With a 5-6 record against the spread for the season thus far, I have no idea why I’m still picking games or why anybody out there would still care what my picks were. Perhaps it’s just an excuse to talk about the matchups that I’m most interested in this week. Perhaps I’m just trying to get away from my wedding preparations for a few hours.
Incidentally, for anybody rolling into Central Pennsylvania for my wedding this weekend, tickets are still available for that red-hot Penn State/Kent State game just 45 minutes down the road. Yeah, you heard me. The Nittany Lions STILL haven’t sold out Beaver Stadium. And that’s despite the fact that this will be the first completely untelevised Penn State football game in over six years.
Now that my requisite Penn State bashing is done, let’s get to my favorite games for this Saturday…
PITTSBURGH (-10) AT TOLEDO: Last week, I promised myself that I would never again pick Pitt to cover against a MAC team. Admittedly, that was before I saw how small this spread is. However, given (1) that Pitt will be the highest ranked team ever to play in the likely-to-be-sold-out-and-loud Glass Bowl, (2) that the Panthers almost certainly will (and probably should) be looking past this game to their showdown with Texas A&M next week, and (3) that Toledo looked somewhat tough (or at least a lot tougher than Kent State or Ball State) in beating Marshall in Huntington last Friday, I’ll stick with my oath. I’ll take Toledo and the points.
MIAMI OF FLORIDA (-12.5) AT BOSTON COLLEGE OF MASSACHUSETTS: If Pitt, West Virginia, Syracuse, and Rutgers fans will ever be united about anything, they should all be united in support of Boston College this Saturday. This will be the first time that a loyal Big East Football Conference member squares off against either of the traitors who decided to jump to the ACC this past summer.
You know that I’ll be a temporary Eagles fan this weekend. And I definitely believe in the power of emotion and the power of a loud and vengeful home crowd (despite Tom O’Brien’s pleas). However, I just can’t make myself believe that Miami can’t paste at least two measly touchdowns on this somewhat depleted Boston College team. So I’ll take the Hurricanes to cover, and hope that BC proves me wrong.
WEST VIRGINIA (+9) AT MARYLAND: Ah, another Big East/ACC matchup. Of my four picks for this week, this is the one that I’m least sure of. I haven’t seen Maryland all that often this year, but when I have watched the Terps, they haven’t looked all that impressive. On the other hand, WVU looked great against an admittedly overrated Wisconsin team. I guess I’m just surprised that the Mountaineers are that big of an underdog here. I mean, is Byrd Stadium that tough of a place to play?
Given that Rich Rodriguez is always underrated and Ralph Friedgen is quickly becoming one of the most overrated head coaches ever (just because he’s unusually fat doesn’t mean that he’s unusually good, and heck, who couldn’t win the old ACC when FSU was down?), I’ll take the Mountaineers and the points here.
BOWLING GREEN (-14) AT OHIO STATE: I’m trying to stay away from picking too many Ohio State or Penn State games (this is a Pitt website), but this one looks particularly scary. Bowling Green is clearly one of the better MAC teams this year, defeating popular pre-season pick for the Big Ten crown Purdue 27-26 two weeks ago. Plus, the Eagles pasted over 60 points on both Eastern Kentucky and Liberty. Ohio State, on the other hand, has no offensive line whatsoever, subsequently cannot run the ball, and can only sporadically pass. Craig Krenzel has been practically all of this team’s offense since last year’s Michigan game, and Craig Krenzel will sit this game out with an injury.
Ohio State hasn’t lost to another Ohio school since the College of Wooster in 1913. Brace yourself. I’ll take Bowling Green and the measly 14 points, please.
Hail to National Talk Like A Pirate Day, tomorrow. And Hail to Married Life.
