It's full steam ahead to week 12, and it's looking to be another good one despite the lack of another Alabama/LSU "matchup of the century." We had a pretty good performance in week 11 with both Jones and Andy Vance hitting on eight of their ten selections. Andy has pulled ahead of Ramzy on the season, but it's just by the slimmest of margins.
Chase Young's absence didn't matter as Ohio State throttled Maryland by a score of 73-14, Needless to say, Ryan Day had no problems covering the 43.5-point spread. Andrew and David were the only pickers who made the mistake of siding with the Terps.
Northwestern and Purdue have both disappointed, but it was the Wildcats favored last week in Evanston. It was a close game that saw Jeff Brohm's injury-plagued squad prevail thanks to a last-second field goal. Michigan State's late collapse against Illinois was unfortunate for Mark Dantonio. Kevin missed out on both, but everyone else had the Boilers and Illini.
The Sooners barely squeaked by the Cyclones in Norman, and this was the game that gave us the most problems. Coming in as a two-touchdown home favorite, Oklahoma allowed Matt Campbell to storm back with 20 points in the fourth quarter. A final tally of 42-41 helped keep the Sooners in the top-10 of the playoff rankings. Chris and Andy were the only staffers to correctly take the Cyclones.
This week we've got a big one in the SEC that should have some serious playoff implications, a rivalry in Ann Arbor, and Baylor looking to remain unbeaten.
- Reminder: All of our submissions are against the spread rather than a straight pick'em. The lines are from www.sportsbook.ag and are collected on Mondays of each week. There's always a chance that the lines will move in the days leading up to kickoff.
| KEVIN | CHRIS | RAMZY | HOPE | JONES | ELLIS | WERTHEIM | REGIMBAL | VANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAST WEEK: | 6-4 | 7-3 | 7-3 | 8-2 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 7-3 | 8-2 |
| OVERALL: | 52-56 | 57-51 | 69-39 | 60-48 | 58-50 | 58-50 | 55-53 | 63-45 | 70-38 |
| ACCURACY: | 48% | 53% | 64% | 56% | 54% | 54% | 51% | 58% | 65% |
| #9 Penn State (-13.5) vs. Indiana | INDY | PSU | INDY | PSU | INDY | PSU | PSU | PSU | INDY |
| #14 Wisconsin (-14) @ Nebraska | WISC | WISC | WISC | WISC | WISC | WISC | WISC | WISC | WISC |
| #15 Michigan (-14) vs. Michigan State | MICH | MICH | MSU | MICH | MICH | MICH | MICH | MSU | MSU |
| #16 Notre Dame (-8.5) vs. #23 Navy | NAVY | NAVY | NAVY | ND | NAVY | ND | NAVY | ND | NAVY |
| #2 Ohio State (-52.5) @ Rutgers | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | RUT | OSU | OSU |
| #3 Clemson (-32.5) vs. Wake Forest | WAKE | CLEM | WAKE | CLEM | CLEM | CLEM | WAKE | CLEM | WAKE |
| #4 Georgia (-3) @ #12 Auburn | UGA | AUB | UGA | AUB | UGA | UGA | UGA | AUB | UGA |
| #20 Iowa (-3) vs. #8 Minnesota | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN | IOWA | MINN | MINN |
| #1 LSU (-21) @ Ole Miss | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU |
| #10 Oklahoma (-10) @ #13 Baylor | BAY | BAY | BAY | BAY | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | BAY |
It's a bit of a surprise that Indiana isn't ranked by the committee, but I suppose the 7-2 Hoosiers haven't beaten anyone of note quite yet. Tom Allen has the chance to change that this weekend, but a road contest in Happy Valley is a tall task. The Nittany Lions are about a two-touchdown favorite and our staff is pretty split on this one.
The Spartans and Wolverines will go at it in Ann Arbor, and I'm looking forward to this one despite the lack of buzz. Michigan State has been horrendous of late and Michigan has things heading in the right direction. Sparty still has a solid run defense and Shea Patterson hasn't been too effective as a passer (No. 78 nationally). Could Dino sneak up on Harbaugh at home?
A spread of over 50+ points for a conference matchup is silly to even think about, but that's precisely what we're dealing with here. I don't know anyone who plays for Rutgers nor can I tell you who is currently coaching the team. David is obviously doing his thing and siding with the Knights. Does Jameson Williams score more than two touchdowns this week?
Georgia travels to Auburn as a field-goal favorite in what's dubbed as the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. The Tigers have an opportunity to be a major spoiler with this game and the upcoming battle with Bama. Auburn is an interesting team as it already influences Oregon and is about to do the same for its two SEC foes. Perhaps the most interesting non-playoff contender in America, in my opinion.
Minnesota still isn't getting any respect as P.J. Fleck rows his boat down to Iowa City. The Hawkeyes are the home favorite, but we're feeling Minnesota here. This is certainly a dangerous game for the Gophs as they look to continue their surge up the playoff rankings.
Six weeks ago the folks in Norman were going on and on about the Grinch that saved the Sooners. Oklahoma's defense has now dropped to No. 41 in the country after getting torched by Iowa State and Kansas State. Lincoln Riley is a road favorite against the unbeaten Bears in another game that will have postseason implications.
Who do you have on upset watch this weekend? With an over/under of 61 points, Vegas's implied total is for Ohio State to win by a score of 57-4. Do the Scarlet Knights put up any points whatsoever Saturday afternoon?
