Week 8 Picks by Thor's Hammer

I'm hanging on by a mere thread with a 1 game lead over Great Odin's Raven and this week I'm feelin' lucky. We have a solid slate of games on the docket highlighted by Auburn at LSU and Florida at Kentucky. We have a mix of Pac 10, Big 11, Big 12 and ACC games. When the Big L(East) stops sucking we will have some of those games as well. Now, on to the picks.


LSU 17 - Auburn 14

The last 3 games have been decided by less than a touchdown and this one looks to be the same. Auburn's defense has been lights out coming off of virtually shutting down Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in Arkansas prompting DC Will Muschamp to go crazy (this guy could get me to spear the Pope). LSU has to be somewhat drained after their thrilling triple OT loss to Kentucky but this game is at home, at night, which means that LSU should pull this one out. One thing that scares me is that Auburn Coach Tommy Tubberville is 9-1 in his last 10 games against top-10 teams. That stat is freaking unreal. Why Auburn fans (read: boosters) cannot stand him is beyond me.

Florida 30 - Kentucky 27

Kentucky has played Florida tough for the last 5 years or so and this year should not be any different. I think Florida pulls this one out due to having their bye week while Kentucky was battling with LSU. The Fightin' Tebow's should put up many-a-point on the Wildcat defense making this game somewhat of a shootout. The only way Florida loses this game is if they get down early and Kentucky gets on a roll. Look for Tebow to put up some stout numbers this week and further entrench himself into the Heisman fore front.

California 31 - UCLA 23

Assuming Nate Longshore can go for the Bears California should light up UCLA on offense. While California's defense is Swiss cheese they have freakish speed on offense and should put up over 30. After this game you can add Karl Dorrell to the list of coaches that have no chance of lasting until next year with the likes Bill Callahan, Dennis Francione and Houston Nutt. Dorrell had a team that won 7 games last year bring back 20/22 starters and has looked average at best throughout the year.

Florida State 14 - Miami 10

This should be a horrible game to watch and one that will rival the average Big 11 game when the teams are on offense. The only difference being that both teams still have speed on the defensive side of the ball. Both of these offenses are pathetic and embarrassing and if there is any other game on TV I would highly recommend that you watch that game instead. Miami and FSU each are littered with high profile recruits across the board yet they look like bad Div 2 teams. I am going with Free Shoe only because I figure that Miami will make more mistakes. FSU QB Xavier Lee will undoubtedly make 2-3 of the dumbest throws you have ever seen by halftime only to be eclipsed by Kyle Wright making 4-5 of the dumbest throws by halftime. I am not joking either. You can expect to see anywhere from 6-8 of the worst decisions made by a QB in your life by halftime of this game.

USC 31 - ND 10

USC has looked pedestrian in every game except for the NEB game (fuck you very much Callahan). The Trojan offense is, quite frankly, average right now and it doesn't matter which QB is playing. The Trojan defense is amazing however and they should have a field day going against arguably the worst offense in all of college football under Charlie Weis (genius my ass). Evan Sharpley is going to get the start so he, instead of Jimmy Clausen, can get hammered by the Trojan D. ND's defense should keep them in this game for a while until the talent of USC takes over and puts them away in the 3rd quarter.

Oregon 38 - Washington 24

Oregon is the most underrated team in the nation and may have the best offense in college football. While Ty has made Washington relevant again they are still a few years away from being a top Pac 10 team and this could be the year Oregon wins the conference. Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart are a potent duo in the backfield and should be able to shred the Husky defense. While Oregon's D is not the greatest all they need to do is come up with 2 stops each half and let the offense pull away.

Michigan 27 - Illinois 23

This game scares me a little because stud Michigan RB Mike Hart has a bum ankle. He is supposed to go (as if anything could keep this kid out of a game) and if he is ineffective I won't like Michigan's chances. While I love Illinois's running game, which features the most underrated player in the nation in RB Rashard Mendenhall, I cannot stand their passing game. While Juice Williams can run the ball very well he throws the ball a lot like Mike Vick and that is not a good thing. As long as Michigan can run the ball well it will open up Mario Manningham and the Wolverine passing attack. Look for Juice Williams to account for at least 3 TO's all of which will cost Illinois greatly.

Tennessee 27 - Alabama 20

Much to the chagrin of Alabama crazies...I mean fans, Fat Phil and Co. are going to come into Bryant Denny stadium and smack the Tide around. The Vols feature the most underrated QB in the nation in Erik Ainge and Alabama's defense isn't that good. While Bama will most assuredly put up a better fight than UGA I think the game won't be as close as the score would indicate. Look for Ainge and Co. to get out to a 10+ point lead early and never look back.