“Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago.” -Bernard Berenson
Three weeks in the books. Three weeks of 8-2 records on these football predictions. That’s consistency, and that doesn’t sound ignorant. I don’t know about you, but I think this Berenson guy is full of it. I was especially glad to see Ohio State get clobbered in a big game, which seems to happen on a yearly basis. Anyway, let’s see what happens in Week 4.
WEEK 4: BUTLERS PICKS- BETTER THAN THE BUCKEYES EDITION
1- ECU @ NC State. The Pirates had a letdown against Tulane after a pair of big upsets, but held on to win. NC State has been a letdown since the end of last season. More bad news for the Pack…Toney Baker is out for the year. The news won’t be any better after Saturday. ECU will lose at some point, but it won’t be to NC State.
PICK: ECU 27 NC State 7
2- Alabama @ Arkansas. This one is a battle of coaches with enormous egos, who left successful college programs for the NFL, only to struggle, lie to their owners and the media, quit, and bolt back to college. That’s right, it’s Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino…losers as human beings, but someone has to win. This week, it’s Saban.
PICK: Alabama 31 Arkansas 10
3- Northeastern @ Syracuse. I know you’re wonderin…what’s Butler doing picking this one? Well, I wanna talk about Syracuse. 7 of the last 8 opponents have scored over 40 pts at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse is allowing over 500 yds per game, and has no offense. Shoot, even a statue recently unveiled of Heisman great Ernie Davis depicted the RB wearing Nike apparel. Davis played before Nike existed. Wow. Where have you gone Donovan McNabb? I think the Orange sneak one out, but if they lose, they’re goin winless in 08.
PICK: Syracuse 24 Northeastern 23
4- VA Tech @ N. Carolina. A huge early season matchup in the ACC. The Hokies won the “Techmo Bowl” over GA Tech, but still look vulnerable. UNC is riding high after destroying Rutgers on national TV. The Hokies are known for special teams, but the best special teams player in this one is on the UNC sideline. Brandon Tate’s been fantastic…can the Hokies stop him? I don’t think so.
PICK: N Carolina 24 VA Tech 20
5- Notre Dame @ Michigan St. The Irish put a hurtin on Michigan, and now they get Sparty. Notre Dame comes in relatively healthy, with the exception of coach Charlie Weis, who tore all sorts of ligaments in his leg when he got bowled over on the sidelines. The injury means it will take Weis a good 15 minutes to walk from the locker room to the sidelines? Excuse me? It already takes him that long? Oh, sorry. Irish in a close one.
PICK: Notre Dame 27 Michigan St 23
6- Miami @ Texas A&M. A matchup of former powers, now reduced to the middle of the pack in their respective conferences. Miami’s starting RB is out. A&M’s starting QB may be out. The difference is that a number of A&M fans wanted the QB out anyway. Based on that, I’ll pick the Aggies.
PICK: Texas A&M 20 Miami 13
7- Florida @ Tennessee. I don’t miss much about the 90’s, but I do long for the days when Steve Spurrier coached UF and ridiculed the Vols. Quotes like “You can’t spell Citrus without U-T” and ”At least the Vols will be champs of Knox County” used to make my day. Fast forward to the present. UF is still beating down Tennessee, but now, it’s just not entertaining. Sigh.
PICK: Florida 28 Tennessee 16
8- Wake @ Florida St. Speaking of the 90’s, those were the days when the idea of Wake beating FSU was about as likely as OJ Simpson looking for the ”real murderer.” Not any more. The Deacs have 2 straight wins over Bowden’s boys. FSU is ranked for the first time after a 2-0 start. That impressed the voters, who evidently regard Chattanooga and W. Carolina as powerhouses. A huge game, and I think it goes to WF.
PICK: Wake 34 Florida St 27
9- LSU @ Auburn. Auburn beat Miss St 3-2 last week. I’m still laughing about that one. If Auburn can’t score more than that this week, they’re in for a heap of trouble against LSU. The battle of the Tigers is always a good one, but in the 08 edition, I like the Tigers from LSU.
PICK: LSU 13 Auburn 10
10- Georgia @ Arizona St. Some people are calling for an upset, but I just don’t see it. Sure, I think Georgia’s overrated. I don’t even think they’re the best team in the SEC. But Arizona St is coming off of a home loss to UNLV. It’d be one thing to lose to UNLV in basketball, but football? That’s a bad sign for ASU.
PICK: Georgia 38 Arizona St 23
Last week: 8-2 80%
Overall: 24-6 80%
