College Football 2016-2017

Oh, I blame Joe every time Northwestern loses.

 

Wisconsin is going to win a 17-10 type game. UW's defense is legit and Iowa's offense is struggling and could be without our best TE.

 

"TCU at #12 West Virginia; 2nd week in a row that I've gone against WVU (last week was a disastrous pick). Not a vintage TCU team, but Gary Patterson is one of the best coaches in the biz and he had 2 weeks to prepare."

Headed to Morgantown for this one, I'm a heavy investor in WVU - my daughter is in the Pre-Vet program there. Really can't understand how you can go against the Mountaineers again, as they so clearly proved last week, they're one of only 2 teams in the Big 12 that play defense.

 

Awesome DC that your daughter is in the Pre-Vet program (not the investment part of it , my daughter is in college as well).

I've never associated WVU with good defense, but got to give them credit for limiting Texas Tech from scoring. I just like 2 weeks of prep for a coach of TCU Patterson's ability to spring an upset. Enjoy the game, the Mountaineers win this one and they're in the playoff chase.

 

Thanks, SoCal. Hope your investments aren't too overwhelming!

Not saying WVU is Michigan, but they're in the top 20 in total defense and have been around that level since Holgerson's second year. The place will be rocking on Saturday, the students are very focused on the team staying in the discussion until Oklahoma comes to visit on November 19. Not so much for the potential for a big win, but for the likelihood that ESPN's College Gameday will make the trip to Morgantown that weekend!

This would be a perfect weekend if WVU's number 1 ranked women's soccer team were in town, but they play on the road.

 

Missed a couple of weekends with travel, but got to meet HD and Matt in the flesh, so it was worth it!

Thurs. BYU at #14 Boise State; agreed, Boise doesn't blow it at home very often.

NC State at #7 Louisville; UofL by 20+. NC State will be in major let-down mode after what happened last weekend.

FUSA Special;
Indiana at Northwestern @@BarryWhite@@tim. I'm gonna go with the Hoosiers on this one. I believe they are legit and look forward to what they do in the next couple of years.

#17 Arkansas at #21 Auburn; Not giving up on my razorbacks prediction. Staying with them.

#23 Mississippi at #25 LSU; Well, fresh off getting to see LSU absolutely demolish my Eagles. Going with LSU.

Colorado at Stanford; I'm taking CU with this one. Mac is out again I believe. Even with him, I give the edge to the buffs. They are finally playing with confidence and I believe the defense will show up big in this game.

Game of the Week:
#6 Texas A&M at #1 Alabama; I don't see Saban letting A&M take them down at home again. Bama continues their roll.

Upset Alert:

I don't like any upsets really this week. But since something has to happen, UCLA over Utah, CU wins, CU in 1st place!

 

Super excited for this weekend, even though the odds are long against.

BYU @ Boise - BYU has made just about every game closer than I expected but I don't see them beating the Broncos in Boise.

NC St @ Louisville - it's hard to put yourself in position to pull the upset 2 weeks in a row, especially on the road. Plus the Ville got their wakeup call last week.

Indiana @ Northwestern - I like this Hoosier team but they just can't figure out how to win. Give me the Cats.

Arkansas @ Auburn - I'm not buying this newfound love for Auburn and I like the Hogs. But Auburn's d is legit, they're at home & they're coming off a bye against a beat up Arky. Plus, the 17th ranked team has lost each of the last 4 weeks. The Hogs are #17 this week. Auburn wins.

Ole Miss @ LSU - to beat LSU, you need to be able to run the ball & stop the run. The Rebels do neither well, so I'll take the Bayou Bengals.

Colorado @ Stanford - nice bounce back win v ND, but that won't help them here. Buffs win.

Texas A&M @ Alabama - I do see some scenarios where we win this game. But I see far more where we don't. This game will come down to 2 things. One, is who can win the battle in the trenches. I think we will on the defensive side, but with Bama giving up less than 70 yds rpg, I don't see it on the offensive side. Which means it'll come down to the qb's. Knight is more dynamic, but Hurts is more accurate & consistent. And I think that will be our undoing.

Upset -
Miami @ VA Tech - the Hokes are a 6 pt favorite at home tonight but I think the Canes roll into Blacksburg & get the win.

Disagree with Joe on both Wisky & WV.

 

Off by a point!

