Slowly but surely, I am starting to crawl out of this hole I dug for myself to start the season. My colleague Freddie though, seems to be going the opposite route. After a perfect week last week, Freddie was 1-3 last weekend, while I broke even at 2-2.
Can either of us get out heads above .500 this week?
Season Results:
CJ Cribb: 13-15 (46%)
Freddie Huth: 7-9 (44%)
#8 Florida vs #5 Georgia (-3.5) (Jacksonville)
CJ: Florida has a great offense and no defense. The Dawgs have a great defense and very little offense. Stetson Bennett just isn’t going to get it done on the big stage but should be fine against a defense that has yet to really stop anyone. The question is how does Florida’s offense look against the stout Georgia defense. This ones hard to get a good read on but give me the Gators and the points… Florida +3.5
Freddie: This one is one of those games that no one has to pump the players up for. Both sides have no love loss for the other and it will be the same way this Saturday. I see this one being good early but expect the Bulldogs to be able to move the ball using quarterback Stetson Bennett’s arm. Especially when you take into account that Florida’s secondary is giving up 7.7 yards per pass so far this season. Kyle Trask and the Gator offense has looked good this year but the Georgia defense will be up to the task and send the Gators back to the Swamp with their tales between their legs… Georgia -3.5
#7 Texas A&M (-10) at South Carolina
CJ: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The Gamecocks will not get me again even if Muschamp is a perfect 4-0 as coach there coming out of the bye week. A&M is actually playing pretty good football at the moment and I fully expect them to roll into Columbia and take care of business… Texas A&M -10
Freddie: Texas A&M currently has a 6-0 record against the Gamecocks and it looks as though the streak will grow to 7-0. That is as long as Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher’s team, led by veteran quarterback Kellen Mond, does what they are expected to do offensively. That defense has been getting off of the field with sacks and tackles for loss regularly. South Carolina’s only hope is that this is the game where Fisher’s team chokes, but don’t expect it to happen. Not against a Gamecock team that still appears to be learning how to tackle the ball carrier… Texas A&M -10
#1 Clemson (-5.5) at #4 Notre Dame
CJ: Much has been made about all the injuries the Tigers are experiencing currently but that should not be the story. Even if one of those missing players is Trevor Lawrence. Last I checked Brent Venables was still the defensive coordinator at Clemson and this Notre Dame offense has been fairly one dimensional. Slow down that running game and Clemson wins. My money is on BV, Tyler Davis or not… Clemson -5.5
Freddie: No Heisman trophy candidate Trevor Lawrence on offense and no linebacker James Skalski on defense for Clemson as they roll into Notre Dame Stadium for a primetime matchup. The Tigers come in with true freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei making his second straight start and looking to lead his team to 8-0 on the season while Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book looks to take down Clemson and keep his team on track to get into the College Football Playoff. Many expect this to be the Tigers biggest challenge during the regular season and it should be a good one. I expect just that as well. I believe the game will be tight heading into the second half and that is when I look for Clemson to take over and win the game leaving Fighting Irish head coach wondering why he can’t win the big ones… Clemson -5.5
Stanford at #12 Oregon (-11)
CJ: The Pac-12 is playing football? It really is hard to wonder why they even bothered. The chances of an unbeaten Pac-12 team getting into the playoff seem about slim to none and the chances of one of those teams actually going undefeated is probably even smaller. As for this game, Oregon rolls… Oregon -11
Freddie: What? The PAC-12 is finally joining the rest of the world and deciding to play football? We finally will have that midnight game on Saturday night/Sunday morning for those that can’t sleep. The biggest question for Stanford coming into this season is will they be able to score? The Cardinal only scored more than 27 points twice last season. What will make this even more interesting is they will be starting out against an Oregon defense that is expected to be great at getting into the backfield. I believe that Stanford will give the Ducks a really good game but I feel that Oregon ends up making their way through the trees to get the win… Oregon -11
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