Tag Archives: Iowa Hawkeyes

FedEx Orange Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes VS Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Pick

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FedEx Orange Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes VS Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Pick: The Hawkeyes had one hell of a run, and were quite possibly one starting quarterback injury away from a perfect season, which is something the Oklahoma Sooners might also say, but the Hawkeyes made it to 9 wins before running into that unfortunate event. For a team that wasn’t even thought of in the Pre-Season Top 25, the Hawkeyes beat up on a few of the best teams in the Big 10, winning by double digits in both Penn State and Wisconsin. They lost just two games, but it ended up being 2 of their last 3. They lost by 7 at home against Northwestern, a game in which Stanzi (their QB) got hurt. They lost their next game by 3, in overtime, @ Ohio State. And defensively, the Hawkeyes are easily one of the Top 10 units in the nation. They fly to the ball and keep everything in front of them. Very underrated.

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But I don’t think you can completely stop the Yellow Jackets, as Georgia Tech has put up plenty of points against good defenses, and put up plenty of rushing yards against solid defensive fronts. If I believed the Hawkeyes could score with the Yellow Jackets, I think they’d be an easy pick here, but with Richard Stanzi playing a football game for the first time in two months, I just can’t see him being accurate enough to march the Jackets down the field.

He wasn’t a super-accurate passer to start with, as his 56% completion percentage and his 15-14 touchdown to interception ratio insists, but after two months off, most of that time getting healthy, it’s tough for me to see him torturing the Yellow Jackets’ secondary enough to keep this game close. Tech doesn’t play great defense, so anything is possible, but the Yellow Jackets are my pick to win and cover.

Iowa Hawkeyes VS Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-5)

NCAA Football Free Picks Review: Week 8 2009

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Well, 7-6 this week for my college football picks, not great but at least I finished up. I had a couple really tough games that I really feel should have covered, Cal against WSU, Army turning into a fumbling problem against Rutgers and falling just short of a cover, and Duke straight dukeing me with their 4 point win as a 4.5 point favorite. Ugh. But like I said, I had more wins than losses despite some tough games – can’t hate that too much. Here’s my review.

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Oklahoma Sooners (-7.5) @ Kansas Jayhawks: (WINNER) “This is one of those fantastic situations that shows you how much Top 25 rankings really mean. The Sooners are missing at least 2 First Round NFL Draft picks, one of which won the Heisman Trophy last season, Sam Bradford, and was pretty universally listed as the Top NFL Prospect in all the land heading into the season. They are heading into 6-1, 21st ranked Kansas to play the Jayhawks, and who’s favored? The Sooners, by a touchdown, and get ready for this, they are a good bet. Rankings are a joke, it’s too bad they mean anything at all. I’ll take the unranked road favorites here. Believe it.” And the Sooners killed Kansas, weird. Rankings… JOKE!

Washington State Cougars @ California Golden Bears (-35): (LOSS) This one should have been a cover, easily, but the Bears fell asleep, and lightening struck, all in the same 5 minute portion of this game. After WSU threw a 68 yard touchdown pass, Cal did absolutely nothing as promptly as possible on the next series, giving WSU just enough time to toss another TD before the half. In the 2nd half, the Bears had no reason to hurry, they scored just enough to not get a cover, I hate both these teams. There it is.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Army Black Knights (+10): (LOSS) A great thing about Army is that they rarely turn the ball over. They don’t make dumb throws, they run the ball hard and gain yardage the tough way. And they did that on Friday Night, they just couldn’t hold onto the ball. A couple tough fumbles stopped drives deep in Rutgers territory, and Army doesn’t have a chance if that happens. Playing from behind – not their strength. Still it was just 20-10 after three quarters, and Army definitely had their chances to cover. Rutgers did enough, and I got the loss.

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Oregon Ducks (-8.5) @ Washington Huskies: (WINNER) This one was just too easy. In fact, take this advice, if the Huskies are facing a prolific rushing attack, they are a great fade! Oregon mauled the Dogs, and I was pretty impressed with everything the Ducks did offensively in the second half. In the first half this one was close, but they took to running the ball and finding wide open places in play action, never looking back after an early 3rd quarter score.

