🏈 PJ's Picks-Week 6

[psychojoe]

Most of the cupcake games are gone now. The conferences are down to serious business, and some pretenders are due to be exposed.

Arizona at Oregon

This one is a Thursday night special, so get your plays in early. In its last outing the Ducks simply out lasted Washington State, having trouble stopping their offense, and having difficulty protecting Mariota. They had an off week to fix these problems. Still, they want to rev up Mariota's Heisan campaign, and what better way than to show him off in front of a national TV audience. Arizona come in undefeated as well, and Rich Rodrguez teams still light up the scoreboard. Every time I see his name I am thankful he turned us down. Look for the scoreboard operator to ask for a raise after this one.

PJ's Pick- Oregon 52 Arizona 41

 

[psychojoe]

Stanford at Notre Dame

Stanford got away from Washington with a tough road win, keeping their playoff dreams alive. Notre Dame sets up shop at the golden dome undefeated, but largely untested. The Irish are hoping that they will do better than the last time they played a smash mouth team wearing red. The winner moves on, while the loser will have its post season expectations diminished somewhat. In my opinion Stanford has already played two better teams than Notre Dame, self destructing to lose to USC and then getting a road win at Washington

PJ's Pick - Stanford 27 Notre Same 20.

 

[psychojoe]

Baylor at Texas

The Longhorn fan base has been one of the most meddlesome and delusional in the country for years. Since Charlie Strong's shaking the tree, while getting rid of a lot of bad apples, has not resulted in instant success, they are unhappy. Meanwhile, Baylor brings in another explosive offense and seem better on defense. The Bears will continue their push for Big 12 consistency, while the Longhorns will continue to work towards being competitive with the better teams in this league. It will not happen this week.

PJ's Pick- Baylor 45 Texas 17

 

[psychojoe]

Nebraska at Michigan State

Except for a bad second half on the road at Oregon, Sparty has been an excellent football team this year. Nebraska comes in unbeaten, and the toasty feel of Bo Pellini's chair has eased a bit, as the Huskers have revved up a potent running game, much to the delight of the faithful who still long for the days of Tom Osborne.

The Spartans had a tough time with Oregon's wide open hurry up attack, but D'Antonio has built his team to stop the run. The Spartans have shown some firepower of their own.

PJ's Pick- Michigan State 37 Nebraska 20.

 

[psychojoe]

Oklahoma at TCU

TCU has been known for well coached, very stingy defenses throughout Gary Patterson's tenure, and this year looks to be more of the same. Their 3-0 start sets them up for a s how down Saturday against fourth ranked Oklahoma. The Horned Frogs have also shown some early season offensive prowess, hanging 56 on SMU and drubbing the same Minnesota team that hammered Michigan last weekend.

The Sooners have championship ambitions this year, and many are penciling in the winner of their match up with Baylor into the "final four". They could well have their hands full this Saturday, though I think that they will prevail.

PJ's Pick- Oklahoma 27 TCU 21

 

[psychojoe]

Ohio State at Maryland

I confess that I am still adjusting to Maryland being in the B1g. With the upgrade in competition and the slow progress of the Terrapins, I can't help but wonder if Randy Edsall has had second thoughts about leaving a very secure gig at UConn. The Terps have a little bite in them. They mounted a furious second half comeback against West Virginia that fell just short, and last week defeated Missouri killer Indiana. Meanwhile, Ohio State has revved up the offense since its clunker of a game against Va. Tech. There should be lots of scoring in this one. The superior talent level of the Buckeyes will tell.

PJ's Pick- Ohio State 41 Maryland 30.

 

[psychojoe]

Florida at Tennessee

Ten years ago this one would never have been an eleven o'clock kickoff. The fact that it is relegated to this time slot is a clear statement that these two programs ain't what they used to be. Although they have lost two straight, the young Vols show indications that they are a team on the rise, though all bets are off if Justin Worley gets dinged and misses significant time. The Gators, however, in spite of yet another new offensive coordinator, look like a mess on that side of the ball. This is a critical game for Boomer Muschamp. His seat is already getting pretty warm because of the drubbing the Gators received in Tuscaloosa. My advice to Will is to check into some fire retardant pants.

