Picks for Weekend of 10/6/07
Last week: 5-4. Brutal, just brutal.
Season To Date: 20-7
Around Florida
(9) Florida at (1) LSU, Saturday 8:30 PM CBS
Oh jeez. The Florida secondary started off young. Then lost a couple of guys to injury. Now the lone upper-classman in that unit might not even make the trip over a stupid decision. Doomed. Doomed I tell you. Unless it (somehow) turns into a shootout. I honestly think that if the score is something like 31-28 at the half, the Gators just might be able to sneak out with a win. You see, the LSU defense is really good, and they’re not used to getting torched. If that happens they might start taking chances and making mistakes. I don’t see that happening though. To make it a shootout, the Gators will need to first find a weakness in the LSU defense, and then actually exploit that weakness. The other advantage of a shootout for the Gators would be that the crowd would be less of a factor. Not by much, but maybe just enough. I do, however, think the Florida offense has been humbled enough over the past two games that they will pull out all the stops and turn what could be a wood-shedding into something interesting.
TALB Pick: LSU average over Florida
(6) South Florida at Florida Atlantic, Saturday 3:30 PM ESPNU
USF on the road to “defend” their first-ever Top 10 ranking. And they should roll. But remember this, just because you’re #6 doesn’t mean you can just roll those helmets out on the field and win by 21. The boys need to play like it’s a conference game. But still… it’s FAU.
TALB Pick: USF big over FAU
Miami (FL) at North Carolina, Saturday 12 PM ESPN
I.G.N.
TALB Pick: Miami (FL) average over UNC
North Carolina State at FSU, Saturday 3:30 PM ABC
NC State has damn near owned the Noles over the last six years. And the Noles have been hot and cold so far this year. But FSU is at home.
TALB Pick: NC State close over FSU
UCF at East Carolina, Saturday 7:30 PM CSTV
I.G.N
TALB Pick: UCF average over ECU
Tampa Bay at Indianapolis, Sunday 4:05 PM Fox
I want to hedge here. The injury situation for the Champs is in flux. It could also be a smoke screen. Obviously Manning is the star, but Addai is the guy who makes the offense hum. Without a valid running game Peyton won’t be able to hit his receivers with the usual ease. Addai’s backup, Kenton Keith, is basically an untested rookie. He could be great, or average. The loss of Harrison isn’t as much of an advantage as one might hope. The Colts produce star wide outs like the Broncos produce star running backs. Bob Sanders… there’s an interesting one. His return just before the playoffs last year turned the Colts’ defense from cover-your-eyes bad into champions. And then the Bucs have their own problems, as you know. The loss of Petitgout up front could be dangerous for the PiPP. The Colts do have a fierce pass rush. And those guys against our very young O-Line could spell disaster. What I want to do is make two pics; one if Indy has those three guys, and one if they don’t, but I’m not going to go out like that. You expect more out of TALB.
TALB Pick: Colts average over Bucs
Miami at Houston, Sunday 1 PM CBS
Houston is on the rise, Miami can’t buy a win. I mean who loses to the Raiders in their own house?
TALB Pick: Texans average over Dolphins
Jacksonville at Kansas City, Sunday 1 PM CBS
Even though KC has come on a bit lately, I can’t imagine the Jags will let that trend continue.
TALB Pick: Jaguars close over Chiefs
Compelling College Collision
(4) Ohio State at (23) Purdue, Saturday 8 PM ABC
This week in college football we have just TWO marquee match-ups; UF-LSU and this collision. OSU has recovered nicely from their smack down in the desert last January. Purdue is 5-0 and ranked #23, they’re probably playing the “disrespect” card in the locker room. This should be a slugfest.
TALB Pick: Purdue close over The Ownedhio State University
Profound Pro Pick
Carolina at New Orleans, Sunday 1 PM FOX
These two teams were the chic picks to lead the NFC South and NFC in general. But at 2-2 and 0-3 respectively, they are searching for positives. Both were embarrassed by the pre-season punching-bag Bucs as well. New Orleans is coming of their bye and are at home.
TALB Pick: Saints close over Panthers
