Saturday, October 06, 2007

Week 6 Picks

Last week's epic dose of upsets has made some of these games slightly less important in the national championship picture, but in some ways more intriguing. On to it! (Oh, and to mollify BCB, I won't be picking the Alabama-Houston tilt.)

Oklahoma v. Texas. The bloom is off the (yellow) rose in this one after both teams lost last week -- the first time that's happened since 1999, I think. I think this could get ugly, because while Texas has not really looked that good in any game this season, the Sooners surely have. Plus, I picked OU to win this one way back in August. So I'll say Oklahoma 35-17.

Virginia Tech at Clemson. Tech's defense will keep them in the game against any team not called LSU, but I don't know what's going on with that offense. It's not all the fault of switching to freshman quarterback Tyrod Taylor, either; Brandon Ore has not been carrying the load. I think the Tigers, playing at home, will get their tailbacks in the groove while their defense stifles the Hokie offense. Clemson, 21-14.

Ohio State at Purdue. What? GameDay didn't go to West Lafayette for this battle of unbeatens? I'm shocked! I think the Boilers will scare OSU before succumbing, 35-27.

Nebraska at Missouri. If Ball State can ring up 40 on the Huskers, what will Chase Daniel be able to do? I'm saying Mizzou, 45-38. You might remember that as the score of the wild 1997 Nebraska-Missouri game, with the crucial difference that the score was reversed -- Nebraska won after the crazy kicked ball in the end zone forced overtime. I distinctly remember where I was when I saw that game: in a bar in Durham with my friend, the rabid Husker fan from Lincoln. So I'll predict a kicked ball on fifth down to springboard the Tigers to victory!

Georgia at Tennessee. This is another one of those contrary conventional wisdom games, where Georgia is the logical pick but people like to call for the Vols in an upset special. I'm with SMQ on this one: Tennessee can't run, can't stop the run, and Georgia can run and neutralize Erik Ainge. Yeah, yeah, Fulmer's on the hot seat and the crowd blah blah. Richt doesn't care. Georgia, 31-20.

Florida at LSU. The Tigers' defense is too good, and their offense is good enough. The Gators will pick up a few meaningless points late to make the score deceiving, but LSU will be in control from start to finish and win 31-23.

Finally, speaking of upset specials, Patrick at ACC Nation is actually calling for Duke to beat Wake Forest! I think it was Ivan Maisel who said last week that, while Duke hasn't quite turned the corner just yet, the blinker is on. This is a winnable game, as the Devils will be able to score some points on the Deacons. I don't even think I have to go too far out on a limb to predict a Duke win, 31-30.