Thank you, thank you, (light bulbs snapping) yes, yes it’s all true last week i ran the table on the picks for the first time all season and accomplished a feat the Dust could only dream about, not to mention I regained the lead. This week the games get grittier and even more important as we head down the home stretch of the season.
Last week: 5-0 Season: 27-13 The Dust: 25-15
Game of the week: Penn State vs. Ohio State
Coach – Joe Pa
Offense – Penn State
Defense – OSU
Special Teams – Penn State
X-Factor – RB Beanie Wells OSU
There could be a changing of the guard in Columbus on Saturday, at least for this season. Penn State and the Big Ten (eleven) finally have the match-up they have been waiting for. The Lions could grab the title game invite this weekend with two of their last three games being at home and against opponents whose combined record is 13-10, at Iowa, Indiana and Michigan State. On the other side of the coin, the buckeyes need to win out at the very least to get some title talk. A win against Penn State will go a long way given the bucks still have to play 6-1 Northwestern on the road, followed by a trip to Illinois and then at home versus the evil, Wolverines. In this game there will be plenty of firepower so Beanie Wells ability to run and control the clock will be a huge factor.
Prediction – Penn State
Texas Tech vs. Kansas
Coach – Even
Offense – Texas Tech
Defense – Kansas
Special Teams – Kansas
The X-Factor – Texas Tech Defense
Texas Tech scores, a lot, and very quickly. The key to this game will be there ability to keep the Jay Hawks off the board. If the Red Raiders can score on every drive they will win but just in case they can’t accomplish that feat they will need to keep Kansas off the field. Todd Reesing can sling the ball around just as well as Graham Harrell and Kansas is stout on the other side of the ball as well.
Prediction – Texas Tech
Oklahoma State vs. Texas
Coach – Mack Brown
Offense – Oklahoma State
Defense – Texas
Special Teams – Texas
X-Factor – Turnovers
The Cowboys upset Missouri with the help of turnovers a good defense and a healthy dose of ball control. This is the all-time formula for success. If you create turnovers and move the ball consistently you will be successful. The longhorns conversely are a team that does not turn the ball over, it just doesn’t happen. Texas has a great defense but the big play is a big factor for this team. If Texas wants to make it to the show they will need to learn to grind it out when they need to and not swing for the fences as much against a stingy cowboys defense. If this game is close in the fourth quarter all bets are off.
Prediction – Texas
Georgia vs. LSU
Coach – Les Miles
Offense – LSU
Defense – Georgia
Special Teams – LSU
X-Factor – QB Matt Stafford
Under the lights in Death Valley may be one of the most intimidating atmospheres in college football. A crowd yell during a game in 1988 set of a seismograph on the other side of campus. It’s a good thing UGA head coach Mark Richt eats away games for breakfast. The atmosphere will be the least troublesome aspect of Saturday, the tigers need a quarterback. The bulldogs have a quarterback, which as he goes so does the team. Les Miles is crazy/genius enough to overcome weak signal caller play; Mark Richt relies on his defense. If Matt Stafford plays with confidence and poise in the face of the second best defense he’s seen (the first was Alabama who ate his lunch) the dogs can outlast the LSU staggering offense. If not, the tigers could put the dogs to rest in their chase for the crystal football.
Prediction – LSU
Va. Tech vs. Florida State
Coach – Bobby Bowden
Offense – Va. Tech
Defense – FSU
Special Teams – Va. Tech
X-Factor – FSU offense
I picked the Seminoles to beat Wake Forest earlier in the year when the yet to be seen FSU offense was still a secret against actual opponents fizzled out three points in a loss. Since then, they have beaten a mediocre Colorado team, outlasted (can’t believe I’m saying that) a woeful Miami team and beat a terrible NC State team by nine points. Virginia Tech is still kicking themselves for letting that opening day game against ECU slip through their fingers. The Hokies won five straight ball games before dropping to Boston College last week. Maybe the dual threat of Tyrod Taylor isn’t that big of a threat, maybe freshmen Chris Ponder can lead a surging FSU team to the top of the ACC Atlantic Standings, then again, maybe not. This will be a sloppy low scoring game, if that happens the Hokies will win, if the game rises into the thirty or forty point range, something the Hokies have accomplished only once this season and not even against Furman, one team will be doing the scoring, FSU.
Prediction – Florida State
III,
