Hatchline’s Week 9 Pick-em Picks

Georgia @ No. 1 Florida (3:30 PM ET on CBS)
No. 3 Texas @ No. 14 Oklahoma State (8:00 PM ET on ABC)
Indiana @ No. 4 Iowa (12:00 PM ET on ESPN/360)
No. 5 USC @ No. 10 Oregon (8:00 PM ET on ABC)
UNLV @ No. 6 TCU
San Jose State @ No. 7 Boise State (3:00 PM ET on ESPN 360)
No. 8 Cincinnati @ Syracuse (12:00 PM ET on ESPNU)
Tulane @ No. 9 LSU (8:00 PM ET on ESPN 360)
No. 11 Georgia Tech @ Vanderbilt (7:30 PM ET on ESPN 360)
No. 12 Penn State @ Northwestern (4:30 PM ET on ESPN/360)
North Carolina @ No. 13 Virginia Tech (Thursday)
Wyoming @ No. 16 Utah
New Mexico State @ No. 17 Ohio State (12:00 PM ET on Big 10 Network)
Southern Miss @ No. 18 Houston
No. 19 Miami (FL) @ Wake Forest (3:30 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)
No. 21 West Virginia @ South Florida (Friday)
No. 22 South Carolia @ Tennessee (7:45 PM ET on ESPN/360)
Washington State @ No. 23 Notre Dame (7:30 PM ET on NBC)
No. 24 California @ Arizona State (3:30 PM ET on ABC/360)
No. 25 Mississippi @ Auburn (12:21 PM ET on ESPN 360)


A couple of big upsets this week. One in particular. As much as I love USC, I don’t think that they can get it done in Eugene. I just don’t think that USC can hold off the Duck’s Flying V of an offense for four quarters. They might be able to do it for three in the first, second, and fourth, but this year the Trojan defense has had abysmal third quarter defense. Things seem to work in the first half, but once the other team makes adjustments in the locker room, it takes them about 12 minutes of clock time to get adjusted themselves. Plus Pete Carrol’s USC has always been troubled in Oregon, whether at Corvallis or Eugene. The last and only loss to Oregon in the last 5 years came in 2007, the last time they were there.

Week 8 Pick-em results. A Slightly Boring Victory. But a Big Victory Nonetheless.

Of the 22 BCS Top 25 games this week, 21 teams did what they were supposed to do. Only two upsets this week, but Oklahoma over Kansas is hardly an upset, so the only ones who didn’t win their game in a weekend of gimmes was Miami. Clemson was a .500 team coming into this game and should have been outmatched by the once again rising Hurricanes, but Clemson was able to hold out and keep me away from a perfect week once again.

I can hardly claim perfection in such a boring week of competition. It’s hard to say that any weekend in October could mean a boring week for sports. There are dozens of major stories happening each week in October, but it wasn’t necessarily the action that was missing, just the match-ups. With the exception of an underrated Oregon State team facing USC, there wasn’t a real college game this week, even though there proved to be some exciting ones (Tennessee v. Alabama & Iowa v. Michigan State). Pretty much everyone in the Top 25 won by double digits, or it was never really even a contest. Oregon State put up some late game numbers in their bout with USC, but it was pretty clear early who would win. The final score doesn’t necessarily reflect the nature of that game. It’s always tough for me not to pick upsets, and even though I picked one on paper with OU beating 25th ranked KU, that wasn’t really an upset pick. So this was my first week of not really picking any upsets, but with this uninteresting week in both College Football and the NFL, I couldn’t pick any.

With a 21-1 week, I’m now at a 130-31 count. That puts me at the highest percentage I’ve been all season at .81, so I shouldn’t really be complaining. Next week should be much more interesting, which could once again negatively effect my numbers. The two major battles of the week will be No. 3 Texas traveling to No. 15 Oklahoma State and No. 5 USC heading up to Eugene to visit the mighty No. 10 Oregon Ducks. More than likely, Oregon is going to cause a lot of problems for the Trojans. After their season opening debacle against Boise State, Oregon has caught ablaze putting up ridiculously impressive numbers. They haven’t faced a defense like USC yet however, and SC has the advantages on both the defensive and offensive line. Everyone thinks it’ll be close and it’s always really hard to win in Oregon, whether at Corvallis or Eugene, but I think the Trojans will edge out the Ducks, if only by a little; but that’s assuming USC can score the points.

