Special Edition: ACC-Big Ten Challenge

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge starts tonight, and while I've only been watching Clemson games, I'll still put them up. The lines aren't quite as available as football lines, so here we go.

Monday
Penn St (4-2) @ UVa (4-2)
Virginia has lost to USF and Stanford, PSU lost to UNC-W and Tulane. Virginia wins.

Tuesday
Wake Forest (4-1) @ Purdue (5-0)
Wake was surprised on Saturday with a loss at home to William & Mary. Next ACC team to schedule them for any sport is stupid. Purdue has a win over Tennessee. Purdue wins.

Maryland (4-2) @ Indiana (3-3)
Indiana has a long way to go. Maryland has two big losses against Cincinnati and Wisconsin, the only real competition they've faced, I have to think they'll beat the Hoosiers.

Northwestern (5-1) @ NCSU (5-0)
Northwestern's only loss is to Butler, with a very narrow win over Iowa State. NCSU's only major named school on their schedule so far was Auburn, which was a 2 point win. I think NCSU wins this one close, due to the home court.

Michigan St (5-1) @ UNC (6-1)
The marquee matchup of the competition pits a rematch of the national title game last year, which I know is probably a surprise to all of you, since ESPN doesn't like to hype stories like this. Michigan St lost to a suddenly hot Florida and UNC lost to a similarly suddenly hotter Syracuse. I have to take the Heels at home, though.

VT (4-1) @ Iowa (2-4)
Four losses this early is pretty bad -- like Georgia bad. VT lost to Temple, which isn't a terrible loss. VT wins.

Wednesday
Illinois (4-2) @ Clemson (6-1)
Whoo! We lost one in the opening round of the 76 Classic then turned around to win the next two, including Butler. The Illini have losses against Utah and Bradley, which probably should not have happened. Both teams have important freshmen on the team, but I like our chances in this one. (We beat them last year in Champaign. Or Urbana. I don't know.)

Boston College (4-2) @ Michigan (3-2)
BC lost to Northern Iowa and St. Joes, while Michigan lost to Marquette and Bama. They also beat Creighton in the first round of the tournament which gave them their two losses. I like Michigan here, even though I know almost nothing about either team.

Minnesota (4-2) @ Miami (7-0)
Minnesota was another contestant in the 76 Classic, with a similar record to ours -- except they lost to Portland instead of beating LBSU (their other loss was also TAMU). Miami won their tournament with a win over South Carolina, which is great, but I think the Gophers win this one.

Duke (6-0) @ Wisconsin (4-1)
Wiscy's loss is to Gonzaga, by a lot. They beat Zona and Handled Maryland. This is the other high profile game of the matchup. Duke's record looks good as well, with impressive wins over each opponent, and big names of Arizona State and UConn. Duke always wins their game in this, and I don't think this time will be any different.

FSU (6-1) @ OSU (5-1)
These two teams don't have a huge resume so far -- FSU beat Alabama and Marquette and lost to surprising Florida. Ohio State lost to UNC and won at Cal, which, I guess is better than I immediately thought. I think Ohio State sneaks this one out.

ACC Record: 7-4, extending the conference record to 11-0.

Happy Rivalry Week, I mean Thanksgiving, no I don't

I kind of wanted to get the Texas-Texas A&M game in, but it's Thanksgiving. Oh well. I hope everyone's Thanksgiving is excellent and Rivalry Day is too, unless you're a Gamecock. Then I hope you spend all day Saturday wallowing in misery.

Friday Games
Bama (-10) @ Auburn - The Iron Bowl
This is supposed to be the demolition of an inferior opponent by one of the best teams in the country. I was high on Bama early, but I'm kind of coming down on all of the SEC in general, mostly because they all are beating each other and refuse to play anyone else. The Tide will probably win, but I'll bet it's close. Tigers cover.

Pitt @ WVU (even) - The Backyard Brawl
The team with the most to gain always loses this game. And it's in Morgantown, I'll take the Mountaineers.

Nevada @ Boise State (-14)
This one is in here because it's interesting, but not really a rivalry. I'm going to go out on a limb with this one and say Nevada pulls the upset. I want to watch this game, but it might be past my bed time.

