Wednesday, November 19, 2008

College Picks, Week 13

Now is the time when all of this starts to get good. Conference championships, bowl bids, national championship game appearances, and pure bragging rights will be decided over the next three weeks. Here is this week’s 20 fearless picks:

Last week: 13-7
Season: 180-60

Texas Tech at Oklahoma: The latest and possibly greatest of a series of gargantuan matchups in the Big 12 South. A Tech win would send them to the Big 12 championship game and a possible trip to the national championship game. An OU win would create a possible three-way tie for the Big 12 South title, sending the team with the highest BCS ranking to Kansas City to play Missouri. OU has lost two, count ‘em, two home games in the 10 years of the Bob Stoops era. Pick: OU

Iowa State at Kansas State: Plenty of good seats are available as the Cyclones and Wildcats battle for the Big 12 North cellar. K-State is in the market for a new coach, as well. Which team will get up for this stinker of a game? Pick: Iowa State

Miami at Georgia Tech (Thursday): The Canes suddenly have control of their own destiny in the ACC Coastal division. Which means, they’ll lose, as all the other teams have done in that league when faced with a similar situation. It is forecast to be cold in Atlanta on Thursday night. Pick: Tech

Michigan at Ohio State: Michigan is having its worst season since Henry Ford started building cars. The Buckeyes are out for blood, and won’t feel sorry for the mediocre Wolverines. This is a no-brainer. Pick: TOSU

Michigan State at Penn State: This is the Big Ten championship game. Penn State goes to the Rose Bowl with a win. Michigan State needs help. The Spartans would most likely be co-champions of the Big Ten with a win, but would lose a tiebreaker to Ohio State. That is, if they don’t get unlikely help from Michigan. The Lions can start booking trips to California. Pick: Penn State

Indiana at Purdue: The only thing on the line in this game is the Old Oaken Bucket. Indiana has been awful this year. Purdue has only been mediocre. Pick: Purdue

N.C. State at North Carolina: This is the ACC, which means anyone can win, and usually does. Carolina is just a little better, and is playing at home. Pick: UNC

Tennessee at Vanderbilt: Tennessee lost to Wyoming. How in the world are they going to beat Vanderbilt in the Commodores’ best season in 25 years? Pick: Vandy

Air Force at TCU: A TCU win gives the Frogs yet another 10 win season. Pick: TCU

Ole Miss at LSU: Ole Miss has improved this year. LSU pulled the biggest comeback in school history last week to beat Troy. Pick: LSU

Boston College at Wake Forest: Huge matchup in the ACC Atlantic division. BC won last week in Tallahassee, where the Deacons also beat Florida State earlier in the year. Can the Eagles win two road games in a row? No. Pick: Wake

Stanford at California: The Big Game. In High School Musical 3, Gabriella accepted an academic scholarship to Stanford. Her boyfriend Troy, on the other hand, accepted a basketball/music scholarship to Cal. Pick: Cal

Illinois at Northwestern: The Illini have been disappointing this season, while the Wildcats have had a great year, and could be playing somewhere on New Year’s Day. Pick: Northwestern

BYU at Utah: The Holy War. BYU can still get a share of the conference title, while Utah can go to a BCS bowl with a win, capping an undefeated season. Pick: Utah

Oregon State at Arizona: Last season, Oregon traveled down to Tucson with a chance for a national championship. They lost. Now, Oregon State goes down to the desert with a chance to go to the Rose Bowl. Tucson is where dreams go to die. Pick: Arizona

Iowa at Minnesota: Two weeks ago, the Gophers lost the Little Brown Jug to Michigan. Last week, the Gophers lost Paul Bunyan’s Axe to Wisconsin. This week, they play Iowa for Floyd of Rosedale, a bronze pig. The pig goes back to Iowa City. Pick: Iowa

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati: The Bearcats are staring a BCS bowl in the face, while coach Brian Kelly is flirting with the Tennessee job. Still, the Bearcats have been impressive this year while rotating quarterbacks due to injury. Pick: Cincy

Florida State at Maryland: The Terps kept their conference title hopes alive last week with a game-winning field goal to beat North Carolina. The Seminoles are still just one of many ACC teams with approximately the same record, a far cry from the decade of the 90’s in Tallahassee. Pick: Maryland

Washington at Washington State: The Apple Cup. This year, it would be more accurately known as the Rotten Apple Cup. U-Dub is 0-10, while Wazzu is 1-10 with only a win over Portland State. Wazzu has allowed less than 50 points to only two Pac-10 opponents. UW hasn't been quite as bad, but the Huskies have only been competitive in one game, a 28-27 loss to BYU. If you want to see some bad football, tune in to Fox Sports Net at 12 PM Pacific. Pick: U-Dub

Yale at Harvard: In the Ivy League, this is simply called, “The Game”. Harvard can win the Ivy League with a win. Pick: Harvard

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