Iowa Hawkeyes (+2) @ Michigan State Spartans: (WINNER)  “The Hawkeyes have gotten by in ugly fashion, sure, and they are probably due for a loss, but their fights have shown me how resilient they are, and that alone is worth a small bet to me, especially against a Spartan team that is also due to have a tough go of it after three straight wins. Against my normal system play (unrated favorite over ranked dog is almost always a bet on the favorite) but I like Iowa’s chances on the road.” Obviously the Hawkeyes probably have no place in the Top 5 in the Nation, but they do find a way to win, and while it is almost always ugly, there’s something to be said about getting a win despite all odds against you. This was what I expected it to be, to the last minute, the one where Iowa got the W.

Penn State Nittany Lions (-4) @ Michigan Wolverines: (WINNER)  “In two games against decent teams this season (Iowa and Michigan State) the Wolverines were out-gained in total yardage. They lost both of those games. Penn State has out-gained every single opponent they’ve played so far this season. I’m just saying.” It’s things like this, that when I find them, it makes me wish I could find that great statistic headed into every match-up. Some teams need that ball control to win games, the Wolverines need to keep their defense off the field. If you out-gain them, you have a great chance of winning. Easy victory here.

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Boston College Golden Eagles (+8) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish Free Pick: (WINNER) The Eagles struggle when teams have the ability to run the ball with speed and power. That’s not the Irish. Sure, they have some talent, and some big boys up front, but when it comes right down to it, they are a foo-foo offense that likes to throw the ball when going gets tough, or right off the bat for that matter. That should allow the discipline Golden Eagles to stay in this game, and cover that 8 point spread against a Irish team with a defense that just can’t get stops. ND might win, with the luck of the Irish and all, but I like the Eagles to cover.

Florida State Seminoles (+3) @ North Carolina Tar Heels: (WINNER) Florida State made it tough, getting stymied early in this one, struggling offensively, and not stopping the Heels when they needed to. But all evened out in the second half, and that electric Seminole offense that I expected to play well got it together in just enough time to win outright in Carolina, giving me a much needed Thursday Night victory.

South Florida Bulls (+7) @ Pittsburgh Panthers: (LOSS) “The Panthers don’t blow good teams out, they aren’t that kid of squad.” One way or another, I was certainly wrong here, maybe every way possible, hell, I don’t know. Pittsburgh is either a lot better than I thought, the Bulls are not as good as I thought, the cards didn’t fall the way I expected, or all three of those things were infinitely true in this one. Either way, I lose, the Panthers jumped all over the Bulls early, and my quote haunts me…

Arkansas Razorbacks (+6.5) @ Mississippi Rebels: (LOSS) Arkansas had their chances to keep this game close, and even more chances to get back in it, but they never could make that stop, and Jevan Snead was on his game on Saturday. The Razorbacks couldn’t move the ball at all in the 4th quarter, and found it increasingly difficult to get off the field on defense. This is the Ole Miss team people expected to see through the first 7 weeks… Nice of them to show up here.

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UConn Huskies (+7.5) @ West Virginia Mountaineers: (WINNER) “The Connecticut Huskies are as good as any team West Virginia has played thus far, and the Mountaineers haven’t impressed me with their ability to step on the gas.” This was basically it. UConn is a pretty darn good team, and they played hard from start to finish. A lot of things West Virginia did went well, but they just don’t know how to step on it against a good team. Both teams played well, the Huskies came up a little bit short, but covered easily.

Maryland Terrapins @ Duke Blue Devils (-4.5): (LOSS) How about Duke covering easily in the 3rd quarter up 17-6, Maryland doing nothing offensively all day long – perfect. But wait, this is Duke, and I’m Lucky Lester, and Duke and Lucky Lester don’t go hand in hand. So then Dukes gives up a 67 yard touchdown pass on 3rd and 19. Seriously, they don’t write it better than this. So Duke’s up only, what, 4, yes a point not enough. But wait, Duke is driving in the 4th, in sure to score and cover zone at the 9, and what now? Oh, perfect, a Duke turnover, a 4 point win, no cover for me. Perfect freaking day, Duke wins, I bet on Duke, I lose. Ugh. By a point.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane (-7.5) @ UTEP Miners: (LOSS) Tulsa played one quarter in this game, the 3rd, and hell, maybe their single quarter of play leaked into the 4th, at which point they were up 11 and looking like they finally figured it out, and on the path to a big win and easy cover. But they forgot they had one more quarter. In that quarter, they allowed 15 points, they scored none, they not only failed to cover, but lost the game altogether. Serves them right!

