GAME OF THE WEEK: Yale Bulldogs (7-2, 5-1) at Harvard Crimson (6-3, 4-2)- NOON EST
Thank the Big Ten for pushing the Ohio State-Michigan gloryfest to next week, otherwise that would have been the Game of the Week. However, 42 years ago, these two storied Ivy League institutions played to a 29-all draw in what was one of the most memorable games in the history of College Football, and it co-starred future Academy Award Nominee Tommy Lee Jones (Jones was a player for Harvard on the aforementioned 1968 team and in the aforementioned 1968 classic matchup). Since the Ivy League doesn't believe in postseason football play, this is as good as it gets for the most prestigious conference in all of college sports, as Yale and Harvard square off yet again.
Pick: Yale 16-13
UPSET PICK OF THE WEEK: (CENSORED) Mountaineers (9-1) at Florida Gators (6-4)- 12:30PM at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Gainesville, FL)
Over 38 months ago, the (CENSORED) Mountaineers did the unthinkable. Fresh off the Division I-AA/FCS National Championship, the Mountaineers went up to Ann Arbor, Michigan and SHOCKED THE WORLD by beating then-# 5 Michigan, 34-32, the first ever FCS win over a ranked FBS school (earlier this year, James Madison knocked off Virginia Tech for the other occasion this happened; Michigan ALMOST lost to UMass, who coincidentally lost to um...yeah in the 2006 I-AA National Championship). Florida is missing one key player this year (# 15 for the Denver Broncos), and that's why (CENSORED) will do it again and SHOCK THE WORLD II.
Pick: (CENSORED) 29-21
EARLY BIRD GAMES:
(Thursday/Tonight)
UCLA Bruins (4-5, 2-4) at Washington Huskies (3-6, 2-4)- 8PM EST at Husky Stadium (Seattle)
Jake Locker is expected to return to action, after the Huskies bye week. For Washington to be Bowl Eligible, they need to win out.
Pick: Washington 20-17
Air Force Academy Falcons (7-4, 4-3) at University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebels (2-8, 2-4)- 10PM EST at Sam Boyd Stadium (Las Vegas)
Pick: Air Force 37-10
(Friday)
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-3, 4-2) at Boise State Broncos (9-0, 5-0)- 9:30PM EST at Bronco Stadium (Boise, ID)
The Bulldogs were just this close of knocking off ranked Nevada down in Reno (Boise State plays Nevada next week). This week, Fresno State goes up to the field of Smurfs to play Kellen Moore and crew. While it may not be close like it was with Nevada, Fresno State will give Boise State a fight.
Pick: Boise State 34-27
RIVALRY WEEK GAME OF THE WEEK:
# 6 Stanford Cardinal (9-1, 6-1) at California Golden Bears (5-5, 3-4)- 3:30PM EST
This game takes place 28 years to the day of one of the most controversial, one of the most insane, one of the most wacky, and one of the most unforgettable plays in all of football, maybe even all of sports. Of course, I'm talking about the "lateral" play (also known as "The Play"), which literally put the proclamation, "It ain't over 'til the marching band comes out", as the marching bands for both teams came out WHILE the play was still going on. Cal won 25-20, although Stanford claims it was 20-19, as the Cardinal kicked a field goal with only four seconds left. Stanford's quarterback would go on to have a 16-year NFL career with the Denver Broncos, being crowned Super Bowl XXXIII MVP in his final NFL game, and is now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Of course, I'm talking about John Elway. Anyway, fast forward 28 years. Stanford is # 6 in the nation, and while they have a better record than Cal, stranger things have happened in rivalry games. Look for Cal to throw everything, including the kitchen stink, Grandma's pumpkin pie, and the waterboy at Stanford, but the Cardinal will come out on top.
Pick: Stanford 27-24
OTHER GAMES THIS WEEK:
# 7 Wisconsin Badgers (9-1, 5-1) at Michigan Wolverines (7-3, 3-3)- NOON EST at THE BIG HOUSE (Ann Arbor, MI)
I remember that the Badgers had a two-headed running back (in the form of John Clay and James White). Since then, Clay got hurt. Last week, Wisconsin ran up 83 points against defenseless Indiana (scoring on EVERY SINGLE possession, plus a pick-six). This week, the Badgers go into the Big House, where while Michigan has slowly improved from the s**tfest of 2008 (an ALL-TIME LOW- 3-9) and 2009 (5-7), their defense still sucks. However, Michigan will invade a quiet little town called Columbus, next week. ;o)
Pick: Wisconsin 42-27
# 10 Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-1, 5-1) at Kansas Jayhawks (3-7, 1-5)
Jayhawk fans don't really care about the gridiron Jayhawks, now that hoops season is underway in Manhattan.
