College Football Predictions

So Far This Year

Picking Spread: 9-10

Picking Winners: 10-9

This Week

I like nearly all the spreads so most the games are too close to call, but I found two games I feel confident in picking.

-Baylor (3-1) at #19 Oklahoma (2-2): The Sooners will cover the 28 point spread. This year Oklahoma either wins blow outs or loses close games and I don’t see this one being close.

-Michigan (4-1) at #12 Iowa (5-0): Take Iowa to win and cover the eight point spread. Iowa went to Penn State and won by more than eight and Michigan is coming off a tough loss at Michigan State. I expect the Wolverines to come out flat in Iowa.

Games With Meaning:

#1 Florida at #4 LSU: Under the lights in Baton Rouge is never easy, especially when Tim Tebow isn’t healthy and his backup hasn’t started in a game near this big in his life. If anyone can talk a guy into being confident and believing in his self it’s Tebow, but he might not speak much sense with that concussion.

#3 Alabama (5-0) at #20 Mississippi (3-1): Another SEC slaughborknocker. There is no other conference close to the talent and excitement of the SEC.

#17 Auburn (5-0) at Arkansas (2-2): The Tigers face a rough road rivalry match up. Auburn tries not to get burned by the Razorbacks in Arkansas. This will be a close hard hitting game.

#22 Georgia Tech (4-1) at Florida State (2-3): This could be a reeeeaally long year for the Seminoles. Bowden needs this win at home to cool down his critics for at least another week.

#13 Oregon (4-1) at UCLA (3-1): The Ducks are more talented than the Bruins but all bets are off when on the road in college football. The Bruins aren’t too bad themselves, their only loss came at a strong Stanford team last week. This will come down to the wire.

NFL Results

My Spread Results: 5-5

Season Spread Results: 33-25

My Winner Results: 8-2

Season Winner Results: 42-16

What I Learned This Week

- The Bengals play to their opponent’s talent level. Every game has come down to the last second and they needed overtime to defeat the 0-4 Charlie Browns.

- The Seahawks need a healthy Matt Hasselbeck as their quarterback because having to hassle with back up Seneca Wallace won’t lead to the playoffs.

- The Redskins are like the New York Mets of football this year. A huge pay roll for a team that can’t win against good teams and have guys that get injured a lot.

- The Titans losing their defensive coordinator and defensive leader Albert Haynesworth has flipped them from first to tied for worst.

- Trent Edwards and Tony Romo are in the same category of quarterbacks. Guys with potential that haven’t proved anything but they aren’t as good as advertised.

- The Broncos have convinced me that they're for real and you don’t have to look further than their defense for proof. Brian Dawkins has brought life back to Denver’s D and opens up Champ Bailey for big plays. This team is heading towards the right direction with Kyle Orton staying consistent, Brandon Marshal staying happy, and Josh McDaniels staying confident in what he preaches. We'll see if they can compete with the top teams in the league the next three weeks when they face the Patriots, Chargers, and Ravens.

- Brett Favre is not too old.

College Football Results

My Spread Results: 3-2

Season Spread Results: 9-10

My Winner Results: 3-2

Season Winner Results: 10-9

What I Learned This Week:

- Picking college football winners and spreads is harder now than ever. The talent level of most Division I programs across the nation is evening out and coaching is becoming even more of an asset.

- Home field advantage means more in college football than in any other sport. It doesn’t have to be bad weather or playing at a different altitude. Just college kids playing on a field other than their own over powers the talents of an away team. Proof came clear this week with #6 Virginia Tech nearly losing at Duke, undefeated Michigan losing at a 1-3 Michigan State team, and#3 Alabama playing a competitive contest at Kentucky. These types of games happen every week and I think it has to do with a lot of these college kids not traveling much in their lives before playing college football.

NFL Predictions

Detroit at Chicago: The Bears aren’t the Redskins so this one won't be close. Cutler makes the Lions beg for mercy and Chicago covers the 10 point spread.

Bengals at Browns: The Cleveland Browns are so bad at football they should be called the Charlie Browns. Cincinnati wins in a blow out and covers the six point spread.

Seahawks at Colts: Peyton is amazing and the Seahawks are hurt. Indy all the way and they cover the 10 point spread.

Bucs at Redskins: Washington plays better this week and comes out on top with another win against a terrible team. Washington will not cover the 7 point spread.

Titans at Jags: Titans will win and cover the three point spread. Jacksonville’s not very good and Tennessee is due.

Raiders at Texans: Houston is never a sure bet, but Oakland is literally the black hole of the league. Their fans nickname came true for the entire organization of Oakland. Matt Schaub leads the Texans to victory but they don't cover the eight point spread.

Bills at Dolphins: Miami’s played against some tough teams to start the season and took three tough losses. Their hard work will pay off this week as their conservative offensive attack will tire out the Bills defense just enough for the ‘Phins to pull out their first victory of the year.

Dallas at Denver: The Broncos are 3-0 but I’m not sold on them. I thought they’d be the worst team in the league this year and I believe their great start is a mirage. They’ve played the Bengals, Browns, and Raiders. Cincinnati’s the only one of the three that’s respectable and Denver beat them on a last second miracle play in the first game of the season. The Cowboys are much more talented and will finish pull out the victory at Mile High Stadium. Dallas covers the three point spread.