 

Frankly, I'm a little disappointed by your gross miscalculation Lax

• Special teams rarely get mentioned, but a blocked FG and returned for a TD by Penn State just dropped a potential monkey wrench into Ohio State's season.

• @FulhamDC; WVU certainly made a statement (had to be a fun weekend). While I think they'll lose a game, I promise not to try a '3rd time is a charm' move this week when they travel to Stillwater.

• A long way to go, but the Wazzu-Washington game aka The Apple Cup could end up worth a whole lot of Granny Smith's.

• @tim @BarryWhite I like the 'fusa' special. That way I'm not the Kiss of Death to somebody!

 

@SoCalJoe - At the same time it does actually ensure that you ARE the kiss of death to one FUSA'er because I am blaming you and not IU's offensive misfires for the Hoosier loss this weekend.

@tim may thank you however.

 

@SoCalJoe - Yep, it was a great weekend. The defense looks good, but this OK State game is the one that has me the most nervous. This will be the third week in a row that WVU faces a team that wants to throw the ball 50 times a game. Looking forward, the 2 toughest games are at home, Oklahoma on Nov. 19 and Baylor on Dec. 3. Hoping the boys from the dust bowl have a hard time with the late fall weather in the mountains of West Virginia.

 

Va Tech is my answer to Joe's WV. Gone against them with my upset pick twice & whiffed both times. I had a perfect week of picks other than that though.

Tough game for my Ags. Bama is scary good. I'll never say someone is unbeatable, but they look as close as you can get. Their defensive speed is amazing. All that said, we hung in there and had a chance until 2 boneheaded mistakes on successive drives crushed us. Not saying we win without them, but we might have been in position to try and nick it. I really wanted to finish under that high Vegas line.

 

Some tough tests for playoff contenders:

#10 West Virginia at Oklahoma State; WVU travels to the home of Coach Mullet aka Mike Gundy. @FulhamDC As promised I won't pick against the Mountaineers this week, hope that's not the dreaded 'Kiss of Death'.

#4 Washington at #17 Utah; Very difficult place to play for the Huskies. The Dawgs offense should be enough to sneak by, but it won't be easy.

#3 Clemson at #12 Florida State; @MicahMan How do you know when you're an elite program? When you're #12 and it's a disaster. Clemson has been the kid that has been chasing the balloon along a cliff this season. Will take the Tigers, but the Noles can change the tone of the year with a win.

#7 Nebraska at #11 Wisconsin; Haven't heard anyone say they think the Huskers AREN'T overrated. They do catch a break as the Badgers best defender Clichy is out. That said still have to side with Whisky.

New Mexico State at #9 Texas A&M; I guarantee an Aggie win!!

FUSA Specials: (Big Ten Style)

Minnesota @encorespanish at Illinois @ChicagoCottager @Dynamo Lovie Smith has been in the NFL so long I wonder how he'll do in recruiting, which is what the Illini desperately need. I go with them at home.

Maryland @HatterDon at Indiana @BarryWhite Hoosiers are due for a W

Northwestern @tim at #6 Ohio State @pettyfog (Mr.Fog usually chimes in at this point of the season, but then again OSU isn't undefeated ). The Cats will play hard, but have to go with a Buckeye bounce back.

Upset Alert:

Could go easy and pick Ole Miss beating #15 Auburn at home but since that wouldn't be a huge upset;

#13 Boise State at Wyoming; The Broncos barely escaped against BYU and are a 2 TD favorite in Laramie. This could be much tighter than expected.

 

Joe you really know how to cheer a guy up! Considering the other teams I root for other than FSU are Fulham, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Philadelphia Eagles, FSU is only team that doesn't bring constant misery. Thanks for reminding me that #12 isn't too shabby!

 

I've crawled into my gopher hole after the sorry performances the football team has put out there, so really, I have limited optimism that the Gophers can right the ship. The only solace I take is that @SoCalJoe is picking against the Gophers this week, instead of for them as he has in previous weeks (kiss of death).

 

Good call on the Aggies, Joe. I agree 100%. How crazy is it that Miami travels to ND this week & no one (rightfully) talks about it? Lot of unbeatens going on the road this weekend. They won't all survive.

WV @ Okla St - Stillwater is a long trip and I don't like the early start time, but I'm going with the only team in the B12 that plays defense to stay unbeaten.

