Pick results summary here. The top picker from last week was slotjack who correctly picked 8 games out of 11 and moved his overall pick percentage up to 50% on the year. Congrats slotjack! donkeygoatrunner
grew his lead at the top spot in picks and pick percentage with 48 correct picks on the season (62.34% correct on the season). The second best picker is currently YankeeJacket who is 5 points behind donkeygoatrunner with 43 correct picks. No freebies this week. Let get to it.
I hope you all enjoyed the break. It was a nice relaxing time for me not having to worry about Georgia Tech being upset and watching other teams get upset instead. I was not expecting Penn State to lose, that one was a surprise to me and everyone else in the nation based on what I’ve heard. I wasn’t truly expecting Texas to lose either, but there were plenty of negative vibes around Arch Manning going into his first road game in the SEC. Credit where it’s due, Florida and UCLA both played fantastic games to achieve some big upsets.
I mentioned last week that I wasn’t sure what Vegas knew that I didn’t about Cincinnati. Apparently, what Vegas knew was that the Bearcats are a darn good team. Iowa State went down on the road and one more ranked team dropped down the AP poll list.
At least I know I got the Miami game correct, the score does not fully reflect how in control of the game the Hurricanes were. Miami is going to be scary and will likely be playing Virginia or us in the ACC championship.
GT is at home this week to play Virginia Tech. We had a nice break that moved us up 4 spots in the AP poll by doing absolutely nothing. Now its time for us all to do our part. The Players and coaches will be on the field giving their all and the fans need to do the same. It’s going to be stressful, and I doubt it will all be fun but time for us fans to get back to work and show up for our team this Saturday. Can’t wait to see the Jackets back on the field.
picks:
The Tech-mo Bowl: Virginia Tech Hokies @ #13 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-14.5)
Logan: I know I pick GT every week, but these spreads are making things more difficult for me. Virginia Tech is not a bad team; they very well could have won last week’s game against Wake Forest if not for self-inflicted penalties. Georgia Tech is well rested, and they definitely have the more powerful offense on paper, but the defense hasn’t been fantastic at defending against the passing game and Kyron Drones has been pretty adept at throwing downfield when he doesn’t throw an interception. Georgia Tech should win this game, but to cover the points in this game will take the same type of effort the Jackets showed against Clemson. I’m not confident this Georgia Tech team is there yet, but we shall see. Still taking the Jackets, but I can’t blame anyone else for taking the points.
Logan’s pick: Georgia Tech
#24 South Florida Bulls @ North Texas Mean Green (-2.5)
Logan: I understand what Vegas sees in this game. USF lost their top rusher in last weeks game for a start. add the fact that the USF defense has to face down one of the most efficient offense in the G5 on the road makes this a challenging game for the Bulls. I am still picking the Bulls as I think they have seen tougher opponents and come out on top and because I think the Mean Green defense has only looked truly stalwart against lower tier opponents. I could see this game going either way though.
Logan’s pick: USF
The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry: #10 uga barkers (-4.0) @ Auburn Tigers
Logan: Seems like confidence is at an all time low for uga despite their win against Kentucky. As much as I hate the dwags, I just don’t see how they lose this game. Auburn’s QB is not very good and while the Auburn defense is decent I don’t think uga is going to let the Tigers score all game. I also kind of hope me picking uga jinxes them like it did against Alabama, so I’ll pick them.
Logan’s pick: uga
#15 Michigan Wolverines @ USC Trojans (-2.5)
Logan: Michigan didn’t look great last week against Wisconsin. They won, but Wisconsin has been brutalized all year and Michigan struggled to really put the Badgers away. USC gets this game after a bye week and is coming off a loss to Illinois. The USC players should be playing angry. USC’s offense and defense are well suited to win this match, and a lot of teams east of the Mississippi struggle to play on the west coast. I will take USC to handle the Wolverines comfortably.
Logan’s pick: USC
Kansas Jayhawks @ #9 Texas Tech Red Raiders (-14.0)
Logan: Time to start really paying attention to the Red Raiders. Texas Tech is in the drivers seat to win the BIG 12 and they look talented enough to do so. Kansas has the talent to cover, but on the road I struggle to see that happening. Barring any stumbles, which is not unusual for Texas Tech, the Red Raiders should be in the BIG 12 Championship game.
Logan’s pick: Texas Tech
NC State Wolfpack @ #16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-22.5)
Logan: I’m going to keep falling for this as long as Notre Dame is ranked. I stand by the fact that Notre Dame should not be ranked and that the Notre Dame defense is just not very good. C.J. Bailey at NC State has low key been one of the best QBs in the ACC this season. I think this game may be a shootout and if NC State’s defense can do anything the Pack may actually win this game. I’m not crazy enough to say NC State wins, but they can probably cover against the Irish.
Logan’s pick: NC State
#18 BYU Cougars (-2.5) @ Arizona Wildcats
Logan: I feel pretty confident in BYU here. Arizona is a good team but have struggled defensively against good QB play. BYU has a better defense and has been more tested this season than Arizona has. Honestly, I just wanted to point out that the Cougars are still undefeated at this point in the season.
Logan’s pick: BYU
Red River Rivalry: #6 Oklahoma Sooners v Texas Longhorns (-3.0) Played in the Cotton Bowl, Dallas Texas
Logan: So Arch Manning isn’t the greatest Texas QB of all time (pending future growth). That’s fine, as embarrassing as the loss to Florida was I don’t think Texas is a terrible team given their defense and the fact that Manning is still a decent QB just not a great one. For Oklahoma John Mateer may be out for the game (or this may be gamesmanship by the coach, time will tell) so Oklahoma is not going to be at full strength for this game. I can see why Vegas would favor Texas here, but I still think the Oklahoma defense will be the edge here as that D-line is one of the top 2 in the country, contending with Miami for the top spot. I think Oklahoma’s defense will keep this to a close low scoring game that Oklahoma will eventually find a way to win.
Logan’s pick: Oklahoma
The Illibuck Trophy: #1 Ohio State Buckeyes (-14.5) @ Illinois Fighting Illini
Logan: I don’t question that Ohio State will win this game, so the question is will they cover. It’s hard for me to figure out exactly where Illinois stands based on their past games. Some games look really good, then in others it seems like Illinois is sleep walking on the field. I have to defer back to what I do know, which is that Ohio State is a good team which has covered the spread in every game they’ve played this year. I’ll take Ohio State.
Logan’s pick: Ohio State
#8 Alabama Crimson Tide (-4.5) @ #14 Mizzou Tigers
Logan: I cannot get a read on Alabama under Deboer. When I think they will struggle they dominate and when I expect them to win they let the other team cover. I think after last week the Tide are on a roll and should be able to handle Mizzou easily… I guess I’ll take Bama and try to out play my own mind in this 4-D chess game of whether Alabama is actually good or not.
Logan’s pick: Mizzou
#7 Indiana Hoosiers @ #3 Oregon Ducks (-10.0)
Logan: This is another game where I feel confident in the winner. Oregon should win, so the question becomes if I think Indiana can cover here. Indiana has consistently beaten everyone’s expectations and have done so without much aplomb. I don’t have a reason to think Indiana will cover, but that hasn’t stopped Indiana in the past. I’ll take Indiana to cover.
Logan’s pick: Indiana