Hatchline’s Week 8 College Pick-em Picks

No. 1 Florida @ Mississippi State (7:30 PM ET on ESPN/360)
Tennessee @ No. 2 Alabama (3:30 PM ET on CBS)
No. 3 Texas @ Missouri (8:00 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)
No. 4 Boise State @ Hawaii (11:05 PM ET on ESPN 360)
Louisville @ No. 5 Cincinnati (3:30 PM ET on ESPNU)
No. 6 Iowa @ Michigan State (7:00 PM ET on Big 10 Network)
Oregon State @ No. 7 USC (8:00 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)
No. 8 TCU @ No. 16 BYU
Auburn @ No. 9 LSU (7:30 PM ET on ESPN2/360)
Clemson @ No. 10 Miami (FL) (3:30 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)
No. 11 Oregon @ Washington (3:30 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)
No. 12 Georgia Tech @ Virginia
No. 13 Penn State @ Michigan (3:30 PM ET on ABC)
No. 15 Oklahoma State @ Baylor
Southern Methodist @ No. 17 Houston
Air Force @ No. 18 Utah
Minnesota @ No. 19 Ohio State (12:00 PM ET on ESPN/360)
South Florida @ No. 20 Pittsburgh (12:00 PM ET on ESPN 360)
UCLA @ No. 22 Arizona
Connecticut @ No. 23 West Virginia (7:00 PM ET on ESPNU)
Vanderbilt @ No. 24 South Carolina (7:00 PM ET on ESPNU)
Oklahoma @ No. 25 Kansas (3:30 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)

After last week’s poor showing, this is a make up week with a lot of not-so-exciting games and a relatively safe week with only 1 upset, which is only really an upset on paper, Sooners over Jayhawks. With officiating being ridiculed on all fronts (Football, Basketball, and definitely Baseball!), this is sure to be a more tightly watched weekend. Look for the once favored teams (FLORIDA… ahem) to not (GET THE GAME HANDED TO THEM… ahem) have the same sort of advantages (REFEREES UNDER INVESTIGATION… ahem… sorry, I’ve got this cough that translates into my typing. I don’t know what the deal is. This is weird) that they had last week. Fortunately for the big boys, they’re all playing lesser teams. Gators at Miss State, Volunteers at Bama, Longhorns at Missou and Hawkeyes at Spartans; those should all be winners. Once again, the PAC-10 shows that they’re the only ones with consistently difficult schedules. Oregon State at USC might be a blowout, but we all know what the Beavers did to the men of Troy last year, and just like the SEC, 80% of the teams are legit. Only there’s less teams in the PAC-10 and they all play each other. The PAC-10 isn’t the best conference, but it’s certainly much tougher than people give them credit for.

A Freeway Series May Be a Long Way Away

Los Angeles had a rough weekend for baseball. Not only did the Dodgers get absolutely creamed last night in Philadelphia, but the Angels lose a heartbreaker in New York the night before (or early that morning, if you prefer) on a Maicer Izturis throwing error in the bottom of the unlucky 13th inning (right). Neither team is out of it yet, but it does appear that the LA thirst for a freeway series may not be quenched in 2009.

Phillies absolutely roll over the Dodgers 11-0. Trouble happened early and often for the Blue, starting with Hiroki Kuroda (below left) in the first inning. Kuroda pitched 1 2/3 innings with 6 earned runs. He was replaced by Elbert in the bottom of the second, but really it wasn’t early enough. It’s tough to watch a starting pitcher get pulled in the 1st, but Kuroda could not find the strike zone. On multiple occasions in the first inning, the count quickly rang to 3-0 or 3-1, and the Phillies made him pay. Like any great major league pitcher, once your team is up, you can really turn on the heat, and Cliff Lee pitched a lights out game.

Many are blaming Joe Torre on the loss once again, and it’s pretty easy to see why. Kuroda had been out for weeks with a herniated cervical vertebra (neck) and had only pitched a few side games against wimpy-batted Arizona. Not to make excuses, but this was a throw away game anyway. Besides the surprising performance from Pedro Martinez in game two, the Phillies don’t really have any great starters besides Cliff Lee. From a long way off, this seemed like the game that Philly would win, regardless of who started for the Dodgers. So why waste a game with someone like Padilla or Wolf when you can try and see if you can get anything from the only pitcher who did anything in last year’s NLCS, Kuroda? It was a gamble yes, but one that had a relatively similar balance on win vs loss.