Iowa Hawkeyes vs Michigan State Spartans Free Pick

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Iowa Hawkeyes (+2) @ Michigan State Spartans: I can’t just pick against the Hawkeyes because they are ranked 6th in the Nation and an underdog against 4-3 Michigan State. I know the Spartans have played better of late, but wins over Michigan (in overtime), Illinois, and Northwestern don’t really blow me away. The Hawkeyes have gotten by in ugly fashion, sure, and they are probably due for a loss, but their fights have shown me how resilient they are, and that alone is worth a small bet to me, especially against a Spartan team that is also due to have a tough go of it after three straight wins. Against my normal system play (unrated favorite over ranked dog is almost always a bet on the favorite) but I like Iowa’s chances on the road.

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Wisconsin Badgers Football Pick

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Iowa Hawkeyes @ Wisconsin Badgers (-2.5): Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of either team, but Iowa is way ahead of where they should be, and stuff like that has a way of working it’s way out sooner rather than later. They’re pretty lucky to be without a loss right now, a one point win against Northern Iowa to start the season, a 3 point win over Arkansas State two weeks ago, and a 2 point win over Michigan last week. You only get so many chances, and if the Hawkeyes were kittens, those lives would be getting down to go time, or shall we say no time. Football karma is real, and teh Badgers unranked and favored by nearly a field goal at home against the 12th ranked team in the country? There’s something to like there.

NCAA Free Picks: Week 5

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I’m 9 games over .500 on the season after tallying my third winning week in four chances. I’m staying away from the Trojans Thursday Night game against the Beavers because weird things happen in the middle of the week, but I am starting a day early with a road dog heading into Louisville. Check it out below as I’ve got 9 for Week 5…

Friday’s Game

Connecticut Huskies (+3) @ Louisville Cardinals (8:00pm EST): I know games during the week can be weird, and that’s why I like to stay away from them, but I see a lot of value in the Huskies here. Besides the fact that anything can happen in the Big East, the Cardinals just aren’t the team everyone thinks they are. They struggle against everyone and rarely does a drive look clean from start to finish. Connecticut doesn’t do things pretty either, but they are a lot tougher than Louisville, and their confidence is there. I like the Huskies to pull the minor upset, so 3 points is nice.

Saturday’s Games

Pittsburgh Panthers (-16.5) @ Syracuse Orange (12:00pm EST): I don’t like to bet on the Panthers as favorites, it’s really not my style – but against a team like Syracuse, I’ll take my chances. The Orange are brutal, and I’ve said it before, there’s no easier road game than at Syracuse. Pittsburgh should be able to take their methodical attack and accidentally turn it into a yard gathering machine. I like the Panthers to win this game in the 34-10 range.

Navy Midshipmen (+16) @ Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3:35pm EST): This is a bit of a trap game for the Demon Deacons. They just walked into Florida State and beat the Seminoles as an underdog, and next week they are going up against a Clemson Tiger team that carried a lot of hype into the season. Navy doesn’t seem like much of a challenge, but the Midshipmen can really run the ball, and that physicality can run clock as well as even out the talent level a little bit. I like Navy as a 16 point underdog in a game that’s big for them and a little for Wake Forrest.

Northwestern Wildcats @ Iowa Hawkeyes (-8) (12:00pm EST): The Hawkeyes lost a heart breaker to the Panthers last weekend, but they are the much better team in this game. Northwestern is 4-0, but don’t buy into the record. Games against Syracuse, Duke, Southern Illinois, and Ohio are good ways to build your record to 4-0, but they are bad ways to get your team ready to play conference foes. Iowa won’t take it easy on Northwestern, and their choice to play tough non-conference games like that against Pitt will benefit them in this one.

North Carolina Tar Heels @ Miami Hurricanes (-7) (12:00pm EST): Correct me if I’m wrong, but Miami looked like they got a little of their swagger back last week and now at home against a Carolina team that could be without their leader and best offensive player, T.J. Yates, they can pressure the Heels into lots of mistakes. Even if T.J. plays, he’s not going to be 100%, and if Miami has one thing, they have defensive athletes that can make life tough on a gimpy signal caller. This could be pre-mature, but I’ll take the risk – too many question marks in Carolina’s backfield to ignore the 7 point spread here. Gotta take the Canes.

