Who said a week off is a chance to relax? Not if you're picking college football -- every day is a crazy day, and it's only when the games begin that we get a chance to actually kick back with a cold one and watch the action unfold.
This year has been a model of consistency, as we hit 70 percent for the third time in four weeks (it would likely have been 4-for-4 were it not for Hurricane Ike). Here's a look back at the mass hysteria and how we called it (how we called it is in parenthesis):
Colorado 17, West Virginia 14 OT (West Virginia 38-17): Mountaineers seem to have this thing for choking off games they should have won. They should have walked away with this one, but their quarterback seems to have an aversion to hitting wide-open receivers in the fourth quarter. It's the kind of illness that gets some coaches fired.
Florida 30, Tennessee 6 (Florida 48-17): Funniest part of this game was during halftime when Vols coach Phil Fulmer was asked, "How do you get this team to believe it can win?" His response: "We believe we can win." This game was over well before halftime, but nobody seemed to tell Phil that.
LSU 26, Auburn 21 (LSU 17-13): This is the clubhouse leader for game of the year in college football. Tremendous ball game, and LSU got the winning touchdown in the final minute. Anybody who tells you SEC football is dull is completely delusional (and probably a Big 10 fan).
Wake Forest 12, Florida State 3 (FSU 34-24): Remember the days when the Seminoles had an exciting offense that could put points on the board? Whatever happened to them???
Miami (Fla.) 41, Texas A&M 23 (Miami 31-10): Not the scary, dominating team the Hurricanes have historically been known for, but then again, Texas A&M isn't exactly the A&M of days gone by . . . or are they?
Pittsburgh 21, Iowa 20 (Pitt 27-21): Is the Kirk Ferentz Unemployment Watch starting yet in Iowa City? Good thing for the Squawkeyes that they play in the Little 10 (plus Minne-sorta) . . . it's their only hope of a plus-.500 season this year.
Michigan State 23, Notre Dame 7 (Michigan State 28-24): Now that the Golden Domers finally play a real football team (San Jose State? Michigan? Pffft...), we find out they really aren't as good as the fawning media thinks they are.
Arizona 31, UCLA 10 (Arizona 21-17): After getting drilled on the road at BYU, fans of the powder-blue Cubbies are brought back down to earth. Skippy Neuheisel is good, but he's not THAT good . . .
Georgia 27, Arizona State 10 (Georgia 30-24): First of several big games for the Bulldogs, and it was good to see them dominate the Sun Devils on the road. The games get REALLY tough from here on out for Georgia, though.
Connecticut 31, Baylor 28 (Baylor 31-24): The Bears are slowly showing some improvement, and look out for their freshman quaterback. He's going to be a player to watch in the Big 12 the next couple of years.
Week's Record: 7-3 (.700) Year to date: 28-11 (.718)
This week, to make up for Hurricane Ike's intrusion, we're throwing the Arkansas-Texas game in for an extra bonus . . . at no cost to you. Here are this week's prognostications:
Arkansas at Texas -- Why would we throw this in? First, because it's the restarting of one of college football's classic rivalries. Second, because it's a rescheduling from Hurricane Ike and we want to show our support for the folks down in that part of the country any way we can. Third -- and most important -- it's an easy pick: T-Bones 63, Pork Ribs 14
Connecticut at Louisville (Friday) -- Both teams are coming off wins over Big 12 schools, giving the Big East a little extra push in the race for conference supremacy. Based on last week's results, this one's a toss-up. Do you take UConn after their win over perennial cellar-dwellar Baylor? Orrrrr...do you side with the team that beat an extremely overrated Kansas State squad? Since it's down in the Bluegrass State, I'll go with: Aggressive Redbirds 34, Mad Dogs 27
Wisconsin at Michigan -- Michigan fans sure long for the days when this was a soft touch on the schedule. Wait a minute . . . it's a Little 10 (plus IoWHAT???) game -- aren't they ALL soft touches? Unfortunately, these Badgers have some serious bite to them, and they may very well be your Little 10 champions in 2008: Cheeseheads 38, Deadheads 17
Colorado at Florida State -- Geez, just when I thought this one would be a road blowout, it just might end up the road team may be the ones carrying the TNT. Can the Seminoles offense figure out how this game is played by Saturday? Sure hope so . . . this may be the last time I pick 'em: Swamp Warriors 24, Roaming Buffaloes 21
TCU at Oklahoma -- Seems those Horned Frogs like to play the Sooners tough on the road. They upset OU a few years back, derailing the Sooners' national title hopes, and they might be plucky enough to pull the trick again. Somehow, I think this OU team has a little too much for TCU to knock down: Boomer Sooners 52, Amphibious Wart-Laden Creatures 24
Alabama at Georgia -- This is the next installment of the "SEC Game of the Year" series taking place in this conference. This won't decide who plays for the conference title, but it sure will go a long way. And it's a tough one to pick -- LSU proved that home-field advantage doesn't mean much in this conference. Until Georgia proves me wrong, I'll stick with the 'Dogs: Uga's Boys 21, Red Surfers 20
Purdue at Notre Dame -- Wonder if Charlie Weis will leave the laptop at home this week? Wonder if it would matter one way or the other. Come on, folks -- you don't REALLY believe Notre Dame is coming back this year, do you??? I sure don't: Train Wrecks 31, Tarnished Domes 21
Buffalo at Central Michigan -- This should be a great matchup in the MAC. We're looking forward to seeing Turner Gill take the Bulls to their first-ever bowl game, and this one will go a long way toward them reaching that goal: Blue Bulls 24, Chippy-Wah-Wahs 21
South Florida at North Carolina State -- If yours truly wasn't a Husker fan, he'd cheer for the Bulls because they're a program on the rise that is doing things the right way and doing them well. They're a team we'd love to see crash the BCS party this year: Golden Bulls 34, Pup Pack 14
Illinois at Penn State -- Sad to say, this could be the game of the year in the Little 10 (plus IoWHAT???) Conference. You think Joe Paterno might actually retire if he wins the Little 10 this year? Or do you think snowballs will survive in purgatory first? My money's on the latter: Knitted Lions 27, Midwestern War Chiefs 21
Virginia Tech at Nebraska -- This is a big one, folks. It's the first of three REALLY big ones for the rebuilding Husker football program. The Hokies have a pretty talented team and look a lot better today than they did 2-3 weeks ago. I'm more concerned about this one now than I was at the start of the season. The week off did the Huskers good and got some needed players some needed rest, and this is going to be a great chance to see just how much progress Bo Pelini has made with this team. We're going to err on the side of our undying support for the Huskers -- for this week: Huskers 31, Hokies 21
That's the picks for this week. Remember, there is no "I" in team . . . but there are four in Mississippi.
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