College Football Picks: Week 9

After going 8-3 last week, I’m ready to keep the good times rolling this week.  But first let me quickly recap some highlights from last week’s thoughts. 

The Good (pick):

Miami over GT – This game had upset written all over it and Miami came through and crushed GT 24-7. 

The Bad (pick):

Northwestern over Penn State – Penn State seems to be way better than a 16-10 win over Indiana would indicate.  I like Penn State this week, see below.

The Ugly (pick):

Wisconsin over Michigan State – Even though this game was won on a fluke play at the end of regulation, I thought that Wisconsin would be running away with the game at that point. 

For the second straight week, we have 6 ACC games involving all 12 schools.  There are also two top 25 matchups to pick and then I’ll round it out with a few other games I think are interesting and an upset pick. 

The ACC Week 9:

Virginia Tech over Duke – Last week I talked about how Bonner was going to make a difference in last week’s game and boy was I pleased.  Virginia Tech’s strong defense shines strong and takes care of business against Duke.  However, I could easily see VT struggling again in the first half and my prediction is that they go into halftime down 14-10.  However, like always, they turn it on in second half, tighten down on defense and figure out how to play offense and win 34-17.

Miami over UVA – After beating GT last week Miami is looking like they are going to be on a roll for quite some time (I could see them easily winning out).  Also UVA looks to be going in the wrong direction after losing to NC State.  The mistakes will pile up in this game for UVA and Miami will win big on Thursday night.

Florida State over NC State – At first glance, this one seemed like a no brainer pick for FSU.  However, after a little research I am beginning to think that NC State puts up a bigger fight than expected.  I still think FSU wins, but it’s closer than expected.

Boston College over Maryland – BC finally puts a full game together and wins their first game in ACC play. 

UNC over Wake Forest – This was a toss-up for me and I’m just going with UNC as the home team.

Clemson over Georgia Tech – Last week I said that I thought this might be the game that Clemson loses.  It had all the markings: playing a top 25 team on the road who can easily keep up with all the scoring.  Then GT decided to be awful.  They lost to UVA then only scored 7 pts against Miami! Clemson takes care of business and wins big in Atlanta.   

Top 25 Week 9:

Oklahoma over Kansas State – Oklahoma is #4 in the nation in passing offense and #27 in rushing defense.  K State is 19^th in rushing offense and 87^th in passing defense.  What this means is that Oklahoma’s strength is passing the ball and will face little resistance against a bad Kansas State pass defense.  And, on the other hand, K State’s strength is rushing the ball and that is where Oklahoma excels on defense.  The Wildcats lose at home to an angry Sooners bunch.  (I really wanted to go Kansas State here… but just don’t see it happening).

Michigan State over Nebraska – MSU got lucky last week and will lose some momentum in Lincoln.  However, Nebraska isn’t as good as their #14 ranking and will lose a close one at home.

Other Week 9 Games:

Oklahoma State over Baylor – If OKState loses, then this weekend will be miserable for me… I’ll be at their homecoming with my fiancée (a die-hard Cowboys fan!). 

Penn State over Illinois – To make up for last week, I’m going to jump bandwagons and hop on with Penn State.  With the #4 defense in the country, you have a chance at beating almost anyone.  And with Illinois coming off of a bad loss to Purdue, Penn State wins this one at home.

Rutgers over West Virginia – My upset pick of the week! Rutgers at home with the #9 defense in the country rallies behind Eric LeGrand for the win.