Week 9 Picks
I can't say I'm too thrilled about any of these games. I remain fascinated by the possibilities in the SEC East and the Pac-10, and of course the overall BCS picture. But a lot of these games look a lot less lustrous than they appeared in the preseason. Still, they count!
USC at Oregon. I don't think the Trojans will be intimidated at Autzen Stadium. I just think the Ducks are a better team. Oregon, 35-24.
Cal at Arizona State. Much like everyone picking Boston College to be exposed last night at Virginia Tech, everyone seems to be picking Arizona State to be this week's pretenders. I think the Sun Devils are for real, or at least what passes for it in the Pac-10, so I'll go with ASU, 31-28.
Ohio State at Penn State. Another ugly win for the Buckeyes. OSU, 20-13.
Georgia vs. Florida. Quinton is having Tebow-laced nightmares tonight, I'm sure. He'll have more tomorrow night. Gators, 38-24.
South Carolina at Tennessee. I have no idea what to expect in this game. The Vols certainly have the talent to win, but Spurrier just has some kind of voodoo control over the UT psyche. I'll say Gamecocks by some strange score like 18-15.
Duke at Florida State. One of the guys at ACC Nation actually picked Duke to pull the upset. I can see it: early kickoff, so fans won't be fired up, the Noles looking ahead to consecutive road trips to BC and Virginia Tech, Duke's halfway-decent defense against FSU's woeful offense. But seriously, folks, I'm here to tell you -- if Duke wins at Florida State, I think we can finally declare this the weirdest college football season of all time. Unless the defense creates a lot of opportunities for the Devils (turnovers, field position, etc.), FSU just has such an advantage in team speed and depth that this game will probably follow the typical Duke m.o. They'll hang close for way too long, and then give up a couple of easy ones late to make the loss look deceptively worse than it was. That has to be tough to deal with. Heck, look how rough it was for Tech to lose to BC they way they did last night. I would almost rather get blown out than have my hopes dashed after fighting so hard for 55 minutes. Of course, Duke does plenty of both. In any event, it's a real sign of how odd this season is that you could consider the idea of Duke beating Florida State with a straight face. Well, at least I can. I'm predicting that Duke will break its conference losing streak and pull the absolute shocker: Duke, 21-20.
USC at Oregon. I don't think the Trojans will be intimidated at Autzen Stadium. I just think the Ducks are a better team. Oregon, 35-24.
Cal at Arizona State. Much like everyone picking Boston College to be exposed last night at Virginia Tech, everyone seems to be picking Arizona State to be this week's pretenders. I think the Sun Devils are for real, or at least what passes for it in the Pac-10, so I'll go with ASU, 31-28.
Ohio State at Penn State. Another ugly win for the Buckeyes. OSU, 20-13.
Georgia vs. Florida. Quinton is having Tebow-laced nightmares tonight, I'm sure. He'll have more tomorrow night. Gators, 38-24.
South Carolina at Tennessee. I have no idea what to expect in this game. The Vols certainly have the talent to win, but Spurrier just has some kind of voodoo control over the UT psyche. I'll say Gamecocks by some strange score like 18-15.
Duke at Florida State. One of the guys at ACC Nation actually picked Duke to pull the upset. I can see it: early kickoff, so fans won't be fired up, the Noles looking ahead to consecutive road trips to BC and Virginia Tech, Duke's halfway-decent defense against FSU's woeful offense. But seriously, folks, I'm here to tell you -- if Duke wins at Florida State, I think we can finally declare this the weirdest college football season of all time. Unless the defense creates a lot of opportunities for the Devils (turnovers, field position, etc.), FSU just has such an advantage in team speed and depth that this game will probably follow the typical Duke m.o. They'll hang close for way too long, and then give up a couple of easy ones late to make the loss look deceptively worse than it was. That has to be tough to deal with. Heck, look how rough it was for Tech to lose to BC they way they did last night. I would almost rather get blown out than have my hopes dashed after fighting so hard for 55 minutes. Of course, Duke does plenty of both. In any event, it's a real sign of how odd this season is that you could consider the idea of Duke beating Florida State with a straight face. Well, at least I can. I'm predicting that Duke will break its conference losing streak and pull the absolute shocker: Duke, 21-20.
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