Unfortunately for LA fans, this isn’t really looking like the year. But after today we’ll really get a chance to see where LA stands in the Championship Series. Both games are must wins for each team. The term “must win” is greatly over used, but a win by the Phillies or Yankees puts each team away from the World Series by one win. Dodgers would be down 3-1, and Angels would be down 3-0. With how Philadelphia and NY are playing right now, that would be an absolutely insurmountable distance to make up.

Week 7 Pick-em Results. Shame Once Again.

I guess I shouldn’t have gotten used to the near-perfect weeks. This week I got embarrassed with a poor, poor record of 12-6. 109-30 is the count now and puts me back in the barely passing category of .78. This is the way the college football gods keep hotheads like me in check. The gods of this great game favored a few others today with some outrageous finishes and oddly upsetting outcomes.

The story of the day is Arkansas’ near victory over Florida… but I’ll get to that later. First, I must defend my most frustrating loss of the day. Texas squeaks by a Bradford-less Oklahoma 16-13. Last year it was the battle of the outrageously impressive offenses, now it was the battle of the outrageously overrated offenses. I guess some say great defenses, but it certainly seemed like underperforming offenses to me. I’m always against should-a, could-a, would-a, but Bradford is worth more than 3 points to his offense. He maybe only worth 4, but that’s one point more than their final deficit. I’m just saying, Bradford plays more than two series, Oklahoma wins the Red River Rivalry.

Now we get to the meat and potatoes, Arkansas Razorbacks v. the Florida Tebows. Oh wait, that’s not their name? I could have swore it was. Was this Tebow’s final push for the Heisman? That’s what the early blogroll is saying, but I actually say the opposite. I’ll root for the Razorback and have become somewhat of a Razorback apologist, but the Razorback defense comes into this game as one of the worst in the SEC. IF Tebow was all that EVERY SPORTS ANALYST/ANNOUNCER/SIDELINE REPORTER says he is, they should have won this game by 55 points. Instead, we see a terrible Arkansas defense look really good. For the most part, it was the fact that the Razorback D played really well, no one can take that away from them. But shouldn’t Tim Tebow, the Savior of us all (pictured above in all his glory, and yes, that is bacon coming out of his hand), light up a defense no matter what? Tebow didn’t play that outstanding until the final drive, and even in the final drive, he was okay. Not outstanding. I didn’t see anything that would make me jump out of my chair and agree with all those analysts. Everyone is saying that the last drive shows he should win the Heisman, but “the best player in college football” shouldn’t ever even be in that situation in the first place.

I have to get this in because it really was important. I never say this unless it is an absolute certainty that a call affected the outcome of a game, but two really bad phantom penalties affected the outcome of this game. I swear that I will blame my own mother for the loss of a game before I’ll point the finger at the official. It’s a tactic that’s overdone and almost always misused. If you saw the game, you know which two penalties I’m talking about. The pass interference and personal fouls against Arkansas that led to Florida’s tying touchdown. When Verne Lundquist goes against his bias for Florida and Tebow and says that the call was terrible, I’ve got to believe he’s right. They were so bad I had several friends (none Arkansas fans) who called me and tried to have me explain what just happened because they truly didn’t know. Unfortunately for Arkansas and Alabama, Texas, Boise State, and USC, the referees certainly handed the opportunity to the Gators on a silver platter. They did have to execute and Arkansas missed their opportunities yes, but at the end of the day, the difference is shown in a single stat: Hogs 10 penalties for 92 yards (3 of which were on key win-or-go-home drives for the Gators), and Gators, 3 penalties for 16 yards. Stats never lie.

