The election is over. Thank God!! Regardless of who you voted for, I think we can all be glad for an end to those annoying political ads. Apparently we elected Fibber Kay, Wasteful Walter, and other fine folks to office. Before I leave the election behind though, I do want to publicly say that I question Obama’s judgment. How anyone can be a White Sox fan is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, on to Week 11…
WEEK 11: BUTLERS PICKS- FULMER FAREWELL TOUR BEGINS EDITION
1- Maryland @ VA Tech. The Terps seem to play better against ranked teams than against unranked teams. So if this was 2-3 weeks ago, I’d definitely pick them over the Hokies. But Tech has fallen from the rankings in the meantime, and has all sorts of issues at QB, where one of three guys could start tonight. The Hokies play well on Thursday nights though, and should be helped by a raucous crowd in Blacksburg.
PICK: VA Tech 20 Maryland 16
2- TCU @ Utah. Another Thursday night game, this one features the two best teams nobody knows about. The Horned Frogs have rolled over everyone not named Oklahoma, and Utah comes in undefeated. The winner of this one can still dream about a potential BCS bid. That team is the Horned Frogs.
PICK: TCU 24 Utah 17
3- GA Tech @ UNC. If you’d told someone at the beginning of the year that these two teams would hold the highest rankings in the ACC, you’d have been in a straight jacket before you knew it. Speaking of Jackets, the ‘Ramblin Wreck’ may be without starting QB Josh Nesbitt. UNC is vulnerable against the run, but no Nesbitt means problems for Tech. UNC can clinch its first winning season since 2001, and they will Saturday.
PICK: UNC 28 GA Tech 20
4- Alabama @ LSU. This year, it seems like if you get ranked #1, your chances of survival equal that of a man surrounded by 12 grizzly bears. Alabama carries the ranking into what is sure to be a hostile environment with Nick Saban making his first trip to Baton Rouge as coach of the Tide. Fans in Louisiana still aren’t too happy with the way Saban left the school. Bama fans won’t be happy with the team’s performance in the Bayou. Tigers in an upset.
PICK: LSU 31 Alabama 20
5- Clemson @ FSU. There’s good news and bad news for Bobby Bowden. The good news is that he can actually try to beat Clemson instead of rolling over to save son Tommy’s job. The bad news is that’s because Tommy Boy was canned last month. Sure, Clemson knocked off BC last week, but BC is not FSU.
PICK: FSU 34 Clemson 21
6- NC State @ Duke. Not surprisingly, somebody enters this matchup winless in the ACC. Surprisingly, that team is State, and not Duke. Tom O’Brien is finding that rebuilding the mess left by Chuck Amato isn’t something that can be fixed in a day, or a week, or 2 years. As for Duke, the Devils displayed one of the worst special teams performances of the century last week, and still took Wake to OT. This will likely be an entertaining game, though most folks will probably be watching something else.
PICK: Duke 35 NC State 28
7- UVA @ Wake. UVA outplayed Miami for much of last week till a bad case of fumble-itis plagued the Cavs, and sent them to a loss. How UVA is competitive with an offense that looks inept for the majority of games is amazing. Wake finally did some good things offensively last week. Perhaps O-Coordinator Steed Lobotzke finally removed his head from the toilet. Wake gets revenge for last year’s loss and beats the Wahoos.
PICK: Wake 14 UVA 13
8- Arizona @ Washington St. This game is on here solely to introduce you to the worst team in the history of mankind, the WSU Cougars. WSU is 0-6 in the Pac 10 this year, and has been outscored by a combined margin of 350-33. The past two weeks, WSU has been outscored 127-0. For the year they’ve allowed 2500 rushing yards, 41 rushing TD’s, and are -20 in the turnover department. Somehow WSU beat Portland State earlier this season 48-9. My only explanation is that Portland State’s team must not include anybody over the age of 4.
PICK: Arizona 56 Washington St 3
9- Cal @ USC. It’s hard to imagine just how much the Trojans would like that Oregon St game back. USC’s defense allowed 27 pts in that loss, but has allowed a total of 30 pts in their 7 wins combined. Cal does feature an offense that should be able to score some, but not nearly enough to beat the Trojans.
PICK: USC 38 Cal 17
10- Okla St @ Texas Tech. Last week’s battle between Texas and Texas Tech was a game for the ages. A fantastic finish led to Tech fans storming the field not once, not twice, but three times. Apparently nobody noticed the :01 remaining on the scoreboard. Anyway, Tech gets another big name opponent this week. Oklahoma State features an offense just about equal to Tech’s high powered attack. Expect plenty of points, and yet another phenomenal game in the Big 12.
PICK: Texas Tech 45 Okla St 41
Last Week: 6-4 60%
OVERALL: 70-30 70%
