Pliers' Picks - 11/6/08

I'm not going to gloat for too long since my YTD record is still below .500, but I do want to bring up two quotes from my picks last week:

(On the Texas Tech/Texas game) - "I'm taking the Mad Bomber for the first time in my life for one reason and one reason only - Michael Crabtree. That guy is a FORCE, and I think he will be a diffrence-maker."

(On the Minnesota/Northwestern game) - "This pick pains me, but I really think that the Gophs are living and dying by the opprotunistic turnover at the right time, and that has to catch up to them eventually. I think the Gophs should score more points in the dome than they did outside at West Lafayette, but I am going to have to go with the upset special here."

I'll say this...after being so sucky for so long, it sure feels good to be right once in a while. Too bad about UGA, though...

Last Week - 4-3-1
YTD - 34-38-1

Texas Christian by 1 at UTAH. Continuing with the theme of taking Christian schools on the road (Thank You, Sister Helen Jean Moriarity), I think TCU wins this one BIG tonight. Utah has played nobody, barely squeaked by a bad Michigan team, and is 8-0, which puts tons of BCS-based pressure on them. TCU 31, Utah 17.

Georgia Tech getting 5 at NORTH CAROLINA. Georgia Tech is 5-1 ATS so far this year, they run an exotic and explosive offense that Butch Davis hasn't seen since he was coaching the J.V. squad at Oka Locka, and the Powder Blue Warriors are still missing their best QB and WR. Georgia Tech's defense won't allow more than 14 points, and I like the odds of the Dirty Bees putting up more than a handful on the Tar Heels. Georgia Tech 24, UNC 21.

Kansas by 1 at NEBRASKA. Sorry Bo, you just don't have the horses, even if this game in in your backyard. Funny story...I drove by the Richfield Football practice field the other day and I saw that the staff out there brought back the Blackshirts for the defensive players. I had heard that the "Blackshirts" were back...but if they can be back in Richfield, I don't think it carries much weight in Lincoln. Has Kansas really fallen off that much? I say no. Kansas 35, Nebraska 24.

LOUISANA STATE getting 3.5 vs. Alabama. I'm not going to make this about Saban/Miles. I'm not going to make it about whose state is more backwards. What I am going to make this game about is the fact that it is at Baton Rouge, that the Tide have a HUGE bulls-eye on their backs, and that the only game LSU was out of was against a surging Florida team. This game turns the SEC on it's head. LSU 17, Alabama 13.

Notre Dame by 3 at BOSTON COLLEGE. The HOLY WAR is shaping up between these two Catholic...err...powerhouses? This Holy War is more like a Holy Fistfight consdiering the stature of these two teams this year. I wish I could predict this game to end in a -1 to -1 loss for both teams, but in lieu of that, I think that Notre Dame showed enough against Pitt to prove they are worth more than 3 points against a decimated BC squad. Irish 34, Eagles 24.

Arizona by 41 at WASHINGTON STATE. No explanation here other than that the Wazzu Watchdogs have been asleep at the wheel, mostly due to the fact that they are currently left with a QB that I believe was starting on the Spokane 9th grade team last year. They have gone through like 12 QB's in the past month. The white flag is out. Arizona 42, Wazzou 0.

OK, that is six, and I can't find anymore juicy picks...I'll update this tomrrow with some more flayva.