Saturday 12 November 2011

NCAA College Football Picks Week 11

Spoiler for The Wire ahead.

In the end, the board of trustees had no other option.

The picture to the side may be of the game of the century, but there was only one story worth talking about this week; the disgusting allegations against Joe Sandusky and the cover-up perpetuated by Joe Paterno and the Penn State Athletics Department. I would have liked to have linked to some of Colin Cowherd's thoughts on the subject but due to unforeseen circumstances am unable to provide those, but they are worth listening to because he nails it. There is no excuse good enough for what happened.

Back when Justin.tv was a fun site to be on, I was watching the Wire there and chatting with someone about the nature of Randy Wagstaff. They were insistent on calling him out for being a snitch, pretty much saying he deserved what he had coming to him. I noted, as you would, that he had information about a murder, a string of murders as it turned out to be, and wouldn't you just naturally inform the authorities? They then came back saying he was doing it for the wrong reasons, not to be noble, but to save his own ass after he was caught breaking school rules. So, I said, that made it OK for thugs to burn down his house and kill his foster mother?

This is the kind of attitude apparently that pervaded State College, the spirit of the corner. Rather than protect the kids (allegedly) being assaulted by Sandusky, they lined up behind their crony. Up there, they were more worried about their reputations, the sanctity of what Sandusky had done, and their own legacy as opposed to doing the right thing. Like they say, actions speak louder than words. I buy nothing that comes from Paterno's mouth, no statement of his, as Cowherd says, "Not Good Enough!". As for Sandusky, former Nittany Lion Sam Stellatella reportedly donated money to his defense and has urged others to do the same. Did this guy even read the grand jury report? I guess i do get why - but it doesn't make it any less sad.

Picks after the jump.

Week Eleven
Home Team listed second in CAPS
vs = Neutral Site game
(*) = Line Differential
[*] = National Ranking

[10] Virginia Tech (-1) at [21] Georgia Tech
[19] Nebraska (-3) at [12] Penn State
West Virginia (+3.5) at [23] Cincinnati
[17] Michigan State (-2.5) at Iowa
Florida (+3.5) at [13] South Carolina
Miami (+9) at Florida State
[20] Auburn (+13.5) at [15] Georgia
TCU (+15) at [5] Boise State
Washington (+12.5) at USC
[7] Oregon (+3.5) at [4] Stanford

Chris picks: Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Ioway, Florida, Miami Metro, Georgia, Boise State, Washington, OREGON!!!!!!!

I pick: Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Michigan State, South Carolina, Miami, Auburn, TCU, USC, Oregon

I picked Virginia Tech without knowing anything else about this matchup because the yellow jackets are too inconsistent. It figures they would fail at home with the division on the line. I never know which way to pick when troubles hit one of the teams involved in a game because you don't know how it will affect the players. I'd like to think that it would be negative in this case, because it would be fitting. Cincinnati feels a little sneaky, like they could pull away from West Virginia if they so pleased.

Iowa edged out Michigan last week but the Spartans are built sterner and should be able to hold off a mediocre team. At home South Carolina should be able to tie down the Gators sufficiently to stay in the SEC East race. That depends on Georgia losing to Auburn, which looks unlikely though I think the tigers can at least stay closer than people believe. Likewise, Miami should be able to hang within 9 of an improving Florida State if not win outright, as the road team tends to do.

In the Fiesta Bowl rematch, you have to like Boise to win, especially at home but the bowl game was close and the regular season should be a good match-up as well. 15 points is too many to count against the Horned Frogs. USC continues to rise unfortunately and at home should be able to roll over Washington and their terrible defense. I the last game of the day, Oregon has had the better of Stanford in recent times and I like them to pull off the upset and save us all from a December of non-stop Andrew Luck hype.

Last Week:
Chris: 8-2
Me: 5-5

Season:
Chris: 36-63-1
Me: 50-49-1

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