Buffalo Bulls (+6.5) @ Central Michigan (4:00pm EST): I think the Bulls are the better team, flat out. They smoked UTEP, played well against Pittsburgh, beat a solid Temple team, and played well against a great Missouri squad. I really think they have a chance to take the Mac. Central Michigan is no pushover, and they’ve played well in some games, I just think Buffalo is the better team and so I’ll take them as a near touchdown dog.

Mississippi State Bulldogs @ LSU Tigers (-24.5) (7:30pm EST): I know I’m not usually a numbers guy, and these numbers aren’t the lone reason I’m taking the Tigers here but I figure I might as well share them with you. Mississippi State is 2-4 ATS in their last 6 road games. Mississippi State is 1-5 SU in their last 6 road games. Mississippi State is 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games when playing LSU. Here are the scores from this match-up lately, LSU first: 45-0, 48-17, 37-7, 51-0, 41-6, 31-13, 42-0. Hmm…. I know LSU’s offense isn’t a dynamic scoring machine, but I think they found a thrower in the young kid that finished the Auburn game last week. I also think they seemingly know how to up their game against the Bulldogs. I’ll take em.

Purdue Boilermakers (+2) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish: I really can’t believe this. This is a “free money” pick for me. It’s so “free money” that I’m considering not risking a ton on it because it just seems way too good to be true. That Irish team that couldn’t do anything until late when the game was over last week – that’s the real Irish team. Notre Dame didn’t beat Michigan, I’m telling you, they took the win that Michigan gave them. Purdue should handle the Irish even in Indiana.

Virginia Tech Hokies (+6.5) @ Nebraska Corhuskers: Hmmm… I might not be the brightest brick in the pool, but I certainly can see some dog value when it eats the food I buy it and craps in my yard. The Cornhuskers really challenged themselves to start the season 3-0. First it was Western Michigan, and then San Jose State, and then New Mexico State. Yikes. The Hokies are getting better every week. They lost to a very tough East Carolina team, then ground out a late win against a tough G-Tech team, and a good Tar Heel team as well. They are ready to dominate the Cornhuskers – you can bet on that. The 6.5 points are just icing on the cake in this one.

NCAA Free Picks REVIEW: Week 4

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There certainly were some tough games this weekend, a few frustrations that got me down on Saturday – but looking at the entire card, and tallying up the wins and losses, I still came out on top. 8-6, bringing me 9 games over .500 on the season. Win the tough weeks and you’ll be just fine – that’s what my favorite coach always said. This is how the damage went down.

Mississippi State Bulldogs (+8.5) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (LOSS) – The Yellow Jackets ran all over the Bulldogs and absolutely obliterated them in Georgia. I had a loss early on, and it was a big one – Jonathan Dwyer (GT’s sophomore running back) had 141 yards on just 9 carries. There were 4 Tech runners with at least 56 rushing yards, and 7 had over 25 yards on the ground. It was a team effort for sure, but a rushing team effort. Note to self, don’t pick against the Jackets if their opponent can’t stop the run.

Alabama Crimson Tide (-9) @ Arkansas Razorbacks (WINNER): If you risked it all, you got it all back and then some. I thought this line was fishy, and in the end I was right, the Tide were at least 3 times the team Arkansas was this Saturday – at least that’s what the 49-14 score said.

Virginia Tech Hokies (+3) @ North Carolina Tar Heels (WINNER):  The Hokies played tough down the stretch, but that’s what they do. VaTech is and always will be a tough team. North Carolina came to play, surely, and they might have deserved a win if not for a little bit of a 4th quarter melt down, but Tech pulled the minor upset to move to 3-1 and 2-0 in the ACC.

Miami Hurricanes (-3) @ Texas A&M (WINNER): Miami was up 24-10 going into half time, and they came out swinging. The Hurricanes put up 17 points in the 3rd quarter and ended the game with an 18 point road victory. Big game for the U – that’s for sure. And I got yet another win. As it turned out, I’d need all these wins to make up for a few slaps in the face.

Idaho Vandals @ Utah State Aggies (-4.5) (WINNER): With the score tied going into half time, and the Aggies up just 4 barreling down on the 4th quarter, I was a little worried – surely. But then, like a circus clown out of a cannon, the Aggies found their offensive game and managed 21 points in the 4th quarter – 21 unanswered mind you. And Utah State gave me another nice win.

