Or should it be dooking it out?
Week 5 had a dominant performance by donkeygoatrunner who correctly picked 9 of 11 games last week, missing only on Louisville and Miami. Great job! Eli had a chance to get 9 correct picks but forgot to pick the Oklahoma State v Kansas State on his form. Be sure to fill out your forms correctly guys. Our current leader on overall picks remains mrbuzz1885 with 36 correct picks. YankeeJacket has fallen behind by one point, but he and many others are still in the race.
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Not much to discuss regarding GT last week given we didn’t play any games. There was plenty to discuss around the ACC though.
Miami survived a big scare against VT. I’m sure fans of both programs will be debating for years to come whether or not the last play ended in a catch. After watching the game I’m not sure what to feel about both teams. Earlier in the season I thought we had no chance against Miami seeing how they had played their first few games and I felt VT was looking like an easier win to pull off. Now, in standard ACC fashion, I have no idea what to make of both of these teams.
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Duke fans charged the field after beating their rivals from down the road at UNC. Watching the game was a bit chaotic. While Duke’s defense took a bit to figure things out, they were eventually able to shut down the UNC offense in the second half of the game. That accompanied with poorly timed penalties from UNC left enough opportunities for the Blue Devils to win the game. Both offenses struggled to move the ball through the air, but Duke succeeded in wearing down the UNC defense by running the ball up the gut repeatedly. After watching the game, I have to say both teams look beatable, but our defense will have to crackdown on the run game and make these QBs prove something.
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The dwags lost. The game was closer than it should’ve been with some inexplicable blown coverages in the 4th quarter by the Crimson Tide, but the game ended as it should have. A close loss to Bama won’t put an end to the playoff chances for the dwags, but it does make me feel better. uga is still a tough team, but they don’t look invincible and I’m feeling better about that matchup in the future.
Going into the second half of the season, we still have plenty of tough games on the slate but none of them look unwinnable. Let’s get back on the field and make it a second half of the season to remember.
picks:
Duke Blue Devils @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-8.0)
Logan: 8 points is a big spread for us given how we played against Louisville. Duke is undefeated and deserves respect for winning all their games, regardless of what you think of their opponents. I do believe that GT has the talent to win this game by a fair margin, IF the Jackets can get out of their own way. Duke is coming to play, and GT cannot afford to make any big mistakes if they want to avoid a stressful battle. I will take Tech and hope they keep their cool at home.
Logan’s pick: Georgia Tech
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Nebraska Cornhuskers (-7.0)
Logan: What an impressive start for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers is currently undefeated and have had some pretty good wins against VT and Washington. Rutgers has looked good on both sides of the ball but their defense in particular has been a standout. The Scarlet Knights have won most of their games by keeping the scoring low and avoiding turnovers to scrape out wins. Nebraska has had a few challenges and have looked good aside from the one OT loss to Illinois. Dylan Raiola showed a few weaknesses against Illinois but has generally looked like one of the standout QBs in college football this year. If Rutgers can contain Raiola on the road I think the Scarlet Knights should be able to cover as they have against the other talented QBs they have faced.
Logan’s pick: Rutgers
#12 Ole Miss Rebels (-9.0) @ South Carolina Gamecocks
Logan: Ole Miss looks human again after their loss to Kentucky. Its always interesting to see how a loss to an unranked team doesn’t really impact your ranking if you’re in the SEC. This week the Rebels get another unranked SEC team that has shown the ability to pull off surprising upsets in South Carolina. On paper this game is all Ole Miss, the Rebels have a better offense by far and are more talented on defense. South Carolina punches up though, I don’t know if they can win but the Gamecocks can certainly keep things close. I expect Ole Miss to be a bit shaken up after last week, I think South Carolina can catch the Rebels off guard and at least cover like they did against LSU.
Logan’s pick: Gamecocks
Navy Midshipmen (-8.5) @ Airforce Falcons
Logan: Our first matchup in the battle for the Commander and Chief trophy. Navy has started the year on fire and are currently tied for the lead in the American Athletic Conference with Army of all teams. Air Force on the other hand have struggled to figure out things on offense and have given up 31 points in both of their last 2 games. Despite getting this game at home, I do not see a scenario where Airforce wins this game if their QB does not take a massive leap forward. Navy should win this game by a fair margin.
