College Football - Week 9 Games to Watch
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by Kwinger 00
Some notes about last week as well as this week's weekly picks:
- NDSU made a name for themselves after beating the Goofers. The game was mentioned in countless newspapers and websites; one of my favorites was a weekly article written by Gregg Easterbrook of ESPN.com. Easterbrook writes a weekly column for the NFL called TMQ (Tuesday Morning Quarterback). He mixes in his NFL analysis with economic subjects, among other things. Here is what he had to say about NDSU:
> Obscure College Score of the Week: North Dakota State 27, Minnesota 21. Not only did the Bison become the second Division I-AA team to defeat a Big Ten team on its home turf this season, North Dakota State now possesses the nation's longest Division I winning streak, 11 games. Just five years ago, North Dakota State toiled in Division II, now officially known as the Football-Like Substance Division. Located in Fargo, N.D., North Dakota State is a good option because it admits 87 percent of applicants.
- I enjoyed my best week of picks last week, successfully predicting 75% of the games and 75% of the upset specials. I warned you about USF.
- All the points I was going to make this week about the upcoming schedules of those who are undefeated and/or overrated were made by Pat Forde in his Forde-yard Dash article this week.
- In a season that has been defined by upsets, this weekend is going to be one that will be a great example. Not only are #1 Ohio St. and #2 B.C. going down, but #5 Oregon, #9 Florida, and #12 Kansas are also getting burned. If you're scoring at home, that's three undefeated teams, a one-loss team, and three losses for the defending National Champs.
- If you've read my past weekly picks, you know about my thoughts about a team coming off a bye week. They always seem to look like a completely different team, mainly because they get two full weeks to prepare for the upcoming opponent, who usually only has one week. Well, Thursday's Boston College - Virginia Tech game is going to be special. Both teams are coming off bye weeks. My head is about to explode.
- Speaking of bye weeks, what a perfect week for byes for Oklahoma, LSU, Alabama, and Cincinnati. Next week's game is going to be huge between LSU and Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Both are 4-1 in the conference and this could very well decide who plays in the SEC Championship. It's even bigger for LSU, who could be #1 next week. Oklahoma, on the other hand, looked invincible for the first four weeks of the year. Then, they inexplicably lose to Colorado, win two tough games against Texas and Missouri, then somehow only beat Iowa St. by 10 last week. Look for them to regroup and become a legitimate top three team in the nation. A couple weeks ago, Cincinnati was undefeated and #15 in the nation. After two consecutive losses, they head into their bye week getting prepared for USF, UConn, and West Virginia. Ouch.
- Arizona St. is ranked #4 in the BCS and could be as high as #2 next week when they travel to Eugene to play Oregon. Then, they go to UCLA, host USC, then end at home against Arizona. I'd be surprised if they win more than two of their next five games.
- There are going to be plenty of fireworks in the New Mexico St. - Hawaii game on Saturday. New Mexico St. QB Chase Holbrook is averaging 348.5 yards passing per game in the six games he has played more than 1 quarter, and Colt Brennan is averaging 399.2 yards passing per game. Also, both defenses are terrible.
- USF is favored by 4.5 points at UConn. They might as well be favored by 44.5.
Week 9 Games to Watch:
*My pick in bold
- ACC
- No. 2 Boston College at No. 8 Virginia Tech (-3)
- Clemson (-3.5) at Maryland
- No. 2 Boston College at No. 8 Virginia Tech (-3)
- Big 12
- Nebraska at No. 17 Texas (-21)
- Colorado at Texas Tech (-13.5)
- Nebraska at No. 17 Texas (-21)
- Big East
- No. 6 West Virginia (-6) at No. 25 Rutgers
- Pitt at Louisville (-11)
- No. 11 USF (-4.5) at Connecticut
- No. 6 West Virginia (-6) at No. 25 Rutgers
- Pac 10
- No. 18 Cal at No. 7 Arizona St. (-3)
- SEC
- No. 15 South Carolina at Tennessee (-3)
UPSET SPECIALS
- No. 1 Ohio St. at No. 24 Penn St. (+4)
- No. 9 USC (+3) at No. 5 Oregon
- No. 20 Georgia (+8.5) vs. No. 9 Florida
- No. 12 Kansas at Texas A&M (+3)
- No. 21 Virginia at N.C. State (+3)
- North Carolina (+6) at Wake Forest
Week 1: 6-2
Upset Specials: None
Week 2: 9-4
Upset Specials: 1-1
Week 3: 9-6
Upset Specials: 1-1
Week 4: 9-3
Upset Specials: 3-1
Week 5: 8-5
Upset Specials: 3-1
Week 6: 11-6
Upset Specials: 0-1
Week 7: 9-5
Upset Specials: 2-0
Week 8: 12-4
Upset Specials: 3-1
Year: 73-35