Temple Owls (+29) @ Penn State Nittany Lions (LOSS): I need to stop underestimating the Nittany Lions – now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t get any help in this game as the Owls lost their senior team leader in QB Adam DiMichele, to a first quarter shoulder injury – but it seems that unless Adam was one hell of a super hero tackling extraordinaire, I was probably SOL in this game anyway. The Lions put up 45 big ones in this contest, allowing just 3 to the Owls. I would still like to think DiMichelle would have managed a couple touchdowns – but that might be lofty hopes. I’ll never know, all I know is that I lost this one.

East Carolina Pirates (-7.5) @ North Carolina State Wolfpack (LOSS): I was kind of sad when East Carolina lost this game – when the damn thing headed into overtime I new my money would never be seen again, as it’s downright impossible to win by 8 when overtime starts. But I still wanted East Carolina to keep their BCS Crusher bid for a few more weeks – now all they can do is over achieve and get some crappy bowl game against an overrated Pac 10 team and crush them just to prove a point. Lets write it down right now, I have the Pirates over Arizona State on a random December 29th bowl game.

Iowa Hawkeyes (-1) @ Pittsburgh Panthers (LOSS): This was as close as the spread indicated, but the home team Panthers pulled it out against the Hawks with a 4th quarter touchdown. The Hawkeyes lost by a point, and I lost by a couple – my hopes for a last minute field goal were crushed when Iowa’s quarterback lost a fumble with time winding down. Tough loss here, but a loss nonetheless.

Central Michigan Chippewas @ Purdue Boilermakers (-10) (LOSS): I was had by Dan LeFevour – damn me! I knew all about the kid, but I didn’t think the Chipps could hang with Purdue. But of course they did, the big quarterback tossed the ball around the Boilermakers’ secondary for nearly 300 yards and gave his guys a chance. But, Kory Sheets ran in a 46 yard touchdown with a minute left and Purdue won – but not by enough, just a touchdown. I lost again!

Central Florida Knights (+10.5) @ Boston College Eagles (LOSS): I was stoked headed into halftime up 7-3 in this game thinking, “This ain’t going to be a problem at all!” hahaha – famous last thoughts. Before I could inhale my pulled pork sandwich the Eagles were up 17-7. By the time I finished watching the game, my covering dreams had been crushed like an obese wingless fly, and the Eagles rolled off 31 unanswered points in the 2nd half. Oh boy.

Akron Zips (-10) @ Army Black Knights (WINNER): Up 9-3 to start the 2nd half, I liked my chances. Up 12-3 to start the 4th quarter I was looking for some help. The last think I wanted was Akron to play it real safe and just realize that all they needed to do was run clock, because no way Army was scoring a couple times in this one. Luckily, I got 10 in the 4th and the Zips smashed the Black Knights 22-3, covering easily.

Buffalo Bulls (+34.5) @ Missouri Tigers (WINNER): “This one will be much closer. Buffalo is sneaky, and a pretty solid offense should get them points. If they can score 3 touchdowns, which I think should happen, then Missouri will have to put up more than 54 points to cover. I don’t see that happening.” I must say, I called this game to a T – hopefully you really got excited about my analysis and bet the house here, because the Bulls scored 3 touchdowns, and the Tigers didn’t have enough time to put up 54 to cover. A 42-21 Missouri victory made me feel grand.

Arizona Wildcats (-2.5) @ UCLA Bruins (WINNER): “That whole first game upset that put UCLA back on the map seems to be a long time back – and that map, well, they are still on it, but all four edges are burning back to the ashtray it came from.” BACK TO THE ASHTRAY!!! Haha, Bruins fans, see, Rick New-weasel doesn’t have all the answers. UCLA isn’t a team that’s going to beat your Tennessee’s on a normal basis – don’t be confused. But then again, Tennessee isn’t looking all that good right now are they? They’d still beat the Bruins 8 out of 10 times. Arizona will be a tough Pac-10 squad, and considering their bottom of the bin standing over the past few seasons, they might just have nice value for most of the season.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Michigan State Spartans (-8.5): “Don’t be confused, Michigan beat Michigan last week, and the Irish just got credit for the win because they were the team lucky enough to be playing them in Week 3. Javon Ringer is 10 points better than the Irish. Believe that.” You better believe that – if you didn’t prior to Saturday’s action, then you certainly do now. RInger put up another 200+ yard performance, and the Spartans beat the Irish 23-7 in a game that wasn’t that close. I watched most of this battle, and Notre Dame’s offense was pathetic. The much better team won easily.

