Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech
A little over a decade ago, these were two of the best programs in the nation. Now, both are just stuck in neutral and hoping to get a step up in the pecking order of a second rate bowl game. Since it's a Thursday night game in Blacksburg, I'll take the Hokies. Can't say I'm doing it with confidence.
My Call: Virginia Tech 23, Miami (FL) 20
BYU at Boise State
Losing star QB Taysom Hill was the death blow for poor BYU. Tough not to feel bad for them.They take another loss here, this time on Boise's blue turf.
My Call: Boise State 35, BYU 17
North Carolina at Virginia
Team with a lot of offense but no defense (UNC) takes on a Virginia team that's very strong defensively but has some issues offensively. Ultimately, UNC's defense sucks enough to where the Cavs offensive woes won't be such a factor. However, Virginia's defense can certainly slow a high powered Tar Heel offense enough.
My Call: Virginia 38, North Carolina 27
Minnesota at Illinois
Are these Gophers the best team in college football nobody's talking about? Meh... probably not. Although I will give them credit for their 6-1 record; with that only loss coming to an excellent TCU team. Let's up that record to 7-1. Illinois can't stop anyone and won't be able to put up enough points to keep up with this Minnesota squad.
My Call: Minnesota 37, Illinois 20
Maryland at Wisconsin
Although the Badgers have looked less than spectacular all year long, I have to take them to win this game on the strength of a big game from running back Melvin Gordon.
My Call: Wisconsin 38, Maryland 31
Texas State at Louisiana-Monroe
These are both very mediocre Sun Belt teams. The Warhawks seem like the right side to take in this throw of the dart.
My Call: Louisiana-Monroe 34, Texas State 30
Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh
Seems like it was just yesterday that Georgia Tech was 5-0 and we were thinking they were the best team in the country nobody was talking about. That's what losing a couple games to Duke and North Carolina will do though, leave a team reeling. Neither one of these teams is particularly wonderful, so in a throw of the dart, I'm gonna go with the Panthers. Pitt running back James Conner is a 250 pound bowling ball and I expect he'll rumble all over an awful Yellow Jackets run defense.
My Call: Pittsburgh 35, Georgia Tech 31
Central Michigan at Buffalo
Tough MAC-tion game where all I can do is throw the dart to make the pick. Both of these teams suck defensively, I expect a shootout with the Chippewas coming out on top by four.
My Call: Central Michigan 42, Buffalo 38
Oregon State at Stanford
Won't be pretty, but the Cardinal will find a way to win a grind-it-out affair with the Beavers.
My Call: Stanford 24, Oregon State 17
Vanderbilt at Missouri
Check out these numbers... in their game against Florida a week ago, Mizzou got 119 total yards and scored one offensive touchdown. So how did they win 42-13? Well, six Gator turnovers, two defensive touchdowns and two special teams touchdowns sure did the trick. This week, I think Matty Mauk and the Tiger offense can get back on track against a less than stellar Vanderbilt defense. The Mizzou offense should also be able to keep the Commodores offense at bay.
My Call: Missouri 34, Vanderbilt 14
Temple at Central Florida
Defense will be the name of this one in a game where both teams have incompetent offenses. I'll take the Knights since it's in Orlando.
My Call: Central Florida 19, Temple 14
Wyoming at Colorado State
Craig Bohl is a terrific head coach, but Jim McElwain and the Rams are much further along and better than Bohl and the Cowboys. Especially in Fort Collins.
My Call: Colorado State 27, Wyoming 13
No comments:
Post a Comment