Description

{mosimage}
I took a couple weeks off from picking games, mainly because it’s been so damn frustrating this year.  But, with a couple weeks more of college football action under my belt, my confidence is restored.  Plus, in last week’s BetUS.com college football podcast, the "DeathRattle Posse" went a collective 4-1 in pick ‘em games. Not too shabby fellas.

Be prepared for yet another great weekend of football everybody, beginning on Thursday Night. 

Boston College (-3 1/2) at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech is a tricky place to play. I’ve been hearing everybody pick VTech and in my mind underestimating Boston College. But now that I look at the numbers and apply the "if a gun was pointed to my head and I have to get it right"–theory–I’m going with the Hokies. Since getting an enormous slice of humble pie from LSU, VTech has shown steady improvement. Boston College missed the spread vs. Notre Dame, followed by a week off. The home team has won the last 4 meetings. Virginia Tech has steamrolled Duke and Clemson, both away games, scoring over 40 in their last 2 outings. Virginia Tech has the better defense and look for a confident Tech squad, who is 9-1 in their last 10 October ACC games, to win. Both squads are battling injuries. Attrition could play a roll.

VT- 27   BC- 24

West Virginia (-6) at Rutgers  

WVU, with 6 points to cover, seems like a tough bet. Rutgers is coming off of an emotional win at home against USF and again will defend their home turf against the Mountaineers, a team they lost to 41-39 last year.  Freshman phenom Noel Devine is listed as probable for personal reasons. Not sure what is up with that. I don’t like Rutgers defense in this one enough to pick them but it is tempting. In the end, though, Rutgers runs out of gimmick plays and West Virginia rises to the top of the Big East.

West Virginia 38  Rutgers- 30

Mississippi State at Kentucky (-14)

Miss. State is once again sitting towards the bottom of the SEC but they’ve proven to be good enough to possibly pull out a win somewhere down the road; not this week. Kentucky is coming off of and emotional win against LSU and an emotional loss against UF.  They win, but only by 10.

Miss. State- 21  Kentucky- 31

Iowa State at Missouri (-28)

I look at this game as the SURE FIRE MONEY MAKER. But then upon further review it deserves a "hmmmm." ISU beat Missouri last year and lost the two previous seasons by a combined 6 points. They gave Oklahoma a game last week and only lost by 10.  Sounds like an easy pick until you consider they got beat by Texas by 53, TT by 25 and Nebraska by 18.  Still, in my mind, this is a no brainer.

Iowa State- 13  Missouri- 31

USC at Oregon (-3)

USC beat the spread last week against Notre Dame, but big whoop.  ND is a mess outside of recruiting circles. Their season is the equivalent of what Weis’s shirt would look like at a BBQ.  Hey, at least his shoes stay clean. Oregon needs to step it up on defense and give QB Mark Sanchez a taste of defeat. I think it happens, despite the pounding USC has handed Oregon the last couple of years.  Oregon failed to defend their turf against Cal, don’t look for a repeat. Whoever wins this will have a great shot at becoming Pac 10 champs and playing for a national title. Oregon is ready to seize the day, USC is ready to stumble again.

Oregon 28  USC-24

USF (-4 1/2) vs. UCONN 

UCONN has taken care of business this season, even if they got a  big break against Louisville (fair catch mishap) last week. Their only loss was to a solid Virginia squad by 1 point, the same team that just beat Maryland. USF just got knocked out of the #2 spot in the BCS standings, after a gut wrenching 3 point loss at Rutgers. If the game were is Tampa, I’d probably go with USF. But it’s not and I like Connecticut to avenge their 22 point loss last year. As much pub as USF’s defense has received, UCONN’s could be better.

USF-17   UCONN- 20

 
Georgia VS. Florida (-9) (Jacksonville-neutral site)

Florida is the favorite in this one and for good reason; they’re better. Still, this game has not been decided by more than a touchdown since 2001. There are a ton of injuries on both sides, with Tim Tebow now listed as "probable."  He can do it all but this do it all thing leads to injuries. UF will need to find a ground game some day. I like UF but it’s close. If Tebow gets hurt watch out!

Georgia- 24 UF- 31

Virginia (-3) at N.C. State

I like Virgina BIG. I would compare the Wolfpack to Pitt but worse. Virginia beat Pitt by 30.  I would compare Virginia to FSU but better. FSU beat N.C. State by 17.

Virginia- 28   N.C. State 17

South Carolina at Tennessee (-3)

Attrition could kill USC this year. Tennessee just got smoked by ‘Bama. Both teams have looked good but then bad. Both overrated. If they are not overrated, then we should just pay attention to top 15 teams, because 15-25 don’t deserve to be listed in the polls. That’s all I gotta say about that.

Tenn.- 24  South Carolina-20

Ohio State (-4) at Penn State 

Many have OSU on upset alert, which makes sense. The Buckeyes lost, at  night, the last time they played in Happy Valley. With an 8 p.m. kickoff, conditions will be similiar. The weather forecast calls for light rain, which helps Penn State. This game is always close, so expect no different this time around. If OSU wins it will be because of Chris Wells.  If Penn State gets down early, this could be a 2 touchdown game. This probably won’t happen.

Ohio State 20 Penn State 17 

Cal at Arizona State (-3) 

I like Arizona State in this game, amidst 90 degree heat. Cal has lost 2 in a row. We knew Cal had a bad defense and now their offense can’t seem to keep pace. Arizona State has simply taken care of business. For Cal to win the must cut down on turnovers. 

Cal – 31  ASU- 41