Upset City

This week could prove to be a turning point in the BCS race. This is a two pronged assessment. First, as I look up and down the list of games set to go this weekend one word comes to mind: Upset! If you like cheering for the underdog, yet still having a chance of celebrating, this is your week my friend. Find you favorite bookie and lay down some bets. Hell, just tell him Popeye sent you. Oh and this writer is not responsible for money lost on my upset picks, so don’t put that on me.

Rather than pick one upset of the week, I’m going to outline multiple possibilities and tell you why (and why not) they will work out for the underdog.

Colorado at Oklahoma

Pros:

Barnett has developed a new culture in Boulder since he took over the reigns. His teams start slow and heat up as the temperature goes down. This year is shaping up to be the same old song, just the next verse. After stumbling twice early in the year, Colorado has chalked up six wins in a row, two over ranked opponents. Forgetting the nail bitter versus Kansas State, the Buffs have not only beat teams, they’ve dominated them. Chris Brown must have a big day against a tough OU run defense. Did I say tough? I meant SOLID run defense. No other defense moves to the ball faster than the Sooners.

Also, last year OU came into Norman and left a winner, so CU could do the same if OU overlooks them.

Cons:

The problem is OU will not overlook this game. This is a big game and there’s no better “big game” coach than Bob Stoops. Right this minute he's devising a plan to stop the run and force Colorado to air it out, something they rely on for the run to set up for later in the game. OU’s defense could force Colorado into a one dimensional unit and leave Barnett second guessing himself. Let’s not forget, the Sooner faithful will be loud and rowdy for this one.

Verdict:  OU (I hate them)

Boston College at Notre Dame

Pros:

Notre Dame could come into this game flat and possibly overlook BC. Don’t forget last season, BC was a tipped pass away from dethroning the Hurricanes. BC must play more physical than Notre Dame and control the ball. So far, ND has kept its defense off the field with ball control. If BC can wear out this upstart Irish defense, BC can really move the ball around in the fourth quarter.

Cons:

Irish magic for starters. Also, if ND comes to play, BC will be NO match for them. The Irish defense is a strong, fundamentally sound squad that creates opportunities for the offense by often giving a short field. ND thrives on turnovers to set up the aforementioned opportunities and Willingham is a phenomenal coach.

Verdict: ND (They will lose sometime though, I hope)

Texas at Nebraska

Nebraska:

Ok, ok so the line is only 3.5 so this really doesn’t qualify as an ‘upset’ possibility. However, if Texas can beat the Huskers in Lincoln, some would say that it was an upset. Let’s be real about this, Nebraska hasn’t lost at home since ’98. Their crowd will be pumped after a surprising win against Texas A&M.

Texas:

Sure Nebraska is hard to beat at home, but the last team to do it was Texas. In fact, Texas was the only team with a winning record against Nebraska in the 90s in all of division I-A. Despite losing the last meeting, you really have to think Texas has the mental edge in this match up.

Week 11 Top 10 Rankings

I’m completely shaking up the top 10.

	Last wk	Record	Result
1. Miami	1st	7--0	W 40-23 vs. West VA
2. OU	2nd	7--0	Idle
3. Notre Dame	5th	8--0	W 34-24 vs. Fl St
4. Georgia	4th	8--0	W 48-17 vs. Vandy
5. Virginia Tech	3rd	8--0	W 20-10 vs. Temple
6. Ohio St	7th	9--0	W 13-7 vs. Penn St
7. Texas	6th	7--1	W 21-10 vs. Iowa St
8. NC State	9th	9--0	W 38-6 at Clemson
9. USC	Unranked	6--2	W 44-33 at Oregon
10. Alabama	Unranked	6--2	W 34-14 at Tennessee

Picks:

		Straight	Line
Last Week:		4--1	4--1
Season to Date		27--8	22--13

And finally…….

My picks this week

Week 11 Matches (favorites in bold)

		Straight	Line
Arizona St at Wash St (+7.5)		Wash St	Wash St
Texas at Nebraska (+3.5)		Texas	Texas
Colorado (+12.5) at OU		Colorado	Colorado
Minnesota (+13) at Ohio St		Ohio St	Minnesota
Florida (+2) at Georgia		Georgia	Georgia