San Diego at Pittsburgh: Every game the Steelers have played this year has been determined in the fourth quarter and this game will be the same. I expect Pittsburgh to pull this out at home with Santonio Holmes breaking out of his slump, but the Steelers won't cover the six point spread.

Packers at Vikings: Favre fest! Brett’s out to prove the Packers should have kept him for longer and he will with the help of Minnesota’s running game and defense. Minnesota covers the four point spread.

Did You Notice?

I skipped picking four games this week. Two are too close too call, Ravens at Pats and Jets at Saints, so I didn’t predict two easy games to make up for it, Giants at Chiefs and Rams at 49ers.

College Football Predictions

Wisconsin @ Minnesota: Wisconsin is undefeated and fresh off a hard fought win against Michigan State. After this game comes Ohio State. I think the Badgers will get caught looking ahead and Minnesota will win at home. The Golden Gophers only loss this year was to California, who was ranked #6 at the time. I'd take the three point spread. I wonder if its coincidence that Wisconsin is at Minnesota in college this weekend and in the NFL? Favre football weekend pre-game festivities begin with this game leading to Monday Night’s epic battle.

UCLA @Stanford: The Bruins look to remain unbeaten against a Stanford team with just one loss that came at Wake Forest. The Cardinals Andrew Luck is a great pro prospect, but I think the Bruins have something brewing in Cali and are headed towards the top 25 as the season progresses when they take on harder opponents. Oregon’s next for the Bruins, but I think they’ll remain focused on the task at hand and pull this out even though they're picked to lose by four.

Washington at Notre Dame: Notre Dame’s last three games were decided in the final quarter and I expect this one to be no different. With Charlie Weis’ reputation on the line the Fighting Irish will fight their way towards victory, but will not cover the 12 point spread.

Auburn @ Tennessee: Auburn’s played great this year and I expect them to go into Tennessee and drop Kiffin to 2-3. I can't believe the Volunteers are picked to win by two.

#7USC @ #24Cali.: Matt Berkely’s back and played outstanding last week. California’s coming off a disappointing effort against Oregon and I expect Cali.’s poor performance to keep going as the Trojans expose the Golden Bears. USC will cover the four point spread.

Too Close To Call

#4LSU @ #18Georgia: These SEC rivalry games are never easy to predict. LSU eked out a win at Mississippi State last week and have the Gators next week. Georgia lost their first game and narrowly escaped Arizona State upsetting them on their own turf. It seemed like both teams were looking ahead to this game last week.

FSU @ Boston College: Two very inconsistent programs these last few years and nothing’s changed this season. Anything can happen in this one and if Bobby Bowden wants to keep the Seminole faithful from criticizing him for staying around too long he better win.

#9OSU @ Indiana: IU almost stole one in Michigan last week, but came up just short. OSU better bring it like their playing USC again because the Hoosiers are talented and have nothing to lose. The Buckeyes are picked to win by 17 so I'm staying away from this one. OSU can blow them out because of their talent, or they could come out like they did against Navy in the first week of the season and nearly lose.

#8Oklahoma @ #17Miami: No Sam Bradford gives the ‘Canes a shot but the Sooners backup is just about as good. These top programs like Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, and USC recruit so much talent it doesn’t matter what star player gets hurt because the drop off to the back up isn’t a huge dip in talent.

#22 Michigan at Michigan State: Michigan is undefeated and Michigan State is 1-3 yet somehow the Spartans are picked to beat the Wolverines. Michigan's undefeated and the underdog, but we all know how interstate in conference rivalry games go. Throw out the record books this should be a great one to watch.

The Perfect Way to Prolong Football Players Careers

Injuries interject between football players and their health. Getting hurt is part of the game and no matter how many precautions are taken the only real way to stay injury-free is to not play.

Well here’s a way to still play the game at the same level, at the same pace, and with all the same meaning while lessening the likely hood of injuries.

Cut the length of each quarter to 12 minutes! Right now each quarter is 15 minutes, equaling exactly an hour of game play. It sounds perfect, but when there’s overtime the players are putting their bodies at risk for over an hour each game.

With 12 minutes each quarter the players will still be competing for 48 minutes, and if overtime is needed the maximum game play would be an hour. There’s not much time difference so outcomes of games won’t take a hit.

The three minutes each quarter doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up over time. Each game would save the players 12 minutes, and even if a full overtime is needed the games would last as long as a regulation game does now.

Every five games at 48 minutes would equal playing four games at 60 minutes. That keeps the players off the field three games and one quarter each season. That’s 13 games less in four seasons! That’s just three games short of saving a complete season worth of minutes out on a field risking injury after five years.

Now some fans might feel shorted on the fewer minutes, but are we really watching for the length of the game or for the competition and great plays made by our favorite teams that we put our heart and soul into following?

I assure all the same nail biting last second thrillers will remain intact while at the same time helping the longevity of our favorite football player’s careers with the fans enjoying watching their heroes play for more seasons.

NFL Prediction Results

Spread Results: 11-5

Season Spread Results: 28-20

Winner Results: 13-3

Season Winner Results: 34-14

What I Learned this Week

- Never count on the Texans to win a game

- The Bengals and Broncos are a lot better than expected

- The Steelers really miss Polamalu.