Post by MikeGrim on Oct 17, 2008 14:24:07 GMT -5
College Football Week 8 Picks
by: James Smith
I’m going to apologize in advance if this week turns out to be abbreviated and incomprehensible. After staying up late to watch my beloved Phillies get within 4 wins of being World Series Champions, I’m floating on air right now. Throw in my Titans being the lone undefeated team in the NFL, the 76ers looking poised for a great NBA season, and the Fighting Irish program getting better and better each week, my head is about to explode. YES WE CAN!
James’ NCAA Football TOP 20
1. Texas – Oklahoma down. Now up Missouri, Okla. St., Texas Tech 11. Utah – Along with BYU, needs rest of conference to win to help cred
2. Alabama – I can’t see them maintaining this spot all year 12. Missouri – Started to believe in them a week too early. Dammit!
3. Penn St. – It was fun and games before, now its time to take them serious 13. Ohio St. – Win next two, welcome to the top 3 again.
4. Oklahoma St. – Might’ve bumped them up too high this week but I’m impressed 14. Boise St. – If they go unbeaten, prepare for me to snap.
5. Texas Tech – Can’t take too serious until they play one of the big boys 15. LSU – They were what we thought they were!
6. BYU – Beware, ranked teams have not fared well on Thursday night games 16. Kansas – Lucky them gets to deal with a pissed Oklahoma team this week
7. Oklahoma – Loss to Texas stung…a lot. 17. Michigan St. – Impressed more and more every week
8. Florida – The lone 1-loss team I’m predicting to play for national title 18. South Florida – Yelling at myself as I type this for having them ahead of Pitt
9. USC – Will continue to coast 19. Va. Tech – Quietly creeping back up.
10. Georgia – Tough 3-game stretch coming up vs. Vandy, LSU, and Florida 20. UNC – Tough luck losing Brandon Tate for the season.
HEISMAN FRONT-RUNNERS
QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma – Tough to blame Bradford for last week’s loss against Texas. Tossed 5 TD’s vs. 2 INT’s. for 387 yards.
RB Javon Ringer, Michigan St - The Spartans continue to feed him the ball and Ringer has not disappointed one bit. Leads the nation with 1,112 rushing yards to go along with 14TD’s and, most importantly, 0 fumbles.
QB Colt Mcoy, Texas – I’m not particularly in love with McCoy but I got to give credit when warranted. 4th in the nation in QB Rating at 189.02 for the #1 team in college football at the moment.
(Honorable mentions: QB Chase Daniel, Missouri., QB Max Hall, BYU, WR Michael Crabtree, TTech, RB Donald Brown, UConn)
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RECORD: 15-15-1 (spread), 19-12 (head up)
VANDERBILT vs. #10 GEORGIA (-14.5)
Cinderella has lost her slipper. The Commodores felt out what it is like having a target on your back when they went into Mississippi St. last week. Perhaps they were also caught looking ahead to this week’s matchup vs. Georgia. Vandy is going with a QB change which is rarely ever a good sign of things to come when done midseason. Georgia knows they need to continue to win if they want any chance at getting back in national title game picture.
Georgia 35 Vanderbilt 14
#16 KANSAS vs. #7 OKLAHOMA (-19)
Big week in the Big 12. And this one isn’t even the game of the week. I have to agree with the line here. Oklahoma is pissed and playing at home. Kansas has lost the only game they have played against a formidable team and have been less than impressive the last three weeks.
Oklahoma 45 Kansas 17
#13 OHIO ST. (-3.5) vs. #17 MICHIGAN ST.
The loser of this game is out of national title picture so there is obviously a lot on the line. The RB matchup is one of the bigger ones we’ll see this season with Beanie Wells going up against Heisman hopeful Javon Ringer. OSU appears to be a little deeper on the defensive side of the ball. And having Terrell Pryor calling the signals on the offensive side will probably prove a little too much for Michigan St. to handle.
OSU 28 Michigan St. 24
#12 MISSOURI vs. #1 TEXAS (-6.5)
Mark me down as one that was very impressed with the completeness displayed by Texas in all facets of the game last week vs. Oklahoma. QB Colt McCoy threw for 277yds, RB Chris Ogbonnaya rushed for 127yds, WR Quan Cosby caught 9 balls for 122yds and fellow WR Jordan Shipley caught 11 for 112yds. Special teams-wise saw Shipley take a kickoff to the house 96 yards. Defensively, they made enough plays (2 INTS) to keep the Oklahoma offense honest. So a very complete team in all facets of the game. Missouri, however, has proven to be too one dimensional with the pass on offense. A strong pass rush and good speed on defense is all that is needed to neutralize that kind of offense. Texas appears to match up great.
