College (All rankings reflect BCS rankings)
No. 10 Texas Tech at No. 15 Oklahoma, 3:30, Fox
Texas Tech is certainly one of the biggest good surprises of the season. The biggest part is the change at coach, where former quarterback Kliff Kingsbury, a player under former coach Mike Leach, has really changed the culture back to Leach's days. Kingsbury replaced Tommy Tubberville, who performed well, but just didn't really fit into the scheme of things in Lubbock. Texas Tech has really embraced the pass first philosophy, and it has led them to an undefeated record thus far. Granted, it's been against mostly sub par opponents, but just beat who's on your schedule, and reap the benefits. This is undoubtedly their toughest test so far, and the team they lost to in 2008 when the Red Raiders started 10-0. Oklahoma's defense is incredibly good, only giving up less than 150 yards per game through the air, and I expect that trend to continue. Oklahoma has played very well so far this season, with the exception of their dreadful loss to Texas in the Red River Rivalry. Oklahoma will continue to rely on Blake Bell through the air and his natural running ability.
Pick: Oklahoma 34, Tech 20
No. 12 UCLA at No. 3 Oregon, 7, ESPN
College GameDay is here, and that hasn't been so kind to the host team so far this season. But, Oregon's atmosphere is unlike any other, and Oregon's offense is one that seemingly cannot be stopped. Marcus Mariota is truly a big time Heisman candidate, and the Ducks defense has been playing surprisingly well too. UCLA will need to find it's offense again to really try and make this game competitive. But, I don't think they can do it.
Pick: Oregon 42, UCLA 28
No. 21 South Carolina at No. 5 Mizzou, 7, ESPN2
This is another team with a surprisingly good record coming into week nine, with Mizzou shocking pretty much everyone outside their own market with a undefeated record. They are one win away of essentially locking down the SEC East (which doesn't make any geographical sense, but not much does in the world of sports). Mizzou has done so with solid quarterback play, and with a really good defense, leading the East with 23 sacks on the season. Mizzou has also gotten good play from backups Maty Mauk and Aarion Penton. Mauk replaced former quarterback James Franklin, and led a total of eight scoring drives against a very good Florida defense. Penton also got an interception while replacing starting cornerback E.J. Gaines. South Carolina will really need Jadeveon Clowney to wreak havoc on Mauk and the Mizzou running game if they want to stay in the game and also try and have Connor Shaw healthy enough to play. I personally think this Mizzou team is on a mission, and they can win at home.
Pick: Mizzou 44, South Carolina 31
Penn State at No. 4 Ohio State, 8, ABC
Penn State is coming off an emotional quadruple overtime victory two weeks ago at home against a fraudulent Michigan team. So, even though Penn State has had two weeks to prepare, I can't imagine they have enough fight in them to beat two ranked opponents in a row. Plus, this game is at night in the horseshoe, no chance they are beating Braxton Miller and the Buckeyes.
Pick: Ohio State 49, Penn State 23
No. 6 Stanford at No. 25 Oregon State, 10:30, ESPN
After Stanford demolished UCLA at home, they look to go on the road and continue to try and get back to the PAC-12 title game. Stanford punished UCLA in all aspects of the game last week, en route to a two touchdown victory. Oregon State has surged ever since losing in week one to Division 1-AA foe Eastern Washington, but they haven't played anyone of true significance to get them to this ranking. They will come out inspired to show everyone they are for real and back for contention within the PAC-12, but it won't come against Stanford.
Pick: Stanford 24, Oregon State 20
NFL
New York Giants at Philadelphia, 1, Fox
Philly needs this game to continue to keep pace with the Cowboys in the NFC Least, while the Giants are coming off their first victory of the season against a pretty bad Vikings team. New York also didn't fare too well in this rivalry, losing by 11, thanks to a few timely interceptions. Philly's defense also has been playing well since their week four demolishing by Denver. Plus, Philly has Mike Vick coming back at quarterback, who really has played pretty well so far before getting injured while scrambling against these same Giants. Finally, the Eagles have to win at home sometime, right?
Pick: Philly 34, Giants 21
Dallas at Detroit, 1, Fox
Detroit has played fairly well so far, putting up nice point totals in each game, as well as having Reggie Bush, Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford all playing supremely well. It's just been the defense which has let them down. Dallas is coming into this game on a high after beating Philadelphia in Philadelphia, and they're now the sole leader atop the division. But, that won't last long after this game.
Pick: Detroit 28, Dallas 23
Miami at New England, 1, CBS
New England can't possibly lose two in a row, can they?
Pick: New England 39, Miami 26
Buffalo at New Orleans, 1, CBS
New Orleans has been playing spectacular so far this season. They've got their mojo back after the whole bountygate scandal of 2012, and it's paid off via a 5-1 record. Plus, they've had a week to prepare for a gritty Buffalo team, who just won't give up on any game. No chance they lose here.
Pick: New Orleans 35, Buffalo 21
New York Jets at Cincinnati, 4, CBS
New York has been playing surprisingly well so far this season. The defense has been playing really well, Geno Smith has been managing the game well, and Bilal Powell has been a steady force at running back. Cincy meanwhile, has also been playing really well, with their only losses to a good Bears team, and to an inspired Cleveland team. Cincy very well could be a legit player in the AFC, as they have the weapons on offense to do it, and a solid defense.
Pick: Cincy 28, New York 23
No comments:
Post a Comment