NCAA Free Picks: Week 4

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Well Alright! I killed my picks last week, breaking through the proverbial wall to collect 12 wins against just 4 losses. That put me 7 games up and over .500 on the season after a tough Week 3 grabbed me by the crab apples. I can’t explain why anyone would put crab apples in their cheeks, except for the single fact that they are indeed better than other things you could put there. However, I can pick 9 college games – here’s what I see coming up this beautiful weekend.

Temple Owls (+29) @ Penn State Nittany Lions: Don’t tell the Nittany Lions, but Temple is a pretty solid football team. No doubt, the Lions are solid, per usual, but Temple isn’t the pushover those ugly uniforms have been in the past. I always worry about very good teams having to play former terrible teams, like Temple, because of the memories of their worthlessness that still resides. It will take a quarter or two, but eventually Penn State will pull away. That being said, it’s hard to pull away by more than 4 touchdowns. I’ll take the Owls.

East Carolina Pirates (-7.5) @ North Carolina State Wolfpack: East Carolina is dealing with a couple injury problems, yes, but they are still much better than a very down Wolfpack group. The Pirates lost one of the fastest players in all of football to the NFL, but their team speed is still much greater than this poor ACC team. Nothing’s worse these days than being a bad team in a bad conference. Look for East Carolina to continue their winning ways with a 21 point win at NC State.

Iowa Hawkeyes (-1) @ Pittsburgh Panthers: This isn’t free money, the Hawkeyes will have to do some work on defense, but I’m pretty sure this one won’t be coming down to the wire. Pittsburgh is just too inconsistent to put the Hawkeyes in a bind. Iowa might not have the hype this season that they’ve had in years’ past, but they always have a solid program. If Pittsburgh has shown me one thing it’s that they are very overrated. They may have a guy I think is the best running back in college football, but they don’t use him very well, and their loss of Jeff Otah is hurting them right now. Take the Hawkeyes to down the Panthers.

Central Michigan Chippewas @ Purdue Boilermakers (-10): Free Money! I really love this game. Purdue is going to put up about 35 against Central Michigan, and there’s nothing the Chips will be able to do about it. Purdue -10 at home against this team looks so lopsided that it worried me at first. Then I decided that the books just miss one from time to time. Hopefully this one doesn’t get me where it counts.

Central Florida Knights (+10.5) @ Boston College Eagles: I actually really believe that the Central Florida Knights are the better team here. Does that make me crazy or delusional? I don’t know, possibly, but let me tell you this, taking a team that I think is better as a 10.5 point dog feels so right, and gets me so excited, that I think I’m going to go make me a big brilliant lunch and put butter on everything! The Knights pull the upset against yet another hapless ACC unit.

Akron Zips (-10) @ Army Black Knights: I never thought I’d ever be taking the Zips as a favorite, let alone a two score fave – but here I am and I like my chances. Army doesn’t have anything going for them except they are tough. They don’t have Air Force’s talent nor do they have Navy’s rushing attack. All they have is a tough game against the freaking Zips on their hands. Take Akron on the road.

Buffalo Bulls (+34.5) @ Missouri Tigers: Sure, the Tigers have won their last two games by a total score of 121-20, but they didn’t face the Bulls! Ha. This one will be much closer. Buffalo is sneaky, and a pretty solid offense should get them points. If they can score 3 touchdowns, which I think should happen, then Missouri will have to put up more than 54 points to cover. I don’t see that happening. It’s tough to bet against the high scoring Tigers, but given the Bulls are a solid group, it makes it easy to do with a coke and a smile.

Arizona Wildcats (-2.5) @ UCLA Bruins: That whole first game upset that put UCLA back on the map seems to be a long time back – and that map, well, they are still on it, but all four edges are burning back to the ashtray it came from. I’m betting on a solid Wildcats attack to come into UCLA and brow beat them into submission. Okay, they’ll at least run all over the Bruins. Arizona played poorly in a trap game last week, as they were certainly looking ahead to their first Pac-10 showdown. Well, now that they saw UCLA get beat 59-0 they probably aren’t as scared. I’m marking that down as a good thing. We’ll see. I thought Arizona was the much better team to start the season, and one UCLA 59-0 showing against BYU didn’t stop me from thinking that.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Michigan State Spartans (-8.5): Don’t be confused, Michigan beat Michigan last week, and the Irish just got credit for the win because they were the team lucky enough to be playing them in Week 3. Now comes Michigan State, and they’ll be ready for one of the Nations most popular and disturbingly overrated college programs. The Spartans passing attack is brutal right now, but they won’t need to throw the ball all that much. Javon Ringer is 10 points better than the Irish. Believe that.