ONE MORE TEBOW RANT: I am sick and tired of everyone talking about how “Tebow finds a way to win.” I’ve heard it said many times today about the end of that game. How about “the Florida offense finds a way to win?” Why is it always Tebow’s responsibility when they win, but never his responsibility when something goes wrong? I recently heard a college football analyst reflect on a short crossing pass where Tebow threw the ball behind his receiver by about 3 or 4 yards. His response was, “that receiver OVERRAN the route.” So apparently, Tebow threw the ball in the right location, but the receiver was wrong. Like’s like punching someone in the face and getting mad at them for running into your fist. It would have been about a 7 or 8 yard game against LSU last week. It’s absolutely ridiculous how much love this guy gets. The bummer is, I actually like the guy. I think he’s a great human being, but, like Brett Farve, announcers and analysts have this absolute love affair with him. It’s difficult to hear so much praise for one person. It’s time to stop looking at the man, and look at the team. Because the team’s pretty good. He helps it, but the TEAM is still in 1st. At least for now. Bama may jump you this week Gators.

Phillies Steal Home Field Advantage in Game 1

In the top of the 5th inning last night, the Phillies did their damage. After pitching an incredibly competitive first four innings, Clayton Kershaw had a complete meltdown. Kershaw threw only 11 wild pitches all season, but lost the strike zone and threw three in one inning. Rarely do I ever blame coaches and managers for losses because it’s always the players that have to execute, but Torre might need to be credited with this loss.

Even after the first two wild pitches in the fifth, Torre was still going to stick with his 21 year-old starter. Even after Carlos Ruiz smacked a three-run homer with no outs on the board, Torre was still going to stick with his starter. A reliever wasn’t even warming up until AFTER Kershaw (pictured above) walked Philly Pitcher Cole Hamels on four pitches after Ruiz’s three-run shot. Kershaw pitched four great innings, but he lost his stuff. If it was the 2nd inning, maybe give him some time, but not halfway through the game. Torre should have pulled him after the Ruiz’s home run.

The fifth inning is where the game was lost, even though bullpen ace George Sherrill blew it in the 8th. Sherrill has been dynamite since the Dodgers acquired him from Baltimore earlier this year, (2 runs in 27 ⅔ innings), and had LA not been in such a hole from the 5th, 3 runs in the top of the 8th really wouldn’t have mattered. The Dodgers are great when leading. The pitching staff can historically get a little shaky when having to make up ground, and LA’s consistent strength throughout the year has been their unstoppable bullpen. The most they’ve ever come back from is a 5 run deficit, but that was way back in the beginning of June. The Dodgers are like the horse racing legend War Admiral, once they get ahead, they never look back.

The Dodgers are very much still in the race. Even though home field advantage is no longer relevant, it’s not over yet. A disturbing statistic is that 14 out of the last 16 Game 1 NLCS winners went on to the Series. A reverse of that stat then is only 2 teams since 1992 have come back to win after losing the first game. But the last time it did happen was only in 2006, when the St. Louis Cardinals beat the NY Mets in 7. Oh yeah, they went on the win the World Series by the way.

Hatchline’s Week 7 College Pick-em Picks

Winners in BOLD. Picks are for winners only, not to cover point spread.

Arkansas @ No. 1 Florida (3:30 PM ET on CBS)
No. 22 South Carolina @ No. 2 Alabama (7:45 PM ET on ESPN/360)
No. 20 Oklahoma @ No. 3 Texas (12:00 PM ET on ABC)
No. 4 Virginia Tech @ No. 19 Georgia Tech (6:00 PM ET on ESPN2/360)
No. 5 Boise State @ Tulsa (Wednesday PM)
No. 6 USC @ No. 25 Notre Dame (3:30 PM ET on Notre Dame Broadcasting Channel [or NBC])
No. 7 Ohio State @ Purdue (12:00 PM ET on Big 10 Network)
NO. 8 Cincinnati @ No. 21 South Florida (Thursday, 7:30 PM ET on ESPN/360)
No. 9 Miami (FL) @ UCF
No. 11 Iowa @ Wisconsin (12:00 PM ET on ESPN/360)
Colorado State @ NO. 12 TCU
Minnesota @ No. 14 Penn State (3:30 PM ET on ABC)
Texas Tech @ No. 15 Nebraska (3:30 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)
Missouri @ No. 16 Oklahoma State (9:15 PM ET on ESPN2/360)
No. 17 Kansas @ Colorado
No. 18 BYU @ San Diego State
No. 23 Houston @ Tulane
No. 24 Utah @ UNLV

I’m telling you though, this week it was really tough for me not to go crazy and pick South Florida over Cincinnati and Missouri over Oklahoma State on top of my upsets already. But thought I’d play it safe and just pick Oklahoma over Texas and Wisconsin over Iowa.

