week 7 picks

I can't believe that after this weekend, college football will be half over for the regular season. Man, time flies when you are having fun. That is unless your name is Gene Chizik, or Mark Richt, or Les Miles, or Jimbo Fisher; three of the four saw their respective dreams of playing in the BCS Championship game go down in a blaze of glory with their first loss of the season; and, only one has an outside shot at recovery. Care to guess as to who that would be? That's right, ole "nine lives" Lester Miles' team could make the recovery if they run the table that is set in front of them. In other news from last week, West Virginia continues to out-score the opposition by just enough; nevertheless, if the Mountain Men can't find a defense, they could find themselves on the outside looking in, as far as BCS title hopes are concerned. Kansas State continues to bump and grind their way through the Big-12 schedule. The B1G and the ACC are fighting it out for bottom feeder rights as to which one has the worst conference among the BCS. Meanwhile, the Ducks continue to swim fast and furious with their past two wins over the state of Washington. In the words of Howard Jones: "Things Can Only Get Better."

Moving on. Instead of taking the time to speculate on which team is better, or which coach will be in the unemployment line, at season's end; I decided to come up with a handful of college football traditions that make this sport so special. Keep in mind, I'm not ranking them, they happen to be my favorites. Also, just because you might happen to hate a particular team that I might have selected, don't hate on their tradition.

To begin with, I love watching the Ohio State Marching Band perform Script Ohio, with the dotting of the "I." I swear, I get goose bumps every time I see it happen. If you are a true college football fan, I have provided you a link to watch this happen. This one was the year (2006), that Michigan and Ohio State were undefeated. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-TQcqRWbDA

Some of my other favorites include Texas A&M's Twelfth Man Tradition. This concept dates back to 1922, when at halftime of a game, A&M was down to only 11 players; and, one student came out of the stands and suited up, thus creating the 12th man. How about Oregon's fog horn that sounds off every time that the Ducks score, and the Duck Mascot doing push-ups to equal the amount scored by the home team. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=puIV0hLjVns&NR=1

Even though I detest Auburn, they happen to have one of the coolest pre-game traditions with the Eagle flying around Jordan-Hare Stadium and then landing at midfield. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDPwJWg4N98&feature=related

Also, It's pretty cool to watch the opening of the "T" for Tennessee's football players and coaching staff to run through. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gw-bZWsdOY

Another of my favorites has to be Florida State's Chief Osceola riding Renegade and the planting of the spear at midfield while the crowd is doing the "war chant." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ4yr4sNQ5M

Like I said, just a few of the traditions that I like that make college football so special. Now, back to the business at hand. Last week, I went 8-2, with 45 profile points. I lost the Texas Daily Double with both Texas and Texas Tech taking a dive. With Texas Tech, I knew better; ole Stuper Duck (Bob Stoops) has never lost back-to-back conference games in the Big-12. As for Texas, what happened to that new and improved defense? It looked pretty porous to me. As for this week, let's get the ball rolling.

 

 

Fresno State @ Boise State (10) When playing on the smurf turf, the boys in blue are 75-2 in regular season games, since 2000. I realize that this year's edition of the Broncos is looking pretty average; needless to say, I'll take their average when they are playing in and on the Blue Lagoon. The Bulldogs might keep it close for a short term; but, in the long run, I'll take the horses over the puppies, 38-23.

 

 

 

Southern California (9) @ Washington - Every year, Washington has managed to pull off one upset to help the fans make it through the season. Considering that they upset Stanford, USC appears to be a no brainier for a lock to win this game. Never mind that Washington's coach was the "O" coordinator at USC for Pete Carroll, and would like nothing better than to ruin the title hopes (Pac-12 title that is) of the Men from Troy. I just can't make a case for the Huskies unless the injury bug hits USC. If it doesn't, look for the Trojans to prevail, 34-21.

 

 

 

Texas A&M (8) @ Louisiana Tech - I just found out that A&M players Jenkins and Matthews, remain suspended for this game. I don't think that their absence will be missed. Let's face it, La Tech is a feel good story because they are still undefeated; but come on, they haven't played one decent team. The five teams that they have beaten have a combined record of 8-21; a .381 winning percentage. Come Saturday night in Slezeport (Shreveport), scratch will meet its match, when the Aggies come marching in. Look for Texas A&M to gig the Bulldogs in the backside, 44-31.