Saturday Games
UNC (-6) @ NCSU
North Carolina. By a lot more than this. Poor Wolfpack. It'd be a shame to waste Russell Wilson.

FSU @ UF (-24.5) - Battle for the Governor's Cup
Have the Gators covered the spread in a game yet? They are a much better team than the Seminoles, but FSU will score their points. 'Noles cover.

VT (-16) @ UVa - Commonwealth Challenge
Virginia is a terrible football team. Hokies win and cover.

Miami (-6.5) @ USF
Not technically a rivalry, but I guess it could be. Only one of these schools is actually in South Florida, and oddly enough, it's not the Bulls. Miami should win easily, but we thought the same thing about FSU. I still think the Canes will control this game, but will be something like 23-10 game.

Oklahoma St @ Oklahoma (-8) - Bedlam
This is really interesting, because OkSU is ranked like 11 and OU is not at all, yet favored by more than a TD. That's weird. I'd like to see the Cowboys out of the BCS talk, but I don't think that happens. OKSU wins.

Arkansas @ LSU (-3.5) - The Battle for the Golden Boot
I have no real explanation, but Arkansas just tends to upset LSU, and I don't think LSU is that good. Ryan Mallett drops the hammer on the Tigers. (See what I did there.)

Georgia @ Georgia Tech (-8) - Clean, Old Fashioned Hate
This is the best named rivalry there is. But this time, Tech is on top and will rub the Uga's face in his own poo on Saturday. Jackets by 10.

Clemson (-3) @ South Carolina - Battle for the Palmetto State
Clemson. By like two touchdowns. We lead the conference in sacks, are #2 in the country in INTs, and their QB turns into a hollowed out shell after his first pick and they have no running game to speak of. This is not bode well for them.

Week 12

I owe you some picks everyone; I plum forgot yesterday. Oh well. I went to my first game between the Hedges, and it was pretty neat. It looked like Rambo almost died, but I think he's ok now. Exciting game, I chatted with one really annoying and one cool Auburn fan, I did not eat at Weaver D's. I did get to see Clemson get one game closer, which means we think we are still quite likely to lose our formality of a game on Saturday. Let's look at how we did last week before this week's games:

Me: 8/11, 4/11, ATS (73/123, 63/123 ATS)

Jackal87: 7/11 (38/67)

SHatter: 9/11, 7/11 ATS (63/113, 51/113 ATS)

VTFerguson: 7/11, 6/11 ATS (57/110, 43/110 ATS)

SHatter had an excellent week, VTFerguson's voodoo can't stop Spiller and Jackal87 has been more consistent at picks that either of the college football teams he follows. Onward!

Duke @ Miami (-20)

Duke was fun at the beginning of the year, but they're starting to show that even though they have a potential NFL QB, they just don't have the depth that other teams do yet. Clearly Cutcliffe can get them there, if he doesn't go for more dollar signs. However, it doesn't happen on Saturday, but the score will be closer than the game. Duke covers.

Maryland @ FSU (-18.5)

Last week convinced me. Manuel is fine. Maryland is a superlatively awful team, FSU wins and covers.

North Carolina @ Boston College (-3.5)

I don't understand how this BC team has won 7 games or how one of them wasn't Notre Dame. Anyway, I do not believe in this team at all and I'm kind of impressed by the Heels so I think they win on the road.

UK @ UGa (-9)

Georgia won that weird one against Auburn last weekend where the first quarter had them looking like the German soccer team in the classic Monty Python sketch, while they switched sides after that. Georgia is clearly the better team and at home, so they win. Ordinarily, I'd pick the Cats to cover, but it looks like Cobb will be out so they'll be lost without him. Dawgs by two TDs.

Ohio St (-11.5) @ Michigan

Will RichRod be coaching the Wolverines next year? I'm waiting with baited breath to find out. Wait -- that period wasn't indifferent enough, so I'm going to use the backwards apostrophe for the purpose from here on out for that, because I have no idea what else it is for: I can't wait` I am also tired of Ohio State. They'll win here, lock up their opportunity to lose to the Pac10 winner, probably Oregon, and Jim Tressel will start to feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Michigan is not a good football team.

