College Football Picks of the Week 11/28

First off, I hope everyone had themselves a fun Thanksgiving.

A good chunk of the picks are already in for the week, but lets recap what happened in the past two days.

-Colt Mccoy single handedly willed Texas from a possible upset. 500 total yards and 5 touchdowns, which included 175 yards rushing. Wow.

I said in my last post, that Mccoy had the spotlight to himself on Thanksgiving night, especially considering that the New York Giants stunk the joint up in Denver, and all the NFL fans switched over to the Texas-Texas A&M game. He did not disappoint.

He might of just won the Heisman on Thursday night.

- I am eating my own words when I stated that Pitt is a top 5 team right now.

It was a tough, hard fought game, but Pitt should not be losing to the likes of West Virginia. They are just too talented. I did come out of that game thinking one think positive on the Panthers side.

Dion Lewis is the 2nd best Freshmen RB I have ever seen with my own two eyes. The first being Adrian Peterson at Oklahoma.

- After watching Texas A&M shred the Texas defense, plus watching the Nebraska-Colorado game, I have come to the conclusion that Nebraska can upset Texas.

The Nebraska defense can stop anyone. If you are a bettor, just bet the Under blind in that game. It has 12-7 written all over it.

Heisman Watch

1. Kellen Moore QB Boise St. - Just after watching Moore add another five touchdowns passes to his resume, I am down to 3 options if I had a Heisman voting. Right now, Moore is the frontrunner.

2. Colt Mccoy QB, Texas - He has made me eat some serious crow. The guy has been a video game the past month. He reminded me of Michael Vick in Madden '00, where Vick was not only a good passing QB, but the fastest guy in the entire game.

If Mccoy goes trigger happy against Nebraska in the Big 12 Title Game, he leapfrogs Moore.

3. Toby Gerhart RB, Stanford - If Mccoy stumbles, and Gerhart has a monster (And I mean monster on the level of 225 yards-5 TDs), Gerhart's numbers might just be too eye-popping to say no to. Best thing for Toby is, he does play against Notre Dame, who I could run for 115 and a score on.

4. Mark Ingram RB, Alabama - In my eyes, he cannot win it anymore. Getting stone-walled by the likes of Auburn to me would stick out even more than trashing the Gators next week. He may get invited to New York though. All exspenses paid.

5. Tony Pike QB, Cincinnati - Now, I know he has no shot at winning the Heisman. I just am down to 3 players, and I wanted to make a point with Pike.

Pike missed several games due to injury, and came back and tossed 6 touchdown passes! Pike is the "What If" this season. Just what if Pike never lost time due to injury?

Honorable Mention: Golden Tate WR Notre Dame, Tim Tebow QB Florida, Dion Lewis RB Pitt, Jerry Hughes DE TCU, CJ Spiller RB Clemson.


We are 3-1 with the picks so far this week, as Pitt let me down hardcore. Here are the rest of the picks:

Florida 41, Florida St. 23 - I would of liked to seen this game with Seminoles QB Christian Ponder playing. No crying over spilled milk, so we watch the Gators steamroll one of the more pathetic defenses in college football. Bobby Bowden does not have the likes of Marvin Jones, Peter Boulware, and Donnie Abraham anymore.

Oklahoma 28, Oklahoma St. 27 - UPSET SPECIAL! This pick is not who I think could win this game. For me, it is about two things:

1. Vegas has this line extremely fishy. Oklahoma is a 9 point fave, against a ranked opponenet, when they have not beaten anyone this season.

2. Oklahoma St., my original pick to go to the Title Games, is a major roadblock for Boise St. going to a BCS Bowl game. We are now channeling Ronald Regan.

"Oklahoma Sooners, tear down that wall!"

South Florida 23, Miami 20 - UPSET SPECIAL #2!! The Bulls finally have a shot at the celebrity Canes. South Florida may have slid the 2nd half of the year, but I bet my mortage that they have had this one circled on the calendar since it was announced that this game would be scheduled.

LSU 24, Arkansas 20 - I wanted to pick the Razorbacks, but if Arkansas somehow won this game, the lynch mob in Louisiana would have the knoose tighly wrapped around Les Miles neck fast. I root for chaos, not bloodshed.

Clemson 27, South Carolina 17 - I think the Tigers run CJ Spiller down the tough Gamecocks throats. Steve Spurrier just needs to find a good enough QB and he will start winning SEC titles. The defense has been very good for years now. It is time for the Old Ball Coach to get a QB that he can turn into the next Shane Matthews.

Utah 34, BYU 31 - The Holy War. My two cents, the best rivalry game nickname. I just think BYU is a bunch of frauds. Max Hall throws way too many INTs, and the Utes can still score.

