CFB Picks Week 6: Ole Miss Football Cannot Condone Hate Speech

On Thursday, news came out Ole Miss football players attended a play this week. According to reports, it is a part of the freshman football curriculum to take a theater class.  They saw a school play featuring the story of Matthew Shepard, the victim of one of the biggest hate crimes in the United States of America. Ole Miss football team hurled gay slurs throughout the play along with other people in the audience.

I am not going to defend these men in any way, but I will say we have some immaturity going here with Ole Miss's team.  There were mostly freshman according to the report meaning these are 18 or 19 year olds although there is no real tolerance for calling people on stage 'faggot' and other hurtful and hateful words. Further, who the hell heckles at a play? One of the things about seeing theater is being respectful of what is going on stage just completely inexcusable in all facets of this story.

Ole Miss should suspend these players for a couple games. They should really make an effort to be more proactive in the situation. Suspend them, and make them work at the playhouse on campus being ushers, stage crew, etc instead of football practice for at least a week or two. One of the things that always pissed me off is there always seems at schools there is a disconnect from the athletes especially football and basketball to the rest of the campus. Ole Miss needs to take the step in the right direction to show no one is above hate speech.

Grab the Beers and Bros 
16. Washington at 5. Stanford 9:30 pm ESPN - Best game of the day and it comes at 9:30 pm. I have said I like these games because it gives me a reason to be anti-social at the bars whilst out when this game is being played. Washington is a legitimate team who could be Stanford on the road. It will all be about who controls the ball more? Bishop Sankey faces his toughest defensive challenge this year and Kevin Hogan will have to deal with a nails tough Husky defense too. This will be a competitive, exciting game but I like the Cardinal in a game like this one. They pull it out very late. STAN 20-17

4. Ohio State at 16. Northwestern 7:00 pm ABC - Some people think this will be a Buckeye blowout. Some people think Northwestern will find a way to pull an upset. There is no real read on this game. I think there will be a ton of points in this game as both offenses are high-powered as they come. Braxton Miller looked last week why people were talking him up for the Heisman trophy in August. Northwestern like South Carolina have found a way to master the two-quarterback system with Trevor Siemain and Kain Coulter. The Wildcats will also get Vernic Mark back from injury which is a huge boost to this team's offense. I feel like it will be shootout and I think Ohio State does just enough to win this football. It should be a good one. OSU 38-34

25. Maryland at 8. Florida State 11:00 am ESPN - Who would have thought this game would be interesting when the season started? Randy Edsall is doing a hell of a job at Maryland and probably has the best athlete in College Football with Stefon Diggs. He will be up against a tough Florida State secondary. Jameis Winston struggled a bit early on, but he came on very strong as the game went on in Boston College. I think Maryland will beat some teams this year, but I cannot see them pulling it off in Tallahassee. Too much Winston leads to a Noles victory. FSU 24-19

Channel Flip Worthy
Arkansas at 18. Florida 6:00 pm ESPN2 - This could be a more interesting game than imagined. Arkansas is seen as a team a year away, but they have one of, if not the best freshman running back with Alex Collins. The Razorbacks can put up points with the best of them, but can they actually do it against a tough defense? Florida presents a challenge, but this will be their first game since Jeff Driskel's injury plus they have not played well against higher quality opponents. I feel like this goes back and forth for awhile with Florida taking control late. UF 27-17

TCU at 11. Oklahoma 6:00 pm FOX - This should be a fun game for all parties involved and this could also be called 'Charlie is wrong bowl.' I already talked this week about Oklahoma and TCU was a team I thought could sneak to the top of the Big 12. Granted, Casey Pachall's injury plus Trevone Boykin's regression makes for a bad equation for the Horned Frogs. Blake Bell will face his first tough defense of the season and I would not be fully confident he will succeed against them yet the same can be said about Boykin versus the Oklahoma secondary. I like the Sooners to win this one in a close, defensive struggle. OKLA 16-10

