After going 20-3 this past week, its safe to say you should start hearing me out and take my picks to Vegas. The three games I lost, Toledo losing to Ball State (irrelevant MAC game that no one cared about), Alabama falling to Texas A&M (not many people saw that one coming), and Louisville falling to Syracuse (literally no one saw that coming). There’s a new No. 1 in all of the land, Kansas State. Alabama now needs some serious upsets to happen to get their ticket punched for the big game, but for now, it looks like they’ll be watching it from home. It’s a three-team race to the finish—Wildcats, Ducks, and the Fighting Irish. This week has a lot of teams that will have easy wins against relatively unknown universities—if you can even call them universities.
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No. 10 Florida State @ Maryland
The Seminoles continue to roll. They’re a one-loss team that’s trying to get recognized for a ‘real’ bowl game. They’re defense is 4th overall in points against and their offense is 4th overall in points for. FSU is a well-rounded football team on both sides of the ball and on both the pass and run game. They’ll rack up some points against a terrible Maryland defense this Saturday.
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Iowa @ No. 21 Michigan
U of M climbs their way back into the Top 25 after upsetting Northwestern last week in overtime. Devin Gardner is the real deal. If they keep him as their primary passing quarterback mixed with some trickery with “Shoelace” Robinson, they’re bound to do work against the Hawkeyes in Michigan Stadium aka the Big House.
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No. 22 Rutgers @ Cincinnati
Cincy had their fall from the Top 25 long ago in the season, but their team is still a solid one. Coach Butch Jones will keep the fight in him until the very end of the season, take that from a Central Michigan University student, his former team. He’ll lead them in this upset at home.
Western Carolina @ No. 4 Alabama
After losing in a major upset last week and most likely ruining their hopes at another National Championship, Alabama looks to take out their anger on little known Western Carolina.
“There goes that ring.”
Jacksonville State @ No. 6 Florida
I honestly didn’t know Jacksonville State existed. Florida better not move up in the rankings after this shellacking.
Wofford @ No. 9 South Carolina
Again, who is Wofford??! Gamecocks with a big win at home.
Georgia Southern @ No. 5 Georgia
The Bulldogs continue to dominate and work their way into championship contention. Fingers crossed that the top 3 start losing their mojo so the ‘Dawgs can slip in—though a win against Georgia Southern doesn’t deserve a boost.
No. 25 Washington @ Colorado
Washington has had some huge wins this season. Sure, they’re a 6-3 team, but they’ve worked some legitimate teams—Stanford and Oregon State. Colorado is a 1-9 team who can’t score points to save their lives. Washington stays in the Top 25 for the time being.
No. 18 USC @ No. 17 UCLA
How can you not love this rivalry?! Two great teams this year and they’re going to duke it out in Rose Bowl Stadium. Though the Bruins have had some recent success, USC’s offense is really coming together and will challenge UCLA’s defense. Can’t see Matt Barkley failing to their biggest rivalry in his final collegiate year.
“And then UCLA said they’d win this time. HA”
Wake Forest @ No. 3 Notre Dame
Easy victory for the Irish at home. They’re banking on the Wildcats or Ducks to mess things up prior to the end of the season for their Championship bid.
Ole Miss @ No. 7 LSU
Ole Miss has had some close losses to some stellar teams—Alabama, Texas, and Texas A&M to name a few. The Tigers have been in this position before, so Les Miles will keep his team focused and ready to win out.
Sam Houston State @ No. 8 Texas A&M
Coming off a huge win against former No. 1 Alabama last week, let’s hope they aren’t still on a high. If they can beat Alabama, they can beat anyone in the land. Sam Houston State probably doesn’t have a single pro-level player on their team, whereas the Crimson Tide are a pro-caliber squad.
North Carolina State @ No. 11 Clemson
I’ve ridden the Clemson bus all season—I’m a big fan of this squad. Tigers by a bundle at home.
Minnesota @ No. 14 Nebraska
Nebraska is dominating the Big 10. They’re coming off a four game win-streak against Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State and will continue to win against another Big 10 team. Martinez is a beast at QB, he’ll get it done at home. The Cornhuskers are a force to be reckoned with.
No. 23 Texas Tech @ No. 24 Oklahoma State
Texas Tech has one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Doege, leading their ridiculously good passing offense. They have struggled to win consistently though, losing to all of the ranked teams they have played. Oklahoma State has a great offense as well and can put up points in a hurry. They’ll snag the upset at home. Cowboy up!
“Bang Bang, What the Hang?”
Utah State @ No. 20 Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech has a strong, underrated offense. They’ll dominate a God awful Utah State at home.
No. 12 Oklahoma @ West Virginia
Coming off a 4-game losing streak, West Virginia will continue the trend. Their defense allows more points per game than 98% of all the other schools in Division 1-A. Landry Jones is a beast at QB for Oklahoma. He’ll be the one who really destroys the Mountaineer defense. WVU’s cannon won’t be going off often…if at all.
No. 1 Kansas State @ Baylor
Liking the love for the Wildcats in their move to the top of the rankings. Klein continues to have success both in the air and on the ground. He’s my Heisman pick for this season and he’ll lead K-State into the National Championship game.
No. 13 Stanford @ No. 2 Oregon
In my opinion, this is Oregon’s last real test before the National Championship. Stanford is a team that has overcome adversity and made their mark on the map, but I still don’t see them squeaking out a win against powerhouse Oregon at home and during primetime. Quack, Quack, Quack.
California @ No. 16 Oregon State
I’m still not sold on the Beavers but they’ll stomp the Bears easily at home. Coming off a loss to Stanford, they’ll have a chip on their shoulders. Don’t look for a win-streak to start as they take on Oregon next week.