PJ's Pick - Tennessee 27 Florida 23

 

[psychojoe]

Texas A&M at Mississippi State

Mississippi has been as persistent in their optimism about this season as their in state neighbors to the north Ole Myth. The Bulldogs attracted national attention by upending LSU in their last outing. The Aggies, meanwhile, surprised everyone by almost seamlessly reloading at quarterback as the destroyed South Carolina in their opener. Both are undefeated. It is a very interesting game. The Aggies slowed their tempo a bit against Arkansas, probably to give their defense more time to blow between posessions. The Bulldogs, while they are a spread option team, aren't usually in a big hurry to get to the line of scrimmage. I look for this one to be close all the way, but by game's end the cowbells will be ringing with joy in Stark Vegas.

PJ's Pick- Mississippi State 31 Texas A&M 28.

 

[psychojoe]

Vanderbilt at Georgia

The Commodores feisty defense kept them in the game last week against Kentucky, but their pitiful offense could not cash in on any of the opportunities the defense created. In two of their games the 'Dores have not scored an offensive touchdown. They mustered less then 200 yards of offense against Kentucky. Georgia, meanwhile, finally prevailed against Tennessee because of their power running game. The Dawgs wll not ne as generous as Kentucky was with their turnovers, and they will wear down the Vandy defense with their power running attack. It will not be pretty.

PJ's Pick - Georgia 45 Vanderbilt 7

 

[psychojoe]

South Carolina at Kentucky

The OBC has not been very kind to this year's Gamecock team, with good reason. Other than their win over Georgia you could say they have underachieved all year. Kentucky is fresh from a tougher than expected win over Vandy, though it did end their losing streak in SEC games. SC, if it is to salvage anything from this season, needs to assert itself in the running game and find a little defense, especially pass defense. If the Gamecocks come up with another lackluster effort, Kentucky gets another SEC win. SC should win, but...

PJ's Pick - South Carolina 27 Kentucky 21

 

[psychojoe]

LSU at Auburn

This one will answer some questions. Did the crafty Bill Snyder scheme up a defense that can slow Auburn's hurry up to a crawl? Will Les stick with his freshman QB?

The Aubies are looking to avenge their only regular season loss from a year ago, and because of erratic QB play by LSU this year it is ripe for the taking. I get the feeling that Les will play this one close to the vest, at least as long as his defense is holding up. It will be strength against strength, as Auburn's front seven battles LSU'S OL. Auburn's two big play receivers will test LSU's defense. The hurry up aspect has not especially bothered LSU in recent years. I think that the game comes down to how well Brandon Harris plays, how he copes with the noise. That is a very tough assignment for a true freshman QB in his very first start. He will need to make some plays for LSU to win.This should be a good one.

PJ's Pick - AUBURN 27 LSU 24

 

[psychojoe]

Alabama at Ole Myth

In case you are wondering, no I have not started typing with a lithp. Thanks to Terry's post yesterday I have dubbed the Rebel/Bears/Akbars by a name that fots the delusional attitudes of most of their fan base. I know that they have been looking ahead to this game since at east December of last year, and once again we hear the cry of "Bama can be had". I just don't see it. Our D is getting better every week, and I am sure we have schemed to limit what their most dangerous offensive weapon, Treadwell, will do. Bo Wallace has done nothing to liv up to his self proclaimed title of "best QB in the SEC". The Ole Miss defense is quite a talented unit, though a bit undersized. Their safety tandem is probably as good as any in the country. Because of their quickness they have been able to pressure opposing QBs without a lot of blitzing. They also have an X factor in Nkemdeche, who is a combination of size, strength and quickness not often seen. In our terms, he is somewhat reminiscent of Marcel Dareus.

I don't think Ole Myth scores much. In fact, I expect them to play it very close to the vest, and look to their defense. Our key to winning this one is keeping our poise, and avoiding turnovers, so that the Akbars do not have a short field to work from. I expect us to stay solid, take what the defense gives us, and depend on our own defense. This is probably a low scoring game, though I do not expect another shutout.

PJ's Pick - Alabama 24 Ole Myth 10

 

[Bamabww]

Thanks, good job. I look forward to this thread each week.

 

[psychojoe]

Thanks, good job. I look forward to this thread each week.

Thank you for the kind words. I do it for fun, but with an eye for being close to the actual outcomes. Dang you, Oregon.