Beerman’s Picks
By Ben Shapiro, 10/17/02
Each week this season, I will be posting
a column previewing the upcoming weekend's Big East and Top-25 match-ups.
All rankings are from the
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll . I don't pick winners (that's too easy),
I pick against
the spread .
Television information comes from
here . All picks are for entertainment purposes only.
Last Week: One more down.
Really only one to go, though I suppose Pittsburgh will want their say
in the matter.
This Week: A rather lazy week
on the college football scene. A marked change from last week.
But it's Homecoming, so that's well and good. There are two games
of importance though. So go buy yourself an Iowa State rooting
hat, and break out that well worn "I hate Notre Dame" giant foam finger.
Not in Action: #1 Miami, #11 Washington
State, #14 Florida State, #18 Tennessee
Saturday, October 19
3:30 pm EST
ABC, Gameplan
Iowa State (#13)
6-1 (Away: 1-0)
-9
Oklahoma (#2)
6-0 (Home: 3-0)
Iowa
State has got a decade's worth of huge games crammed into one
season, and this is bigger than any of them. No one in
the B-12 North looks very dominant this year, and the Cyclones
may very be the best of the bunch. Oklahoma is a statement
game in the biggest way. Kansas State and Nebraska don't
face the Sooners this year, so the winner of that game
has a nice inside track to the conference title game.
I mean, unless Seneca Wallace & Co. can actually pull this one
off. Which they can't. Can they?
Pick: ISU
1:00 pm EST
Rutgers
1-5 (Away: 0-2)
-42
Virginia Tech (#3)
6-0 (Home: 4-0)
It's
a good thing, actually, that this game isn't on TV anywhere.
Whenever I see Rutgers "highlights", those red uniforms make
me feel like my eyes are bleeding.Oh, and "production costs"
have nothing to do with why this game isn't on TV. Nope,
it's just that the money has been diverted directly to Rutgers.
A payoff to make up for the beating they're about to receive
when Frank uses this game as a 60 minute passing drill.
The other upside, is that we should have plenty of opportunity
to work on our kickoff coverage...
Pick: HOKIES!
3:30 pm EST
ABC, Gameplan
-7
Ohio State (#4)
7-0 (Away: 2-0)
Port Chester University
5-2 (Home: 4-1)
Wisconsin
is now the proud owner of a losing streak to Indiana.
Barry Alvarez must be so happy...
Pick: PCU
12:30 pm EST
Jefferson Pilot,
Gameplan
Vanderbilt
1-5 (Away: 0-3)
-26
Georgia (#5)
6-0 (Home: 4-0)
Them
dawgs got some bite! Having
established themselves as the team to beat in the SEC, it's
time for the Bulldogs to stretch their legs. No more of
these close defensive contests. If Georgia expects to
pass anyone in the standings they're going to have to show some
offensive oomph. It's time for an old fashioned woodshed
beating. Not that I have anything against Vandy, I just
think it's about time UGA had themselves a laugher.
Pick: UGA
3:30 pm EST
Arizona State
5-2 (Away: 1-1)
-10.5
Oregon (#6)
6-0 (Home: 5-0)
It's
Oregon at home, what more needs to be said?
Pick: Oregon
10:00 pm EST
ESPN
Notre Dame (#7)
6-0 (Away: 2-0)
-3
Air Force (#15)
6-0 (Home: 4-0)
boom
baby, BOOM! Air Force is
quite the trendy pick here. I mean Notre Dame is overrated
right? They've been winning with luck and mirrors?
Meanwhile watching the AFA play, you'd think the triple option
was some crazy new offensive scheme that no one knew how to
defend.
Well, we're all about to find
out one way or the other. This week and next (F$U) will
make or break Notre Dame's BCS hopes. Also, this is the
BIG ONE for the cadets. Colorado State is the only team
remaining on Air Force's schedule with a winning record.
Stay up late to watch this one
guys. Should be worth it.
Pick: ND
7:00 pm EST
Fox Sports Net
Texas (#8)
5-1 (Away: 2-0)
-2
Kansas State (#19)
5-1 (Home: 5-0)
Frankly,
I don't know which of these teams dogs it worse in big games.
I'll have to say Texas, but then again that's because they're
involved in more of them. You'd think that would work
to their benefit, but I dunno...
There's a lot of football left to
be played, and neither team is out of the running for anything.
A second conference loss probably will keep Texas out of the
B-12 title game, but Kansas State might be able to survive it
in the North.
I've got no inside juice here,
so I'm going with the home team.
Pick: KSU
12:00 pm EST
ESPN
-3.5
Michigan (#9)
5-1 (Away: 1-1)
Purdue
3-4 (Home: 3-1)
Wow,
Michigan's back in the Top 10? Interesting.
Pick: Michigan
12:00 pm EST
Dook
2-5 (Away: 1-3)
-24.5
N.C. State (#10)
7-0 (Home: 4-0)
Playing
what amounts to their third I-AA team of the season, the Wolfpack
should barely break a sweat...
Pick: NCSU
7:45 pm EST
ESPN2
South Carolina
5-2 (Away: 2-1)
(off)
LSU (#12)
5-1 (Home: 4-0)
The
Bayou Bengals really seem to be hitting their stride, don't they? It isn't like beating Florida is any great shakes
these days, but it still looks good on television. But
they've lost QB Matt Mauck for a couple of weeks (thus no betting
line), so things could get a bit tricky from here out...
