College Football Picks Week 10

The regular season is fast approaching its conclusion, as the College Football Playoff Selection Committee released its first rankings Tuesday night.  It was very interesting to see some of the positioning of some teams.

In case you missed it, or haven’t had time, check out the latest 2014-15 Bowl Projections HERE.

Last Week:  21-3 (.875)

Overall:  197-46 (.811)

#2 Florida State vs. #25 Louisville (The Seminoles should win, BUT they historically struggle on the road on Thursday nights.)

Arkansas vs. #1 Mississippi State

#3 Auburn vs. #4 Ole Miss (Auburn was not impressive against South Carolina, and Ole Miss is coming off a loss.  This game might not be as good as people think.)

Stanford vs. #5 Oregon

#7 TCU vs. #20 West Virginia

Oklahoma State vs. #9 Kansas State

#10 Notre Dame vs. Navy

Florida vs. #11 Georgia

#12 Arizona vs. #22 UCLA (What has happened to UCLA? It shouldn’t have taken overtime to beat Colorado last week.)

Kansas vs. #13 Baylor

#17 Utah vs. #14 Arizona State

Purdue vs. #15 Nebraska

Illinois vs. #16 Ohio State

#18 Oklahoma vs. Iowa State

#23 East Carolina vs. Temple (Shocking to see East Carolina ranked higher than Marshall.  Who would have thought a win over North Carolina might matter that much.)

#24 Duke vs. Pittsburgh

Boston College vs. Virginia Tech

North Carolina vs. Miami (FL)

NC State vs. Syracuse

Virginia vs. Georgia Tech

UL Monroe vs. Texas A&M

Kentucky vs. Missouri (Missouri has been unimpressive while Kentucky battled the top team in the country last week.)

Old Dominion vs. Vanderbilt

Tennessee vs. South Carolina (Both teams seasons rides on this game.)

NFL Picks Week 9

It is a small slate of games this week for the NFL, as many have this week off.

Based on how this season is going, it is becoming more apparent that it is a legitimate possibility for there to be multiple teams at .500 or below making the playoffs.

Last Week:  11-4 (.733)

Overall:  82-38-1 (.678)

Saints vs. Panthers (Is anybody going to take control of the NFC South?)

Buccaneers vs. Browns

Cardinals vs. Cowboys

Eagles vs. Texans

Jets vs. Chiefs

Jaguars vs. Bengals

Chargers vs. Dolphins

Redskins vs. Vikings

Rams vs. 49ers

Broncos vs. Patriots (This could be an AFC playoff game preview.)

Raiders vs. Seahawks

Ravens vs. Steelers

Colts vs. Giants

2014-15 Bowl Projections: First Playoff Rankings Released Tuesday Night

College football fans are eagerly awaiting the first release of the selection committee’s rankings.  This will be the first look into the minds of the committee as they will pick not just the top four teams for the playoff, but also four other bowls.

With just a month to go in the season, my top four are Florida State, Oregon, Michigan State, and Alabama.  Remember, this is based off the predicting the entire rest of the season, not just records up to this point.

The whole College Football Playoff, and the creation of a few new bowl games, it has created the issue of filling all of the bowls.  Several conferences will have difficulty filling all of their commitments. It creates a need to dig into the ‘filling the bowls’ rules, which is why a FCS transitional team like Georgia Southern, might make a bowl game.  Normally, they would not be allowed to play.

As the season winds down, this problem of filling all of the bowls will continue to be an issue.  It all depends on where some of these teams that will toe the line of 5-7 or 6-6 right down to the end of the season.  South Carolina, Boston College, Oklahoma State, and Maryland are all examples of teams that will make it close.

