College Football Week 6 Picks

3-3 vs spread last week, 12-13-1 for the year. . .

Charlie Strong, our preseason pick for Flop Negro Wonder Boy Coach of the Year, clinched the award with last week's 50-7 annihilation at TCU leaving even the "we're about to turn the corner" Strong to admit his team was awful.  Texas is paying Strong a shitload of money, and getting shit to show for it on the field. . .I don't see how they can bring Strong back and risk a third straight year of crap football, but apparently that's exactly what's gonna happen. . .oh, well, at least we won't have to listen to Charlie whine that he got fired because he married a white woman, the paranoid negro charge he used when he didn't get previous head coaching jobs.

In the season preview I had a Fading Big 10 Coach of the Year entry, featuring Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald.  I picked Fitzgerald to bounce back and have a good year, predicting the Wildcats would have a stellar defense. . .and that's how it's been.  NU is 5-0, ranked #13, and their defense has been outstanding.  The surprise is that Ferentz' Iowa Hawkeyes are also 5-0.  Looks like Kirk is having another one of his quinquennial Job Saving fluke 10 or 11 win years, always based on a soft schedule and a ton of ugly wins, like last week's 10-6 yawner over Wisconsin.  NU and Iowa meet on October 17, and the victor may have the misfortune of winning the Big 10 West, and having to play Ohio State or Michigan State in the Big 10 Championship game. . .still, good years for both these veteran white coaches. . .

And then there's Mike Riley: five games into his Nebraska career, he already has Cornheads longing for the good old Bo Pelini 9-4 days.  Riley somehow lost to Illinois Saturday, with a colossal last minute clock fuck-up (details here) leaving the proud Big Red fan base howling in disgust.  Riley, after coaching for twenty years in the obscurity of Corvallis, OR, where nobody gave a shit if the Beavers choked away a game, must wonder what all the fuss is over a lousy college football game.  Riley seemed like a weird choice for Nebraska, which desperately wants to be a National Power again, and after a mere five games he seems destined for the Bill Callahan scrap heap.

Oklahoma -16 vs Texas (in Dallas): At least Charlie's got him a white woman waiting at home. . .but the Wronghorns should be able to cover.  Texas.

Georgia -3 at Tennessee: The Rebound Bowl. . .Georgia coming off a colossal home flop against Alabama, Tennessee unable to beat a Power 5 school all year.  Volunteer coach Butch Jones has had some big recruiting classes, but all his blue chippers look like wooden nickels when they take the field.  Georgia. 

Northwestern +8.5 at Michigan: +8.5?!?!  Neither one of these teams even gives up 8.5 points a game, we might have a 0-0 OT game here between the nation's top two scoring defenses.  There's no way Michigan can cover, not with starting a QB who can't throw the ball more than 10 yards downfield without being in danger of being picked off.  This one will be classic old school Big Ten football, coached by old time Big 10 players, Pat Fitzgerald and Jim Harbaugh. . .plenty of punting, first one to seven wins.  Since Michigan will only have one Harbaugh on the sideline this week, I'll take:  Northwestern.  

Florida -4 at Missouri: Jim McElwain's been the New Coach of the Year so far, getting the Gators back on the national scene with last week's beat down of Ole Miss. . .but this is a classic *Missouri Trap* game, with the Tigers, always hanging around the SEC East lead (despite having the worst non-Vanderbilt talent in the conference), ready to bushwhack the SEC Flavor of the Week.  The always-under-rated Gary Pinkel will have the Mizzou defense ready to cool off red-hot Gator QB Will Grier.  UPSET SPECIAL.  Missouri. 

California +7 at Utah: Cal is 5-0 for the first time since the 2007 Jeff Tedford/Justin Forsett/DeSean Jackson/Jahvid Best days.  Of course, that team ended up losing 6 of their last 7. . .and the same could happen this year, as Cal's *signature* win this year is a one-point squeaker over horrible Texas.  The Golden Bear's glamor QB Jared Goff is supposedly a first round draft pick.  NFL scouts will get a chance to see how he handles getting knocked on his ass for four quarters in this game, as Utah's pass rush pushes Cal from the ranks of the undefeated.  Utah.