Brown's Picks - College Football Week 11

I knew last week was a potential disappoint for me. I picked some of the right winners, but the spread is what did me in. I went a dismal 2-6 last week, which brings my overall record to 7-9. Hopefully, this week will treat me better. It’s a shorter list of games because I’ll also be doing some of the big College Basketball games for this weekend.

West Virginia @ Cincinnati (-9.5)

Huge Friday night game in the race for the Big East Championship. Sophomore Zach Collaros will be starting again for the Bearcats but Cincy coach Brain Kelly has said Tony Pike will get some playing time. Cincinnati is coming off a nail-biter against UCONN last week, but I expect the Bearcat Defense to show up tonight. This is a game Cincinnati needs to win before the big matchup with Pitt in a couple weeks. I think WVU keeps it close, but the Bearcats pull it out with a 10 points victory, just barely covering

PICK : CINCINNATI

Iowa @ Ohio St. (-16.5)

This is the Big Ten Championship game. Terrelle Pryor looked pretty good last week at Penn St. He was effective running and throwing the ball and looked like the QB Buckeyes fans have been waiting for. On the other side of the field, the Hawkeyes are coming off a crushing loss to Northwestern and will be playing without starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who had surgery on his ankle after injuring it in last week’s loss. Iowa has been in every game this year and I don’ expect anything different this weekend. The Buckeyes win, but not by 17 points.

PICK: IOWA

Clemson (-8) @ NC State

Clemson is in the driver’s seat to win the ACC Atlantic Division and potentially win their first conference championship since 1990. The Tigers’ offense has been rolling, scoring 38 points in four straight games for the first time in the program’s history. Kyle Parker and CJ Spiller should have a big day against an NC State defense that is allowing almost 30 points a game. Clemson shouldn’t have too much trouble with a struggling Wolfpack. Clemson wins this one by 13.

PICK: CLEMSON

Kentucky (-3) @ Vanderbilt

The Wildcats need this one. Kentucky is going into Nashville with a 5-4 (1-4) record. A win this Saturday would make them bowl eligible, and just in time; their last two games are between the Hedges in Athens, GA and at home against an up-and-down Tennessee teams. Those games are winnable for the Cats, but I’m sure they would feel much better going into those games with a bowl already wrapped up. Vanderbilt shouldn’t be much of a test for Kentucky; the Commodores have a scoring margin of -5.8 this year. I think 3 points is a pretty low spread, I see the Cats winning by double digits.

PICK: KENTUCKY

Utah @ TCU (-19.5)

It seems funny to say this about a game in the Mountain West, but this is a big game on the national scene. TCU leap frogged (pun definitely intended) Cincinnati last week to move to #4 in the BCS standings. I had a chance to see TCU earlier this year when they visited Death Valley and handed my Tigers a loss. Let me tell you, they are the real deal. Quarterback Andy Dalton is the real deal and has the HornedFrogs rolling. This game may be in Forth Worth but Utah is very familiar with TCU and ended the Frogs’ hopes at a BCS birth a year ago. TCU will win this game, but not by 20 points.

PICK: UTAH

This is an abbreviated version of Brown’s Pick for Football this week. Check back later tonight for my run-down of some of the big basketball games this weekend.

GO TIGERS!!!

Brown's Picks

It may be Week 9 in College Football, but it’s Week 1 for me here at The Wildcat Wrap. I’d to thank John for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this site, and I will like to thank all of you for reading.

While I may not be a UK fan, I can assure you that my picks will be fair and unbiased. Each week I will be making my predictions for 8 games that I have chosen from the College Football lineup. My set of picks will always include the Cincinnati, Clemson, and Kentucky games and I’ll try to pull games from each conference. I will be picking against the spread, which I will get each Thursday from sportsbetting.com. Well that’s enough housekeeping; let’s get on with the picks.