Check back next week for my victory. Or check back next week for my shame.

And Then There Were Four

October is the easily the best month in sports, and the MLB post-season is one of the best things in October. 30 teams started in April, now only 4 remain. Three sweeps and one 4-game series prove that the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, and Phillies are truly in the right spot.

With incredible comebacks, this has been one of the most exciting first rounds in recent memory. Dodgers 9th inning comeback in game 2 against the Cardinals was the most exciting baseball game I’ve ever seen. Well, maybe the most exciting 9th inning I’ve ever seen. The Dodgers have been railed for having weak pitching, but Wolf, Billingsley, and Padilla held the Cardinals to only 6 runs, easily taking care of Pujols. What’s most impressive is that LA survived arguably the best one-two punch in Major League Baseball in Chris Carpenter & Adam Wainright. Not many thought they’d be able to take one, let alone two games from those two. Even the LA Times picked St. Louis to sweep the Dodgers. But one must remember that the Dodgers had a playoff spot virtually locked up for the last two months. They ended with a terrible road trip which almost knocked them out of a Division Championship, but when you’re on the road, with a 7 or 8 game lead, playing terrible teams, it’s pretty difficult to rise to the challenge and have fun playing baseball. No one really thought that the Dodgers could flip the switch, but it sure seems like they have. Watch out Philly. Dodgers in 6.

The Yankees have been getting a lot of love recently, but it might be the love Kate Hudson is giving ARod that’s changed him for the better. On his show, David Letterman mentioned that there are rumors that Kate Hudson may be pregnant. His response was that it “might be the first time Alex Rodriguez has ever produced in October!” Hey-O! But Dave’s not too far off. However, this year’s a little different. Through controversy and injury, the spotlight isn’t directly on him, and he’s been absolutely on fire with 5 hits, 2 home runs, and 6 RBI. The LA Angels of Anaheim also impressively knocked off their Achilles heel, the Boston Red Sox. The Angels are the only ones who can boast a winning record against the Yankees in the last five years, and they certainly not going to be afraid of them this time around.

Do I dare predict a freeway series between Angels and Dodgers? It’s difficult not to. If it doesn’t happen this year, it probably never will. For me the Yankees just seem too good this year. There’s a different mentality in the locker room that shows on the field, both in the faces of the players and in the box scores. Angels are also riding a very personal wave with the loss of their upstart young starting pitcher Nick Adenhart to a drunk driving accident. Both of these teams have something worth fighting for. It’s very difficult to pick a winner, but I really have to say Yankees win it in the end. As far as the Phillies and Dodgers are concerned, apart from Cliff Lee, Philadelphia’s pitching is atrocious. While they’ve got fantastic bats with Victorino, Utley, and Howard, the Dodger Bullpen has proved itself to be nearly unhittable. But the Dodgers have been as about as inconsistent of a team you’ll find this far into the playoffs, so you never really know. But as far as I can see, I’m looking at a Dodgers v Yankees World Series.

Hatchline Is Back

We apologize for the late posting to follow, but eBlogger, the blog vendor for Hatchline has been having some issues and has been down for the last few days. So for all of you who frequently check this site, here's the posts from the last few days. Thank you for being patient.

Week 6 Pick-em Results. Near Perfect Victory.

So much for being in trouble this week. I was 3 measly points away from having a perfect week. Total for the week? 17-1. 17-1! Had it not been for 5 Michigan turnovers, I’d be riding higher than I already am. Michigan had the opportunity but completely blew it. Back up QB Denard Robinson completely collapsed under the pressure. Robinson is another player to categorize under an epidemic that’s been growing over the last 10 years, the “Running back posing as a Quarterback Syndrome.” Sure he can throw the football. He can overthrow his receiver by 15 yards on a last-shot game-winning drive to blow the game.

Starting QB Tate Forcier was unable to ignite the Wolverine offense in the second half, so with 7:42 left in the game, Rich Rodriguez puts in their back up RB, I mean QB, to try and energize his boys and confuse the ones on the other side of the line. It worked. Robinson put together an 11-play, 59 yard touchdown drive. Robinson ran 8 times, threw twice, and handed off the ball once. It seemed like Robinson was the guy who was going to win it for you. Unfortunately, with only 1:30 left, you can’t call a QB draw every play. Not enough time. So you put the ball in the air, try to throw more than 10 yards, and end up with the 5th turnover of the game. That’s what happens when you rely on a running back to take the snaps.

