Wednesday, October 26, 2011

NCAA Football - Week 9 Predictions

Ringer's Record
Last Week ATS: 10-10
Last Week SU: 14-6

Season ATS: 88-61 (59%)
Season SU: 131-27 (83%)

3 Stanford (-7.5) at USC
Who made this spread? Hasn't anyone in Las Vegas watched the Cardinal this year? Stanford has covered the spread in all 7 of their games so far. Every game has had a spread of at least 18 points. Granted, USC is probably the best team they have faced to this point, but I expect Stanford to continue their run. They manhandled Washington last week and have themselves in BCS Title contention. USC has been much improved this year, but their defense won't be able to stop the balanced attack of Stanford.

Prediction - Stanford 42 USC 21

Baylor (+15.5) at 5 Oklahoma St.
The Pokes are legitimate national championship contenders. Many thought last week was a potential stumbling block at Missouri, but they took care of business with a 45-24 win. Now they face another dangerous team. RG3 and the Baylor Bears travel to Stillwater. Baylor was embarrassed in their lkast outing at Texas A&M, and they will be out to redeem themselves. They won't get a win, but they will keep it close as OK State remains undefeated.

Prediction - Oklahoma St. 41 Baylor 30

6 Clemson (-4.5) at Georgia Tech
A couple weeks ago this game looked like a potential ACC Championship preview. Now Tech has lost 2 straight and is in desperate need of a win. Clemson just keeps on rolling. The Tigers put up 59 on North Carolina last week, and find themselves in the top 5 of the BCS rankings. Tahj Boyd and Sammy Watkins will have another big game and hand the Yellow Jackets their third consecutive loss.

Prediction - Clemson 34 Georgia Tech 27

Washington St. (+35.5) at 7 Oregon
It is questionable whether Darron Thomas and LaMichael James will return from injury for the Ducks this week. Chip Kelly like sthe depth his squad has on offense though. Even without his two best playmakers, Oregon should have enough to defeat Washington State. They have won 20 straight games at Autzen Stadium and WSU has lost 3 in a row since ebginning the year 3-1. That streak should extend to 21 this week.

Prediction - Oregon 49 Washington St. 14

9 Oklahoma (-13.5) at 8 Kansas St.
Oklahoma saw their National Championship dreams dashed last week as they shockingly lost at home to Texas Tech. Who would have thought that coming into this game the undefeated team with BCS aspirations would be K-State? K-State rolled over in-state rival Kansas last week, but face a much tougher test this week. Something tells me that the Sooners will be angry and will take it out on the Wildcats. K-State's dream comes to an end this week much like Oklahoma's did last week.

Prediction - Oklahoma 41 Kansas St. 27

10 Michigan St. (+4.5) at 13 Nebraska
It doesn't get any easier for Michigan State. Two weeks ago they beat their bitter rival Michigan. Last week they beat everyone's favorite to win the Big Ten, as they used a Hail Mary on the game's last play to stun Wisconsin 37-31. Those games were in East Lansing though. They must travel to Lincoln this week. Nebraska is getting back on track and will benefit from Sparty's brutal stretch of the schedule. I like the Huskers to take control of the Legends Division.

Prediction - Nebraska 29 Michigan St. 21

11 Arkansas (-10.5) at Vanderbilt
The Razorbacks received a major scare versus Ole Miss last weekend but came away from Oxford with a 29-24 victory. Now they will face another pesky squad in Vanderbilt. Vandy beat Army a week ago to improve their record to 4-3. The Hogs need this win if they want a chance at making back-to-back BCS bowl appearances. The Commodores could use a win if they want to be bowl-eligible. I think Arkansas learns from last week's scare and wins this one more easily.

Prediction - Arkansas 38 Vanderbilt 17

12 Wisconsin (-7.5) at Ohio St.
Last year Wisconsin ruined the Buckeyes dreams of winning a national championship. Now, a week after the Badgers had their own national championship dreams ruined, the two teams meet again. Wisconsin lost a heartbreaker on a last second Hail Mary to Michigan State last week. They will surely want to bounce back with vengance. Ohio State has the defense to keep them in this game, but their offense has been hoorible. It's never easy to win in Columbus, but Wisconsin will get it done.

Prediction - Wisconsin 26 Ohio St. 17

14 South Carolina (-4.5) at Tennessee
This is a key game for South Carolina if they plan on making a return to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game. The Gamecocks had a week to prepare for the Vols, and it was much needed. Just a week after South Carolina kicked their starting QB off the team, their Heisman hopeful RB went down with a season ending injury. Tennessee is dealing with their own injury issues, primarily to their staring QB Tyler Bray. The Neyland Stadium crowd keeps it close but South Carolina remains in 1st in the SEC East.

