College Football Week 10 - Important Matchups

Vanderbilt @ 1 Florida
Favorite: Florida, -35
This game matters because of Brandon Spikes. By now its been everywhere: he tried to gouge out another Waushaun Ealey's eyes, he was suspended for the first half of this game, Ealey didn't want him suspended, Spikes decided to suspended himself for the full game. Well, the only thing talked about more than this in the past few days has been the Alabama-LSU game, and thats just barely. With Florida at 8-0 and Vandy at 2-7, we'll know how much being without Spikes matters by the end of the first quarter, and it probably won't matter much.
Pick: Florida 45 - Vanderbilt 17

9 LSU @ 3 Alabama
Favorite: Alabama, -7.5
As it stands right now, this game will probably have national title repurcussions. The winner will probably play Florida for the SEC title, and the winner of that game will probably play for the BCS National Championship. For both teams, their big games have been low scoring, including LSU's 13-3 loss to Florida. They've both had their moments on offense, but defense has been carrying both teams all season. With both teams fairly even on that side of the ball, the offensive edge goes to Alabama. 'Bama's offense puts up more points and yards per game, and is already 3-0 against ranked opponents to LSU's 1-1.
Pick: Alabama 20 - LSU 13

16 Ohio State @ 11 Penn State
Favorite: Penn State, -3.5
This is the only other ranked-ranked game of the weekend, and it also hold conference title ramifications. With both teams 4-1 in-conference, they trail only undefeated Iowa for the Big Ten title. With Penn State already having lost to Iowa this season, Ohio State clearly needs this game more, as they take on Iowa next week, and would take the conference by winning out. Ohio State has looked beatable this year, and with Terrelle Pryor possibly nursing a leg injury, this could be a close win for Penn State.
Pick: Penn State 28 - Ohio State 24

9 Oregon @ Stanford
Favorite: Oregon, -7
Poor Stanford. Poor, poor Stanford. They are one game away from bowl eligibility and three of their last four games are at home, where they are undefeated this year. Unfortunately, those three games are against 9 Oregon, 20 Cal, 22 Notre Dame, and the away game is next week is at 12 USC. Having already lost to Wake Forest, Oregon State, and Arizona, I'm not giving the Cardinal much hope of bcoming bowl eligible this week. Maybe in two weeks against Cal, but not this week.
Pick: Oregon 35 - Stanford 17

The Sunday News - 10/11/09

The LA Dodgers have swept the St Louis Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. [NYDN]

No 1 Florida beat 4 LSU, 13-3. [Miami Herald]

College Football Week 6 - Important Matchups

1 Florida @ 4 LSU
Favorite: Florida, -7.5
Over the last three seasons, the winner of this game has gone on to win the National Championship. The winner of this game has also bee the home team each of those years. After suffering a concussion against Kentucky two weeks ago, many are wondering if Tim Tebow will play this week. And if he does, will he be the same player? Even with Tebow having practiced this week, the week-and-a-half layoff may leave him a bit rusty. Florida may be the favorite, but I have to give this one to LSU at home.
Pick: LSU 34 - Florida 21

Michigan @ 12 Iowa
Favorite: Iowa, -8
Iowa is still undefeated since beating Penn State last season, and Michigan has something to prove. In what has become an up-and-down season for both teams, the winner of this game would be in early contention for the Big Ten title. Coming into this season, there were low expectations on a Michigan team that went 3-9 last season. Michigan needs this game more, but having already lost their only road game so far, I have give it to Iowa in a close one.
Pick: Iowa 24 - Michigan 21

13 Oregon @ UCLA
Favorite: Oregon, -3.5
After going undefeated in non-conference play, UCLA lost to Stanford in their first conference game of the season. For Oregon, their opening day loss to Boise State dropped them out of the Top 25. Back-to-back wins against then-18 Utah, winners of 16 straight games, and then-6 Cal, also undefeated at the time, have put them in the top 15. UCLA wants to prove thier 3-0 start wasn't a fluke and put themselve in the Pac-10 hunt, but after beating two straight ranked teams, Oregon looks like the runaway winner.
Pick: Oregon 35 - UCLA 17

22 Georgia Tech @ FSU
Favorite: FSU, -3
Georgia Tech hasn't looked great this year. Yes, they are 4-1, Miami made them look like a high school team, and thier wins against Clemson and Mississippi State were closer than they should have been for a ranked team. But if there is one team in the ACC that has looked worse compared to expectations, its FSU. They are off to their worst start since 1976, Bobby Bowden's first season as head coach. At times, Bowden has seemed clueless, even admitting in post-game press conferences that he didn't know how good his opponents were. FSU may be undefeated at home against Georgia Tech, but nothing lasts forver.
Pick: Georgia Tech 31 - FSU 17

College Football Week 5 - Important Matchups

3 Alabama @ Kentucky
Favorite: Alabama, -15.5
With the two teams ahead of them in the polls off this week, as well as most of the always powerful Big XII conference, Alabama needs to prove themselves here. Coming off their 41-7 loss to Florida last week, Kentucky looks like a team 'Bama can breeze through. And they'll need to. 'Bama has put up some strong numbers this year, but so has Kentucky in their two wins. 'Bama will have to duplicate what Florida's defense did last week, or suffer an ugly upset.
Pick: Alabama 42 - Kentucky 13

4 LSU @ 18 Georgia
Favorite: Georgia, -3
With LSU undefeated but not putting up the numbers you would normally expect, Georgia comes in as the small favorite. Playing at home probably has something to do with that. But Georgia hasn't exactly been a powerhouse this year, either. Two of their wins have been by 4 points or less, and their third was by only 11. If LSU can put together some offense, they can have an easy win on the road.
Pick: LSU 35 - Georgia 21

7 USC @ 24 Cal
Favorite: USC, -5
Both teams have suffered upset losses the last two weeks, and both teams looked terrible in them. USC had their bounce-back win last week, and Cal needs one now. Though Cal looked worse in their loss than USC did, only managing 3 points, Cal still looks to have the batter offense. This week will be a return to putting up big numbers.
Pick: Cal 42 - USC 24


8 Oklahoma @ 17 Miami(FL)
Favorite: Oklahoma, -7.5
Though injured QB Sam Bradford wanted to be back for this game, he'll sit on the sidelines as Landry Jones continues to play for Oklahoma. While Jones's huge performances have been the story this year, its the Oklahoma defense that deserves a lot of credit. In the last two games, they've blanked their opponents, outscoring them 109-0. Including their loss to BYU, its still 122-14. But those shut-outs were against Idaho State and Tulsa, two teams no one expected to put up much of a fight. Miami, however, come in with something to prove. After suffering their first loss of the season last week, they are now 2-1 against ranked opponents. They need a win both as a bounce-back and to cement their right to a ranking as they go into the easy part of their schedule. To do that, Jacory Harris needs to play like he did against FSU and Georgia Tech, and forget about Va Tech last week.
Pick: Miami 38 - Oklahoma 35