Utah -14 @ San Jose State
Southern California -7 @ Ohio State
Vanderbilt +14.5 @ Louisiana State
Hawaii -2.5 v. Washington State (neutral Seattle, WA)
Texas Christian -11 @ Virginia
Notre Dame -3 @ Michigan
Western Michigan +1.5 @ Indiana
A tough couple of games late left me with a losing ticket this week (3-4). I really liked my vision in capping these games, and if not for a couple of freak finishes, I had a good chance to go 6-1. My scores and instincts were in line with the scores of these games.
Utah -14 @ SJSU -- LOSS
Utah was up by two touches in the fourth quarter, but played a soft prevent defense that allowed SJSU to score a cheap one. The Utes flipped on the switch at 7-7 in the fourth quarter, but otherwise sleepwalked through the game. I was NOT impressed. Asiata was near invisible after the first quarter.
USC -7 @ Ohio State -- LOSS
USC's conservative offense made this one a loss once things got to 15-10 OSU. I knew that there was NO WAY USC would get two scores for me. I really overestimated USC's skill advantage because I had no idea that Barkley would be so limited. McKnight was the best player in this game, easily. I like for USC to run all over the PAC-10 where defense is OPTIONAL.
Vandy +14.5 @ LSU -- WIN
Vandy had the ball in the fourth down a touch, but let this game slip from its hands. I like this team to repeat 08 and finish close to the .500 mark in conference. LSU, on the other hand, failed to impress for a second straight week. Les Miles played this game SO conservatively. Not sure if it was too much respect for the VU defense, or a sign that this team is going to struggle to put points on the board.
Hawaii -2.5 v. WSU -- WIN
Hawaii had this game won going away in the first quarter. After the news about the swine flu outbreak on the WSU team, I went from loving this game to LOVING this game. WSU might be the WORST TEAM IN THE COUNTRY.
TCU -11 @ UVA -- WIN
The Horned Frogs didn't disappoint. The defense was strong and the offense was just good enough. I don't like this team laying a lot of points because it is such a defensively-oriented team, but UVA may be challenging WSU for the WORST TEAM IN THE COUNTRY. Sewell is a cookie-cutter spread, dual threat quarterback who is an athlete, NOT A QUARTERBACK.
Notre Dame -3 @ Michigan -- LOSS
Fat Charlie's clock management skills cost me this game. Up three with just over two minutes to play, Weis called a pair of passing plays instead of getting a first down and chewing up the clock with its offensive line that had looked superior to Michigan's D-Line all day. I like the way that ND's wideouts gained yardage AT WILL against Michigan's secondary, but ND really played weak defense today. Forcier is much more hyped now than skilled, IMHO.
WMU +1.5 @ Indiana -- LOSS
Western had the ball on Indiana's 10-yard line down 6 in the final minute, but fumbled on the goal line. I thought that this was a game that I would have taken on the money line if I had a chance to do it all over again. WMU has beaten a BCS conference team the last two seasons straight and Indiana appeared ripe for the picking.