West Virginia (-3) @ South Florida

It’s always nice to have some Friday night College Football. It’s even better when you have two pretty good teams playing. West Virginia has moved into the Top 25 and currently sits at #20 in the AP Poll, but they are facing two nasty pass rushers in USF’s Jason Pierre-Paul and George Selvie. USF has taken some hits in the past couple of weeks and their defense has let up 75 points in the last two games, but I like them for the upset on Friday night

Pick: South Florida

Cincinnati (-15.5) @ Syracuse

Cincinnati’s sophomore quarterback Zach Collaros has been running the offense in practice this week in preparation to start against Syracuse. Former Duke point guard turned Syracuse QB Greg Paulus is not having the year he hoped for, throwing 9 TDs and 10 INTs. Cincinnati’s defense will not make things any easier on Paulus as the Bearcats win big.

Pick: Cincinnati

Coastal Carolina @ Clemson

No line on this game since the Tigers are hosting an in-state FCS opponent in the Chanticleers. Not much to say about this one, but look for senior running back and return man CJ Spiller to have a huge day. Clemson gets the W on Homecoming.

Pick: Clemson

Central Michigan @ Boston College (-5.5)

CMU already has one big road win this year when they beat Michigan State 29-27 in East Lansing. The Golden Eagles are coming off a tight lose to Notre Dame. CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour has been torching defenses this year and has 16 TDs, 4 INTs, and a completion percentage of 70. Even though BC is at home, I don’t like their defenses’ chances against the Chippawa passing attack.

Pick: Central Michigan

Texas (-8.5) @ Oklahoma State

This is a huge Big 12 game with National Championship implications. Texas has been rolling this year, winning all 7 games by an average margin of 28 points. Oklahoma St. Zac Robinson can make things happen, but it’s going to be pretty difficult going against that Longhorn D without Dez Bryant. Oklahoma St. is getting some help in the spread by playing at home, but that advantage won’t help much at game time. I see Texas running away with this one from the opening kickoff.

Pick: Texas

Mississippi St. @ Kentucky (-4)

Both teams have struggled in conference play this year, stumbling to a 1-3 record in the SEC. The Bulldogs have played tight with some quality teams – losing to LSU by 4 and hanging around with Florida last week – but have lost 4 of their last 5 games. On the other hand, the Wildcats have had solid games each of the last three weeks. I like the way Kentucky uses Randall Cobb in a variety of formations and I think he will be the key to a Cats’ win this week.

Pick: Kentucky

South Carolina @ Tennessee (-6)

Neyland Stadium will certainly be rocking this Saturday as the #22 Gamecocks come into for what should be a hard-hitting SEC showdown. Tennessee has struggled under first year Head Coach Lane Kiffin. The one bright spot for the Volunteers has been the work of Kiffin’s father, Monte, and the defense, which held #2 Alabama to only 12 points in Tuscaloosa. Being in South Carolina, I have had the opportunity to see the Gamecock play a number of times and I have been very impressed with the Garcia-Jeffery connection in the passing game. For Tennessee to have a chance in this game, the Volunteers will have to know where Jeffery is on the field at all times. I think this one will go down to the wire, but I like South Carolina to at least cover the spread.

Pick: South Carolina

USC (-3) @ Oregon

This is a huge game in the Pac 10 because the winner will have the inside track to the Rose Bowl. Oregon currently sits a game ahead of the Trojans and a win Saturday would almost guarantee them the conference title. Oregon has completely turned its season around following that embarrassing performance in Boise during the season’s first week. The USC defense has given up 63 points in the past two games, compared to 30 in the first five games combined, with be facing a rushing attack from Oregon that is ranked 14^th in the country. USC Freshman QB Matt Barkley has seen hostile crowds this year in Columbus and South Bend, but the fans at Autzen Stadium can see that their Ducks are in reach of their first Rose Bowl in 15 years. Barkley’s ability to handle his offense in these conditions will play a huge role in the outcome of this game. Even with the huge amount of talent on the Trojan’s side of the ball, I’m picking the Ducks.

Pick: Oregon

Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed the first collections of Brown’s picks. Enjoy the weekend of football and I will see you next week.

GO TIGERS!