Here are the latest projections:

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF	TEAM	TEAM
Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwestern Mutual Rose Bowl – Pasadena, California Thursday, January 1st 5:00 p.m. – ESPN	Florida State	Alabama
Allstate Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Thursday, January 1st 8:30 p.m. – ESPN	Oregon	Michigan State
College Football Playoff National Championship Game AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas Monday, January 12th 8:30 p.m. – ESPN	Rose Bowl Game Winner	Allstate Sugar Bowl Winner
OTHER ‘BIG’ BOWLS	TEAM	TEAM
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Georgia Dome – Atlanta, Georgia Wednesday, December 31st 1:00 p.m. – ESPN	Georgia	Nebraska
Fiesta Bowl University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona Wednesday, December 31st 5:00 p.m. – ESPN	Wisconsin	Oklahoma
Capital One Orange Bowl Sun Life Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida Wednesday, December 31st 8:30 p.m. – ESPN	Clemson	Mississippi State
Cotton Bowl AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas Thursday, January 1st 1:00 p.m. – ESPN	Marshall	Baylor
BOWL	TEAM	TEAM
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Saturday, December 20th 11:00 am – ESPN	San Diego State	Louisiana-Lafayette
Gildan New Mexico Bowl University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico Saturday, December 20th 2:20 p.m. – ESPN	Rice	Fresno State
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday, December 20th 3:30 p.m. – ABC	Boise State	USC
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Bronco Stadium – Boise, Idaho Saturday, December 20th 5:45 p.m. – ESPN	Toledo	Air Force
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Cramton Bowl Montgomery, Alabama Saturday, December 20th 9:15 p.m. – ESPN	Central Michigan	South Alabama
Miami Beach Bowl Marlins Park – Miami, Florida Monday, December 22nd 2:00 p.m. – TBD	BYU	East Carolina
Boca Raton Bowl FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Florida Tuesday, December 23rd 6:00 p.m. – ESPN	Akron	Bowling Green
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California Tuesday, December 23rd 9:30 p.m. – ESPN	Colorado State	Navy
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas Wednesday, December 24th 12:00 p.m. – ESPN	UTEP	Ball State
Hawaii Bowl Aloha Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii Wednesday, December 24th 8:00 p.m. – ESPN	Middle Tennessee	Utah State
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl Cotton Bowl Stadium Dallas, Texas Friday, December 26th 1:00 p.m. – ESPN	Georgia Southern	Louisiana Tech
Quick Lane Bowl Ford Field – Detroit, Michigan Friday, December 26th 4:30 p.m. – ESPN	Ohio	Boston College
BITCOIN St. Petersburg Bowl Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, Florida Friday, December 26th 8:00 p.m. – ESPN	North Carolina	Cincinnati
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman Navy-Marine Corps. Stadium Annapolis, Maryland Saturday, December 27th 1:00 p.m. – ESPN	North Carolina State	Houston
Hyundai Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas Saturday, December 27th 2:00 p.m. – CBS	Miami (FL)	Arizona State
Duck Commander Independence Bowl Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana Saturday, December 27th 4:00 p.m. – ESPN2	Duke	Oregon State
New Era Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium Bronx, New York Saturday, December 27th 4:30 p.m. – ESPN	Virginia Tech	Maryland
National University Holiday Bowl Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California Saturday, December 27th 8:00 p.m. – ESPN	Penn State	UCLA
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tennessee Monday, December 29th 2:00 p.m. – ESPN	Kansas State	Texas A&M
Russell Athletic Bowl Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida Monday, December 29th 5:30 p.m. – ESPN	Louisville	West Virginia
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas Monday, December 29th 9:00 p.m. – ESPN	Utah	Florida
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl LP Field – Nashville, Tennessee Tuesday, December 30th 3:00 p.m. – ESPN	Minnesota	LSU
Belk Bowl Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina Tuesday, December 30th 6:30 p.m. – ESPN	Notre Dame	South Carolina
San Francisco Bowl Levi’s Stadium Santa Clara, California Tuesday, December 30th 10:00 p.m. – ESPN	Rutgers	Arizona
Citrus Bowl Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida Thursday, January 1st 1:00 p.m. – ABC	Ohio State	Auburn
Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida Thursday, January 1st 1:00 p.m. – ESPN2	Iowa	Missouri
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas Friday, January 2nd 12:00 p.m. – ESPN	Nevada	Temple
TaxSlayer Bowl EverBank Field Jacksonville, Florida Friday, January 2nd 3:20 p.m. – ESPN	Georgia Tech	Ole Miss
Valero Alamo Bowl Alamodome San Antonio, Texas Friday, January 2nd 6:45 p.m. – ESPN	TCU	Washington
Cactus Bowl Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona Friday, January 2nd 10:15 p.m. – ESPN	Oklahoma State	Stanford
Birmingham Bowl Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama Saturday, January 3rd 1:00 p.m. – ESPN/ESPN2	Arkansas State	UCF
GoDaddy Bowl Ladd-Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama Sunday, January 4th 9:00 p.m. – ESPN	Northern Illinois	Louisiana-Monroe

Disclaimer:  I have come up with these projections on my own, based on predicting each team’s record for the upcoming season.  Any likenesses to the real experts is purely coincidental.  If you wish to share, please give credit to where credit is due.