Pick: Oklahoma State 45-6
Purdue Boilermakers (4-6, 2-4) at # 12 Michigan State Spartans (9-1, 5-1)- NOON EST at Spartan Stadium (East Lansing, MI)
Super Bowl MVPs Len Dawson, Bob Griese, and Drew Brees were all Boilermaker QBs once in their lives. Purdue wishes they had all three of them.
Pick: Michigan State 56-0
Penn State Nittany Lions (6-4, 3-3) vs. Indiana Hoosiers (4-6, 0-6)- NOON EST AT FedEx Field (Landover, MD)
I said last week that Joe Pa would get his 401st win in Columbus. I lied. He'll no doubt get it here as Penn State will be the second Pennsylvania football team to win at FedEx Field this week.
Pick: Penn State 41-14
North Carolina State Wolfpack (7-3, 4-2) at North Carolina Tar Heels (6-4, 3-3)- NOON EST at Kenan Football Center (Chapel Hill, NC)
Another rivalry hits the century mark at the Wolfpack and Tar Heels meet on the gridiron for the 100th time. NC State is to Ohio State as UNC is to Michigan in this rivalry as the Tar Heels have a 63-30-6 advantage in the series. However, both teams have been hit and miss this season, and whom ever makes the fewest mistakes wins. Here is the UNC's Official Page on the UNC-NC State Rivalry.
Pick: NC State 28-24
Virginia Cavaliers (4-6, 1-5) at Boston College Golden Eagles (5-5, 3-4)- NOON EST at Alumni Stadium (Chestnut Hill, MA)
Pick: BC 27-21
West Virginia Mountaineers (6-3, 2-2) at Louisville Cardinals (5-5, 2-3)- NOON EST at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (Louisville, KY)
Pick: West Virginia 35-14
Penn Quakers (8-1, 6-0) at Cornell Big Red (2-7, 1-5)- 12:30PM EST at Schoelkopff Field (Ithaca, NY)
Penn wins the Ivy League title with a win, and in a perfect world, an automatic FCS playoff bid. However, since the Ivy League doesn't believe in FCS National Titles, the Quakers will have to make do with being Ivy League champs.
Pick: Penn 26-0
UMass Minutemen (6-4, 4-3) at Rhode Island Rams (4-6, 3-4)- 12:30PM EST at Meade Stadium (Kingston, RI)
Pick: UMass 19-14
Dartmouth Big Green (5-4, 2-4) at Princeton Tigers (1-8, 0-6)- 1PM EST at Princeton Stadium (Princeton, NJ)
Pick: Dartmouth 27-13
Duke Blue Devils (3-7, 1-5) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-5, 3-4)- 1:30PM EST at Bobby Dodd Stadium (Atlanta)
Now that NCAA College Basketball season is here, Duke fans have other things to do with their time. The Yellow Jackets will sting the Blue Devils to become Bowl eligible.
Pick: Georgia Tech 53-8
Clemson Tigers (5-5, 3-4) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-8, 1-6)- 2PM EST at Groves Stadium (Winston-Salem, NC)
A Clemson win makes the Tigers Bowl Eligible, and the Tigers should have no problem clawing poor Wake Forest to their ninth straight loss.
Pick: Clemson 41-0
# 9 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1, 5-1) at # 20 Iowa Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-2)- 3:30PM EST at Kinnick Stadium (Iowa City, IA)
The Buckeyes have won 11 of the last 12 meetings against Iowa, with the one loss coming at Kinnick Stadium (33-7 in 2004, a lackluster year for the Bucks). Last year, Iowa took the Bucks to OT, where Devin Barclay booted the game-winning field goal for Ohio State. This week, Ricky Stanzi is looking to give Iowa some respect and to knock off the co-Titans of the Big Ten. This could be the last time Ohio State wins this year, as they face the Big, Bad Wolverines next week. Look for the Buckeyes to shake the monkey (Kirky Stanentz) off their backs...again
Pick: Ohio State 27-14
# 16 Virginia Tech Hokies (8-2, 6-0) at # 24 Miami Hurricanes (7-3, 5-2)- 3:30PM EST at Sun Life Stadium (Opo Locka, FL)
"The ACC is a mess," declared Fox Sports College Football Analyst Petros Papadakis, citing Virginia Tech's scheduling of James Madison just FIVE DAYS after a game at Boise State (both were Virginia Tech's two losses so far this year). Miami is a Jekyll/Hyde team, because you never know what Miami team you'll get from week to week. Beamer and Boys get it done in South Beach.
