Week 11 Picks

There are three games this week that should show us the real championship favorites. Last week I finished with 24 games right and 5 wrong.

#3 Oregon at #5 Stanford: The Ducks are still undefeated and have scored at least 42 points in all eight of their games so far. Stanford presents a challenge that Oregon hasn't faced yet, as they have one of the nations best defenses, giving up just 19.4 points per game compared to an Oregon offense that scores 55.6 per game. The big question is how will Marcus Mariota and the Ducks offense come through against the stout Cardinal defense. Last year, they weren't able to get 30 points, and the result was an overtime loss, the only loss of Mariota's career. The winner will be in the lead for the Pac-12 North and shouldn't lose again. If Oregon wins, they will be heavy favorites to get into the national championship game.
Prediction: Oregon-38, Stanford-20

#10 Oklahoma at #6 Baylor: This is the second huge game tonight. It is rather odd that there are two top ten games on a Thursday night, but that just means we find out the contenders and pretenders a couple days earlier. Baylor is still undefeated and is the nations leader in scoring, with 63.9 points per game. Oklahoma is starting to get back to the top after an upset loss to Texas. They ended Texas Tech's undefeated season just a few weeks ago and now, I think it is time for them to do it again.
Prediction: Oklahoma-45, Baylor-41

#20 Louisville at Uconn: Teddy Bridgewater was knocked out of my Heisman list, and probably won't get back, but he can still lead his team against an inferior Uconn team that hasn't won a game yet this season. Louisville still has a chance at winning the AAC and making it to a BCS game if Houston beats UCF on Saturday night. This game shouldn't be close.
Prediction: Louisville-45, Uconn-13

#13 LSU at #1 Alabama: This is the third game that has a big impact on the championship race. Alabama and LSU have very similar styles and know how to beat each other. Alabama has been undefeated and lost a home game in November two years in a row, one of which came two years ago against LSU. The Tigers are still playing for an SEC title, although their championship hopes are gone, they still can get to the SEC championship with a win over Alabama and an Auburn loss.
Prediction: Alabama-24, LSU-17

#2 Florida State at Wake Forest: Florida State is coming off a big win over Miami. They have now blown out almost every opponent this year and this week shouldn't be any different. Wake Forest had a horrible week last week getting shut out by Syracuse 13-0. Jameis Winston is a potential Heisman winner and with an Oregon loss, he could get to number one.
Prediction: Florida State-52, Wake Forest-6

#8 Missouri at Kentucky: Missouri proved it is still the SEC East favorite with a big win over Tennessee last week. Kentucky isn't quite at the same level as Tennessee and Missouri is on a much higher level than Tennessee. This game won't be very close.
Prediction: Missouri-38, Kentucky-14

#9 Auburn at Tennessee: Auburn just needs to continue to win and they could get to the SEC championship. They are 8-1 (4-1) and should be able to beat a Tennessee team that can play very tough at times, but also looks unimpressive at other times.
Prediction: Auburn-34, Tennessee-24

Virginia Tech at #11 Miami (FL): Miami is coming off the loss to Florida State last week, but is still the favorite to make the ACC championship. Virginia Tech is supposed to be the team that is contending with Miami for that other spot in the conference championship game, but they have now lost back to back games to Duke and Boston College. A win could still get them back in the ACC race, but I don't think they can win it.
Prediction: Miami-27, Virginia Tech-20

Kansas at #14 Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State has shown that they can score a lot of points, after puting up 52 on Texas Tech last week. Kansas is probably the worst team in the Big 12 and they shouldn't come close against the Cowboys.
Prediction: Oklahoma State-56, Kansas-14

Mississippi State at #15 Texas A&M: Johnny football is once again near the top of the Heisman watch list, and he should be able to have another big game this week against a Mississippi State team that hasn't done very well against good competition, as they are just 3-4 against teams with winning records, those wins being against Alcorn State, Bowling Green, and Troy.
Prediction: Texas A&M-45, Mississippi State-34

#16 Fresno State at Wyoming: Fresno State continues to win. Their only problem is that they aren't playing good enough competition. Wyoming is a decent team, and I think they will be able to put up a fight. A game like this is exactly the kind of game Fresno could lose, but if they play at the top of their game they can get the win.
Prediction: Fresno State-31, Wyoming-21

#19 UCLA at Arizona: UCLA bounced back from their two losses by blowing out Colorado last week. They face a much tougher challenge this week on the road against Arizona. If UCLA plays the way they usually do, they should win, but they will need to be able to stop Arizona's dangerous rushing attack to get the win.
Prediction: UCLA-35, Arizona-23

Houston at #21 UCF: This game is one of the biggest of the year for the AAC, as the winner will be in first place in the conference. They are currently tied for the lead as Houston is 7-1 (4-0), and UCF is 6-1 (3-0). If UCF wins, they will take full control of the lead. If Houston wins, they will still need to beat Louisville to win the conference.
Prediction: UCF-42, Houston-31

