College Football, Week 9:

It’s been too long!  I made a promise long ago to my faithful followers that no matter what, I would have something posted during college football season.  Well, it has been two weeks.  With work, school and the World Series, things have been a BIT crazy.  My apologies.  There have been some great games that I have missed, including Oklahoma and Wisconsin falling from the ranks of the undefeateds.  Here are my picks for this weeks action, which promises to be good.

Missouri @ Texas A&M:  May not make a blip on the radar of top college football games this week, but it will be a competitive games.  They may change the name to the “Not Really in the Big 12 Anymore” Bowl.  One things the Aggies do well is run the ball with Michael and Gray, which will give the Tigers fits.
My Pick:  Texas A&M  33  Missouri  27 

Baylor @ Oklahoma State:  I know I have said this before and been dead wrong, but this game will be a shootout.  Neither team can stop other teams from scoring, so we may see a combined 90+ points.  Robert Griffin III and the Bears started the season on a roll, but realized that the Big 12 is a lot tougher than fans realize.  Oklahoma State is sitting at #3 in the BCS rankings, their highest ranking ever.  I give them the edge because of Blackmon and the home crowd.
My Pick:  Oklahoma State 47  Baylor 39

Oklahoma @ Kansas State:  Quick, who’s ranked higher?  If you guessed the surprise Wildcats, you would be right.  No one thought the Wildcats would be the team with no losses when these two teams met, but they have played well so far this season knocking off Baylor and Miami respectively.  Oklahoma is coming off a VERY tough loss to Big 12 rival Texas Tech in which the Sooners defense was rocked. Watch for Oklahoma to take out some frustrations on this good, but not great K State team.
My Pick:  Oklahoma 40  Kansas State 23

Florida vs. Georgia:  The World’s Largest Cocktail Party is always entertaining, even though both teams are down from where they normally are.  Florida has won 11 out of the last 14 meetings, but this year promises to be a toss up.  The Bulldogs have some nice young playmakers, including fresman RB Isaiah Crowell who has totaled over 600 yards rushing this season.  Florida has more speed, and needs a signature win this season.  Why not start now?
My Pick:  Florida 24  Georgia 20 

Upset Pick of the Week:  Georgia Tech 36  Clemson 35- The Yellowjackets can score, and I think they sneak up on the Tigers at home.  Should be a fun one to watch.

Game Nobody Cares About:  Culver Stockton 17  Lindenwood University 23- The Wildcats losing streak reaches 8 games.

World Series Prediction Post.

PAIN.

GOOD LUCK RANGERS!

College Football: Week 6

 

I have not had a lot of time to write this week, so I will make these quick.  Tomorrow is a fun day of college football, but alas, I will not see any of it!

Oklahoma vs Texas:  The big one.  I love this game, because of the history, the players and the State Fair of Texas.  Texas has impressed me this season, but I think Oklahoma has a LITTLE more experience and will get a turnover late.
My Pick:  Oklahoma 27  Texas 23

Florida @ LSU:  We saw what Florida did against Alabama, and I think it could be more of the same.  LSU is actually fairly good.  Haha.
My Pick:  LSU 30  Florida 20

Auburn @ Arkansas:  This was a fun one last year.  Both teams have losses this season, but they are still looking at major bowls and an outside chance at the SEC.  Should be high scoring.
My Pick:  Auburn 33  Arkansas 30

Ohio State @ Nebraska:  The “all name” bowl.  What I mean is this, they have strong histories but both are coming off bad losses.  Give me Nebraska.
My Pick:  Nebraska 24  Ohio State 17

Upset Pick of the Week:  Maryland 40  Georgia Tech 35- The Yellojackets score a lot, but have you SEEN those Maryland uni’s?

Game Nobody Cares About:  Northland Community and Technical College 25  Vermillion Community College 10 

2011 NFL Awesome Rankings: #1

I tried not to jump the gun and start ranking teams right out of the gate.  I DID do a pre-season ranking and am noticing some BIG TIME problems with it.  Haha, of course, I thought Peyton Manning was going to play ok?  DON’T JUDGE ME!  Now that week four is complete, we are starting to get an idea of who the top teams in the NFL are.  Here is the first JWSBNAR of the year:

1.  Green Bay Packers (4-0):  Yesterday before I wrote this blog, the Pack would have been #1, but Aaron Rodgers decided to go NUTS and score my fantasy team 50+ points.  They are good, kind of like Neo after he found out he was “The One” on the Matrix.  They struggled into the playoffs last year, this year they are the elite team in the NFL.

2.  Detroit Lions (4-0):  I wouldn’t have ranked this team this high last week, but the last two weeks this team has shown the ability to come back from huge deficits.  Thats good, and bad.  Why the big deficits?  The offense doesn’t run the ball that well, but Calvin Johnson makes up for that with his complete badass-ness.  November 24th they take on the #1 Packers, cue Bart Scott (CANT WAIT!).

3.  New England Patriots (3-1):   The loss against the Bills was tough, but this team is definitely a playoff favorite.  Tom Brady is playing lights out, but the defense is a major concern, especially since Jerod Mayo may be out awhile.  If they can keep scoring a lot, they should be fine….but it could be rocky.

4.  New Orleans Saints (3-1):  Quietly having a great season.  The offense, as usual is high scoring and fun to watch.  The key, like it was when they won it all in 2009, is the defense.  They are ranked in the middle of the pack in the major categories, which needs to improve.

5.  Baltimore Ravens (3-1):  What a COMPLETE destruction of the Jets in week four.  The “old” defense scored three td’s and made Mark Sanchez look like a rag doll.  Ray Rice might be the most complete back in the league right now, he does it all.

6.  Houston Texans  (3-1):  Sneaking in just before the beat up Chargers.  The Texans are the favorite to win the AFC South, and are very glad Arian Foster is back.  His 100+ yards against the Steelers was a site for sore Texan eyes.  Houston will have to see how Andre Johnson is after he hurt his hammy this past weekend.

7.  San Diego Chargers  (3-1):  Usually this team is 1-3 in September/October and then gets better in December, but this time its a little different.  Philip Rivers hasn’t been the league MVP like many thought he would numbers wise, but he has been a huge part of his teams early success.  Mike Tolbert and Ryan Matthews have been a great 1-2 punch as well.  Once again, the defense is a top 10 unit.

8.  Tennessee Titans (3-1):  Surprise team of the year so far.  Chris Johnson hasn’t been great, yet, but Matt Hasselbeck has been quite the addition to the Titan offense.  Oh, and remember when the Titans defense was one of the best in the league?  Well, they’re back.

9.  Buffalo Bills (3-1):  I enjoy a good cinderella story just like everyone else, but this team COULD be on borrowed time.  Ryan Fitzpatrick is very early MVP candidate, and the defense has been very  opportunistic.  Tough schedule left, let’s see how they handle it.

10.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1):  The game wasn’t pretty this week against the lowly Colts, but I was impressed with Legarrette Blount.  Dude is big, fast, and mean as a badger.  He is definitely the “best player in the league who once punched a Boise State player on national t.v.”  Josh Freeman is a gamer too.

Just Missed:  Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders

The Bottom Four:
Indianapolis Colts:  Wow, Peyton Manning really IS that good.
Minnesota Vikings:  I thought Donovan McNabb was going to be ok with them this year, I was wrong…so far.
St. Louis Rams:  Sam Bradford is having a bad sophomore campaign.
Miami Dolphins:  Do you think they STILL want Kyle Orton?  They need a defense…ANY defense.