Texas 40 Missouri 27
BAYLOR vs. #4 OKLAHOMA ST (-17)
The QB play in the Big 12 conference has gotten a lot of talk. Two names that go under the radar are Baylor’s Robert Griffin and Oklahoma St.’s Zac Robinson. Griffin, a freshman, is a tremendous player. Ohio St.’s, Terrell Pryor got all the hype and press for the freshman QB crop but Griffin has outperformed all, with arguably lesser talent. Griffin comes into the game with a QB rating of 157.7 and 421 rushing yards. Zac Robinson has quietly snuck up to the #3 spot in the country in the passer rating category. Oklahoma St. RB Kendall Hunter is #5 in the country in rushing yards with 832yds and could easily be as high as number 2 behind only Javon Ringer if he hadn’t had to share carries with teammate Keith Toston. The Cowboys get #1 Texas next week so this has all the makings of a "trap game". But if they limit Griffin, they should get the win.
Oklahoma St. 38 Baylor 24
MICHIGAN vs. #3 PENN ST (-23.5).
Going into last week, the general feeling I had about PSU was basically in the arena of "isn’t that cute, PSU making a nice little run" not taking them all that serious at all. When I saw the final score of last week’s game in Wisconsin, my smile disappeared and the cute little pats on the head I’ve been giving them just aren’t going to cut it anymore. They’re for real. Outside of an average margin of victory of 34 points this season, nothing is flashy about the Nittany Lions. They are just a flat out solid team. QB Daryll Clark has taken fantastic care of the ball to the tune of 10 TD passes versus only 1 INT. RB Evan Royster has been a pleasant surprise rushing for 719yds and 9TD’s. WR Derrick Williams (who I swear has to be in his 8th season) must be accounted for everywhere. Defensively, the PSU defense has yielded 14 points or less in six of its seven games this year. Michigan, well, I’m not even going to waste my breath. Although, thoughts of the 2005 PSU-Michigan game where the Lions entered into 6-0) is still fresh in my head.
Penn St. 38 Michigan 14
by: James Smith
I’m going to apologize in advance if this week turns out to be abbreviated and incomprehensible. After staying up late to watch my beloved Phillies get within 4 wins of being World Series Champions, I’m floating on air right now. Throw in my Titans being the lone undefeated team in the NFL, the 76ers looking poised for a great NBA season, and the Fighting Irish program getting better and better each week, my head is about to explode. YES WE CAN!
James’ NCAA Football TOP 20
1. Texas – Oklahoma down. Now up Missouri, Okla. St., Texas Tech 11. Utah – Along with BYU, needs rest of conference to win to help cred
2. Alabama – I can’t see them maintaining this spot all year 12. Missouri – Started to believe in them a week too early. Dammit!
3. Penn St. – It was fun and games before, now its time to take them serious 13. Ohio St. – Win next two, welcome to the top 3 again.
4. Oklahoma St. – Might’ve bumped them up too high this week but I’m impressed 14. Boise St. – If they go unbeaten, prepare for me to snap.
5. Texas Tech – Can’t take too serious until they play one of the big boys 15. LSU – They were what we thought they were!
6. BYU – Beware, ranked teams have not fared well on Thursday night games 16. Kansas – Lucky them gets to deal with a pissed Oklahoma team this week
7. Oklahoma – Loss to Texas stung…a lot. 17. Michigan St. – Impressed more and more every week
8. Florida – The lone 1-loss team I’m predicting to play for national title 18. South Florida – Yelling at myself as I type this for having them ahead of Pitt
9. USC – Will continue to coast 19. Va. Tech – Quietly creeping back up.
10. Georgia – Tough 3-game stretch coming up vs. Vandy, LSU, and Florida 20. UNC – Tough luck losing Brandon Tate for the season.
HEISMAN FRONT-RUNNERS
QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma – Tough to blame Bradford for last week’s loss against Texas. Tossed 5 TD’s vs. 2 INT’s. for 387 yards.
RB Javon Ringer, Michigan St - The Spartans continue to feed him the ball and Ringer has not disappointed one bit. Leads the nation with 1,112 rushing yards to go along with 14TD’s and, most importantly, 0 fumbles.