#22 Arizona State at Utah: Arizona State has been putting up a lot of points in the last few weeks, scoring over 50 in all of their last three games. Utah plays exceptional at home, as they are 3-2 with a huge win over Stanford a few weeks ago. This should be an interesting match up, but I don't think the home field advantage Utah has will help them slow down the Pac-12's second most explosive offense.
Prediction: Arizona State-48, Utah-28

#23 Notre Dame at Pittsburgh: Notre Dame struggled against Navy last week defensively. Pittsburgh has had a horrible offense for most of the year. This is a great opportunity for Notre Dame to get back to playing the defense it was known for playing last year and early this year.
Prediction: Notre Dame-28, Pittsburgh-10

BYU at #24 Wisconsin: This is one of the most interesting games of the week. Wisconsin showed that they might be the second best team in the Big 10 with a 28-9 win over a solid Iowa team last week, but BYU is one of the nations best non-BCS schools. BYU can play defense better than almost anyone, but so can the Badgers. I think it all comes down to how well BYU can stop Wisconsin's run game.
Prediction: Wisconsin-24, BYU-17

Kansas State at #25 Texas Tech: Texas Tech is trying to bounce back after losing its last two games against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Maybe they only lose to teams from that state and will get back on track against the Wildcats. Kansas State has now won back to back games, and is in the middle of the pack in the Big 12. This could be close depending on how well Kansas State plays in the first half. They have been a second half team all year, but if they can't play well early, they might not be able to come back late.
Prediction: Texas Tech-38, Kansas State-27

Vanderbilt at Florida: Florida had a tough loss to Georgia last week, and Vanderbilt is trying to become one of the SEC's contenders. While it is obvious that Vanderbilt will not reach that goal this year, they are still managing to put together a good season. They have one key in over Georgia, a team the the Gators couldn't beat. I think that the season is on an uncontrollable spiral downward for the Gators, and it continues this week.
Prediction: Vanderbilt-27, Florida-17

Penn State at Minnesota: Penn State has won two of their last three games in overtime against Michigan and Illinois, so if they can keep it tied they should be able to win. the only problem is that both of the wins came t home and this week they are on the road. Minnesota may not seem very good, but you can't argue the fact that they are 7-2 (3-2), and are tied with Michigan in the legends division.
Prediction: Penn State-34, Minnesota-31 OT

Arkansas at Ole Miss: Ole Miss has looked impressive this year with a record of 5-3 (2-3). In their last two games they have had both a blowout win over Idaho and a huge upset over LSU. Arkansas can't seem to win a conference game as they have a record of 3-6 (0-5). After starting the year 3-0, the Razorbacks have dropped six straight and need to win all of their final three games to make a bowl.
Prediction: Ole Miss-35, Arkansas-13

Syracuse at Maryland: Syracuse had a great defensive showing last week in a 13-0 win over Wake forest. This week they will have a little tougher opponent in Maryland. The Terrapins got off to a great start at 4-0, but since then have lost 3 of their last 4, including an embarrassing 34-10 defeat against Wake Forest.
Prediction: Syracuse-31, Maryland-27

Nebraska at Michigan: Nebraska beat Northwestern on a hail mary TD last week to stay in the hunt for a Big 10 championship. Nebraska needs to win the rest of its games, meaning both this one and against Michigan State to make the conference championship game. It will be a tough task to try to go into the "Big House" and get a win, especially after the way Michigan played last week. With that kind of performance, everyone knows that this wolverine team is going to come out and play hard and angry.
Prediction: Michigan-35, Nebraska-24

NC State at Duke: Duke might be the best team in the state of North Carolina this year. With all the other teams struggling, Duke has found a way to become bowl eligible for a second year in a row. NC State believes that they are the best in the state, although North Carolina just beat them last week. Duke should be able to win as the Wolfpack haven't won a conference game all year, with a record of 3-5 (0-5).
Prediction: Duke-21, NC State-7

Colorado at Washington: Washington is still one of the better teams in college football. they were just unfortunate enough to have to play Stanford, then Oregon, and then an Arizona State team that is very talented offensively in three consecutive weeks. they did get back on track with a win over CAL last week, and Colorado should be a walk in the park this week. I don't expect much of a game between one of the conferences best and one of its worst.
Prediction: Washington-45, Colorado-21

Utah State at UNLV: The Aggies and Rebels have both had up and down years so far. Utah State comes in at 5-4 (4-1), while UNLV comes in at 5-4 (3-2). The two teams are very evenly matched and are both trying to gain an edge in their division races. UNLV is in fourth place, just two games back of Fresno State in the West division standings where Utah State is tied with Boise State in the Mountain division standings.
Prediction: Utah State-38, UNLV-24

San Diego State at San Jose State: We will stay in the Mountain West for the final game of the week between the two sub-par California schools. San Diego comes into the game at 4-4 (3-1), and San Jose is 5-3 (4-1). Both teams are tied for 2nd place right behind Fresno State for first place in the conference. the winner will still have a chance at a conference title appearance.
Prediction: San Diego State-28, San Jose State-24