NCAA Free Football Picks Review: Week 7

Now, I was 6-6, that ain’t half bad, and it surely isn’t great. I feel like I got the raw end of a couple bad beats, but hey, that’s what I deserve because of some big time misses. It goes how it goes, and that’s both ways. Some right, some close, some wrong – but 6-6 is what it is. Hope some of those picks helped you out – it was a solid start to the week for sure. Here’s Week 7 reviewed:

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Cincinnati Bearcats (-2.5) @ South Florida Bulls: (WINNER) “What has me taking the road favorite in this one is South Florida’s Thursday Night history. It’s tough to come in and pay mid-week, a lot of teams struggle with it, and the Bulls just happen to be one of those teams. They’ve been embarrassed two straight seasons by big Thursday Night upsets, and I think Cincinnati just happens to be the better team this time around.” Hey, the Bearcats see their starter go down early, but the back-up was just what they needed to stay up on South Florida. That running threat from the QB slot was something the Bulls hadn’t prepared for, and just like the last few seasons, the Bulls find defeat on Thursday Night.

Boise State Broncos @ Tulsa Golden Hurricane (+9): (WINNER) A tough game, definitely, but I rode the Hurricane to yet another mid-week victory, giving myself a pretty good run in Wednesday-Thursday games this season. I think I have these things down, expect crazy to happen and never give up on a cover, and you have the opponent right where you want them regardless of score. Yeah, I’m winning the crap shoot! Ha.

Oklahoma Sooners (+3.5) @ Texas Longhorns: (WINNER) “Now I seriously doubt the 3.5 will matter much when all is said and done, but the fact that I can win even if the Sooners lose by a field goal makes me feel just that much better about my selection.” Hey, this is why half points matter. If starting quarterback’s go down, and the defense dominates the game, and you still end up winning, that’s usually because of half points. This was a close game, no doubt, two very even teams – and I think Bradford’s shoulder injury put the Sooners in a tough spot. But they battled, and while they still lost, the proved they were a good team, good enough to be considered great value as a +3.5 any day of the week.

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Ohio State Buckeyes @ Purdue Boilermakers (+14): (WINNER) “The Boilermakers might not be the sexy pick, but I’m a firm believer in football karma evening out, and the Boilermakers have played a lot better than their 1-5 record shows.” Haha – I went looking for a minow and found a marlin… The Boilermakers took their 1-5 record into the Ohio State game and showed why football karma is a scary beast. Things worked out this time around, as the Boilermakers not only covered, they pulled out a huge upset over the Buckeyes. Up 23-7, the Boilermakers fended off a late rally, ending up with a 26-18 win over the Buckeyes. Wins like this make the tough weeks feel good.

Iowa Hawkeyes @ Wisconsin Badgers (-2.5): (LOSS) Iowa is resiliant, I’ll give them that. Down 10-0 late in the first half, the Hawkeyes finished on a scoring note, cutting the lead to 10-3 a few minutes before half time. They never stopped. With 20 unanswered points, the Hawkeyes shut out the Badgers in the second half and saw their undefeated season continue.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+7) @ Clemson Tigers: (LOSS) Clemson dominated. The Deacons didn’t stand a chance. C.J. Spiller did work, as did the rest of the Tiger attack, and I swung and not only missed, but the bat flung out of my hand, straight up in the air, and waited just before I looked up to come crashing down on my face. Sorry about this one, folks.

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Central Michigan Chippewas (-6.5) @ Western Michigan Broncos: (WINNER) “The Chipps are a big public favorite in this one, and it’s because they have a highly rated college quarterback, they are 4-1, they have an upset win over the Spartans to their credit, and they’ve won five straight, and four straight by a touchdown or more. But I like teh Chipps for one reason, and one reason only – in his 3 year career, one filled with success and impressive leadership, Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour has never lost to his in-Michigan rival. There’s something to be said for that. If you can walk into a game saying I’ve always beaten these guys, always, tell your teammates, just follow me, I’ve been here before and I’ve never lost – I’ll take that every time. Rivalry? Sure, but pretty one-sided since Dan started tossing touchdowns.” The game was decent, Dan and company went up big in the first half, the Broncos battled tough in the second, but the Chipps were too much, they had that confidence, and their gun slinging QB finishes his career with 4 wins in this rivalry.

Virginia Tech Hokies (-3) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: (LOSS) “The only chance you have is to beat them in a tough contest. A high scoring game will only end one way, with the Hokies on top. Three points? I don’t care that 70% of the public agrees with me, I’m not even worried.” Well, like a lot of people this Saturday, the Yellow Jackets got the best of me. I really liked what the Hokies were doing coming in, and I was not impressed with the Jackets defense. That being said, Georgia Tech came in and started smacking Va Tech in the mouth from the get go, beat them at their own game, made this a tough contest that I didn’t expect, and got the better of the visiting 4th ranked Hokies.

Arkansas Razorbacks @ Florida Gators (-24): (LOSS) And just barely, the Gators walk out of this home tilt with the Razorbacks undefeated, and still on top of the Nations. The game was close, definitely closer than need be for the Gators. They had some huge turnovers early, keeping the Razorbacks on top, and building their confidence with every mishap. In the end, the talent of the Gators was just too much, and they kept their championship run alive. They didn’t get me a win though, of course not.

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Wyoming Cowboys (+10.5) @ Air Force Falcons: (WINNER) What can I say, I had some tough luck on a couple losses during the week, but this 10-0 game was a win nonetheless. I had that extra half point that got me the W just by the course hair on my chin. Like I said, it goes both ways. I’ll take the half point win, as just like any win, it counts the same.

Pittsburgh Panthers @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights (+5.5): (LOSS) “I guess Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh and that’s somehow the reason they are favored by 5.5 points playing at Rutgers on a Friday Night? Otherwise I can’t really explain it. Both teams have one loss, and neither looked pretty in the process.” I don’t think either team looked very good on Friday Night, but I do think this line was more accurate than I originally thought. Rutgers had a final drive going to tie it, but couldn’t do enough to get the job done. It was a close one, a 4th quarter Rutgers touchdown got the game with-in a score, but Pittsburgh outplayed the Knights.

USC Trojans (-10) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish: (LOSS)  “You can’t get lucky every week, even if you are Irish. Notre Dame has had a lot of help, “officially”, and I doubt that continues against one of the more talented teams in the country. USC took a loss to Washington earlier this year, but they are still 4-1, and still showing dominance against lesser foes. Don’t get it twisted, the Irish are a lesser foe. 35-14, maybe 20, seems right to me. I’ll take the Trojans!” Now now, let’s start with one fact, I lost this cover. And now I’d like to explain: if you missed this game, you probably just see a close score and consider me foolish for that bet, that prediction. After 3 quarters, I was just about right smack dab on my final score prediction. But the Irish put up some big scores late. ND tried to be lucky, while the ref’s always seemed to see the USC players flexing after a big play, rewarding them with 15 yard penalties, Golden Tate and company were allowed to flex all they wanted – interesting dynamic Notre Dame has with officials, it’s as if the Irish have a major in college officiating. USC was fine with running out the clock in the 4th quarter, and that allowed the Irish to get just close enough to cover the spread. One thing is for real, Golden Tate is won of the best college football players in the Nation. I take the loss here.