Week 8 NFL Picks

Teams are reaching the mid-way point of their seasons, and fans know whether their team is closer to Super Bowl glory, or being on the clock.

Last Week:  11-4 (.733)

Overall:  71-34-1 (.670)

Chargers vs. Broncos

Lions vs. Falcons (Atlanta is going the wrong way, and Mike Smith’s days might be numbered.)

Rams vs. Chiefs

Texans vs. Titans

Vikings vs. Buccaneers (The thriller of the week, part one.)

Seahawks vs. Panthers

Ravens vs. Bengals

Dolphins vs. Jaguars (The thriller of the week, part two.)

Bears vs. Patriots

Bills vs. Jets

Eagles vs. Cardinals

Raiders vs. Browns

Colts vs. Steelers

Packers vs. Saints

Redskins vs. Cowboys

Week 9 College Football Picks

The final month of the regular season is fast approaching, meaning it is getting closer to beginning to see what the NCAA’s selection committee is thinking.

Last Week:  18-6 (.750)

Overall:  176-43 (.804)

Connecticut vs. #18 East Carolina

Miami (FL) vs. Virginia Tech

#6 Oregon vs. California

#1 Mississippi State vs. Kentucky

#3 Ole Miss vs. #24 LSU (This is a tough one, LSU is not as good as in years past, but is Ole Miss still good enough to overcome the Tigers’ huge home-field advantage, especially at night.)

#4 Alabama vs. Tennessee

South Carolina vs. #5 Auburn

Michigan vs. #8 Michigan State

Texas Tech vs. #10 TCU

Texas vs. #11 Kansas State

#13 Ohio State vs. Penn State

#14 Arizona State vs. Washington

#15 Arizona vs. Washington State

Rutgers vs. #16 Nebraska

#20 USC vs. #19 Utah

Syracuse vs. #21 Clemson

#22 West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State (Is West Virginia a one-game wonder?  No, but Baylor probably wins that game 70% of the time.)

Florida Atlantic vs. #23 Marshall

#25 UCLA vs. Colorado

North Carolina vs. Virginia

Boston College vs. Wake Forest

Georgia Tech vs. Pittsburgh

UAB vs. Arkansas

Vanderbilt vs. Missouri

NFL Week 7 Picks

Last Week:  13-1-1 (.867)

Overall:  60-30-1 (.659)

Jets vs. Patriots

Falcons vs. Ravens

Titans vs. Redskins

Seahawks vs. Rams

Browns vs. Jaguars

Bengals vs. Colts

Vikings vs. Bills

Dolphins vs. Bears

Saints vs. Lions

Panthers vs. Packers

Chiefs vs. Chargers

Cardinals vs. Raiders

Giants vs. Cowboys

49ers vs. Broncos

Texans vs. Steelers

Week 8 College Football Picks

As we reach the middle of the College Football season, we begin to see the programs who have met expectations, exceeded expectations, or have fallen well short of expectations.

On a side note, I had full intentions of seeing if an updated version of the bowl projections was needed this week, but I am battling a viral infection right now, so I am going to do the best I can to keep up.

Last Week:  17-5 (.773)

Overall: 158-37 (.810)

#20 Utah vs. Oregon State

Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh

#5 Notre Dame vs. #2 Florida State

Tennessee vs. #3 Ole Miss

#4 Baylor vs. West Virginia

#21 Texas A&M vs. #7 Alabama

#8 Michigan State vs. Indiana

Washington vs. #9 Oregon

#10 Georgia vs. Arkansas

#14 Kansas State vs. #11 Oklahoma

#15 Oklahoma State vs. #12 TCU

Rutgers vs. #13 Ohio State

#23 Stanford vs. #17 Arizona State

#19 Nebraska vs. Northwestern

Colorado vs. #22 USC

#24 Clemson vs. Boston College

#25 Marshall vs. FIU

Syracuse vs. Wake Forest

Virginia vs. Duke

NC State vs. Louisville

Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina

Furman vs. South Carolina

Missouri vs. Florida

Kentucky vs. LSU

College Football Picks Week 7

If you missed the latest College Football Bowl Projections, check them out here.

