I BET YOU CAN’T GUESS HOW I DID LAST WEEK! 5/7 again, but I would’ve been perfect if it weren’t for Jimbo being Jimbo and Duke reminding me who the man in North Carolina is. I’ll take my record though – as a wise man once told me “D’s get degrees.”
Last week’s results:
• 5/7 correct
• 37/54 for the year
• Surprise: Louisville makes it here again…but not for winning. I think Cinderella found her slipper as the underdog story came crashing down against Pitt. Yes, Louisville is still good. Yes, they still are overachieving. No, they are not ACC contenders.
• Best game: If you didn’t watch the Oregon Washington game, boy did you miss out. I had to do bath and bedtime with my kids during the game, but don’t worry, I was a dedicated dad and made sure the game was on…so they could watch it of course. Both teams are playoff caliber teams, and I wouldn’t doubt that we see this game again in the PAC12 championship.
• Disappointment: USC’s offense – most notably their offensive line and…yes Caleb Williams. USC could not protect Williams at all which led to one of his (3) interceptions in the game (DL tipped a pass). We knew USC struggled on defense, but the offense crumbled under pressure in South Bend.
Now to this week’s slate.
(22) Air Force at Navy
This is not your father’s military game. Air Force is undefeated and is scoring 37 points per game with a polarizing offense that ranks dead last in passing offense and first in rushing offense. Navy, who’d usually be heavy favorites for this game, are slated to get beat…I think they get dominated. Off we go, into the wild blue yonder, flying high into the…endzone.
Air Force 35 Navy 20
(7) Penn St. at (3) Ohio St.
This game IS your father’s Big 10 matchup. Penn St. and Ohio St. come in with the number 1 and number 7 ranked defenses respectively. Although the offenses aren’t terrible, they aren’t the high-flying scorers that we’re used to seeing. I think the winner of this game is the team that scores (3) TD’s and I expect that to be the Nittany Lions.
Penn St. 24 Ohio St. 17
(17) Tennessee at (11) Alabama
This game is another weird one. I have no idea who this Volunteers team is, but they seem to be hitting their stride in the back half of the season. They have the *checks notes again out of disbelief* 17th best defense in the country and pair that with a very good run game. I think Tennessee hangs around this one, but Alabama scores one late to avenge the 2022 loss.
Alabama 27 Tennessee 23
(8) Texas at Houston
Dana Holgorsen’s Cougars may not be ranked but they’re no slouch. Texas is coming off of a loss and a bye week so this game could go one of two ways: 1. Texas gets trapped because they’re feeling sorry for themselves 2. Texas beats Houston like drum as they let off some steam from what the big bullies north of the Red River did to them. My money is on #2.
Texas 42 Houston 21
(16) Duke at (4) Florida St.
Riley Leonard missing this game will be the main talking point until halfway through the 3rd quarter when all of America sees how good this Duke defense really is. I think Duke loses, but I think they gain a lot of respect from people outside of Durham this weekend.
Florida St. 27 Duke 17
Clemson at Miami
Last time Clemson played Miami in Miami, I was a senior and we took the Canes to the woodshed (58-0). Now I don’t think the game will be that lopsided but I think with the Tigers getting healthy off the bye and potentially getting Antonio Williams back will do wonders for this offense. The defense, however, is what carries them to victory.
Clemson 38 Miami 22
Utah at (18) USC
This game is going to be very interesting. I think we can put a pin in the Cam Rising “game time decision” saga as it looks like he’ll be redshirted. Utah still has a great defense and is just dangerous enough to scare USC. Does Utah finally give up custody of the Trojans or does Lincoln Riley and company bounce back? If Caleb Williams is who I think he is, he bounces back to have good game.
USC 27 Utah 23