Pick: LSU
12:00 pm EST
ESPN+, Gameplan
-12.5
Iowa (#16)
6-1 (Away: 3-0)
Indiana
3-3
(Home: 3-0)
Indiana
is, evidently, quite a force at home this year. That,
or they just have Wisconsin's number.
It's a shame that Iowa and Ohio
State don't face off this year. Rotating schedules
without a conference championship game is just an awful,
awful setup.
Pick: IU (not to be confused with U of I)
3:30 pm EST
ABC, Gameplan
Washington (#17)
4-2 (Away: 0-1)
-8
Southern California (#20)
4 -2
(Home: 3-0)
Solid
defense and home field advantage spell trouble for Skippy's
Huskies.
Pick: Washington
12:00 pm EST
ESPN2
Northwestern
2-5 (Away: 1-3)
-26
Penn State (#21)
4-2 (Home: 3-1)
Seeking
to avoid yet another round of criticism, the Big Ten
has elected to play this game without any officiating crew at
all. The coaching staffs will decide close calls using
the rock-paper-scissors method.
Pick: Northwestern
3:30 pm EST
CBS
Mississippi (#22)
5-1 (Away: 0-1)
-11
Alabama
4-2 (Home: 3-1)
Mississippi
has a fine squad. Lil' Eli and crew have done some good
work, and are now favored in some circles to win the SEC West.
Things are about to get real tough, though. And stay that
way. 4 of their last 6 are on the road, including trips
to Bama, Arkansas, Georgia and LSU.
Ouch. Well, at least they
got to see the Top 25 for a little while...
Pick: Ole Miss
6:00 pm EST
Western Michigan
2 -4
(Away: 1-2)
-15.5
Bowling Green (#23)
5-0 (Home: 3-0)
We
here at Beerman Inc. are a bit confused. We thought that
Marshall was supposed to be the MAC team looking to hang out
in the Top 25 this year. And if not the Herd, perhaps
Toledo or even Western Michigan could do the trick. But
Bowling (2-9 in 2001) Green?
How do they do it? Well it
starts and ends with the offense. Josh Harris is the field
general, a junior quarterback who can do it all. The Falcons
field a truly balanced attack (254/gm rushing, 246/gm passing)
that leads the nation in scoring at a gaudy 49.6 points per
game. Doing all that with a MAC schedule will win you
a lot of games!
It's also worth noting that should
Marshall knock off Troy State on Saturday, there's a distinct
possibility of two MAC teams being ranked in the coaches
poll.
Pick: WMU
6:45 pm EST
ESPN
Auburn
4-2 (Away: 1-1)
-7
Florida (#24)
4-3 (Home: 3-2)
Fun
factoid: Of the four teams Auburn has beaten so far, only Mississippi
State has defeated a I-A squad (11-8 over mighty Troy State
last weekend). That's the
very definition of a fraud ladies and gentlemen, and even an
emasculated Florida squad shouldn't have too much trouble here.
Pick: Florida
3:00 pm EST
Baylor
3-3 (Away: 0-2)
-28
Colorado (#25)
4-2 (Home: 2-2)
Baylor
is less embarrassing than usual this year. They've actually won a conference game, and even have an outside shot at bowl
eligibility. I'm only saying that so that perhaps you
will think fondly of the Bears when Colorado drops the hammer
on them.
Pick: Baylor
12:00 pm EST
Navy
1-5 (Away: 1-1)
-28.5
Boston College
3 -2
(Home: 3-1)
Maybe
it's just me, but somehow I doubt BC will have all that much
trouble scoring from inside the 20 yard line this week.
Pick: Navy
12:00 pm EST
ESPN+, Gameplan
Syracuse
1-5 (Away: 0-3)
-7.5
West Virginia
4-2 (Home: 2-1)
Losing
to Temple in a good year is a disappointing upset, but losing
to Temple in a poor year is a bad career move. So in
case you are curious, yes, that small protuberance high on SU
Coach Paul Pasqualoni's back is the beginning of a malignant
flatware tumor.
West Virginia continues to Jeckyl
and Hyde their way through the season. Sort of like Colorado,
but without the same panache. In their quest for bowl
eligibility, this is a must win.
Pick: WVU
12:00 pm EST
WFSB
-1
Temple
2-4 (Away: 0-1)
Connecticut
2 -4
(Home: 1-2)
BREAK
UP THE OWLS! Seriously
though, this could be an interesting game to watch. With
the whole "who's in the Big East now" undercurrent thing, Temple
will be playing angry. Bah! That means nothing, I mean
this is Temple for crying out loud! They rolled up 500
yards of offense against Syracuse, and still had to pay off
the Orange kicker in order to win the game. The line is
moving down, indicating heavy action being placed on UConn.
That in itself, makes me giggle :O)
Pick: UConn
Last Week: 13-8 (YTD: 81-77-3)
TV Game of the Week: Iowa State -
Oklahoma, and then ND - AFA late nite.
Upset Special: Iowa State over
Oklahoma (yeah right!) (YTD: 6-3)