Six Pick: Week Four

It's week four and the season is coming into focus, for good and bad. It is looking more and more like there are a couple of dominant teams at the top, followed by a whole bunch of others that will beat each another up throughout the season. That's okay because it means chaos from week to week. Matchups, desire, luck and fat little girlfriends are going to decide the record for the other 115 schools even more than usual. By no means do I think Bama, LSU, Oregon and FSU can't slip up to inferior teams and take a bad loss. We've all seen too many "great" teams take one on the chin when they weren't prepared, but as of now, they pass the eyeball test and look above the rest.

It's our turn. "Our" being the Atlantic Coast Conference, the much maligned punch line over the last decade. The two best teams in the ACC are FSU and Clemson, and they get to shine on ABC primetime Saturday night. Let's hope they don't disappoint, the nation wants a good show, not some ugly game full of Ron Cherry and turnovers. Even if you hate both teams and the whole conference solidarity thing, {cough} ESS-EEE-SEE {cough} pisses you off, you have to agree the ACC's reputation and image needs this to go right. I love me some #goacc jokes at "our" expense, but for this night, I want an intense, physical, beautiful football from our foes that shows "our" conference belongs. Is that so bad?

Saturday, 9/22/2012

Missouri at South Carolina -9.5 3:30 PM CBS

Best bloomers evah.

Round two of Mizzou's initiation into the SEC. In the Tigers first go at it, UGA knocked the them out in the second half with their old man strength. Was it just one game, or sign of things to come until Coach Gary Pinkel gets the depth and size he needs to compete with the upper half of the SEC? It is quite possible it's the style of play, as his spread attack might need to be refined after a season of head knocking against the best. We'll have a much better idea after this week's tilt against the smashmouth Sakerlina Gamecocks. If Pinkel starts to doubt his scheme in this league he should ask the Ole Ball Coach what's it like to be stripped of what and who you are to conform to what wins in the South.

Pick: Sakerlina covering. Going with SEC proper vs Mizzou and aTm until proven otherwise.

Oregon State at UCLA -7.5 3:30 PM ABC / ESPN2

My east coast bias is showing, I don't much about the Beavers, or maybe it's the fact they've only played one game in three weeks! I guess the Six Pick is slipping as a single win against a sorry Wisconisn team is enough to be included. No one, not even Coach Riley, knows much about Oregon State, but that's ok because we know about UCLA. The Bruins resurgence has been a result of a vastly improved offense. Their defense has just been good enough to be 3-0. Hint, OSU is going to score points. This could be a classic PAC-12 game that gets you sucked into watching it. It has happened to me. Just flipping through the channels during a commercial and my attention lingers for a moment. Twenty minutes later, I witnessed both teams boat race the opposing defenses down the field a few times. #MACtion became a thing last season, but #PACtion has been a thing for decades.

Pick: UCLA covering, at home with a more known product and with better athletes. Of course a typical UCLA thing to do is lose this game.

Michigan at Notre Dame -5.5 7:30 PM NBC

I admit, I have a soft spot for this rivalry. The history, the uniforms, the bands, the players and the coaches, it screams college football. Primary rivals for each be damned, this is the game I enjoy the most from each team. Sure it hasn't been played at the highest level for a while, but that doesn't take away from how much this matchup means to generations of fans. Surprisingly, Notre Dame in the Brian Kelly era has turned around the defense before the offense. The Irish front seven looked good, really good, versus Michigan State. Combine that with how the Wolverines were soundly beaten up front against Alabama (no I'm not comparing ND to Bama), and uh oh. Brady Hoke could have a problem. There could be a lot of Denard Robinson running around to save his life and improvising, basically the offense during the DickRod years in Ann Arbor. How much longer until the Irish offense gets better and QB Everett Golsen starts to reach his potential, i.e. when does the light come on?

Pick: ND covering. I am sure this will be the popular pick which means they'll not cover and likely lose, but I like the Irish defense better and think they'll want to atone for last year's denard miracle.

Kansas State at Oklahoma -14.5 7:50 PM FOX

The Wildcats are one of the most underrated teams in the country, and the Sooners could possibly be one of the most overrated. Yet, the result could be the same as last season. Partly to the brand, partly to old ass Head Coach Bill Snyder and partly to lazy fans, no K-State isn't thought about much. Maybe the Wildcats don't have the athletes the Sooners do, but they are well schooled in their system and play with toughness. The tired but true cliché is they compete each and every week bringing a physical, blue collar work ethic with them. As an aside, I miss the days when that was said about the O&M. Last year, that work ethic didn't stop an OU beat down. Was it a bad game for K-State, a bad matchup, or did the Wildcats fall victim to a fired up OU team coming off their first loss?

Pick: K-State getting the points and keeping it within two touchdowns. The Sooner OL is going to be tested.

Clemson at Florida State -14.5 8:00 PM ABC
The ACC Atlantic Division CG

A FSU back we can all believe in.

FSU IS BACK! I'm going to admit, I'm starting to buy into FSU this year. G'Damnit. Stop it, just stop it already, BCO.

{rant} To hell with that. Do you know when you're back, Noles? You're back when:

• You run through the schedule, beating errbody by 20+ points
• Someone in your offensive backfield is a Heisman candidate
• Jimbo has to suspend some guys on the 3rd string for crimes committed by the starters
• The fans actually have a reason to be braggadocio, and they don't have to rely on memories from their middle school days
• FSU is ranked in the top 5 at the END of the season

During FSU's amazing run only a couple teams tripped up the Noles, one of which sure as hell wasn't Clemson. Those Noles laughed at Clemson. They swagged on Clemson. They just WERE.{/rant}

What are you now, Seminoles?

Pick: Clemson getting the points, FSU winning by 10. The Tigers will not be shutdown.

Arizona at Oregon -23.5 10:30 PM ESPN

This is college football's version of The Fast and Furious. A whole lot of sizzle, but in the end, not much steak. I'll be damned if I won't enjoy it anyway. I don't expect the Wildcats to beat Oregon, but I want to know if DickRod has turned Arizona around quick enough to make it competitive with the Ducks. So far Oregon has played 3 punching bags and now they're going to taste their first bit of real competition. The game is in Eugene, the coaching and personnel matchups all favor the Ducks, but my curiosity is piqued. I didn't get to see the Wildcats beat Okie State, so I'll think I'll do myself a solid and start drinking later in the day to be able to stay up and watch this game (get off my lawn). Good result: it's a competitive basketball game on turf, Best result: I get to see the angry derp face of DickRod often.

Pick: Arizona getting the points, but still losing by 3 touchdowns

Beer of the Week

Firestone Walker is an over looked and underated brewery out of Califorinia. The Firestone Walker Wookey Jack is everything you want in Black IPA. spicy, hoppy and malty with a clean finish. The added rye gives it a nice, unique touch as well. Highly recommended.

Quick Recap

Remember, these picks are against the spread.

Missouri at South Carolina -9.5
Oregon State at UCLA -7.5
Michigan at Notre Dame -5.5
Kansas State at Oklahoma -14.5
Clemson at Florida State -14.5
Arizona at Oregon -23.5

Don't embarrass me, pick better this week.