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15.11.03

Ryan | 12:03

Haven't been on all week. Only able to be on shortly

Pro Football: I will only say this. I picked against Washington and it worked. I'm doing it again. Of course, this time I actually mean it. I mean, seriously, do you expect Washington to win at Carolina? I wish I could say that I did but I don't.


College Football: I pretty much summed Tech's loss up in my last entry. Suffice it to say that I think that Tech will blow Temple out. I won't provide any lengthy analysis, because Tech has lost only to two of the better teams in the conference (and certainly the best in the reconstituted conference), and Temple has beaten only Middle Tennessee, not exactly a football juggernaut.

Other picks:
  • Ohio State beats Purdue. Just like last week, when they beat Michigan State (predicted correctly in this man's blog), they are at home and, to boot, their offence showed me something in waxing the Spartans. Ohio State rolls. I'm not sure that this will be as bad for Purdue as was the ass-kicking they recieved at the hands of Michigan, but it will not be especially close.

  • Iowa will beat Minnesota. Minnesota isn't as good as everyone thinks. Their schedule strength is awful, rated as the 88th toughest schedule according to the BCS. That is, by far, the worst in the Big Ten. Of course, games against powerhouses like Louisiana-Lafayette and Ohio will do that to a schedule. Now, Iowa is at home, where they beat Michigan handily (something that Minnesota did...through three quarters; shame the game is four quarters long, eh?). In any case, Minnesota isn't tough enough to go into Iowa City and win.

  • Auburn beats Georgia. I know that Auburn has hit another rocky patch. I know that the game is at Sanford Stadium in Athens. Doesn't matter. Auburn was ranked in the preseason top five of most polls for a reason. Even if Tommy Tuberville can't coach under pressure, he doesn't really need to worry about that anymore. His team was, with last week's loss, eliminated from the SEC West race. So, with the pressure on Georgia, and little on Auburn, Auburn comes back and wins in Athens.

  • The ACC has befuddled me all season long. Last week, unsurprisingly, was little different. Duke beat Georgia Tech. Clemson beat Florida State. Carolina beat Wake. So, in an ACC game, I have no idea who to pick. This even extends to the top of the conference, such as today's game featuring N.C. State at Florida State. N.C. State has beaten Florida State two straight years, making me think that Chuck Amato has his old boss's number. Florida State will be playing today, though, for (a) revenge and (b) the outright conference championship, something that would be shared if N.C. State beats Florida State, and either N.C. State or Maryland wins out. Against most other teams, I would pick Florida State. But, like I said, I think that Chuck Amato has Bobby Bowden's number, and so N.C. State beats Florida State for the third straight year.

  • West Virginia may be the hottest team in the Big East right now. I know that Pitt is the only team in the conference that remains undefeated. But West Virginia has been thumping opponents (including my beloved Hokies; Pitt squeaked by. Both games against Tech were played at home, in Morgantown and Pittsburgh, respectively). Since the game is in Morgantown, with their psycho fans, and it's a night game (meaning that everyone will be extra-drunk-psycho), I have to give the big edge to West Virginia.


So here's the thing. I took a look at the standings, and Tech hasn't been mathematically eliminated from winning the conference outright. They can still, also, be crowned conference co-champions. Of course, this involves some help on the part of the other contestants. Tech can clinch a conference co-championship with Pittsburgh, West Va, Miami and/or Syracuse (and, yes, it's possible to have a 5 way tie, all at 5-2, with each going 2-2 against the other four) by (a) winning out and (b) having a lot of help. Assuming that in a game involving one of the five aforementioned teams and either BC, Temple or Rutgers, BC, TU or RU would lose, then, to secure a conference co-championship, Tech needs the following:
  • Syracuse beats both Miami and WVU
  • WVU and Miami both beat Pitt

Of course, for an outright championship (and a guaranteed spot in the BCS) for the Hokies, a lot more needs to happen:
  • This weekend (the 15th), the Hokies need
    • to beat Temple
    • Syracuse to beat Miami
    • West Virginia to beat Pitt

  • Next weekend (the 22d), the Hokies need
    • to beat Boston College
    • Temple to beat Pittsburgh
    • Rutgers to beat Miami
    • Syracuse to beat West Virginia

  • And, the last weekend of November (the 29th), the Hokies need
    • Temple to beat West Virginia
    • Rutgers to beat Syracuse
    • and Miami to beat Pitt

Farfetched? Definitely. If Tech gets its outright conference championship, I will give a million dollars to charity. Considering the odds on all of these games, I figure that this ten team parlay is about a 50,000:1 shot. But, that's just a guess on my part.

Later (but I know not when),
R.

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