Prediction - South Carolina 20 Tennessee 17

15 Virginia Tech (-14.5) at Duke
Virginia Tech is in the midst of another potential ACC title run. Despite some struggles throughout the season, the Hokies have a 7-1 record and are 3-1 in the ACC. They take on a scrappy Duke team this week that is looking to even their record up. VA Tech has won 10 consecutive games on the road and could break an ACC record with a win at Duke. Expect the Hokies to capture that record.

Prediction - Virginia Tech 35 Duke 20

Purdue (+13.5) at 16 Michigan
Don't look now, but Purdue is playing pretty good football. The Boilermakers followed up a close loss in Happy Valley with an impressive victory over a ranked Illinois squad. This week they face their third consecutive ranked opponent. Michigan welcomes Purdue into the Big House. Denard Robinson has had a week to get his team ready to bounce back from their first loss of the season. Michigan wants to avoid another collapse at the end of the season. They need this win. They will get it.

Prediction - Michigan 38 Purdue 20

Missouri (+11.5) at 17 Texas A&M
As conference realignment steals many of the headlines in College Football, these two teams have been at the forefront of it. Texas A&M has already confirmed they are bolting the Big 12 for the SEC. Now it appears that Missouri will be following them to that nation's top conference. Their last Big 12 battle has some implications. A&M is looking to leave the Big 12 as conference champions, while Missouri is just trying to make a bowl. Mizzou is better than their record would indicate, but they will drop to 3-5 this week.

Prediction - Texas A&M 34 Missouri 28

Rice (+27.5) at 18 Houston
Houston continues to roll past teams as they quietly remain undefeated. Case Keenum is is carrying the Cougars on his back and should be favored in every game for the rest of the season. If Houston runs the table, Keenum could find himself in New York for the Heisman ceremony. Last year, Houston lost to Rice but that was without Keenum. The Cougars QB won't let that happen this year. Houston will continue its roll.

Prediction - Houston 48 Rice 20

Illinois (+5.5) at 19 Penn St.
The Penn State Nittany Lions continue to win. Their 6th straight win last week left them as the only team in the Big 10 standing at 4-0. They will welcome Illinois to Happy Valley this week. The Fighting Illini began their season with 6 straight wins but have since lost their last 2. Both teams are definitely heading in opposite directions. It will be up to Illinois to stop Joe Paterno from becoming the all-time winningest coach in Division I college football history. I see the milestone being reached on Saturday.

Prediction - Penn St. 21 Illinois 19

20 Georgia (-2.5) vs. Florida at Jacksonville, FL
The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party takes place once again this Saturday when the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators renew their rivalry in Jacksonville. This is a very important game for both schools. Georgia needs a win to stay on top of the SEC East. Florida needs a win to avoid a 4th consecutive loss. The Gators have dominated this series in recent years, but the Dawgs will get the best of them this time.

Prediction - Georgia 27 Florida 20

Iowa St. (+15.5) at 21 Texas Tech
What a win it was for Tommy Tuberville and his Texas Tech program last weekend in Norman. The Red Raiders dominated #1 Oklahoma for most of the game before hanging on for a 41-38 win. The victory catapulted Texas Tech into the Top 25 for the first time this season. Iowa State was on the cusp of the poll earlier in the year, but have lost 4 straight. This is just another game in which 2 teams are heading in opposite directions. Texas Tech will stay in the polls for another week.

Prediction - Texas Tech 38 Iowa St. 17

Kansas (+28.5) at 23 Texas
Texas finds themselves back in the Top 25 despite losing their last 2 games. This week the perfect opponent comes into Austin to help them right their ship. The Kansas Jayhawks come to town as the clear worst team in the Big 12. Both teams have juggled QBs throughout the year. It has worked much better for Texas than it has for Kansas. I anticipate that being the Case (McCoy) on Saturday.

Prediction - Texas 41 Kansas 17

Colorado (+30.5) at 24 Arizona St.
Arizona State comes off a bye week facing Colorado at Sun Devil Stadium. ASU climbed back into the Top 25 despite not playing last week. They control their own destiny in the Pac-12 South thanks to the probation of USC. Colorado, meanwhile, is having a hard go of it in their first Pac-12 season. They have been giving up over 500 yards of offense and that trend should continue this week.

Prediction - Arizona St. 52 Colorado 21

25 West Virginia (-6.5) at Rutgers
Both of these teams looked like they would be one of the favorites to represent the Big East in the BCS. A week after bad losses for each, they are just fighting to stay above .500 in the conference. West Virginia has dominated Rutgers over the years. The Mountaineers defense will need to regroup this week as they were torched by Syracuse. Luckily for them, Rutgers doesn't have too much firepower.

Prediction - West Virginia 28 Rutgers 20

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