College Football Picks: Week 12
Even I will admit that this weekend doesn’t exactly showcase very many sexy games for those of us who are just fans of college football in general and actually enjoy watching games that don’t feature our favorite team(s). But there are some gems in there, if you look hard enough. At least I hope that these will turn out to be some gems.
Let’s go to the picks.
No. 22 Cincinnati at Louisville
This is your Friday night game for the week. Some of these in the past have been real fun to watch. Cincy is playing solid football. After being stuck on the QB-go-round for the first part of the season, going through four different QBs before their second choice for starter came back from a broken arm last week. They play tough defense and are opportunistic on offense.
Louisville can score but can’t defend a small child from the end zone. The most reliable weapon they have on offense is strong-armed QB Hunter Cantwell. Defensively, well, I honestly have no idea. Ever since Petrino bolted and Kragthorpe moved in from Tulsa, the Cardinals have been playing defense like they’re a Sun Belt team (i.e. not very well).
All that considered, these games tend to be nutty on Friday nights, so don’t be so sure that Louisville won’t rise up and knock Cincy off their high-ish perch.
Cincy still wins, but barely: 38-35.
Notre Dame at Navy
ESPN has been talking about Charlie Weis’ decision to start calling plays on offense again entirely too much. In fact, they’ve been talking entirely too much about this game in general. When your coverage bothers even a subway alumni fan like myself, you know you’re annoying the fuck out of the rest of the sports fans. Knock it off, ESPN. The Irish are a slumping, disappointing 5-4 on the season. Navy, while being a honorable institution, is a service academy team, and not a very good one. They’re no Army, but still, who cares about their football team?
In any case, this game is going to be the one that I wake up to on Saturday morning (damned East Coast start times). I want to believe that having Charlie call the plays will help, being that he’s an “offensive genius” and all, but I’m not sure if it will entirely offset Navy’s ability to run and Notre Dame’s defensive inability to stop the run. Still, I’m hoping for the luck of the Irish.
Notre Dame wins, 34-30.
Texas is a juggernaut, but on the weekend that features USC and Stanford’s first meeting since the Cardinal’s giganto-upset last year, I think that this might be the game to watch for a big-time upset. Kansas is a veteran team, they’re playing in front of a friendly crowd and, as always, they have the Mangino roaming the sidelines.
If the Jayhawks can corral Colt McCoy, they might just have a chance, if Todd Reesing can pull his magic act one more time. But I think that…aww screw it, this one goes Kansas’ way. They play the role of spoiler and make the Big 12 south picture a little more clear. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
Jayhawks win, 35-34.
No. 25 South Carolina at No. 4 Florida
Spurrier, the Ol’ Ballcoach, is headed back to the Swamp with his inexplicably ranked Gamecocks. Honestly, how are they ranked? They have no offensive continuity and have to rely on their defense to keep them in low-scoring dirges that no one wants to watch.
Florida, on the other hand, has been rolling, their offense about as efficient as a Swiss watch. Defensively, they’re young and flying around and occasionally show some dominance. No way Spurrier leaves the Swamp with a win this time.
Gators win, 31-13.
The Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe! College football’s longest running and most played rivalry, kicks off for the 118th time. Both of these teams are reeling after being ranked earlier this year. Wisconsin dropped four in a row and has just recently gotten back in the win column. Minnesota has lost two in a row, even dropping last week’s game to lowly Michigan (booo, Skunkbears!).
Picking this game is pretty simple, though, and rather bloodless for me. Even though I grew up in Minnesota, I was always a Fighting Sioux fan. Minnesota hasn’t won in Madison since 1994 and have only won there five times in the last 30 years.
Badgers win, 24-14.
How amusing would it be if the Ol’ Ballcoach pulls one out tomorrow? It’s unlikely, but every team in the NCAA has that one game where their weakness becomes their strength and their strength because Nostradamus-like.
because of my distaste for all things Urban Meyer, I hope that you’re right. But this time I think that the Ol’ Ballcoach is just a bit too outgunned. I’d certainly love to be wrong in this instance, though.