NCSU @ VT (-21)

I think that this game will look a lot like our game against the Pack, except both teams will score fewer points. Even though I got burned last week, I don't think the Hokies cover a spread that wide.

LSU @ Ole Miss (-4)

Wow, I'm surprised that the Rebs are favored here. Even though they blew Tennessee out last week, I still don't believe in them, either. This is the week I ignore all of the data from last week. Tigers win.

Oklahoma (-6.5) @ Texas Tech

Both of these teams are 6-4, that's weird. I like the Red Raiders because they're at home and they tend to beat the Sooners when they're at home and the Sooners are weak. Oklahoma is definitely weak this year, and why not? It's a fun pick.

Oregon (-6) @ Arizona

The Pac10 is confusing this year, but exciting. I could not tell you a single thing about the Arizona football team. Aren't they coached by Mike Stoops still and he's normally on the hot seat? Oregon by a TD`

Cal @ Stanford (-7.5) - The Big Game

There is something astir about this game. It seems like things are just lining up for the Cardinal, and I think there needs more chaos, and Cal is the team to issue it. If ever there was a rivalry where wacky things happen, it's this one. Best won't be playing, but it didn't stop them last week from beating that confusingly good Zona team. Bears sneak out a close one.

UVa @ Clemson (-20.5)

This game is for the berth in the ACC title game. You can probably feel the pent up excitement radiating from Clemson fans from your chair. The sentiment is, "If we haven't moved past Bowden, we lose this game. If we win, we've gotten that monkey off our back and the sky's the limit." I think we win, but the Hoos have a way of sticking around, so 3 TDs is a little much to ask. I think it's more like a 14 point victory.

Two games until rivalry week

I had a nice time at the FSU game on Saturday.

Fri
WVU @ Cincy (-9)
This is one of two remaining games for Cincinnati's chance to be 2009's version of Auburn about whom people seem really dismissive. I haven't really seen much of the Moutaineers this year, but Collaros looks fine and WVU hasn't beaten really anybody in any of their 7 wins. Cincy rolls.

Sat
FSU @ Wake (-5)
Wake has had the Noles' number lately, but are on a horrendous losing streat that started with us and is currently running with not one but two soul crushing defeats. Speaking of crushing things, that's what DeAndre McDaniel did to Ponder's shoulder, and that's the reason why I can't take FSU. With Ponder in, I think it's a Noles no brainer. I think FSU covers, though.

VT (-17.5) @ Maryland
VT finally started winning again last Thursday. It's a good thing their remaining schedule is easy, because it seems like it would be easy for them to lose motivation in the first year they've been out of the ACC Title game in what feels like a decade even though it's only been three years. Hokies win by default but don't cover, just because they never do.

GT (-12.5) @ Duke
A win clinches for the Ramblin' Wreck. I do'nt think they'll have much trouble winning, especially after last week's scare. I do think that the Yellow Jackets could allow like a 1000 points to a very good Duke offense, but the PeeJay3Oh can score like 1015. Tech wins and covers.

TCU (-20) @ Utah
Had I realized the spread was this wide, I probably wouldn't have picked this one. This is TCU's last hurdle, and I think they'd be in the conference conversation in like 3 or 4 BCS conferences. They win, but 20 is just too many. Utes cover.

UT @ Ole Miss (-5)
Tennessee all day and all of the night.

Stanford @ USC (-10.5)
Stanford hasn't been that great on the road, but have looked nice at home and it is hard not to be up for USC. As we saw last week, they can get the job done. Can they pull out two emotional and dominant games in a row? Why not! Go Tree!

UF (-15.5) @ South Carolina
I hope that UF wins by infinity. Not that it will stop SoCar fans from talking about how hard their SEC schedule is. I think this game will look a lot like the Georgia game and UF will win big.

Auburn @ UGa (-4.5)
I will be going to this game, and I'm pretty excited for a night game in Athens. Both of these teams are all mixed up: Auburn has better wins and worse losses and this is a weird rivalry and at home with a hungry crowd. I think the Dawgs win but the Tigers cover.