Pick: Virginia Tech 34-21
Illinois Fighting Illini (5-5, 3-4) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (7-3, 3-3)- 3:30PM EST at Wrigley Field (Chicago)
Oh, no, they didn't!! Oh, yes, they did. OF course, I'm speaking about Northwestern's come-from-behind win over Iowa last week (for the second straight year, of course), and Illinois's shocking 38-34 loss to last-place Minnesota, the first win for Gophers interim Head Coach Jeff Horton. This is going to be a good game in the state that gave us Presidents Lincoln and Obama. BREAKING NEWS: Only ONE end zone will be used at Wrigley Field, according to NCAA and Big Ten Officials, citing safety concerns.
Pick: Northwestern 37-27
Army Black Knights (6-4) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-5)- 7PM EST at Yankee Stadium (The Bronx/New York City)- RIVALRY WEEK SPECIAL
The last time these two played at Yankee Stadium was 1969, the year that the "Miracle Mets" won the World Series, Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was the highest-grossing movie that year, and Ara Parseghian was coaching the Irish on the sidelines. This is the first football game at the brand new Yankee Stadium. The game brings back memories of the classic Army-Notre Dame meetups at the late, great Yankee Stadium of the 1930s and 1940s. The New York Times wrote a feature on the upcoming battle on Saturday Night. Back to the here and now. The last time that the Black Knights were bowl eligible (before this year) was 1996, when Bill Clinton was re-elected in a landslide, and Florida won its first National Championship. Notre Dame came off a huge 28-3 upset thumping of # 23 Utah. The Irish need this win (and a win over USC next week) to be Bowl Eligible.
Pick: Notre Dame 21-17
# 15 Missouri Tigers (8-2, 4-2) @ Iowa State Cyclones (5-6, 3-4)- 7PM EST at Jack Trice Stadium (Ames, IA)
This could be Iowa State's knockout punch after losing to Colorado in Colorado interim coach Brian Cabral's debut.
Pick: Mizzou 38-14
# 13 Arkansas Razorbacks (8-2, 4-2) at # 21 Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-3, 3-3)- 7PM EST at Davis-Wade Stadium (Starkville, MS)
Pick: Arkansas 35-24
# 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-1, 5-1) at # 19 Texas A&M Aggies (7-3, 4-2)- 8PM EST at Kyle Field (College Station, TX)
Pick: Nebraska 24-16
# 14 Oklahoma Sooners (8-2, 4-2) at Baylor Bears (7-4, 4-3)- 8PM EST at Floyd Casey Stadium (Waco, TX)
Pick: Oklahoma 38-17
# 25 Florida State Seminoles (7-3, 5-2) at Maryland Terrapins (7-3, 4-2)- 8PM EST at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium (College Park, MD)
Pick: Florida State 41-10
USC Trojans (7-3, 4-3) at Oregon State Beavers (4-5, 3-3)- 8PM EST at Reser Stadium (Corvallis, OR)
This game means little-to-nothing to USC, whose season will end in two weeks against crosstown rival UCLA.
Pick: USC 43-13
# 23 Utah Utes (8-2, 5-1) at San Diego State Aztecs (7-3, 4-2)- 10PM EST at Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego)
Can the Utes get back on track after losing back-to-back spankings to TCU and Notre Dame? That's a problem, because San Diego State almost caused a bigger shakeup in the BCS as they almost upset TCU last week.
Pick: San Diego State 24-14
Division III Playoffs- (5) Wittenberg Tigers (10-0, regular season) at (4) Ohio Northern Polar Bears (9-1, regular season)
Wittenberg, yet again, the Champions of the North Coast Athletic Conference, travel up the road to little Ada to play Ohio Northern, runners-up in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Expect this to be a competitive game. Wittenberg, really has not been tested, except for a couple of times (Washington and Carnegie-Mellon), while Ohio Northern lost to Mount Union (which, oddly this year, got a third-seed). Ohio Northern is one of those schools that you don't want to mess with, and Wittenberg may have found a brick wall. The really bad news is, the winner may have an impending date with North Central next week.
Pick: Ohio Northern 28-25
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