Stanford 63, Notre Dame 28 - Yes, I really believe this score. It would be fitting for Charlie Weis's execution. There is no shot in hell that the Irish can stop Toby Gerhart, not to mention QB Andrew Luck. This game is on primetime ABC, which would mean it is the first time we see an execution on national television.

Last Week: 6-5

Season: 80-46

College Football Picks of the Week for 11/7

I am laughing at this College Football season. This is the Doomsday scenario for the BCS. Who would of thought that a possible SIX teams could go undefeated(Florida-Alabama are on a collision course for one another).

While I did like SI.com's Stewart Mandel's idea of a Plus-One scenario, even that possibility would be hammered in this season. Mandel's theory would worked fantastic in any other season, but 2009.

This is the perfect year for the arguement of an 8 team tourney for the title. Florida, Texas, Alabama, Iowa, TCU, Boise St., Cincinnati, and Oregon are clearly the top 8 teams in the country, barring no setbacks. A team like Georgia Tech could sneak their way into this if a team like Iowa, TCU, or Oregon fell.

I just love chaos in College Football. To watch all teams, coaches, Universities, fans, etc. cry and plead their cases for an obvious outcome that was premeditated. That is why we have Pre-Season Rankings right?

The Heisman Race is just as messy as the BCS. Instead of eight teams all fighting and presently deserving of a Title Game, there are about a dozen players that have had good seasons, but just cannot pull away from the pack. Here is my first Heisman rankings.

1. Jimmy Clausen, Jr. QB, Notre Dame - He has played the most consistent so far. 19 Touchdowns and only 2 Int's, Clausen has put up big stats against defenses like USC. Even in the Irish's 2 losses, it was not because of lack of offense.

2. Mark Ingram, Soph., RB, Alabama - The workhorse for a contending program. With over 1,000 yards rushing and 11 total TD's against SEC defenses, Ingram is plowing his way to New York City. Ingram also has two monster games left on National TV to showcase. LSU and the possible showdown against Florida.

3. Ryan Matthews, Jr., RB, Fresno St. - He does not get the national recgonition that he deserves, but Matthews is tearing up the country. With over 1,300 yards, Matthews is leading the NCAA in Rushing Yards per Game. Also, do not make the argument that Matthews plays a weak schedule. He ran over Wisconsin (107 yards), Boise St. (234 yards, 3 TDs), and Cincy (145 yards and a TD). Oh yeah, they were all on the road as well.

4. Casey Keenum, Jr., QB, Houston - I just cannot take my eyes off of these stats. Close to 3,300 passing yards, and 25 TDs, with only 5 Ints. He is the lone reason why Houston is nationally ranked. He may not win it this year, but he punched his name as a frontrunner next season.

5. Tim Tebow, Sr., QB, Florida - It pains me to put Tebow on this list. I am tired of hearing how valuable he is and how his fortitude is surpassed by no one, blah, blah, blah, blah! Until last week, his numbers were plain average. The Georgia game was his first real "Tebow-ish" game he has had in the SEC this season. He put one great game together, he will go to NYC if he can string some of them together now.

Honorable Mention: Cincy QB Tony Pike, Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh, Boise St. QB Kellen Moore, Notre Dame WR Golden Tate, and TCU DE Jerry Hughes.

Now, onto the picks:

Kansas St. 41, Kansas 38 - Do you believe that Kansas St. could actually be playing in the Big 12 Title Game? The Jayhawks were destined to be there, but have decided to meltdown the past few weeks. Bill Synder always has had Kansas's number.

Georgia Tech 34, Wake Forest 13 - Wake will be playing without QB Riley Skinner, which is a huge loss. Georgia Tech is the team that could of snuck into a playoff system and given fits to any of the top 8 teams because of their style of play.

Arkansas 31, South Carolina 23 - The Old Ball Coach Spurrier wishes he had a Ryan Mallette to groom and win a SEC Title with. Gamecocks keep it close, but will miss key starters on defense in this game.

Houston 54, Tulsa 51 - Do not blink watching this game, you will most likely miss one of the 15 touchdowns that will be put up in this game. Vegas must be going nuts trying to set the point total on this one.

Oklahoma 24, Nebraska 10 - Could wind up being a defensive struggle. Both teams have very good defenses, but the Sooners can muster enough offense to open the lead late.

Cincinnati 38, UConn 24 - This Huskie bunch will stay in the game, as they play everyone close, but the Bearcats just have too many weapons to burn you with, reguardless of who is playing QB.