Miami (-3.5) @ UNC
UNC is quietly looking like a quality team again after a surprise win over VT and one over whta looks like it might be a bowl eligible Duke team. The UVa loss is a pretty bad one, but still, they are talented and could finish 8-4. That being said, Miami is going to crush them. Despite their two losses, they might be the best team in the ACC. Miami by two and a half touchdowns.

Clemson (-8.5) @ NCSU
Since the bye week, we are playing inspired football (minus the kicking game). Using the eyeball test, we should reasonably expect to win the rest of our regular season games. This, however, is a classic trap game. NCSU can score a ton of points and our defense, while very good, has allowed 61 points against FSU and Miami. Granted, in the other two post bye games we allowed 6 total. Our athletes are better than theirs at every position besides QB, and theirs is a game breaker. I don't think it will be enough because their defense is attrocious. Go Tigers!

The election is over!

Hey everyone, sorry about the late postings. The last two weeks have had me running around covering local politics, and that is over, so more time for college football nonsense. This weekend kind of sucks, though, so I'm glad I'll be spending most of Saturday in Clemson, saying mean things about the Seminoles. We're in homecoming season, and weirdly, there are some teams who looked like locks at the beginning of the season to be threats are struggling to be bowl eligible (UGa, Arky, FSU, UNC) while Iowa is undefeated, Duke is tied for the lead in the Coastal and Kansas State leads the Big XII North. Awesome.

I was going to choose the VT-ECU game, but because it starts in like half an hour, I'm going to replace it with the Army@Air Force game instead. Game Day is there, Veteran's Day is next week, and quite frankly, nobody knows what could happen with that many options.

Maryland @ NCSU (-6.5)

These two teams have horrible records. Half of the Terps' wins are against us. NCSU showed last week they can still score points, while Maryland is just bad. I'll take the Pack to win and win big.

Wake @ GT (-15.5)

Wake was a Deacon sideburns hair away from beating Miami last week. Not good enough, and PJ with the 3O will win this one. I even think they cover.

Duke @ UNC (-10)

A win here and Duke plays Wake for the NC state title. This game would have been laughable at the beginning of the season, then laughable the other way before the VT upset. Weird. Heels win, but Duke covers.

Ohio St @ Penn St (-4)

Wow, those Vegas folks know how to set a line. Any higher and I'd take the Buckeyes to cover. But not at for. Lions win and cover.

Oklahoma (-5) @ Nebraska

I remember when this game mattered. Sooners win by two touchdowns.

Navy @ Notre Dame (-12)

I was all set to pick the Midshipmen before the Temple Owls beat them (and become bowl eligible! Temple is bowl eligible but Clemson, FSU, and UGa all are not yet!). Notre Dame wins, but it's close. Navy covers.

Army @ Air Force (-17)

Remember what I said about not knowing what happens with that many options? I was lying. Air Force wins and covers with that many options.

Oregon (-7) @ Stanford

People keep asking if this is Oregon's trap game. The answer is no. Ducks win, and they continue swimming in their money bin. Oregon for president!

South Carolina @ Arkansas (-7)

This is the last game on the Gamecocks' schedule that they might win. They are just not beating UF and they matchup poorly physically an psychologically with us. Arky is a team that played its best games in losses to UGa and UF, while I am down on SoCar, they do have a signature win. I will take the Hogs to win, because they're at home, but it's close and comes down to the wire and the bad guys cover.

LSU @ Alabama (-7.5)

This is a play-in game for the SEC title in the West, which, in turn, is a play-in for the national title. I still think that Les Miles is kind of an idiot who has an otherworldy talent for recruiting while Nick Saban is an evil genius who might have sold the blood of his children to Azrael or some other demon in exchange for Game Genie style power ups. I think they win in a game that will be like 9-3. Tigers cover.

FSU @ Clemson (-9)

Man, it felt good to write that. This is almost for a spot at Tampa. If we win, our bags are practically packed, not to mention squatting on the parts of Florida that Urban Meyer is finished with. I like our chances in this one; FSU is a lot like a crappier version of Miami. If NCSU can stay within 3, I think we can handle our business. Tigers by a TD.