frauds. After they beat my Red Raiders, I’d hoped they could run the table and bring a little positive attention to the program. I remember going to UH games as a kid and watching Heisman-winning quarterback Andre Ware (seriously) sling touchdowns all over the Astrodome. Such is life. Mississippi State wins.

No. 3 Alabama at No. 20 Mississippi
This is a pretty intriguing match-up when you consider that Ole Miss was once the number four team in the country. Do they rebound and shock Alabama at home or does the stench of that top ten ranking haunt them until the bitter end? I choose the latter. Alabama rolls.

Kentucky at No. 25 South Carolina
Kentucky stinks this year. I’ll take the Fighting Spurriers.

No. 1 Florida at No. 4 LSU
This is the game of the week, obviously, although I don’t think anyone truly believes LSU is the #4 team in the country. Which makes this a strange game – if Tebow doesn’t play, a win for LSU not only doesn’t necessarily legitimize them, it also probably doesn’t impact the Gators that much. A strange game calls for a strange prediction. If Tebow plays, LSU wins based on the fact that their crowd will be going bonkers for the entire sixty minutes. If Tebow doesn’t play, Florida wins, based on the inevitable disappointment of the home crowd and time-munching, yard-crunching running game of Florida.

Pac 10
I have to be honest, beyond USC, I don’t know much about the Pac 10. Every year they produce a bunch of okay teams and maybe a surprisingly good team, but it’s hard to distinguish from one year to the next who that will be. Kindly take these picks with a grain of salt, west coasters.

No. 13 Oregon at UCLA
At first glance, it appears that Oregon is getting better every week. Since that opening week debacle against Boise State, they’ve squeaked by Purdue, handled an overrated Utah team, murdered Cal then stomped Washington State. They’re still too erratic for my liking. UCLA will win and I’m making this my Guaranteed (non-binding) Upset Lock of the Week.

Arizona State at Washington State
Haven’t heard much from Dennis Erickson’s crew this year. But Washington State is one of the worst teams in the country. Take the Sun Devils.

Stanford at Oregon State
Stanford has been competitive this year and Oregon State seems to have taken a step back. I like Stanford.

Arizona at Washington
Remember what I said in the intro about indistinguishable Pac 10 teams? Exhibits A and B. Uhh…I guess I think Arizona is gonna win?

Big XII South game of the week

No. 15 Oklahoma State at Texas A&M
Well, it appears Dez Bryant is out after misleading the NCAA about some interaction he had with an ex-NFL player (who probably committed the egregious crime of buying him a sandwich or something). This may rattle the Cowboys a little. As much as it pains me, I’m gonna take A&M in the upset.