Oregon St. 34, California 28 - UPSET SPECIAL! The Beavers always play better in the stretch run, and the Rodgers brothers are just too much for Cal to handle.

Notre Dame 38, Navy 20 - Just when you thought that you can stop Golden Tate, he gets back his partner in crime. Irish WR Michael Floyd will be back and playing. The Heisman Meter on Clausen could be hitting record levels now.

Oregon 42, Stanford 17 - There is no way you can put the Ducks ahead of Boise St., but do you think any team would want to face this team right now? What they did to the Trojans was boarderline criminal. I loved it.

Penn St. 17, Ohio St. 10 - Low scoring game, with two of the better defenses in the nation squaring off. I just cannot see the Lions losing in Happy Valley. Turns out to be a very disappointing season for Jim Tressel and the people of Columbus.

Alabama 20, LSU 9 - Notice that I did not mention LSU as a team that could sneak into a theoretical playoff system? The Tigers could not score off a an inferior Florida defense. Do you think that they could be any different against a better defense? No way. I am foaming from the mouth to see the Julio Jones-Patrick Peterson duel though.

Last Week: 5-5

Season: 59-38

Quick College Football Picks on Halloween!

Happy Halloween to everyone.

I will not waste alot of time today, and just give out the predictions.

Ole Miss 34, Auburn 23

Central Michigan 34, Boston College 24- Dan LeFevour kills the Eagles.

Tennessee 16, South Carolina 9- In a battle of two tough defenses, Vols come out on top.

Cincinnati 42, Syracuse 14 - Tony Pike or a backup, same result. Marty Gilyard is still around.

Notre Dame 38, Washington St. 10 - The Jimmy Clausen Heisman Train steams along. This time, in San Antonio for some strange reason.

Kansas 45, Texas Tech 38 - Shootout Central here, as TT use their 3rd QB this season.

SMU 41, Houston 40 - UPSET SPECIAL!!

Florida 27, Georgia 10 - Please, no more Tim Tebow is still in the top 3 in Heisman voting. PLEASE!

Oklahoma St. 31, Texas 28 - UPSET SPECIAL #2. I picked the Cowboys to make the Title game. I cannot go against them now.

Oregon 23, USC 20 - This is not an upset. Two top 10 teams, playing in Oregon's backyard play a tough, physical game that comes down to the final two minutes.

Last Week : 11-1

Season: 54-33

College Football Picks of the Week

This is the week where the men separate themselves fro, the boys. Midway point of the season, and now we can see where the powerhouses truely are, as well as finally getting a real grasp on the Heisman favorites. Before I mention my picks, I need to get this one off my chest.

As of right this second, Tim Tebow is NOT a Heisman candidate! He has done squat on the field so far. I am tired of the media, espeically ESPN, pounding this kid down our throats purely based on reputation. When he starts putting up huge games, then we can discuss him. Until then, no more Heisman talk for Tebow. No one is bringing up Sam Bradford for Heisman on rep are we?

Now, your picks for the week:

Pittsburgh 16, Rutgers 6 - It is going to be cold, windy, and rainy in NJ for tonight's conference tilt. I just do not trust Rutgers after getting waxed by Cincy, then playing an Ultra-Soft Charmin month long schedule.

Texas 28, Oklahoma 20 - Sam Bradford did look good in his return, but like the BYU game, is going to see some serious pressure from teh Longhorn front four against his weak, inexperienced OLine. Colt Mccoy knows he needs this one to become the front runner for the Heisman.

Ohio St. 45, Purdue 23 - Purdue can score, but they could not stop a flag football team from Syosset Long Island.

Iowa 24, Wisconsin 16 - This could be a serious Upset Alert, but I am hoping the Hawkeyes can somehow pull this one out, just like they have been doing week after week. It is not pretty, but it is getting done.

Florida 38, Arkansas 23 - Tim Tebow better have a big game against such a weak defense. He needs one of those 250 yards passing and 3 TDs, with 80 yard rushing and 2 TDs. Although, if he does that, the braintrusts at ESPN might cream in their pants.

Nebraska 45, Texas Tech 28 - This line went from 5.5 to 11 for a reason. The reason is that the Cornhusker front four can get enough pressure on the Red Raiders that they can sit 7 defensive backs into coverage. Big game for Roy Helu Jr.

Virginia Tech 41, Georgia Tech 31 - I am starting to think that the Hokies are the 2nd best team in the country. All they needed for to open up the offense a bit, and Tyrod Taylor has been playing superb.

Kansas 54, Colorado 23 - Can we please get some Todd Reissing Heisman love somewhere? The guy has been overlooked for three years now. Always in the shadow of Mccoy, Bradford, Chase Daniels, and the Texas Tech QB assembly line. Just go take a look at Reissing's stats the past 3 years.

