GAME PICKS: WEEK 11
Just out here doing my civic duty, dropping my weekly game picks on a Tuesday for once.
MY 2024 RECORD: 227-92 overall (14-11 last week)
56-18 MAC (1-1 LW)
137-39 Top 25 (9-6 LW)
43-37 in additional picks (4-4 LW)
Today, of course, is a busy day.
I usually make my weekly picks on Fridays, but this post is going to have a different flow to it now that we’ve reached November.
First, the MAC games are switching to being played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which necessitates me speeding things up more than anything else. I’ll have my MAC games made first, but the second thing I have to wait on is the College Football Playoff committee’s rankings. My Top 25 picks have always been based off where teams stood in the AP Poll, but since the CFP’s top 25 is going to finally have its first listing published tonight, I’m going to wait and see what their top 25 looks like and make my picks based off of its ranking system instead.
So my picks for the four MAC games across tonight and tomorrow are made below, and I’ll have this post updated with my Top 25 games (and eight additional ones) by Wednesday morning.
MAC GAMES
BOWLING GREEN OVER CENTRAL MICHIGAN. BGSU People’s Elbowed Toledo in it last game, and I don’t think CMU is going to be any more difficult to get by.
BALL STATE OVER MIAMI. Ball State has played up to its MAC competition and held on strong at the end of the NIU game last time out. Miami’s definitely an easy favorite coming in, but I like Ball State to play prepared (but still a live a little bit on the wild side).
OHIO OVER KENT STATE. Kent State, I want them to win so bad this year. I just don’t know if this team is going to find much improvement over its next two games: vs. Ohio, then at Miami.
WESTERN MICHIGAN OVER NORTHERN ILLINOIS. Western Michigan’s been doing the best on offense this year in the MAC, and I think that’ll matter against NIU, a team that tends to get teams to play down to its level. But do I have any confidence NIU can get 24 points on the board this week? Because they might need that and more to have a chance at beating this year’s Broncos unit.
TOP 25
NORTH TEXAS OVER #25 ARMY.
OKLAHOMA OVER #24 MISSOURI.
#23 CLEMSON OVER VIRGINIA TECH.
#21 WASHINGTON STATE OVER UTAH STATE.
TEXAS TECH OVER #20 COLORADO
#18 PITT OVER VIRGINIA.
#17 IOWA STATE OVER KANSAS.
#12 BOISE STATE OVER NEVADA.
#11 ALABAMA OVER #15 LSU.
#10 NOTRE DAME OVER FLORIDA STATE.
#9 BYU OVER UTAH.
#8 INDIANA OVER MICHIGAN.
#7 TENNESSEE OVER MISSISSIPPI STATE.
#6 PENN STATE OVER WASHINGTON.
#5 TEXAS OVER FLORIDA.
#4 MIAMI OVER GEORGIA TECH.
#3 GEORGIA OVER #16 OLE MISS.
#2 OHIO STATE OVER PURDUE.
#1 OREGON OVER MARYLAND.
EIGHT ADDITIONAL PICKS
My personal rule here: No boring picks. I’ll define that however I wish.
1-7 KENNESAW STATE OVER 1-8 UTEP?
OREGON STATE OVER SAN JOSE STATE.
CAL OVER WAKE FOREST.
BOSTON COLLEGE OVER SYRACUSE.
DUKE OVER NC STATE.
WEST VIRGINIA OVER CINCINNATI.
ARIZONA STATE OVER UCF.
VANDERBILT OVER SOUTH CAROLINA.
