GAME PICKS: WEEK 9
The result America (as a unified nation) wants to see is Navy over Notre Dame.
MY 2024 RECORD: 195-71 overall (24-7 last week)
51-15 MAC (5-1 LW)
116-31 Top 25 (15-2 LW)
37-27 in additional picks (4-4 LW)
MAC GAMES
EASTERN MICHIGAN OVER AKRON. As I’ve said before, this would be the earliest ticket EMU will have ever punched to being bowl-eligible should this team go on to beat the Zips; EMU hasn’t won six wins through its first eight games since 1989.
OHIO OVER BUFFALO.
MIAMI OVER CENTRAL MICHIGAN.
WESTERN MICHIGAN OVER KENT STATE.
TOLEDO OVER BOWLING GREEN.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS OVER BALL STATE. If there was a game that I wanted to be wrong about, look no further than the Bronze Stalk rivalry game. NIU can’t throw, but Ball State cannot stop teams from converting on third downs either (42/82, 51.22%). It would be super hilarious if NIU can, at one point in the year, go to the state of Indiana and pull off the upset of a lifetime, but then come back to Indiana to face, well, a different team and finish with different results.
TOP 25
Note: This post was written after Thursday night’s 41-13 victory for #19 Pitt over Syracuse.
#24 NAVY OVER #12 NOTRE DAME. Americans everywhere want to see it happen. Even the Notre Dame fans, known socialists, know what’s best for the entire sport here.
#22 SMU OVER DUKE.
#20 ILLINOIS OVER #1 OREGON. Let’s call it now. Illinois, while not the sexiest-looking group, has “played like a playoff team so far” (which feels illegal to say before having seen a 12-team playoff in action yet, but I don’t feel like I’m wrong either). Oregon, which just beat Ohio State two weeks ago, has a great resume as well. Illinois should right its wrongs from the Penn State loss and could have a killer game plan to limit WRs Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart (combined: 84 catches, 963 yards, 10 TD) and put QB Dillon Gabriel in some tough corners.
#18 OLE MISS OVER OKLAHOMA.
#17 BOISE STATE OVER UNLV.
#16 KANSAS STATE OVER KANSAS.
#15 ALABAMA OVER #21 MISSOURI.
#14 TEXAS A&M OVER #8 LSU.
UNDEFEATED #13 INDIANA OVER WASHINGTON.
#11 BYU OVER UCF.
#6 MIAMI OVER FLORIDA STATE. Actually, I take back what I said earlier. If there’s a game that I want to be wrong about this weekend, I’m begging for it to be this one. This would be the perfect slip-up game for the Canes.
#5 TEXAS OVER #25 VANDERBILT.
#4 OHIO STATE OVER NEBRASKA.
#3 PENN STATE OVER WISCONSIN.
EIGHT ADDITIONAL PICKS
My personal rule here: No boring picks. I’ll define that however I wish.
MICHIGAN OVER MICHIGAN STATE. All year long it’s been looking like the kind of year State would get to up-end Michigan. The bubbling-up in one somewhat obvious direction can only mean one thing: I’ll be wrong if I hold onto one game’s prediction for two months.
RUTGERS OVER USC. Headline: East Rutgers beats West Rutgers.
CINCINNATI OVER COLORADO.
BOSTON COLLEGE OVER LOUISVILLE.
BAYLOR OVER OKLAHOMA STATE.
OREGON STATE OVER CAL.
ARIZONA OVER WEST VIRGINIA.
WYOMING OVER UTAH STATE.