Week 8 College Football Picks Review: 2007

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There we go! 4-1… It’s all coming back around. I had a big week, and I hope you did, too. This is how I took home four out of five.
Free Picks: Week 8

Oregon Ducks (-11) @ Washington Huskies: (winner)
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: Belmont)

“The Huskies are a great first half team, but the Ducks are a great every down team. The Dogs should be close at half time, but with a defense that breaks down the stretch, I expect a Ducks team that can put up points in a hurry, to win without much trouble. Dennis Dixon is magic.” What can I say? I called this game to a T. The dogs played well for just around 3 quarters, but their defense spent too much time on the field, and in the end, their offense couldn’t go blow for blow with Oregon. The Ducks won by 21.

Iowa Hawkeyes @ Purdue Boilermakers (-7): (winner)
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: Belmont)

“I like Purdue to be too offensive for the Hawkeyes. I know that’s what I expected last week when I had Purdue taking down Ohio State, but this week it will come true.” The Boilermakers scored a touchdown or more in every single quarter, and easily beat the Hawkeyes 31-6 – as their defense stepped up and allowed only two field-goals. And how about that offense? Just like I predicted, Purdue ran the Hawkeyes off the field. 315 yards passing for Curtis Painter, and three touchdowns to boot. Easy win for me.

Michigan Wolverines @ Illinois Fighting Illini (+3): (loss)
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: Belmont)

This game was a bit of a joke. The game was tied at 17, and Michigan was driving, well, kind of. What actually happened was Michigan cashing in on personal fouls, late hits, and face mask penalties all the way down the field. But that still wasn’t enough, and they had to punt anyway. However, Illinois bailed the Wolverines out when they muffed a punt and soon after that the Wolverines scored an easy touchdown on a reverse pass.

Arkansas Razorbacks (-4.5) @ Mississippi: (winner)
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: SBGGlobal)

“I know they’re favored on the road, which is rarely a good thing, but the Razorbacks have too much talent in their rushing attack for the boys from Mississippi to handle. McFadden is a beast, probably the scariest weapon in all of college football. I like his chances to fight back and have a big game after a sub-par performance last week.” McFadden and Jones rushed for 100+ yards each, and the Razorbacks didn’t allow a point until the 4th quarter. This game was too easy. The talent on Arkansas showed up when it was most important, converting on 66% of their 3rd downs, and reeling off big plays. Another easy win.

Kansas State Wildcats (+3) @ Oklahoma State Cowboys: (winner)
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: Belmont)

I was wrong about this game – but I still covered. I thouh K-State would run through the Cowboys and OK State would be lulling. Well, they pulled off 17 4th quarter points and ended up taking the crown by a deuce. It was one hell of a game, and like I said, the Cowboys played much better than I imagined. But hey, a cover’s a cover – and a win is a win is a win.

4-1… That’s been along time coming.

Free College Football Picks Week 8 – 2007

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Week 8 should prove to be much more profitable than my week 7 venture. With a couple easy games, I think 4-1 is all but guaranteed this week. Check out my free picks, and enjoy the writeups!

LUCKY LESTER’S NCAA Football Pick’em

Free Picks: Week 8

Oregon Ducks (-11) @ Washington Huskies:
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: Belmont)

The Huskies are a great first half team, but the Ducks are a great every down team. The Dogs should be close at half time, but with a defense that breaks down the stretch, I expect a Ducks team that can put up points in a hurry, to win without much trouble. Dennis Dixon is magic.

Iowa Hawkeyes @ Purdue Boilermakers (-7):
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: Belmont)

I like Purdue to be too offensive for the Hawkeyes. I know that’s what I expected last week when I had Purdue taking down Ohio State, but this week it will come true. Now that the Boilermakers have that OSU game out of the way, all they can think about is now, and this is a must win for the Boilermakers. Iowa is a tough team, but in the end, I like the Boilermaker passing attack to win by a couple touchdowns.

Michigan Wolverines @ Illinois Fighting Illini (+3):
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: Belmont)

I don’t think much of the Wolverines, especially without Mike Hart (a very distinct possibility in this one) and I don’t know how the Wolverines are favored on the road against a very good Illini team. It’s all pretty confusing to me. Michigan has won 5 straight, but hasn’t looked amazing in many games this year. I like Illinois to expose the Wolverine’s defense and win out right in this one. I don’t know why one 6-10 loss to Iowa would drop the Illini so far after wins over Penn State and Wisconsin, so I’m taking them here.

