College Football pick 'em October 6, Pt. 2

College Football Pick ‘em
October 6, 2007

9) Florida (4-1, 2-1) vs. 1)LSU (5-0, 2-0)
Coming fresh off a loss the Tim Tebow led Gators head to Baton Rouge to take on the new #1 team in the country, LSU, at the toughest place to play in the country. Three deciding factors in this game, Ryan Perrilloux will get see playing time at QB for the Tigers, the young Gators defense is on the road and they struggled at Ole Miss (so imagine what they will do at Death Valley in Baton Rouge) and LSU has revenge on their mind after losing at the Swamp last year. It’s been 48 years since the Bayou Bengals played a game as the #1 team in the country and they will stay undefeated as the Gators become “Tiger Bait”. LSU wins 28-14.

4) Ohio St. (5-0, 2-0) vs. 23) Purdue (5-0, 1-0)
The Buckeyes and Boilermakers both come in undefeated but neither team has been tested yet. Both teams have the ability to score a lot of points. What really sticks out in my mind is Ohio State’s suffocating defense and an offense that keeps getting better every week. Purdue had a solid first half last week against Notre Dame going up 23-0 at halftime, then had to hang on at the end to win as the Irish cut the lead to 7 points in the 4th quarter, maybe they were looking ahead to OSU. Either way Ohio State is too good on the defensive side of the ball despite the ability of Matt Painter and the Purdue offense that has scored over 45 points 4 times, and 50 points twice. Ohio State wins 31-17.

10) Oklahoma (4-1, 0-1) vs. 19) Texas (4-1, 0-1) at Dallas (Cotton Bowl)
The Red River Shootout lost some luster when both the Sooners and Longhorns were upset last week. Despite the losses this is still one of the best rivalries in all of college football, especially because it is at a neutral site where half of the stadium is covered in burnt orange and the other half in Sooner red. The question coming in for Oklahoma was the quarterback situation and Sam Bradford has looked pretty good this year and the Oklahoma rushing attack hasn’t taken too much of a hit after losing Adrian Peterson. Colt McCoy has yet to regain his touch from his freshman year and it will cost the Longhorns. Oklahoma takes the shootout 28-24.
15) Virginia Tech (4-1, 1-0) vs. 22) Clemson (4-1, 2-1)
Remember when Virginia Tech had hopes of a national title and started the season ranked 7th? Well that dream is now gone but an ACC championship is not out of reach for the Hokies. Clemson lost 13-3 last week against Georgia Tech where they missed 4 field goals and failed to get into the end zone one time. If the Tigers thought the Georgia Tech defense was good, wait until they meet the V Tech defense. Despite Clemson having a great home field advantage, the Hokies come into Clemson’s death Valley and steal one in a low scoring, ugly affair. Virginia Tech squeaks by 14-10.

25) Nebraska (4-1, 1-0) vs. 17) Missouri (4-0, 2-0)
So much for the Big 12 south being the dominant division as the north possess the only 2 undefeated teams in the conference. Nebraska’s only blemish came against the Trojans and Missouri has yet to lose as Mizzou fans claim Quarterback Chase Daniels should be mentioned for the Heisman. While the Big Red Machine isn’t as intimidating as it was in the ‘90’s, Bill Callahan’s team is no easy defeat. Nebraska, led by running back Marlon Lucky, take this one in a grind it out game where the Nebraska defense will step-up to play it’s best game of the season. Nebraska wins 24-17.

Kansas (4-0, 0-0) vs. 24) Kansas St. (3-1, 1-0)
Kansas St. is coming off an upset of #7 Texas for the second year in a row and the Kansas Jayhawks are undefeated, mainly because they have played no one worth talking about. Josh Freeman is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the conference and in the country. He is big, strong, tough to take down, can run and has a good arm to compliment his physical strength. At home the Wildcats roll in this rivalry game as Freeman will throw for at least 3 more touchdowns. Kansas St. wins 42-28.

Arizona (2-3, 1-1) vs. Oregon St. (2-3, 0-2)
It’s another must-win for both teams as a loss for UA all but ends there hopes of a first bowl game since 1998, and if the Beavers lose their season is over with. The Beavers have a very talented rushing attack led by Yvensen Bernard who is averaging over a 100 rushing yards per game. They also have the 11th best defense in the country but did give up 34 points at Cincinnati. The deciding factor in this game will be Sean Canfield’s (OSU QB) inability to perform as he has 11 INT and only 5 TD this season. Nicolas Grigsby won’t have another 262 yards performance but it won’t be needed as the Wildcats win walking away as the Beaver’s will be disheartened early in the 3rd quarter by an overwhelming deficit as the Wildcat defense holds a team to 20 or under for the 2nd week in a row. Arizona wins 35-17.
Georgia Tech (3-2, 1-2) vs. Maryland (3-2, 0-1)
Georgia Tech comes off an impressive win against Clemson last week, and Maryland has an even more impressive victory at then #10 Rutgers. Dennis Lattimore leads the way on the ground for the Terrapins as they have more ability to put up points then the Yellow Jackets do. Despite the Tech defense holding Clemson to 3 points last week they will not see a repeat performance on the road. The mighty turtles take this one to get back to .500 in the conference. Maryland wins 34-21.
5) Wisconsin (5-0, 2-0) vs. Illinois (4-1, 2-0)
This game is all about the upset. Illinois led by Ron Zook has turned the program around and if he continues winning he will be my Coach of the Year. Wisconsin gave up a lot of points to Michigan State last week and have given up a good amount of points all year long. Illinois forced 5 turnovers last week, 4 in the red zone and look to see more this week. Illinois continues to upset ranked teams and you’ll see them in the polls next week. Illinois wins 38-31.
12) Georgia (4-1, 2-1) vs. Tennessee (2-2, 0-1)
Phil Fulmer at Tennessee is officially on the hot seat as the Volunteers have failed to live up to any expectations this year, and Tennessee fans have major expectations year in and year out. Fulmer has been unable to beat the young, talented coaches of the SEC and Mark Richt is another coach that will have the Volunteer fans asking for Fulmer’s head. The Bulldogs will go into Tennessee and Matthew Strafford lead a very balanced offensive attack that will give the Tennessee defense fits all afternoon. Georgia wins 34-24.

20) Cincinnati (5-0, 2-0) vs. 21) Rutgers (3-1, 3-1)
The Big East is as unpredictable as ever as Rutgers, West Virginia, and Louisville have a combined 4 losses and Cincinnati, Connecticut, and South Florida have a combined 0 losses. Rutgers is coming off a disappointing home loss to Maryland last week and will rebound this week. No one ever finishes undefeated in the defensive-less Big East and Rutgers will continue that streak. Ray Rice and the Scarlet Knights get back on track as they are still in the hunt for a Big East title. Rutgers wins 28-24.