Written by Ell
| 26 September 2008
I win the week! Someone record the date and time. Turns out Crump could not sustain his momentum from last week.
| Player |
Record |
| nxojkt |
19-5 |
| Glen55 |
17-7 |
| Ell |
17-7 |
| Crump |
15-9 |
In fact, Crump slips to last. Weeks of 2-4 will do that to you (and sometimes, when you pick Tennessee, Auburn and FSU, you get what you deserve).
Here's this weeks slate:
| Game |
Ell |
nxojkt |
Glen55 |
Crump |
| Tennessee @ Auburn |
Auburn |
Auburn |
Auburn |
Auburn |
| Wisconsin @ Michigan |
Wisconsin |
Wisconsin |
Michigan |
Wisconsin |
| Illinois @ Penn State |
Penn St |
Penn St |
Penn St |
Penn St |
| Va Tech @ Nebraska |
Nebraska |
Nebraska |
Va Tech |
Nebraska |
| Colorado @ FSU |
Colorado |
FSU |
Colorado |
FSU |
So, we proceed directly to the game of the century (for this week) - in order of ranking.
nxojkt:
I've been struggling with this pick, with a battle raging between my heart and my head. Everything that my head tells me is that the #3 team in America should not lose at home, even if the opponent is in the top 10. If this game was being played in Tuscaloosa, my pick would be easier, but the fact that the game is between the hedges just adds to it.
Georgia has an advantage with their talent at the skill positions, but Bama has the advantage on both lines of scrimmage. If you can't win the line of scrimmage, it's tough to take make use of your skill position guys. It's probably a pick with my heart, but until I see someone beat this Alabama football team, I'm going to have a tough time picking them to lose. It will be the closest game Bama has played to date, but the Tide finds a way to win by 10.
Glen55:
At least in its current, virtually injury-free state, I really think that Alabama is a little bit better than Georgia. Visitors have done relatively well between the hedges in the Richt era, and the whole black-out thing is an obvious gimmick which, on that basis, probably won't work. As well, Bama has got to be hungrier than Georgia. As long as Saban manages to keep the intensity down to the level of mere savagery, I think the Tide will have the psychological edge to go along with a slight physical one.
I do have one fear here, and that is that Georgia's run-strong and relatively pass-weak defense will leave too much in the hands of our wildly inconsistent quarterback. That makes the range of possible outcomes very wide indeed, and a comfortable win by either team would be no surprise. But I see the bulk of that range of possibilities favoring the visitors, who I'm saying will win by a margin of between one and fifty points. Or thereabouts.
Ell:
The last time Alabama was in a game this big was 2005, when a Mike Shula led his team against LSU in Tuscaloosa. An undefeated, fourth ranked Bama dreamed of national titles. One loss LSU was ranked fifth and had other ideas. LSU beat Bama in overtime, and we dropped the following game to Auburn - looking listless and bored. It was the beginning of the end for Shula.
This weekend, we're more talented. We're better coached. We're better prepared. We're better. Bama has the instincts and skills necessary to win this game. This is the beginning of the beginning for Saban. Controlling the line of scrimmage, the Tide rolls in a squeaker.
Crump:
You can pretty much count on the team that controls the line of scrimmage will win the game. Bama has the edge up front both offensively and defensively so they should win, right?
Unfortunately, I think this will be the exception that proves the rule. Georgia's skill players might just be too good for the Tide to overcome. Knowshon Moreno is argueably the best back in the country and Matthew Stafford is looking more and more like the first quarterback drafted in April.
That being said, if the Tide can run the ball and limit the offensive snaps for the Dawgs then Bama's edge at the line of scrimmage might be enough to sneak out a win. I still pick Georgia, but it'll be close.
Submit your own picks for these games in the comments section.
