An early, abbreviated post this week - I've got to condense things for the sake of time. Sometimes there just aren't 2 hours to bang out a full post. We'll see if I can cram this baby into a half-hour!
I'll do so by making my picks in the form of tweets - which, if you're over 40 or have spent the last 3 years under a heavy dose of Hibernol, are 140 character limit, brief, often pithy statements of information. But before the picks - some Twitter style bullet point observations about the season so far:
- I tabbed S. Car. over Bama b4 season as upset special, then lost nerve when it came time to pick!
- I forgot the old SEC truth of back-to-back (or back-to-back-to-back) tough games - Bama didn't stand a chance (more on that l8r)
- Outcry re: Boise's proj. top of BCS is unneeded; Broncs, plus TCU & Utah, are worthy top-10. Gap b/t WAC, MWC and rest smaller than we think
- My nickname "cavalcade of coronaries" to describe Les Miles seems apt once again; LSU may be worst 6-0 team ever
- Don't sleep on Iowa in nat'l championship race; Hawkeyes will win Big 10 and be in the mix
- Injuries to Barber, Thomas could prove costly for Oregon; they need all 3 for offense to retain its pop
- Utah's crushing of Iowa State shows they're just as good as BCS conf. team, and they'll continue to prove it in Pac 10
- Penn State may miss a bowl game. Many tears will be shed in my household.
1. Arkansas at Auburn
Auburn spooked at Kentucky; come into this one less rested than Razorbacks. Hogs take down Tigers on road.
Arkansas 31, Auburn 27
2. Iowa at Michigan
Wolverines exposed as overrated; Shoelace struggles again against stout Iowa D.
Iowa 24, Michigan 13
3. Ohio State at Wisconsin
Buckeyes clear first big road hurdle, much like their last visit to Camp Randall.
Ohio State 23, Wisconsin 20
4. Texas at Nebraska
Revenge is sweet as Huskers take advantage of young, rebuilding Longhorns. About time I picked a home team!
Nebraska 30, Texas 21
5. South Carolina at Kentucky
Letdown week for Gamecocks; emotional high + tricky-tough road trip + SEC back-to-back rules = upset.
Kentucky 31, South Carolina 24
6. Oregon State at Washington
2nd strong road win in a row for underrated Beavers; to top of Pac 10 they come!
Oregon State 35, Washington 27
7. Oklahoma State at Texas Tech
High water mark for Cowboys, 5-0 is misleading, Okie State worst undefeated team remaining.
Texas Tech 38, Oklahoma State 31
8. Missouri at Texas A&M
Aggies can't catch a break - 2 tight losses 2 straight weeks, and Mizzou is better than many think.
Missouri 23, Texas A&M 21
9. Illinois at Michigan State
Illini much improved, but Sparty's dream season continues at home. Fans have at least 2 more weeks to dream of what may come.
Michigan State 28, Illinois 25
10. South Florida at West Virginia
WVU clearly Big East's best, unless they honk a game the conference is theirs to lose.
West Virginia 34, South Florida 17
11. California at USC
Trojans won't lose 3rd straight, but NCAA penalties + overinflated rep of Kiffin starting to poke holes in USC mystique.
USC 27, California 20
12. Mississippi State at Florida
Dan Mullen comes close to nabbing one against former team as Bulldogs nearly take advantage of deflated Gators.
Florida 30, Mississippi State 27
13. Pittsburgh at Syracuse
A Cuse win gets them to 5-1 and flavor of the week status; won't happen as Pitt stands proud, starts to save season.
Pittsburgh 19, Syracuse 17
14. Kansas State at Kansas
Jayhawks have struggled, but will rise to occasion in playing in-state rival.
Kansas 21, Kansas State 14
15. North Carolina at Virginia
Only ACC game worth making the 15. UNC continues winning in spite of themselves.
North Carolina 20, Virginia 13
Next week: hopefully a longer post, but I can't guarantee better than 9 wins. My least confident week of picks to-date.
P.S. Got it done in 40 minutes. Close, but no cigar (literally - I have none in stock at the house).
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