Arkansas Razorbacks (-4.5) @ Mississippi Rebels:
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: SBGGlobal)

Both teams are winless in conference, but I like the Razorbacks to get off the snide in this one. I know they’re favored on the road, which is rarely a good thing, but the Razorbacks have too much talent in their rushing attack for the boys from Mississippi to handle. McFadden is a beast, probably the scariest weapon in all of college football. I like his chances to fight back and have a big game after a sub-par performance last week.

Kansas State Wildcats (+3) @ Oklahoma State Cowboys:
(Line: Thursday, 5:00am EST: Belmont)

After basically crushing the Nebraska athletics program with a 45-14 road win last week in Lincoln, I might even have a lull this week. I can’t imagine how the Cowboys are going to react. Think about it. They just came off a game where the Cornhuskers reacted by firing their AD, questioning their coaching staff, looking for ways to rebuild, all the while preparing for next weeks game. And they were the cause of this. At home this week, they’ll play a much tougher foe in K-State, a team that has plenty of speed and know-how, and will strike quick if OK-State doesn’t have their A game. I can’t imagine they will, so I’m taking the Wildcats.

Week 1 College Football Picks Review: 2007

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What can I say? Right off the bat I busted out the big stick and broke down the College Football Week 1 like a pro. Its nice to start off big, and I did exactly that, losing only 1 game in Week 1. If you’re interested in how the Free Picks went down – follow my wrecking ball through my Top 5 Free Picks.

The Picks

Washington Huskies (-4) @ Syracuse Orangemen: (WIN) 42-12
“I don’t know what else to say besides the Huskies are the better team here. Freshman quarterback, Jake Locker, is an amazing athlete who will breathe life into the program. I expect a win of a couple touchdowns in this one.” Something about the 30-3 score in this one that just proves me right. Washington was dominant after Jake got his beginner’s jitters out. This kid is a beast, and this won’t be the last time he gives opposing defenses hell.

UCLA Bruins (-17) @ Stanford Cardinal: (WIN) 45-17
“Stanford isn’t a tough match-up, and UCLA has a history of starting the season playing well. Even though Jim Harbaugh is doing his best to turn Stanford around, he’ll have to do it with a new quarterback – as Trent Edwards is in the NFL. Look for Stanford to take some bumps early, one of them will be this weekend against UCLA.” Would you consider a 45-17 ass-kicking a bump? I sure would. Stanford played tough early, but when UCLA got going, they weren’t about to be stopped. 31 2nd half points had the Bruins running away with this one.

UAB Blazers (+21.5) @ Michigan State Spartans: (LOSS) 18-55
My man, SonnerBS from www.therxforum.com, had this game all but called to a T. He was right and I was dead wrong, as I didn’t take into account the extreme amount of young players, and coaches, that had to play well to give UAB a chance. Not only that, but the Spartans looked good – and I was all kinds of wrong on this one. But hey, 4-1 ain’t bad.

Iowa Hawkeyes (-12.5) @ Northern Illinois: (WIN)
The Hawkeyes didn’t route NIU by any means, this game was a tough-nosed early season defensive ball game. However, the Hawkeyes scored 16 while holding NIU to just 3 measly points. So, yeah, the Hawkeyes didn’t shellac the Huskies like I thought they would, but they did enough to cover their first game of the year.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+2) @ ND Fighting Irish: (WIN)
“I just love GT’s toughness too much for a soft Fighting Irish club. None of the 3 Irish quarterbacks have played well enough to take the starting job, but that’s all Charlie Weis has, so it’ll have to do. Georgia Tech’s defense might be the toughest and fastest unit Notre Dame sees all year. That’s not who I’d like to start the season with. Look for Tech to out-muscle Notre Dame at every step.” Did I say every step? I meant every single movement. The Irish were outmanned and out coached, and like I said, the quarterback situation in South Bend looked rocky at best. The frosh looked good late, but Tech was on shutdown mode while Tashard Choice ran buck-wild on Notre Dame’s soft defense. The kid was unstoppable.

4-1: now that’s how good season’s start. I’ll be back next week for my free picks – so keep up and make a little dough!