Alabama 20, South Carolina 10 - I saw this line and said "17 points??" I am going to bite. I do not think Bama can run wild on this good defense. They will win, and it will be a big win, over a ranked team.

Missouri 42, Oklahoma St. 31 - UPSET SPECIAL! No Dez Bryant? No Kendall Hunter? No win against real competition. My national title game team is toast, and we can see the steam in the sky from T. Boone's ears.

And, finally...

Notre Dame 34, USC 31 - UPSET OF THE YEAR! Remember in my orginal College Football Preview that I said I could not wait to see USC just destroy the Irish? Well, I do not think that will happen anymore. Why?

USC is not as good as advertised. They are injured, and they are starting a Frosh. QB that looks very shaky at times. The most important reason I feel this upset coming though is...

This is the game where Jimmy Clausen wins or loses the Heisman. I think he wins it here. Clausen goes bonkers against USC, no Mccoy or Tebow legendary games are going to top this.

Last Week: 7-4

Season: 38-26

Weekend Wrap-Up

Great weekend for sports, I just could not get fully into it though. Unfortunately, life takes precedent over the awesome world of sports.

I did not catch much College Football on Saturday, but I am sure the look on Pete Carroll's face was priceless after USC lost to Washington. See that Pete? Wave goodbye to that. What is it? Oh, that was your shot at the BCS title game. Congrats to Steve Sarkisian, beating USC with Tyrone Willingham's recruits. Thats something Charlies Weis could not do.

Let me get this straight now. Tebow puts up a Fulton St. fish market type of a stinker, and he still should be considered for the Heisman? Right now, I have Jimmy Clausen, Javhid Best, and Jacory Harris over Tebow by a wide margin.

Have to feel for Nebraska. They go out and play a great game on the road against a top 15 team, just to lose it in the final minute. That has to feel like if you opened your bedroom door after finding out you got a promotion at work, just to see your new boss is in bed with your wife. I seriously would rather have what happened to BYU, and that was getting embarrassed big time against Florida St. Point is, I always rather get backhanded that punched right in the gut.

I would please like to have my 60 dollars back, and the three hours of my life that was the Mayweather-Marquez PPV. If you are a boxing fan, and you wonder why MMA is more popular, watch that fight again. Too much BS in the sport that I love, which I have to admit, really is dying.

I do have to thank Shane Mosely, Bernard Hopkins, and an assist to Max Kellerman for basically putting Mayweather in the corner and on the spot in the post-fight interview. It was funny to watch, but classless. Thing is, to get the attention of a classless punk like Mayweather, you have to stoop to his level, and that is all the way down to the curb.

I did get to watch the NFL all day yesterday. I sat on my duff, with a drink and some cookies, and put on the Direct TV NFL Package, and all was better. Best game of the week was the Pats-Jets game, with Ravens-Chargers and Texans-Titans bringing in the silver and bronze medals there.

The Jets might just be the real deal. They talked more smack last week than Muhammad Ali in Manila, but they backed it up. The defense was stifiling, they did put Brady on his back more than six times. The crowd called the plead from Rex Ryan to be loud, and QB Mark Sanchez really showed alot of moxy in the 2nd half. Excellent win.

CB Darrelle Revis might of proved that he is the best CB in football, going on an island and shutting down Randy Moss this week, after doing the same to Andre Johnson last week, who just abused Cortland Finnegan this week. Speaking of...

How fun was that Texans-Titans game? It looked like someone had joystick control of RB Chris Johnson, and the Texans Andre Johnson. Insane.

This is why Norv Turner will NEVER win anything as a Head Coach. Rivers is roasting the Ravens secondary like chestnuts on an open fire around Christmas, and you run right at Ray Lewis on that play? I think even Gomer Pyle would of not done that. What a dolt.

I hope Giants All Pro DE Justin Tuck is not badly injured after Dallas T Flozell Adams cheaply tripped him. That was completely bush league, by an overrated, has-been, fat, overweight, and lets not forget about lazy player. Only reason why that was a close game last night was because as soon as Tuck as out, the Cowboys went nuts on the running game. Tuck is probably the best DLineman in the league because of the way he plays the run.

Now, tonight's game. I really believe that the Dolphins defense can give Peyton Manning and the Colts fits. If the Fins offense can eat up the clock and keep Manning off the field for large stretches, this game could be very interesting. Indy will not be able to run the ball on this defense either.

Dolphins 17, Colts 13.

Two more weeks for the NHL opener. Bring on more sports!