Picks For The Weak: Week 6

I’m pretty sure that was the worst week of College Football picks for this crew in the five years of it’s existence. Maybe I’m over-exaggerating, but 75% of those who help me out with our Picks were at 0-5 as we headed into the evening on Saturday. Thanks to the Mustangs, I picked up some ground on everyone by a game! Beating those Horned Frogs like there’s no poison in their ummmm.. Bite.

It was Baylor this week that gave everyone a loss on their record. Thanks ESPN and RGIII for selling the hype on the clearance shelf.  It was me digging in and looking for legendary 5 buck team.

Truth is Baylor still isn’t elite.

A team that is though is those damn Badgers. A huge win over Nebraska propels them into national contenders. As sick as it makes me to even think about a BCS championship scenerio with that team. What’s more disturbing to the mind? The Badgers holding the glass football, or Bo Ryan dancing on the court.

No Contest. I hate you Bo Ryan.

Anyways, we’re here to break down the games and talk about week six of the college football season. Let’s take a look at Week 5’s results.

#17 Florida at #1 LSU

This is the second week that LSU has occupied the top spot in the polls. Is it any surprise to anyone else that Alabama is right behind them? Is the AP poll in the back pocket of the SEC or something?

Don’t answer that.

Florida was looking pretty solid this season under new coach Will Muschamp, at least until they laid an egg against Alabama at home last week. Particularly brutal for the poor Gators was the loss of starting quarterback John Brantley to an ankle injury. It’ll be tough for the Gators to respond in Death Valley against the top team in the nation, but it will be a big win if they can pull it off.

Computers: LSU 25, Florida 17 (85.1%)

Iowa at Penn State

This is the battle of teams with deceiving records. Penn State is a surprisingly weak 4-1 after barely escaping Indiana in Bloomington last week. The Nittany Lion’s offense has been very nearly pathetic this season as they struggle to find a quarterback. Heck, they’re very nearly as bad as OSU’s offense, though they can score points once in a while.

Iowa is a similarly weak 3-1 with a win (barely) over Pittsburgh that required a 21 point 4th quarter comeback to secure. That was following a 44-41 OT loss to in-state rival Iowa State. This Hawkeye’s team is not impressing anyone, but it’s not like they need to be decent to score on the Nits.

Computer: Iowa 26, Penn State 24 (55.9%)

#15 Auburn at #10 Arkansas

In yet another example of the AP poll being in the SEC’s back pocket, Auburn has to be the worst (or luckiest, take your pick) 4-1 team on the planet. The Tigers barely escaped Utah State and Mississippi State, fell to Clemson, and then struggled with Florida Atlantic before picking off then #10 South Carolina by 3. If Auburn can work out what their team can do, they could end up being dangerous in the SEC.

Arkansas had an impressive game against Texas A&M last week, coming back in a big way on the Aggies. Before that, they beat up three cupcakes before falling hard to Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It’s hard to get an accurate gauge on this Razorbacks team at this point in the season, and I don’t imagine the Auburn game will make it any easier.

Computers: Arkansas 38, Auburn 24 (68.3%)

#24 Texas A&M at Texas Tech

Speaking of the Aggies, poor Texas A&M has suffered two straight 4th quarter meltdowns to end up as the best 2-2 squad in the country. After dropping one to Oklahoma State by a single point, the Aggies dropped another to Arkansas – a team they clearly looked better than on the field for the first half. Too bad you have to play both halves.

It’s not often you see a game with a 2-2 ranked team against an unranked 4-0 team. Texas Tech is undefeated at the moment, but have done it by punishing some bad teams and squeaking out a one point victory over Nevada at home. A win over A&M would do wonders for their season, and absolutely catapult them into the rankings. Unfortunately, they actually have to beat a team with a pulse.

Computers: A&M 33, Tech 26 (69.3%)

#12 Michigan at Northwestern

Michigan is sitting at 5-0 having beaten up on some patsies, plus receiving some lucky breaks against Notre Dame. Receiving those breaks is particularly apt considering how poorly Notre Dame had to play coverage to give Michigan that victory. They now have to travel to Evanston to play the plucky Wildcats of Northwestern and their excellent quarterback Dan Persa. It’ll be interesting to see how the Wolverines respond to playing a team with an actual pulse for the first time in 3 weeks.

And, yes, I’m saying that Denard Robinson is a mediocre quarterback. Deal with it.

Oh, wait, sorry…it’s not quite Basketball season yet. My bad.

Computers: Michigan 33, Northwestern 26 (72.3%)

Missouri at #20 Kansas State

Missouri’s coming off a bye week after losing a tough one to then top ranked Oklahoma by 10. Interestingly they’re 2-2, with both losses coming against the only quality opponents they’ve yet faced. Kansas State is the next on the list of decent opponents, holding a record of 4-0 and having beaten a couple of okay teams including Miami (FL) and Baylor. Both of those games were pretty close affairs, however, so it remains to be seen just how good this Wildcats team is.

Computers: Missouri 29, Kansas State 20 (79.7%)

Georgia at Tennessee

After starting 0-2 against Boise State and South Carolina, the Bulldogs have done a nice job of working their way back to a winning record. They took advantage of Coastal Carolina to start the turnaround, and then proceeded to competently mop up the state of Mississippi on their way to a 3-2 record for the season.

Tennessee has taken advantage of a number of weaker teams so far, along with getting beaten by Florida in Gainesville 3 weeks ago. This is the last relatively easy game for the Vols for the next few weeks as they have LSU, Alabama and South Carolina for the next three. Perhaps Tennessee may get caught looking ahead?

Computers: Georgia 30, Tennessee 22 (70.8%)

Miami (FL) at #21 Virginia Tech

Just coming off a crushing 23-3 loss to a surprisingly good Clemson team, Virginia Tech gets to rebound against Miami (FL). The Hokies should have no problem taking care of the Hurricanes, though it’s worth pointing out that Clemson is the only quality team VT has played this season. Miami, on the other hand, has already played a couple decent teams and lost to them all.

Crappy Competitive Game: TCU at San Diego State

This is a surprisingly interesting game. TCU has fallen far from beating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. They sit at 3-2 with no wins over BCS teams, and losses to Baylor and SMU. They could still be the class of the original Mountain West, but this game will help determine that. Of course, the real class of the MWC is Boise State, and no-one in conference will be touching them.

SDSU has played a pair of BCS teams, picking up a win over perennially weak Washington State, and getting hammered by Michigan in Ann Arbor. If they can take out the Horned Frogs in this early season battle of wills, they will certainly be favored until their November 19th battle with the Broncos.

Game of the Week: #3 Oklahoma at #11 Texas

Both teams are coming into the Red River Rivalry undefeated this season which makes this matchup substantially more exciting than last year. Texas is still working out the kinks after last season’s terrible run, but have been on a tear the last couple of weeks killing UCLA and Iowa State on the road. The lackluster win over BYU at home, however, continues to cast doubt on what the Longhorns are really made of this season, and this will be our first real opportunity to see it.

Oklahoma has also been on an impressive display, beating up on #5 Florida State and putting down Missouri a week later. They are neck deep in the national title hunt, and are hoping to get a big leg up on that against their hated rivals.

Keep an eye on the turnover numbers in this one. Whoever wins there will very likely be bringing home the win.

Computers: Oklahoma 33, Texas 22 (82.2)