If I Were a Gambling Man...

... I'd be screwed. What an unpredictable season! Last week was the first time I did well in both college and the pros. It may also have been the first week (this late in the season) when my high school (7-1), my college (7-0) and my pro team (4-2) all won... and are all in first place. And they all vanquished opponents that they hadn't beat in years.

On to the college picks:

#4 Missouri over #15 Nebraska... Sure, it's in Lincoln. Sure, it's a huge let-down-game possibility for Mizzou. Sure, what are the odds the Tigers do it twice in a row? BUT... so many people are picking Nebraska that it's no longer an upset. I feel like Mizzou is getting no respect here... they'll take that personally.

Iowa over #2 Michigan State... I realized during the picking process on ESPN.com, that the easy picks were all road teams. I don't think Iowa lets it happen two weeks in a row, especially at home.

Georgia over Florida... remember when we were counting out the Bulldogs after a 1-4 start. Well, here they are, just 1/2 game out of first. With some help, they could be in Atlanta in December. Florida's offense is perfect for Halloween... trick or treat.

Michigan over Penn State... where have Joe-Pa's boys gone? What's up with them? The Wolverines have been much more consistent.

Northwestern over Indiana... why are we picking this game?

Clemson over Boston College... here's hoping the Tigers can jump on the opportunity that the ACC Atlantic is still wide open.

#4 Oregon over USC... I have no faith in the Trojan defense. And that's not good when facing the best offense in the country.

#1 Auburn over Mississippi... it's entirely possible for #1 to lose in four straight weeks, but this is the least competitive of the four games. Ole Miss needs to figure out run defense, then we can talk about upsets.

$17 Oklahoma State over Kansas State... this one should be high scoring. About as high as Justin Blackman scored on his DUI "test."

#11 Ohio State over Minnesota... why is this game on TV? Has Minnesota just been unlucky in it's 1-7 start? Are they an underrated, dangerous foe? Ohio State is going to be prepared for the other top Big Ten teams to lose. They're just waiting to steal the Rose Bowl bid.

Last Week: 7-3 (40 pts.)
Season: 47-33 (289 pts.)

Pro Picks:

Chiefs over Bills... when the 5-2 Titans and the 4-2 Seahawks are the lone remaining winning teams on your schedule, and you have a 1-1/2 game lead in the division, you can't lose at home to the worst team in football.

Dolphins over Bengals... I'm done trusting Cincy. Period.

Cowboys over Jaguars... the 'Boys have one more chance. Good thing Romo can't screw it up for them.

Redskins over Lions... remember how the Lions ended their 22-game losing streak against Washington last year? Yea, so do the 'Skins.

Rams over Panthers... just like the Chiefs, the Rams are benefitting from slight talent improvements and a last-place schedule.

Jets over Packers... weren't the Packers a trendy Super Bowl pick? The fact that my ESPN fantasy team is 2-5 and Aaron Rodgers was my keeper pick tells you everything you need to know about the Packers... and the rest of my team.

49ers over Broncos... they got off the schnide last week, and they get to pick on the Denver defense.

Titans over Chargers... how much do the Chargers miss LT? Take a look at their rushing stats,

Buccaneers over Cardinals... I can't believe Josh Freeman may lead Tampa to the playoffs. C'mon Saints, pick it up!

Patriots over Vikings... if only Randy Moss had a quarterback that could get him the ball so he can exact revenge.

Seahawks over Raiders... yes, I'm picking the Chiefs to be up 2-1/2 games by November 1st. Weird, isn't it?

Steelers over Saints... the defending champs at .500? Believe it.

Colts over Texans... once is a fluke, twice is coincidence. Good thing Peyton doesn't believe in coincidence.

Last Week: 10-4
Season: 58-46

Week 9 College Ranks

The wait is over. Four weeks later than last year, but it's here. As a reminder, the record is the first thing. Then a four-part average of the AP, USA Today, and Harris Polls plus strength of schedule rank.

1: Auburn (8-0)
2: Michigan State (8-0)
3: Texas Christian (8-0)
4t: Oregon (7-0)
4t: Missouri (7-0)
6: Boise State (7-0)
7: Utah (7-0)
8: Alabama (7-1)
9: Louisiana State (7-1)
10: Wisconsin (7-1)
11: Ohio State (7-1)
12: Oklahoma (6-1)
13: Stanford (6-1)
14: Arizona (6-1)
15: Nebraska (6-1)
16: Florida State (6-1)
17: Oklahoma State (6-1)
18: Nevada (6-1)
19: Mississippi State (6-2)
20: Baylor (6-2)
21: Virginia Tech (6-2)
22: Hawaii (6-2)
23: Northern Illinois (6-2)

Also "receiving votes:" Arkansas (5-2), South Carolina (5-2), Iowa (5-2), Miami (FL) (5-2), Southern Cal (5-2), Michigan (5-2), Kansas State (5-2), North Carolina State (5-2), East Carolina (5-2), Northwestern (5-2), West Virginia (5-2), San Diego State (5-2), Maryland (5-2), Navy (5-2), Syracuse (5-2), Central Florida (5-2), Southern Mississippi (5-2), Air Force (5-3), Georgia Tech (5-3), California (4-3), Florida (4-3), Texas (4-3), Illinois (4-3), Clemson (4-3), Pittsburgh (4-3), Georgia (4-4), Oregon State (3-3), Washington (3-4).

