Perfection….
That’s right. For the first time all season I hit on all four picks and after a dreadful start to the season I am now 7-1 over the past two weeks. Hopefully I can continue this pace and finish out the season with a bang.
Freddie had a pretty good week himself. He actually got off to a hot start, only to cool off the past couple of weeks. His 3-1 effort pulls him back to .500 on the season and hopefully, with a little luck, neither of us drop back down below the line of mediocrity. Ever again.
Week 11 Results:
CJ: 4-0
Freddie: 3-1
Season Standings:
CJ: 20-16 (56%)
Freddie: 12-12 (50%)
Week 12:
#9 Indiana at #3 Ohio State (-20.5):
CJ: Wait, they play football in Bloomington? Who knew? After a fun 4-0 start that included beating Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State in the same season for the first time ever, it is back to reality this weekend. Ohio State is walking the tightrope. They already had a game canceled and they are in a position in which they need to be impressive as possible. Add in this is the only ranked team on their schedule and Ryan Day and the Buckeye will be on one of those seek and destroy missions….. Ohio State -20.5
Freddie: This one sounds good when B1G fans are talking about the competition that the Buckeyes will have faced or when the networks are trying to get viewers to tune in but don’t look for it to be as good of a matchup as the talk suggests. Don’t get me wrong, I feel that the Hoosiers will hang around for the first half but by the end of the game it’s still going to be the Ohio State and Justin Fields show. Just like it has been since they finally started playing after watching the other conferences for a month or so. Indiana has shocked the college football world by still being relevant this far into the short B1G season at 4-0 but their undefeated season ends Saturday: Justin Fields 4-0 Indiana 4-1….. Ohio State -20.5
#4 Clemson (-35) at Florida State:
CJ: Make no mistake, Clemson is going to roll, but 35 is a BIG number. Trevor Lawrence is back, the Noles will come in with barely enough players to fill out a roster, and Clemson is still fuming from a loss in South Bend two weeks ago. I fully expect the Tigers to come out humming but they have some issues they still need to work on, particularly along the offensive line, and this is the perfect opportunity to get that work in against live competition. Having said all that, Clemson still covers, but barely….. Clemson -35
Freddie: What could be worse than losing several players to injuries, the transfer portal, opting out, and other reasons during a 2-6 season as a first year head coach? Looking at the schedule and realizing that your next opponent is the No. 4 Clemson Tigers. A team that’s already a little ticked because they lost their first regular season game in three seasons against Notre Dame in double overtime two weeks ago and have had two weeks to simmer. Then add to it that Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence will be back for the first time since he tested positive for Covid and missed the last two games. It‘s simple, this one could get really ugly, really fast, and I expect the Tigers to put the Seminoles down quickly while bystanders catch up on their reading….. Clemson -35
Missouri (-6.5) at South Carolina
CJ: That dumpster fire in Columbia is engulfed in flames now. It is going to take some kind of effort to slow it down, much less put it out. That Gamecock defense has been abysmal, even before the opt outs started after Muschamp was fired. This is when you find out what your players are made of and I do not envy Mike Bobo, but it should be fun to watch….. Missouri -6.5
Freddie: When the season started most Gamecocks were looking at this game as a possible win but many didn’t see UofSC losing games by an average of 53 points a game over the last three games. Not to mention losing another head coach midseason. Then you add in the fact that right after it was announced that Will Muschamp had been fired the opt outs started. This will make it interesting to see how interim head coach Mike Bobo handles being the guy taking over what seems to be a mess. Meanwhile, the Missouri offense has been balanced and their passing attack has worked well. I do look for the Gamecocks to put up a strong effort in a game that will go a full four quarters but the pass defense will let them down late in the battle of Columbia’s….. Missouri -6.5
#21 Liberty at North Carolina State (-3.5):
CJ: Liberty’s magical unbeaten season comes to an end. If Dave Doeren loses this one, at home, he should be fired before the postgame presser….. NC State -3.5
Freddie: Hugh Freeze takes his Liberty Flames to Raleigh this weekend with a chance to make a statement. The question, with all of the talk surrounding South Carolina and Freeze, will be this. Will Freeze have his team extra motivated to put on a show given the attention he’s received this week or could they be a little distracted by the ongoing uncertainty of his future. The Flames should be dialed in with the opportunity to remain undefeated while taking on another team from the ACC and go 3-0 against that conference (Syracuse and Virginia Tech). Then on the other side of the ball, what does NC State do? Do they look at this as a huge chance with an undefeated top-25 team coming to town and get fired up for the opportunity to notch a ranked win? Not so fast my friends, I expect the Cinderella season to continue and the Fighting Doeren’s to just not have enough firepower to put the Flames out….. Liberty +3.5
