Six weeks in the books. Unlike the stock market, I bounced back last week after two sub-par efforts. A 9-1 record is always nice, though I can’t help but be a bit amused that the game I missed (MD-UVA) was the one I felt most confident about going into the week. Weird. Anyway, on to Week #7.
WEEK 7: BUTLERS PICKS- WILL STATE AND DUKE BEAT THEIR BYE WEEKS? EDITION
1- Clemson @ Wake. Up until two weeks ago, this was considered the top game of the ACC season. Then both teams came out and laid an egg (CLEM to MD and WF to Navy) and suddenly it’s not the battle ESPN was lookin forward to. Still a big game though. A WF win puts them in control of the Atlantic. A Clemson win puts nobody in control. I want to pick the Deacs, but they’re ranked, and ranked teams are dropping every week on Thursday nights.
PICK: Clemson 28 Wake 21
2- Texas @ Oklahoma. Yee-haw! It’s the Red River Shootout and the Cotton Bowl will be crazier than a rabid coyote. With good reason…the Big 12 rivals are stacked. OU has been unstoppable on offense, while Texas isn’t afraid to put up the points either. Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy will get their share of yards and TD’s, but in the end, I think Bradford and the Sooners will get a few more.
PICK: Oklahoma 30 Texas 24
3- ECU @ Virginia. These may be the most confusing teams in all of football. ECU beats Va Tech and WVU, then loses to NC State and Houston. Virginia loses to Duke by 4 touchdowns, then proceeds to shut out Maryland. Good grief, compared to these two, the country’s tax code is a piece of cake. I still think ECU is better than UVA though, and I’m basing the pick on Skip Holtz putting his team’s bye week to good use.
PICK: ECU 38 Virginia 23
4- Tennessee @ Georgia. To say the season has been disappointing for Tennessee is a huge understatement. Ol’ Rocky Top has a rocky offense, barely averaging double digits over the past 3 weeks. That’s bad news for the Vols, who get a Georgia team that’s had 2 weeks to stew over its loss to Alabama. Yes, I know UT has 2 straight wins over UGA. I also know they have no shot to make it 3.
PICK: Georgia 27 Tennessee 6
5- Notre Dame @ UNC. I don’t know what’s goin on anymore, friends. Tampa Bay is good in baseball. Michigan is bad in football. The stock market’s tanked, and UNC is ranked. How bout them Tarheels? In the poll for the first time since 2001 after thrashing UConn. Now the Heels meet the Irish, who haven’t been playing badly themselves. Jimmy Clausen is finally resembling a QB for the Golden Domers. Notre Dame has already exceeded their win total from last year. If UNC wins, they’ll exceed their own win total from 07 as well. Should be a great battle in Chapel Hill.
PICK: UNC 23 Notre Dame 20
6- Nebraska @ Texas Tech. Bo Pelini is a defensive guy, and he’ll probably get the Cornhusker defense squared away at some point, but not this point. Nebraska gave up 52 to Missouri in Lincoln last Saturday. Now the Huskers face the best passing offense in the nation. In his last 3 games, Tech QB Graham Harrell has thrown for a whopping 15 TD’s and 0 INT’s! When Nebraska last visited Lubbock, they gave up 70 pts. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did it again. Hide the women and children…this could get ugly.
PICK: Texas Tech 62 Nebraska 31
7- Central Florida @ Miami. Poor Randy Shannon’s boys just can’t seem to put a full game together. Looked great in the first half against UNC, then fell apart late. Looked awful in the first half against FSU, then made a huge comeback before falling short. So it’s probably nice for the U to face a team like Central Florida. Kevin Smith is gone to the NFL, and it shows.
PICK: Miami 28 Central Florida 17
8- Penn St @ Wisconsin. Last time PSU visited Wisconsin, coach Joe Paterno broke his leg after being hit on the sidelines. Well, ole JoePa is hurting again, having injured his hip while trying to demonstrate an onside kick in practice. Why the 113 yr old Paterno is attempting onside kicks in the first place is a good question, but we’ll figure that out some other time. The Badgers are 0-2 in the Big Ten, and are far too talented to start 0-3. Plus, PSU is due for a loss. I like Wisconsin in an upset.
PICK: Wisconsin 17 Penn St 16
9- Oklahoma St @ Missouri. Now this should be fun. Both of these teams are averaging over 50…yes, 50 points per game! Everyone knows about Mizzou QB Chase Daniel and what is an unstoppable Tiger offense. Want proof? In 48 offensive possessions, Mizzou hasn’t gone three-and-out once. Oklahoma St gets the job done on the ground, rolling up over 300 yds per game. Coach Mike Gundy has the team playing well, after all, he’s a man! He’s 40!! The scoreboard operator better get some rest…he’ll be busy Saturday.
PICK: Missouri 48 Oklahoma St 35
10- LSU @ Florida. Man, every week there’s a huge game in the SEC! This week, it’s in the Swamp, where Florida tries to get back in the hunt after shockingly losing to Ole Miss 2 weeks ago. LSU has already added fuel to the fire in this one when one of their players said the team would take Tim Tebow out of the game. That comment surely won’t sit well with the Gators. There are a ton of great games this weekend, and this should be one of the best.
PICK: Florida 20 LSU 17
Last Week: 9-1 90%
Season: 43-17 72%
