What Happened!?! And a College Football Smorgasbord

I can’t begin to explain how in the world I went 2-12 in my NFL picks last week. Those that make similar picks or like to make a friendly wager here and there, know that going 2-12 is just as hard as going 12-2. The simple truth of the matter is that I pride myself on knowing a little something about football and last week I flat-out sucked. I did change my tune to like the Giants and Bears by the time the games rolled around on Sunday but by then it was too late, my picks had been posted and I was on my way to the worst week I have ever had in my 10 or so years of picking NFL spreads.

The sad part, at least to me or anyone who actually used my picks this week, is that I actually had a phenomenal week outside of the NFL. On Saturday, I went 11-3 against the spread in college football and I have been nailing the baseball games left and right. In a pick’em pool that I participate we pick the winner against the spread in every NFL game and select college games every week to make it an even 20 games. In the select college games up to this point, I am 20-4, an absolutely ridiculous 83% winning clip (and yes, I have proof!). It’s too bad that I have not been posting those games and instead posted what was a disastrous NFL week. So for the rest of the year, not only will I post my NFL picks (and I promise to absolutely rebound in a big way), I will post my picks in a few select college games as well.

Speaking of college football, it has been a couple of weeks since we had a college football smorgasbord! Since I last wrote on the amateurs, we have seen Alabama get knocked off by the Old Ball Coach while the rest of the BCS Championship contenders have stayed unbeaten and on track for a championship run. Here we go…

* Ohio State was my preseason pick to win the national title and Terrelle Pryor was my preseason pick to win the Heisman. I am feeling pretty good about those picks right now. The Buckeyes still have the meat of their schedule ahead of them with a trip to Wisconsin this week and a trip to Iowa in late November but if the Buckeyes take care of their business, they will be playing for the title in Glendale come January 10th.

* As for the Heisman race, if I had a ballot today Pryor would be number one on my list followed in order by LaMichael James, Denard Robinson, Kellen Moore and Cam Newton. Pryor is putting up passing numbers comparable to Moore and still running the football effectively against good competition. As Boise’s competition weakens and Michigan and Auburn lose a few more games, I could see this becoming a very interesting two man race between Pryor and James.

* Two guys to keep an eye on if their teams remain undefeated are Taylor Martinez and DeMarco Murray in the Big 12. Heisman voters love players from top-ranked teams, especially if they can produce big performances in primetime games. The last player to win the Heisman whose team wasn’t a prominent figure in the national title race was Ron Dayne back in 1999, and that was more of a career achievement award.

* If you enjoy offense you have to love watching Oregon’s fast paced attack. I think Mike McCarthy, Green Bay’s coach, should watch the Ducks and realize that the more plays you give your best players, the better chance for success. I do wonder, however, about the size up front for Chip Kelly’s group. In last year’s Rose Bowl Ohio State dominated Oregon at the line of scrimmage, and I’m not so sure that wouldn’t be the case again this year. Heck, we saw Boise dominate the Ducks up front in last year’s opener and they are often criticized themselves for being “too small”. With more time to prepare for Kelly’s spread offense and fast tempo in a bowl game, this could become THE question mark for Oregon.

* If Boise State and TCU (or Utah for that matter) both go undefeated it will be interesting to see how the BCS formula shakes out. TCU and Utah, especially if both are undefeated when they play each other, will have the clear strength of schedule edge and thus have the advantage in the computers. Boise, on the other hand, has had the human voters support over the other non-BCS participants for some time now. I’m guessing the poll support will be enough to keep Boise just ahead of TCU, especially if Oregon St. and Virginia Tech continue to play well. That TCU-Utah game will be played November 6th in Salt Lake City by the way, and could have major national championship implications.

* LSU, as any college football fan has seen or heard, continues to defy logic by winning games despite some of the most mismanaged situations I can remember. Give Les Miles credit though, he has these guys believing that they can and will win every game. LSU certainly has the talent and no doubt will be fun to watch in the following weeks with games left at Auburn, vs. Alabama and at Arkansas.

* In what could be considered a rather boring week of college football match-ups, only two games feature both teams ranked in this week’s AP Top 25. I am very much looking forward to the Arkansas at Auburn match-up to find out just how for real this Auburn team is. Cam Newton has been incredible running Gus Malzahn’s spread option offense but the Tigers have been very vulnerable on defense and Arkansas features Ryan Mallett and a lethal passing attack.

* Pitt goes on the road this week to Syracuse where they are one point underdogs. Talk about a reality check, the Panthers are underdogs to a team that has won only 14 games total over the past five seasons, and one could make the argument that it is rightfully so. I liked what I saw in the second half of the Notre Dame game and think this Pitt team, if it can put everything together, has the talent to turn this season around. A loss this week, however, and it would be time to start questioning Dave Wannstedt’s future.

* Penn State should have their best week of the season to date, a bye week. I got some grief before the season started for ranking Joe Paterno and company 25th in my fictional ballot, and saying that they probably don’t deserve to be that high. It is certainly true that the Nittany Lions have struggled, and bowl eligibility is probably the goal at this point, but I see a ton of promise in true freshman quarterback Robert Bolden. Penn State fans should watch this kid with some excitement looking forward to the next three years.