After this week’s near-perfect record, Hatchline’s College Pick-em total is 97-24, putting me cleaning in the 80th percentile. Check back on Thursday for next weeks picks, trying to take me up from .80. I’m going to need a week’s worth of research to try and top last week.

Hatchline’s Week 6 College Pick-em Picks.

Winners in BOLD. Picks are for winners only, not to cover point spread.

No. 1 Florida @ No. 4 LSU (8:00 PM ET on CBS)
Colorado @ No. 2 Texas (7:15 PM ET on ESPN/360)
No. 3 Alabama @ No. 20 Mississippi (3:30 PM ET on CBS)
Boston College @ No. 5 Virginia Tech (12:00 PM ET on ESPN 360)
Wisconsin @ No. 9 Ohio State (3:30 PM ET on ABC)
No. 10 TCU @ Air Force
Florida A&M @ No. 11 Miami (FL) (7:00 PM ET on ESPN 360)
Michigan @ No. 12 Iowa (8:05 PM ET on ABC)
No. 13 Oregon @ UCLA (3:30 PM ET on ABC)
Eastern Illinois @ No. 14 Penn State (ESPN Classic/360)
No. 15 Oklahoma State @ Texas A&M
Iowa State @ No. 16 Kansas
No. 17 Auburn @ Arkansas (12:00 PM ET on ESPN/360)
No. 18 BYU @ UNLV
Baylor @ No. 19 Oklahoma (3:30 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)
No. 21 Nebraska @ No. 24 Missouri (Thursday @ 9:00 PM ET)
No. 22 Georgia Tech @ Florida State (8:00 PM ET on ESPN2/360)
Kentucky @ No. 25 South Carolina (12:30 PM ET on ESPN 360)

Check back next week for my victory. Or check back next week for my shame.

Week 5 Pick-em Results. Victory.

Coming off of an incredibly respectable 14-3 weekend where Oklahoma lost to Miami and Houston lost to UTEP, this may be a rebound week. Meaning I may be in trouble this week. Last week’s picks add my total to 80-23. Now I’m at 78%, inching my way back towards a B-.

The big news of the week is that I picked one of the "big" upsets of the week. Michigan State over Michigan is hardly an upset, at least not on paper it isn't. Michigan St. has had Michigan's number over the last few years. Come to think of it, everyone has had Michigan's number over the last few years, but this overtime loss to a decent Spartan team shows that the silver lining for the Wolverine's cloud is starting to shine brighter every week. The boys in blue are on their way back to domination in the Big 10. They may be only a few years away from even being discussed in the National Championship contenders. Rich Rodriguez has his boys in blue pointed towards the right direction.

Hatchline’s Week 5 College Pick-em Picks

Winners in BOLD. Picks are for winners only, not to cover point spread.

No. 3 Alabama @ Kentucky (12:21 PM ET on ESPN 360)
No. 4 LSU @ No. 18 Georgia (3:30 PM ET on CBS)
UC Davis @ No. 5 Boise State (8:00 PM ET on ESPN 360)
No. 6 Virginia Tech @ Duke (12:00 PM ET on ESPN 360)
No. 7 USC @ No. 24 California (8:00 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)
No. 8 Oklahoma @ No. 17 Miami (8:00 PM ET on ABC/ESPN 360)
No. 9 Ohio State @ Indiana (7:00 PM ET on Big 10 Network)
No. 10 Cincinnati @ Miami (OH) (1:00 PM ET on ESPN 360)
Southern Methodist @ No. 11 TCU
No. 12 Houston @ UTEP
Arkansas State @ No. 13 Iowa (12:05 PM ET on ESPN2/360)
No. 15 Penn State @ Illinois (3:30 PM ET on ABC)
Washington State @ No. 16 Oregon (9:15 PM ET on XOS Webcast)
Utah State @ No. 20 BYU
No. 21 Mississippi @ Vanderbilt (7:00 PM ET on ESPNU)
No. 22 Michigan @ Michigan State (12:00 PM ET on Big 10 Network)
No. 25 Georgia Tech @ Mississippi State (7:30 PM ET on ESPN 360)


Check back next week for my victory. Or check back next week for my shame.