Wash @ Utah - SLC may be daunting for some but U-Dub has won 7 of 8 from the Utes. The last time the Pups faced a running qb, they needed OT to escape Tucson with a W. Throw in the fact that the Utah qb transferred out of Washington after plummeting down the depth chart after Petersen took over and it could be interesting. Remember what I said last week about #17? The streak is now at 5 straight losses & the Utes are #17 this week. I'll take the Huskies.

Clemson @ FSU - when I've seen the Noles play, they've looked confused on defense. That's a problem against a Clemson team that forces you to maintain eye discipline to stop them. Add in the return of Galman & I like the Tigers.

Nebraska @ Wisconsin - Corn looks like this year's Iowa. The Badgers have had a terrible time with injuries, but I still like that D and, as we've seen, Madison is a damn tough place to win. Badgers scratch out another one.

Minnesota @ Illinois - I'll take the Gophers here.

Maryland @ Indiana - the Terps' only 2 losses came w/o qb Hill. With him, they've looked good, even if a bit one dimensional. Takeaways are also up under Durkin this year for the Turtles & to's have been a problem for the Hoosiers. It didn't work the last time I said it, but I'll try again anyway...Fear the Turtle!

Northwestern @ Ohio St - Pat's Cats are playing some great ball but I expect the Nuts to bounce back at home this week.

Upsets - I'll go with 2 this week, starting with some Friday night action.

Navy @ South Fla - the Middies come in a touchdown dog but I like them to beat the Bulls with their old school offense.

Baylor @ Texas - this is probably more hate over head, but Texas is 2-2 vs Baylor the last 4 years despite being a hot mess...and that was with Briles at the helm. Baylor hasn't looked good against piss poor competition this year. The atmosphere is expected to be really hostile thanks to a certain scandal and the Horns have been pretty good at rallying around Charlie when his back has been against the wall. Wish I felt better about their secondary, but I'll take the Horns anyway this week in a shootout.

 

Retired Hokie Coach Frank Beamer back at my alma mater this weekend for homecoming.

 

Late to the party this week, so quickly:

#10 West Virginia at Oklahoma State; WVU

#4 Washington at #17 Utah; Washington

#3 Clemson at #12 Florida State; UPSET FSU

#7 Nebraska at #11 Wisconsin; Huskers

New Mexico State at #9 Texas A&M; Aggies


FUSA Specials: (Big Ten Style)

Minnesota @@encorespanish at Illinois @@ChicagoCottager@@Dynamo Lovie

Maryland @@HatterDon at Indiana @@BarryWhite Hoosiers

Northwestern @@tim at #6 Ohio State @@pettyfog poor Northwestern. Buckeyes big

Upset Alert:

Could go easy and pick Ole Miss beating #15 Auburn at home but since that wouldn't be a huge upset; - I think Auburn wins big

#13 Boise State at Wyoming; I like this one. But took FSU

 

So a couple of thoughts:

The paper tigers were found out (WV, Baylor, Nebbish).
Karma caught up with Baylor. Hopefully the losing continues.
The 17 curse is real. 6 straight weeks #17 has lost.
The PAC12 doesn't know what a block in the back is. 3 of them on the game winning UW punt return.
Turtles just aren't scary and that phrase should be reserved for hoops...and lax.
And props to Joe and Roger on the Wyoming pick. That's one of weirder ways to win a game that I can recall.

 

A rare weekend in hoops country. The Big 3 all won at pigskin. Louisville found a way past Virginia on the road (they might as well give Lamar the trophy now), Kentucky won at Mizzou and Indiana beat Maryland in Bloomington. I'm not at all sure Louisville belongs in the playoff discussion now. They've had too many lax moments, and it almost cost them in Charlottesville. They're bound to lose another game, at least. The big surprise is the Wildcats. I'm shocked that they've won FOUR SEC games, albeit against relatively weak competition. They're on the verge of bowl eligibility, something no one in their right mind would have predicted after the first three games, in which they blew a 25 point lead at home and lost to Southern Miss, didn't show up in a blowout loss at Florida, and beat New Mexico State despite surrendering 42 points AT HOME. Safe to say Mark Stoops will probably get at least another season if they go bowling, which they should when they beat 0-8 Austin Peay. The proof will come when they play Georgia at home and Tennessee on the road. And nobody's talking about the Louisville game yet....but they will be. It's slowly getting more interesting each week.