CFB Picks Week 11: Thursday Night Letdown

It is about 24 hours now since Stanford started out their game against Oregon. Expectations were high for a great game and we did not get it for three and a half quarters. Stanford imposed their will against Oregon basically beating down the Ducks for most of the game and had a 26-0 advantage at one point. The game finished at 26-20 with a sprited comeback from the Ducks.  This was the second game of a great night of college football, but it never became great.

(H/T USA Today Sports)

Baylor bashed Oklahoma with big-time offense as well as tough defense. If you think Baylor is a team full of soft players with a ton of offense, you thought absolutely dead wrong. Baylor's defense was the most impressive thing from last team. Sure, Stanford's looked great against Oregon, but remember they forced turnovers at the right time. If Oregon scores instead of going 1/4 in the red zone, it is a different game. Baylor's defense played like a bunch of badasses and played like a team who could compete with Alabama. Yeah I said it.

So this Thursday night reminds me of a Thirsty Thursday in college when you hit the bars and it looked like a ghost town. That is the biggest problem with going out on a Thursday. Sometimes, it will hit perfectly and the other times, it is a complete dud.

Grab Your Beers and Friends 
13. LSU at 1. Alabama 7:00 pm CBS - No one is talking about the big annual matchup between these two opponents this year. I think a lot of it has to do with everyone thinks Alabama will roll LSU. They are expecting a double-digit win and that's why I kind of like LSU in this one. Do I think they win this football game? Probably not.  But I think this is a close game. Look John Chavis is too good of a defensive coordinator to have a defense this bad, and they are young guys meaning they will start putting together in November. Zach Mettenberger owned Alabama last year, and his receivers could have a field day on Saturday. Alabama is Alabama and they are a really good football team yet I still want to see them against a team like LSU. If they dominate this game, there is no reason to doubt them until January. Crimson Tide escape in another high SEC scoring game. BAMA 31-27

BYU at 24. Wisconsin 2:30 pm ESPN - Sorry for no Badger preview today. I ended up getting caught up with work and this why it is getting posted on Friday night. BYU is red hot winning their last five games including wins against Georgia Tech and Houston. Their defense does stop the run nicely, but they struggle a bit with the pass. I have a feeling playaction will play a large part in what Wisconsin does on Saturday afternoon. I have trouble seeing a fresh face Cougar team coming into Camp Randall and winning this football game. I think it will be close, but the Badgers prevail in the fourth. UW 34-21

Virginia Tech at 11. Miami 6:00 pm ESPN - Bad break for Miami as Duke Johnson is out for the year. Hurricanes now rely on Stephen Morris which should worry fans as Virginia Tech carries the best pass defense in all the land.  Virginia Tech is reeling a bit losing their last two games. If the Hokies win this game, they take the top spot in the ACC Coastal based off their wins against Miami and Georgia Tech. Miami did not look great on Saturday, and it feels like they only win this game if they force Logan Thomas to do dumb things. I will take Virginia Tech in the upset, but I could see it going about seven different directions.
VT 20-17

Houston at 21. UCF 6:00 pm ESPN2 - You probably do not know about this one, but let me sit you down for a minute... These two teams have a combined record of 14-1, they are both unbeaten in the AAC where a team gets a BCS berth. As always, Houston carries a big gun quarterback in John O'Korn.  In his last two games, he has thrown for 627 yards and eight touchdowns with zero interceptions. Minus a bad performance against BYU, Houston's defense is better than years past. UCF kept riding the high after beating Louisville and only hold lost to South Carolina. Blake Bortles is a stud and a guy whom could be a high draft pick this year even. Also, UCF has a top 20 scoring defense. Even though they have improved defenses, I see some high-scoring and I see Bortles coming out on top very late. UCF 33-30

Channel Flip-Worthy
19. UCLA at Arizona 9:00 pm ESPN - I am iffy on this one. I am so close to pulling Arizona has another upset pick here. UCLA is in the 70's when it comes to stopping the run meaning Ka'Deem Carey could have a field day and control the clock for Arizona. But when I think about who is the best player on the field, I go with Brett Hundley over Carey. I see Hundley doing more with this road trip than what did in Eugene a couple weeks ago and giving the Bruins a close win. UCLA 35-27

2. Florida State at Wake Forest 11:00 am ABC - Be careful Noles. I see Florida State all cocky and everyone is on their high horse after Oregon losing when they head to Wake Forest. This is not a given. Wake nearly beat Miami this year but then again, they lost by 49 to Clemson plus got shut out last week against Syracuse. I am not saying this will be a close game by the midway through the fourth, but I feel like Wake will at least put a fight for a couple quarters. FSU 35-14

23. Notre Dame at Pittsburgh 7:00 pm ABC - These two played one of the most screwy football games of the year last season when Notre Dame squeaked out a win in double overtime. Many of those characters are gone. The Irish get Louis Nix back which is huge and hopefully solves some of Notre Dame's problems on defense. Pittsburgh needs to find a way to score though. They have back-to-back losses against Navy and Georgia Tech and they only had 10 points against the Yellow Jackets last week. Notre Dame is an above average team, but I still think an above average team wins at Pittsburgh even in a night environment.
ND 27-21

Upset Alert 
9. Auburn at Tennessee 11:00 am ESPN - Soooo remember Tennessee's only win in the SEC was home win against South Carolina. The game also started at 11 am.  Another ranked team comes into Knoxville at 11 am and it is the surprising Auburn. They play Georgia next week in a big rivalry, and I possibly could see them looking ahead.  The key player in this one is Justin Worley, Tennessee's quarterback. Auburn holds the 93rd ranked passing defense and Worley will need to capitalize. If there is one concern for the upset, it would be Tre Mason going insane. Tennessee is a good team at home, and I think you take last week's game with a grain of salt. The Vols find a way to win this game. TENN 23-20

16. Fresno State at Wyoming 9:15 pm ESPN2 - If the Cowboys are going to win this game, it will be in shootout fashion. They are able to throw the ball with Brett Smith as Fresno State was a woeful secondary. Smith could have a big day. Fresno State might need to run the football to win this one, and they do have two solid running backs in Josh Quezada and Marteze Waller whom both have around 475 yards this season. This just feels very upset potential and I am taking Wyoming in a late win. WYO 45-42

A palate clenser for your Netflix Binge Watch 
Kansas State at 25. Texas Tech 11:00 am ABC - It has been a rough two weeks for Texas Tech and they look to respond against the Wildcats. I am not sure what it is with the Red Raiders honestly. Maybe just a couple teams better than them. I think they will be fine and win this one pretty easily. TTU 38-21

Mississippi State at 15. Texas A&M 2:30 CBS - Kevin Sumlin is the front-runner for the USC job. This would be a great job for Sumlin. He would do awesome there. Texas A&M has done a lot for him, but the Pac-12 would be an ideal spot for him post Johnny Manziel.

22. Arizona State at Utah 3:00 pm Pac-12 Network - Arizona State will pass all over Utah. I worry about the weather a bit but Taylor Kelly should have a big game. ASU 45-20

Sleep off your hangover
8. Missouri at Kentucky 11:00 am ESPNU - MIZZOU 41-14
Kansas at 14. Oklahoma State 3:00 pm FOX Sports 1 - OSU 55-10