Logan’s pick: Navy
SMU Mustangs @ #22 Louisville Cardinals (-7.0)
Logan: Ah yes, the battle for the top of the ACC that we all expected. Louisville fell behind to Notre Dame early last week and couldn’t seem to get back in the game. Louisville did put up big numbers on offense, but some poorly timed turnovers bogged them down in the end. SMU crushed FSU, but I’m still not entirely sure how impressive that is at this point in the season. I’m not entirely sure what to make of this game. I think it is winnable for SMU, but it will be quite a challenge on the road against a talented Louisville team. Louisville games have tended to end right where the spread is, so I guess I’ll take Louisville to win by at least a touchdown.
Logan’s pick: Louisville
Syracuse Orange @ #25 UNLV Rebels (-4.5)
Logan: Congrats to UNLV for their first ranking in school history after beating Fresno State 59-14 last week. I’m glad they are still winning despite all the drama from last week regarding their QB. I don’t know the rest of the story with that situation, but whatever the truth is I don’t think the remaining players on the team should suffer because of it. UNLV gets a big challenge with the ranking getting to be the favorites against Syracuse this week. Being ranked favorites against Syracuse brings back some bad memories. McCord and Syracuse have had some of the luster wear off after beating us a few weeks ago, but they are still a talented team with a powerful offense. I expect this to be a close game, but I think odds favor Syracuse to at least cover.
Logan’s pick: Syracuse
Pittsburgh Panthers (-2.5) @ UNC Tar Heels
Logan: Tough run of things for UNC right now. The defense doesn’t seem to be holding up like people hoped it would, and the offense is running entirely through Omarion Hampton. Pitt has won some close matchups and managed to succeed by scoring the ball. In this game Pitt just needs to lock down the UNC run game and grind things out on offense. I don’t see any reason why Pitt shouldn’t win by a fair margin.
Logan’s pick: UNC
#10 Michigan Wolverines @ Washington Huskies (-2.5)
Logan: The #10 team in the nation is a 2.5 point underdog to an unranked team… why are they even the #10 team in the nation then? Michigan is another team with a struggling QB who is relying purely on the run game to move the ball. The good news for Michigan is that their defense is still pretty good, not great necessarily but pretty good. Washington’s best win is currently against NorthWestern, and they had a doozy of a loss to Rutgers last week. I’m not sure I fully understand the logic behind this spread and I’m not sure how I feel about either team. I guess Michigan has more impressive wins at this point in the season and Washington may still be shellshocked coming off their loss to the scarlet knights, so I will pick the Wolverines to cover.
Logan’s pick: Michigan
UCF Golden Knights @ Florida Gators (-1.0)
Logan: UCF suffered a tough loss last week against Colorado, losing to the Buffaloe 48-21. Florida is coming off a bye week and getting this game at home. I know the teams aren’t too far apart, but playing in The Swamp is always a daunting task. I expect Florida to win this game fairly easily.
Logan’s pick: Florida
Colorado State Rams @ Oregon State Beavers (-14.0)
Logan: A battle of current and future PAC-12 teams. Colorado State’s losses have been brutal, but they were to teams that have significantly more talent than the Rams. Oregon State’s biggest wins have been against Purdue and San Diego State. I do think Oregon State will win this game, but I believe the Rams can keep things close against Oregon State.
Logan’s pick: Colorado State
#9 Mizzou Tigers @ #25 Texas A&M Aggies (-1.0)
Logan: Mizzou and Texas A&M are very similar this year. Both teams have scraped by to barely win their past few games. Both teams are fighting to remain at the top of the SEC. Both teams have talented defenses which are being buoyed by above average offenses. The home field advantage for the Aggies is a real factor. but I’m not sure if it will be enough to shut down Mizzou in this game as Mizzou has shown a level of tenacity this year that has been lacking in the past.
Logan’s pick: Mizzou