QB Colt Mcoy, Texas – I’m not particularly in love with McCoy but I got to give credit when warranted. 4th in the nation in QB Rating at 189.02 for the #1 team in college football at the moment.
(Honorable mentions: QB Chase Daniel, Missouri., QB Max Hall, BYU, WR Michael Crabtree, TTech, RB Donald Brown, UConn)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECORD: 15-15-1 (spread), 19-12 (head up)
VANDERBILT vs. #10 GEORGIA (-14.5)
Cinderella has lost her slipper. The Commodores felt out what it is like having a target on your back when they went into Mississippi St. last week. Perhaps they were also caught looking ahead to this week’s matchup vs. Georgia. Vandy is going with a QB change which is rarely ever a good sign of things to come when done midseason. Georgia knows they need to continue to win if they want any chance at getting back in national title game picture.
Georgia 35 Vanderbilt 14
#16 KANSAS vs. #7 OKLAHOMA (-19)
Big week in the Big 12. And this one isn’t even the game of the week. I have to agree with the line here. Oklahoma is pissed and playing at home. Kansas has lost the only game they have played against a formidable team and have been less than impressive the last three weeks.
Oklahoma 45 Kansas 17
#13 OHIO ST. (-3.5) vs. #17 MICHIGAN ST.
The loser of this game is out of national title picture so there is obviously a lot on the line. The RB matchup is one of the bigger ones we’ll see this season with Beanie Wells going up against Heisman hopeful Javon Ringer. OSU appears to be a little deeper on the defensive side of the ball. And having Terrell Pryor calling the signals on the offensive side will probably prove a little too much for Michigan St. to handle.
OSU 28 Michigan St. 24
#12 MISSOURI vs. #1 TEXAS (-6.5)
Mark me down as one that was very impressed with the completeness displayed by Texas in all facets of the game last week vs. Oklahoma. QB Colt McCoy threw for 277yds, RB Chris Ogbonnaya rushed for 127yds, WR Quan Cosby caught 9 balls for 122yds and fellow WR Jordan Shipley caught 11 for 112yds. Special teams-wise saw Shipley take a kickoff to the house 96 yards. Defensively, they made enough plays (2 INTS) to keep the Oklahoma offense honest. So a very complete team in all facets of the game. Missouri, however, has proven to be too one dimensional with the pass on offense. A strong pass rush and good speed on defense is all that is needed to neutralize that kind of offense. Texas appears to match up great.
Texas 40 Missouri 27
BAYLOR vs. #4 OKLAHOMA ST (-17)
The QB play in the Big 12 conference has gotten a lot of talk. Two names that go under the radar are Baylor’s Robert Griffin and Oklahoma St.’s Zac Robinson. Griffin, a freshman, is a tremendous player. Ohio St.’s, Terrell Pryor got all the hype and press for the freshman QB crop but Griffin has outperformed all, with arguably lesser talent. Griffin comes into the game with a QB rating of 157.7 and 421 rushing yards. Zac Robinson has quietly snuck up to the #3 spot in the country in the passer rating category. Oklahoma St. RB Kendall Hunter is #5 in the country in rushing yards with 832yds and could easily be as high as number 2 behind only Javon Ringer if he hadn’t had to share carries with teammate Keith Toston. The Cowboys get #1 Texas next week so this has all the makings of a "trap game". But if they limit Griffin, they should get the win.
Oklahoma St. 38 Baylor 24
MICHIGAN vs. #3 PENN ST (-23.5).
Going into last week, the general feeling I had about PSU was basically in the arena of "isn’t that cute, PSU making a nice little run" not taking them all that serious at all. When I saw the final score of last week’s game in Wisconsin, my smile disappeared and the cute little pats on the head I’ve been giving them just aren’t going to cut it anymore. They’re for real. Outside of an average margin of victory of 34 points this season, nothing is flashy about the Nittany Lions. They are just a flat out solid team. QB Daryll Clark has taken fantastic care of the ball to the tune of 10 TD passes versus only 1 INT. RB Evan Royster has been a pleasant surprise rushing for 719yds and 9TD’s. WR Derrick Williams (who I swear has to be in his 8th season) must be accounted for everywhere. Defensively, the PSU defense has yielded 14 points or less in six of its seven games this year. Michigan, well, I’m not even going to waste my breath. Although, thoughts of the 2005 PSU-Michigan game where the Lions entered into 6-0) is still fresh in my head.
Penn St. 38 Michigan 14