On the Road Again - HPSWBT Week 6

Like many others I suspect, the HPSWBT took an absolute beating over the weekend that was, posting a 3-7 record. I'll blame this solely on Mississippi. Not the school but the state. For three quarters each it looked like my Magnolia State parlay was going to pay off with two wins. Didn't happen. If not for Auburn, the week would've been a total loss.

Alas, another week begins anew and we've got work to do...

Kentucky @ South Carolina (-3.5)

The Wildcats have never beaten the Head Ball Coach but Kentucky's major questions seem to be on the defensive side of the ball but that's a good place to have them when facing the Gamecocks. Rich Brooks dream season will lose a little of its luster over the next three weeks but I don't think it will be here.

Arizona St. @ Washington St. (-9)

I'm officially the last person on the Sun Devil bandwagon. Over the past two weeks I've chastised friends of mine for taking ASU but they keep rolling along and Wazzu is some kind of awful. The Cougars have given up 95 points in two Pac-10 games.

NC State @ Florida St. (-18)

The Pack has one win this year. Against Wofford. But I'm not certain that Florida State can score 18 points, much less win by that much. Despite their struggles NC State has been able to put up at least two scores in each game this season. The Seminoles have topped 28 only once.

Kansas @ Kansas St. (-3)

"Bounce" is one of the most difficult things to predict in horse racing so trying to apply it to football, especially in 2007, is doubly absurd but I'll be real interested to see how the Wildcats come off their shocking win over Texas. Kansas seems to have the most at stake here with a nation full of disbelievers.

Florida @ LSU (-9)

Somewhat lost in last week's shock and awe is the fact that LSU slept through the first half of their game against Tulane. In my mind, USC was much more impressive against Washington than the Tigers were against the Green Wave. This is the SEC after all, the conference where everybody beats everybody. I'm not ready to call an outright win for Florida but it wouldn't surprise me.

Georgia @ Tennessee (-2)

The Bulldogs are the Jack Kerouac of college football. They do their best work on the road.

Virginia @ Middle Tennessee St. (+10)

After an absolute debacle in Laramie to open the season, Wahoo Wah could be one of the top teams in the admittedly abysmal ACC. Should probably mention here that the Blue Raiders lost to Florida Atlantic.

TCU @ Wyoming (-3)

Love the Cowboys defense but they can't really be the class of the Mountain West can they? Subquestion: I'm not really going to take 10 road teams this week, am I....

Oklahoma v. Texas ( +11)

...no, I'm not because there is no road team at the State Fair. The difference here, besides the four games prior to last week's shocking results, is that Oklahoma gave their game away. Texas got straight punched in the mouth. Sooners are still the class of the Big 12.

Nebraska @ Missouri (-7)

I'm going to have a lot to say about this game tomorrow but for now it comes down to three keys for the Cornhuskers: 1) Can the defense find some answers? If they can't now, with the Tigers running their mouths, they won't this year. 2) Can Nebraska run the ball? I don't feel like Lucky has gotten his due when you consider that for two games, USC and Ball St., Nebraska had to abandon the run entirely. 3) Can Sam Keller stop turning the ball over? The Surgeon has been the rock for Nebraska so far this year, but he's only one INT short of tying Zac Taylor's total from all of last year.

Last week: 3-7

Year to Date: 28-22