SCOOPS' CFA PICKS: MID-NOVEMBER SLUMBER

Last Week: 6-4
Season: 56-50
Net Gain/Loss: + $158.50

My Gophers are in a complete Baloo/Kit Cloudkicker Tail Spin, and suddenly the most hated of all is waiting for them. Perfect. Why not just kick me in the groin, God, and call it a day? Nevertheless, not an outstanding slate of games this weekend as most rivalries begin next weekend and move into the Thanksgiving weekend.

WISCONSIN (-13.5) over Minnesota: And it pains me, but the only person in more pain than me watching my Gophers right now is Adam Weber. The problems of the OL have resurfaced to the max, and it’s affecting Weber in that he has no confidence in anything he does because he knows he’s going to get absolutely blasted. It will be interesting to see if Dunbar & OL coach Phil Meyer can come up with a way to scheme themselves out of this messy box that they’re in. 13.5 is a lot of points, especially with the defense the way they are, but Minnesota’s offense can’t sustain any drives. Losing Decker for the weekend hurts badly, and I expect the Wisconsin offense to keep the defense on the field for 35 minutes.
SCOOPS’ PICK: WISCONSIN 27, MINNESOTA 10

Indiana (+35.5) over PENN STATE: I know I’m bucking some “records against the spread” trends with this pick, but a 35.5 spread means that Penn State really can’t F-around at any point in the game. Everything needs to go right from the get go, and you still have garbage points to worry about. I like Penn State to win rather largely, but Indiana to maintain the cover.
SCOOPS’ PICK: PENN STATE 38, INDIANA 10

MICHIGAN (-3.5) over Northwestern: Michigan finally displayed the defense which was supposed to be able to keep them in games this season while the offense got a hold of themselves last weekend against Minnesota. I see a bit too much Michigan pride in wanting to close out their last home game with a win and a bit of momentum heading into Ohio State.
SCOOPS’ PICK: MICHIGAN 24, NORTHWESTERN 17

IOWA (-17.5) over Purdue: A lot of points for a team that still employs nothing more than the dreaded “game manager” at QB, but Iowa’s defense will keep Purdue down and the 27 year old Green should be able to hammer away at Purdue.
SCOOPS’ PICK: IOWA 38, PURDUE 13

Ohio State (-9.5) over ILLINOIS: Ohio State still is fighting for a BCS berth, and Illinois lost to a MAC team in front of 385 fans at Ford Field last weekend. Not to mention that one team is simply better than the other and the revenge factor from last year, and you have a Buckeye win.
SCOOPS’ PICK: OHIO STATE 37, ILLINOIS 20

North Carolina (-2.5) over MARYLAND: About time I jumped on the Butch Davis ACC bandwagon. UNC is smelling a BCS bowl. I’d even watch this game if Juan Dixon & Chris Wilcox were playing on offense against Sean May & Tyler Hansbrough. And this allows me to speak of the great quote from Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams when on the Jim Rome Show years ago: “North Carolina is Carolina…..they’re on TV more than LEAVE IT TO BEVAAAAA!”
SCOOPS’ PICK: NORTH CAROLINA 27, MARYLAND 20

Mississippi State (+21) over ALABAMA: I read an interesting stat in which the Alabama offense hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown against Mississippi State since 2004. That doesn’t mean that much considering Nick Saban was still coaching LSU at the time, but you get the point. Sly Croom will keep it close.
SCOOPS’ PICK: ALABAMA 24, MISSISSIPPI STATE 10

Texas (-13) over KANSAS: Style points time. If Texas Tech does in fact lose to Oklahoma and all three are in a 3-way tie, the tiebreaker will be who has the higher BCS ranking. Right now, it looks like that team would be Oklahoma considering they would be adding wins against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. Mack Brown knows this, and knows that it’s style points time. Look for Texas to blast Kansas straight into the Insight or Independence Bowl.
SCOOPS’ PICK: TEXAS 52, KANSAS 31