We ran into some problems last week as "4-6" seemed to be a common theme among our pickers. It was a pretty sad slate of games thanks to some members of the Southeastern Conference taking a break from playing against programs with an actual football pulse.
Dan, David, and Andy Vance were the week's top performers as they each pulled through with a solid 7-3 showing. Andy is up to 64 percent on the season and is separating himself from the pack with just a few weeks remaining in our fun little endeavor.
Ohio State was well on its way to delivering a cover as the Buckeyes were up 21-0 early in the third quarter. A trio of turnovers led to some Nittany Lion points and a 28-17 victory for the home team. David had Penn State covering the 18-point spread, so props to him on that one.
The Golden Gophers were favored by 13.5 on the road at Evanston, and every one of our staff members correctly had Minnesota covering. Shea Patterson tossed five touchdowns to lead Michigan over Indiana by a score of 39-14. Most of our team had sided with Jim Harbaugh to cover the 8.5 as a road favorite.
Poor Tom Herman and the Longhorns picked up their fifth loss of the season. Baylor was favored by 5.5 points at home, but the Bears ended up with a two-touchdown victory. Five of our nine forecasters had too much faith in Texas and their MENSA man.
The Wisconsin/Purdue matchup was the one that gave us the most fits. The Badgers were a 24-point home favorite against the Boilers, but Purdue managed to keep it a tad bit closer. The final tally was 45-24 in favor of Paul Chryst's crew, but that resulted in an "L" for most of our staff members.
- 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: | 4-6 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 7-3 | 4-6 | 3-7 | 7-3 | 5-5 | 7-3 |
| OVERALL: | 61-66 | 65-62 | 77-50 | 72-55 | 67-60 | 66-61 | 67-60 | 71-56 | 81-46 |
| ACCURACY: | 48% | 51% | 60% | 57% | 53% | 52% | 53% | 56% | 64% |
| #17 Iowa (-6) @ Nebraska | IOWA | IOWA | IOWA | NEB | NEB | IOWA | IOWA | IOWA | IOWA |
| #18 Memphis (-11) vs. #19 Cincinnati | CINCY | CINCY | MEMP | CINCY | MEMP | CINCY | CINCY | MEMP | MEMP |
| #1 Ohio State (-9) @ #13 Michigan | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | MICH | OSU | MICH | OSU | OSU |
| Indiana (-7) @ Purdue | INDY | PUR | INDY | INDY | INDY | INDY | INDY | INDY | INDY |
| #3 Clemson (-26.5) @ South Carolina | CLEM | CLEM | SCAR | CLEM | CLEM | CLEM | CLEM | CLEM | SCAR |
| #5 Alabama (-4) @ #15 Auburn | BAMA | BAMA | BAMA | BAMA | BAMA | BAMA | BAMA | BAMA | BAMA |
| #12 Wisconsin (-2.5) @ #8 Minnesota | MINN | MINN | MINN | WISC | MINN | MINN | WISC | MINN | MINN |
| #2 LSU (-17) vs. Texas A&M | TAMU | TAMU | TAMU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | TAMU |
| #11 Florida (-17.5) vs. Florida State | FSU | FLOR | FLOR | FSU | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR |
| #7 Oklahoma (-13) @ #21 Oklahoma State | OKLA | OKLA | OKST | OKST | OKST | OKST | OKLA | OKST | OKST |
Our picks for week 14 get underway Friday afternoon when the Hawkeyes hit the road to Lincoln. The Huskers are coming off their best performance of the season, but you can't really judge a team based on one game against Maryland. Kirk Ferentz is a six-point favorite, and most of our pickers are siding with Iowa.
The Tigers and Bearcats both only have one loss on the season, and I was a little surprised to see such a large spread for Friday's matchup. Our staff is pretty split here, but a Cincy win would help to strengthen Ohio State's resume. We'll see what Luke Fickell can do in a tough road contest.
The biggest game of the weekend goes down in Ann Arbor as the best rivalry in sports takes center stage. The Buckeyes are a 9-point favorite against a Wolverine team that seems to be getting things rolling at the right time. Last year Ohio State's crossing routes served as Don Brown's kryptonite. This time around the arsenal includes a more mobile quarterback and a vastly improved defense. Most are rolling with Ryan Day on the road.
Fans will be able to get a nice bit of dessert after the Buckeyes and Wolverines do battle. The 3:30 p.m. lineup includes the No. 5 Crimson Tide heading to Auburn to duke it out with the No. 15 Tigers. Perhaps you've heard about this, but Alabama is without Tua Tagovailoa against a solid Auburn defense. An impressive win should keep Bama in the playoff discussion, and we like the Tide to cover.
Ohio State has already clinched its spot in Indy, but the West Division representative is yet to be determined. The championship matchup will be set tomorrow following the Minnesota/Wisconsin matchup. It's winner take all in the Twin Cities, and the Badgers are a 2.5-point road favorite. This should be a fun one to watch, and our staff is split on the outcome.
Texas A&M was once ranked 12th in the country. The Aggies are now outside of the Top-25, but you have to ask the question: Will the talking heads consider this yet another signature win for LSU? This game shouldn't be looked at a resume-booster in any way, but we'll be hearing plenty of it assuming the Tigers are victorious. We're mostly liking LSU to cover the 17 in Baton Rouge.
Who are you liking this weekend? Do the Buckeyes cover on the road? Will it be the Badgers or Gophers making their way to Indianapolis on Dec. 7?