Honorable Mention: Temple (6-2), Fresno State (5-2), Toledo (5-3), Ohio (5-3), Troy (4-2), Idaho (4-3), Houston (4-3), Army (4-3), Indiana (4-3), Penn State (4-3), Purdue (4-3), Louisville (4-3), Rutgers (4-3), North Carolina (4-3), Texas Tech (4-3), Texas A&M (4-3).

As you can see there are way too many teams here. I anticipate this is because of my inclusion of the Harris Poll, which obviously has no concern for record. I hope this number of teams receiving votes will decrease in the next few weeks.

Game Day Baby

Too busy of a weekend to put much but the picks out here, rankings will be next week, sorry.

College Picks
Missouri over Oklahoma
Auburn over LSU
Iowa over Wisconsin
Oklahoma State over Nebraska
Clemson over Georgia Tech
Hawaii over Utah State
Arizona over Washington
Miami (FL) over North Carolina
Alabama over Tennessee
Michigan State over Northwestern

Last Week: 4-6 (29 pts.)
Season: 40-30 (249 pts.)

Pro Picks:
Falcons over Bengals
Bears over Redskins
Titans over Eagles
Chiefs over Jaguars
Steelers over Dolphins
Saints over Browns
Buccaneers over Rams
49ers over Panthers
Ravens over Bills
Seahawks over Cardinals
Patriots over Chargers
Broncos over Raiders
Packers over Vikings
Giants over Cowboys

Last Week: 8-6
Season 48-42

It's Getting Cold Out There

I'll apologize ahead of time for the lack of energy in this blog. I'm tired. My co-ed kickball team lost the de facto league championship last night 7-5. I haven't been picking well. So basically, I'll need a Tigers and Chiefs win this weekend to get back on track.

College Picks:
Arkansas over Auburn
Michigan over Iowa
Purdue over Minnesota
Oregon State over Washington
Ohio State over Wisconsin
South Carolina over Kentucky
USC over California
Nebraska over Texas
Michigan State over Illinois
Alabama over Mississippi

Last Week: 5-5 (22 pts.)
Season: 36-24 (220 pts.)

Reminder: Next week I'll unveil my rankings and get the great debate started.

Pro Picks:
Bears over Seahawks
Ravens over Patriots
Giants over Lions
Falcons over Eagles
Steelers over Browns
Packers over Dolphins
Chargers over Rams
Saints over Buccaneers
Texans over Chiefs
Raiders over 49ers
Jets over Broncos
Vikings over Cowboys
Colts over Redskins
Titans over Jaguars

Last Week: 6-8
Season: 40-36

Octoberfest

College Picks:
Clemson over North Carolina... I don't know if UNC got all their players back from suspension yet or not, but the Tigers are so up and down I have to pick them THIS week.
LSU over Florida... well, RC was right last week. Florida's offense is nothing to be scared of, especially when your defense is as solid as LSU's.
Michigan State over Michigan... big day in the Wolverine State. The Spartans are lights out late in games this year and playing with emotion.
Stanford over USC... the Trojans should do everyone a favor and take the rest of the season off so the Pac-10 can have a clean 1-2-3 finish.
Pittsburgh over Notre Dame... yawn. Go Panthers.
Miami over Florida State... can we get a Wide Left II? I love seeing the Seminoles suffer.
Alabama over South Carolina... trap game my 275-pound ass. Roll Tide.
Arkansas over Texas A&M... I can't imagine how many points this Razorback offense is going put up on the Swiss-cheese-esque defense of the Aggies.
Auburn over Kentucky... not too look to far into the future, but the Iron Bowl is looking pretty huge this year isn't it?
Penn State over Illinois... how do you follow up a loss to Ohio State? Roll over for Penn State? Good luck with that reject from Rockhurst, Zook.

Last Week: 6-4 (33 pts.)
Season: 31-19 (198 pts.)

Pro Picks:
Chiefs over Colts... I'm sorry, I have to follow rule number one of picking games: never try to predict when an undefeated team is finally going to lose. Put it to you this way, the Chiefs have a chance to be relevant, this is when we find out if this coaching stuff has what it takes to fire up this young team.
Jaguars over Bills... rule number two? Never try to predict when a winless team will finally win.
Bengals over Bucs... this one is actually a tough call, the Bengals have the potential to win their division (as they did last year) and the Bucs have played well in their wins.
Falcons over Browns... I'd like to see Spoon take out Seneca Wallace, maybe get Moore another interception.
Rams over Lions... again, the Rams aren't terrible and I can't pick a winless team.
Packers over Redskins... McNabb will need all the help in the world to get the 'Skins going. They won last week because they knocked Vick out of the game.
Bears over Panthers... I thought about this one, but I can't go with Carolina until Clausen pulls one out, even if the Maytag Man (Todd Collins) is quarterbacking the Bears.
Ravens over Broncos... the Ravens defense got me last week, I won't make the same mistake again.
Texans over Giants... yes, the Giants can get to the passer, but the Texans have proven they can run the ball. Mark it down... this may be their year.
Saints over Cardinals... expect Chase Daniel to get some 4th quarter reps this week in a blow-out.
Cowboys over Titans... this is the last chance for the 'Boys. Win and stay in the hunt. Lose and forget the home Super Bowl.
Chargers over Raiders... the Bolts have to keep pace with the Chiefs in case they slip up, expect the two backs to run wild over the Raiders.
Eagles over 49ers... it's never good when you are picking your preseason NFC West champs to start 0-5.
Jets over Vikings... Randy Moss, Shmrandy Moss. Jets have found a way to score points and are set to make their run. Favre will try too hard to get the ball to Moss and throw a few picks.

Last Week: 6-8
Season: 34-28