Last Week:  15-10 (.600)

Overall:  141-32 (.812)

Washington State vs. #25 Stanford

#1 Florida State vs. Syracuse

#2 Auburn vs. #3 Mississippi State (Mississippi State has been a good story, but there is a reason Dan Mullen has been on the hot seat the last few years.)

#3 Ole Miss vs. #14 Texas A&M (Like Mississippi State, Ole Miss will likely come back to reality.  Plus, facing an A&M team at home that was beat last week might be a tall task.)

#9 TCU vs. #5 Baylor

North Carolina vs. #6 Notre Dame

#7 Alabama vs. Arkansas

#8 Michigan State vs. Purdue

USC vs. #10 Arizona (Arizona has a knack for pulling a big upset, and then loses the next game.)

Texas vs. #11 Oklahoma

#12 Oregon vs. #18 UCLA

#13 Georgia vs. #23 Missouri (This game determines the SEC East.)

#16 Oklahoma State vs. Kansas

#19 East Carolina vs. South Florida

Duke vs. #22 Georgia Tech

Cincinnati vs. Miami (FL)

Boston College vs. NC State

Louisville vs. Clemson

UL-Monroe vs. Kentucky

Chattanooga vs. Tennessee

LSU vs. Florida

Charleston Southern vs. Vanderbilt

NFL Picks Week Six

Last Week:  10-5 (.667)

Overall:  47-29 (.618)

Colts vs. Texans (Another stinker of a Thursday Night game.)

Jaguars vs. Titans

Ravens vs. Buccaneers

Broncos vs. Jets

Lions vs. Vikings

Patriots vs. Bills

Panthers vs. Bengals (Until the Panthers find some legitimate running backs, I’ll pick against them.)

Steelers vs. Browns (Mike Pettine has brought a new attitude to Cleveland.)

Packers vs. Dolphins

Chargers vs. Raiders

Bears vs. Falcons

Cowboys vs. Seahawks

Redskins vs. Cardinals

Giants vs. Eagles

49ers vs. Rams

Updated Bowl Projections: What is Good Enough to Make the ‘Big Bowls?’

Here they are, the third version of the 2014-15 Bowl Projections.  The struggle to fill the bowls continues.

However, as you go through the bowl selection process, two issues arise.  First, is there going to be enough teams to fill all of the bowls?  Second, what is the selection committee going to consider good enough to get into one of the ‘big bowls?’

To answer the first question, there are provisions that opens the door for more teams to become eligible, including teams who have to count multiple wins over FCS teams, 6-7 teams, 6-6 teams who are in a transitional state from FCS to FBS, and ultimately, even 5-7 teams.

There is no easy answer to the other question.  Does losing in your conference championship game make a difference?  How many losses does it take to ‘eliminate’ you? How many wins makes you feel safe about getting to one of those ‘Big Bowls.’