 

 

 

Iowa @ Michigan State (7) - What looked like a great match up at the beginning of the season, has turned out to be survival of the fittest. Since the game is in East Lansing and weather could be an issue, I think that picking the home team is the right choice. Plus, Kirk Freentz is on the other sideline, right? That's enough for me, cause ole Kirk can usually find a way to "coach" his team to a loss, even when they are leading the game, late. After that scare in Indy last week, look for Sparty to cage the Hawkeyes in a low scoring affair, say 19-12.

 

 

 

Stanford @ Notre Dame (6) - Yes, you are not crossed-eyed, you are seeing this correctly; I'm picking the stinking Irish. My life has reached an all-time low, now that I have taken a sip of the Lou Holtz Irish Brew. All I can say is, come on Cardinal; I don't mind donating six points here, because a loss by the Irish would end any BCS title hopes, and that is A-OKAY with me. Did Stanford win? I must have been dreaming. It must be that Irish Brew affecting my judgement; nevertheless, the Golden Domers move past the Cardinal, 31-23.

 

 

 

Texas vs Oklahoma (5) @ Dallas- Looks like the old Landry Jones is back for Oklahoma, and that spells gloom and doom for the Longhorns. You think Geno Smith lit up Texas last week, just wait till Bob Stoops gets a lead on Mack Brown; it will be "hammer down" time, because Stoops has no love loss for Mack, or Texas. By the way, what happened to that new and improved Texas defense. I see the "new" part, as for "improved," giving up 31, 36, and 48, in their last three games, isn't what I call improvement. Sooners continue the trend for the Horns defense by hanging another 30 spot on them, 38-33.

 

 

 

Tennessee (4) @ Mississippi State - Here's another case where a team is way over-rated, Mississippi State. Like the aforementioned Louisiana Tech, Sissy State hasn't played anyone. At the beginning of the year, the State faithful were hoping that Dan Mullen could beat someone besides Ole Miss; they did. They beat Auburn. Considering what has happened to Auburn, so much for the signature victory for Dan Mullen. Besides, Tennessee beat North Carolina State which beat Florida State; and, the Vols have had a week off to get ready for this game. Game on, Vols over the Dawgs, 34-27.

 

 

 

South Carolina @ LSU (3) - Too much crap coming out of Spurrier's mouth all week after his team embarrassed Georgia. First off, he's taking shots at LSU and Clemson with his "Death Valley" comments. Time for the ole cocky Ball Coach to be brought back to reality; not that Les Miles is some kind of coaching genius, mind you. Just remember, the game is at night and in the Rouge, the real Death Valley, or is it Clemson; now I'm sounding like Spurrier. I like my chances with the fact that Les Miles is 30-1, at night, in the Bayou, with 92,000 screaming fans. Let's hope Les gives them something to feel good about. Some offense would be a good start. Anyway, taking the Tigers over the Chickens, 20-17.

 

 

 

West Virginia @ Texas Tech (2) - I know that the majority of you are on West Virginia, and that's probably a pretty safe bet. I know Tommy Tuberville, and Tubs is usually good for one or two major surprises, every year. Sometimes his "Riverboat Gambler" mentality, will bite him in his back side; nevertheless, he takes chances. On the other side of the coin, the Mountaineers are having to travel to the state of Texas, for a second consecutive week. I'm counting on the jet-lag to be a problem for them; heck, I can't find anything else to explain why I'm taking Tech, unless the wind is up; and, if it is, it will be a crap shoot. As long as Tech is doing the shooting, say (and I know that I'm dreaming here, so stop laughing) 38-37.

 

 

 

Louisville @ Pittsburgh (1) - I'm donating this one point for Beno Cook, considering he was SID for Pittsburgh back in the 50's. You need more info, you say. How about this fact; since joining the Big East, Louisville is 1-6 in conference openers. Nough said. Taking the Pitt crew to de-feather the Cardinals, 29-27.

 

 

 

Another day, another dollar, stand up and holler. What numbskull came up with that remark. Oh well, that puts the wraps on another week of fun. Remember, tread at your own risk, I'm out on a very shaky limb on some of these picks. I almost forgot, here's a bonus pick, just for fun. Look for Ole Miss to further the misery for Auburn, 27-17. Gene Chizik came out yesterday and virtually said that he has "dumb ed down" his offense. For the record, he said "scaled back." That should really pump up Auburn's confidence on offense, right? Note to Chizik, your offense is very predictable as it is, and now you are scaling it back? Should be entertaining, to say the least. Have a great weekend and enjoy the games. Roll Tide.

Jljmbaker