Georgia Tech at 14. Miami 2:30 pm ESPNU - I have some trepidation about picking the Hurricanes in this one. It seems like they have shored up their defense, but have they really seen an offense like Georgia Tech in terms of production not the style. I loved how Uncle Verne referred to Mettenberger-Murray as a tennis match and I think we will see the same thing with Vad Lee-Stephen Morris. Those two should be an absolute delight to watch in a game that will feature no defense. Miami wins this one as Duke Johnson becomes the go-to guy late in the game. MIA 45-38

Minnesota at 19. Michigan 2:30 pm ABC - This is a rivalry game lacking the real rivalry in the past couple of years with the futility of Minnesota. The Gophers have a squad this season and could give Michigan a game if the Wolverines chose to play like they did the last two times they took the field. I cannot see that happening though. Michigan had two weeks to prepare for Goldy and attempt to fix Devin Gardner. Once again, the Gophers will struggle to put up points like they did against Iowa and Michigan wins going away. MICH 27-13

Upset Alert 
24. Ole Miss at Auburn 6 pm ESPNU - Let's do this damn thing. I think Auburn is a decent football team with a solid quarterback in Nick Marshall. They welcome Ole Miss who plays Texas A&M at home next week in their biggest home game in years, and they are coming off a horrible loss at Alabama plus they are dealing with the issue we talked about above right before Saturday, it is not a good time to be a Rebel. I like the Tigers to win this one as Ole Miss will be somewhere else than Jordan-Hare Stadium. AUB 24-23

23. Arizona State vs. Notre Dame (Played in Arlington, Texas) 6:30 pm NBC - Maybe I am alone here, but I still believe in Notre Dame and I do not believe in Arizona State at all. They had no business in beating Wisconsin and beating USC is not what it used to be at all. Let's remember two weeks ago when all the attention went towards Arizona State against Stanford, they crumbled pretty hard. Now, Notre Dame is not Stanford at all, but I feel like George Atkinson will have another huge game if they use him like the Badgers did Melvin Gordon. Notre Dame is going to be the team we will never be able to figure out all year.
ND 30-24

A palate cleanser for your Netflix binge watch 
West Virginia at 17. Baylor 7:00 pm FOX Sports 1 - This game last year featured a score of 70-63, got me into one of my bigger Twitter arguments of the year with my friend Eric and others. I doubt this game will have either of those things happen again.  Baylor has not played anyone this year, but I feel like they will show their 70-point bombs were no fluke. BAY 52-21

6. Georgia at Tennessee 2:30 pm CBS - People do not think of these teams as rivals, but they do not like each other. Sadly, Tennessee is a couple years away from being a good team. Georgia might have a little big of a letdown, but they will pull away in the second half. UGA 42-17

3. Clemson at Syracuse 2:30 pm ABC - The Solid Verbal's term 'Clemsoning' has went mainstream, and this would be a 'Clemsoning' loss to the highest degree. The Carrier Dome does weird things to teams. Way closer than anyone expected it to be. Clemson escapes with a big Tajh Boyd drive. CLEM 30-28

Kansas State at 21. Oklahoma State 2:30 pm ABC - Hm. This should be a better game than it actually will be this weekend. Kansas State is not the same team as they were last season and Oklahoma State needs to bounce back after their horrible loss to West Virginia. I think J.W. Walsh reemerges and the Pokes do alright. OK State 31-17

10. LSU at Mississippi State 6:00 pm ESPN - 'Dan Mullen Tries to Save his Job Bowl!'  I do not if that's accurate, but if LSU lays the hammer on Mississippi State, Mullen's seat might start getting warm. LSU rolls in this one. LSU 38-14

Sleep off your hangover 
Georgia State at 1. Alabama 11:21 am ESPN3 - BAMA 42-7
2. Oregon at Colorado 5:00 pm Pac-12 Network - OREG 52-10
7. Louisville at Temple 11:00 am ESPN3 - UL 55-3
Kentucky at 13. South Carolina 6:30 ESPN Gameplan - SCAR 37-14
20. Texas Tech at Kansas 11:00 am FOX Sports 1 - TTU 45-6
23. Fresno State at Idaho 4:00 pm No TV - FRESNO 52-7