Those are all questions the selection committee will have to answer, as they are responsible for filling the bowls that are in the semifinal rotation, but don’t host the semifinals this year.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF	TEAM	TEAM
Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwestern Mutual Rose Bowl – Pasadena, California Thursday, January 1st 5:00 p.m. – ESPN	Florida State	Oklahoma
Allstate Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Thursday, January 1st 8:30 p.m. – ESPN	Auburn	Michigan State
College Football Playoff National Championship Game AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas Monday, January 12th 8:30 p.m. – ESPN	Rose Bowl Game Winner	Allstate Sugar Bowl Winner
OTHER ‘BIG’ BOWLS	TEAM	TEAM
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Georgia Dome – Atlanta, Georgia Wednesday, December 31st 1:00 p.m. – ESPN	Wisconsin	UCLA
Fiesta Bowl University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona Wednesday, December 31st 5:00 p.m. – ESPN	Nebraska	Oregon
Capital One Orange Bowl Sun Life Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida Wednesday, December 31st 8:30 p.m. – ESPN	Georgia Tech	Alabama
Cotton Bowl AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas Thursday, January 1st 1:00 p.m. – ESPN	Northern Illinois	Baylor
BOWL	TEAM	TEAM
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Saturday, December 20th 11:00 am – ESPN	San Diego State	Louisiana-Lafayette
Gildan New Mexico Bowl University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico Saturday, December 20th 2:20 p.m. – ESPN	Marshall	Nevada
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday, December 20th 3:30 p.m. – ABC	Boise State	Oregon State
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Bronco Stadium – Boise, Idaho Saturday, December 20th 5:45 p.m. – ESPN	Central Michigan	Utah State
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Cramton Bowl Montgomery, Alabama Saturday, December 20th 9:15 p.m. – ESPN	Ohio	South Alabama
Miami Beach Bowl Marlins Park – Miami, Florida Monday, December 22nd 2:00 p.m. – TBD	BYU	East Carolina
Boca Raton Bowl FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Florida Tuesday, December 23rd 6:00 p.m. – ESPN	Louisiana Tech	Bowling Green
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California Tuesday, December 23rd 9:30 p.m. – ESPN	Fresno State	Navy
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas Wednesday, December 24th 12:00 p.m. – ESPN	Rice	Ball State
Hawaii Bowl Aloha Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii Wednesday, December 24th 8:00 p.m. – ESPN	Middle Tennessee	Hawaii
Heart of Dallas Bowl Cotton Bowl Stadium Dallas, Texas Friday, December 26th 1:00 p.m. – ESPN	Arkansas State	Florida Atlantic
Quick Lane Bowl Ford Field – Detroit, Michigan Friday, December 26th 4:30 p.m. – ESPN	Akron	North Carolina
BITCOIN St. Petersburg Bowl Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, Florida Friday, December 26th 8:00 p.m. – ESPN	North Carolina State	Cincinnati
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman Navy-Marine Corps. Stadium Annapolis, Maryland Saturday, December 27th 1:00 p.m. – ESPN	Air Force	South Florida
Hyundai Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas Saturday, December 27th 2:00 p.m. – CBS	Louisville	Arizona
Duck Commander Independence Bowl Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana Saturday, December 27th 4:00 p.m. – ESPN2	Duke	UTSA
New Era Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium Bronx, New York Saturday, December 27th 4:30 p.m. – ESPN	Miami (FL)	UTEP
National University Holiday Bowl Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California Saturday, December 27th 8:00 p.m. – ESPN	Ohio State	USC
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tennessee Monday, December 29th 2:00 p.m. – ESPN	Kansas State	Georgia
Russell Athletic Bowl Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida Monday, December 29th 5:30 p.m. – ESPN	Virginia Tech	Oklahoma State
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas Monday, December 29th 9:00 p.m. – ESPN	Temple	Ole Miss
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl LP Field – Nashville, Tennessee Tuesday, December 30th 3:00 p.m. – ESPN	Minnesota	Texas A&M
Belk Bowl Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina Tuesday, December 30th 6:30 p.m. – ESPN	Clemson	Florida
San Francisco Bowl Levi’s Stadium Santa Clara, California Tuesday, December 30th 10:00 p.m. – ESPN	Rutgers	Stanford
Citrus Bowl Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida Thursday, January 1st 1:00 p.m. – ABC	Iowa	Missouri
Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida Thursday, January 1st 1:00 p.m. – ESPN2	Penn State	Mississippi State
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas Friday, January 2nd 12:00 p.m. – ESPN	Colorado State	Houston
TaxSlayer Bowl EverBank Field Jacksonville, Florida Friday, January 2nd 3:20 p.m. – ESPN	Notre Dame	LSU
Valero Alamo Bowl Alamodome San Antonio, Texas Friday, January 2nd 6:45 p.m. – ESPN	TCU	Washington
Cactus Bowl Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona Friday, January 2nd 10:15 p.m. – ESPN	West Virginia	Arizona State
Birmingham Bowl Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama Saturday, January 3rd 1:00 p.m. – ESPN/ESPN2	South Carolina	UCF
GoDaddy Bowl Ladd-Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama Sunday, January 4th 9:00 p.m. – ESPN	Toledo	Louisiana-Monroe