Week 13 Recap

The headliner from Week 13 was Arizona State knocking Oregon out of the Playoff race, as 15-point home underdogs. Our Frogs almost sent the Sooners to a similar fate, but the upset bid came up just short, just like Jalen Hurts. No one hit on the biggest upset of the week: 20-point underdog FIU defeating the “University of Coral Gables” Hurricanes, but our entrants capitalized elsewhere. An even 25% of available games this week produced upsets, including two-score favorites Washington and Fresno State falling to Colorado and Nevada. The winner this week, JohnMc picked up its 2^nd weekly crown of the season, just edging out Mike Honcho’s All Stars thanks to Rice’s upset of North Texas as 6.5-point underdogs.

As the regular season is coming to a close, the sprint to the finish is really heating up. The pressure is mounting as the top 4 are only separated by 7.5 total points. The king stay the king for one more week though, as Victory Cigars for Everyone is still hanging on to the top spot after another positive but modest week, with Week 13’s top performers right on its heels. I took a fall this week, dropping to 4^th overall as Coastal Carolina and San Diego State failed in their upset bids, each losing by 3 points. The entry that made the biggest climb up the leaderboard this week was I’m a little late, whose 15 points lifted it 4 spots to #16 overall. You can still make your own leap up the leaderboard and earn weekly prizes, so join now.

Week 14 Picks

1. Virginia (+3) vs. Virginia Tech – You have to love the stakes of this game: the in-state rivalry deciding who gets to the ACC Championship game (if only to then get smashed by Clemson). This line scares me though, as an indication of “Something I Don’t Know” – this game is in Charlottesville and the Cavaliers have been generally regarded as the better team throughout the season. There were even talks that Justin Fuente could be on his way out at VT following embarrassing early losses to Boston College and Duke, but he has righted the ship, including a near victory at Notre Dame. This should be a fun one to get your Black Friday started

2. Georgia State (+7.5) vs. Georgia Southern – State’s victory over Tennessee to open the season has only gotten more confounding as the Vols have looked competent once the SEC schedule started. Southern pulled its own Sun Belt shocker at App State. It’s 2019 and nowadays great offense can pull off a win over a great defense. The Panthers are actually the ones with the relative top-tier offense and will certainly have an opportunity to outgun the solid Eagles defense.

3. Boston College (+9) vs. Pittsburgh – Back to the ACC well and another Panthers-Eagles matchup, but is it really possible that Pitt is two scores better than BC? This number just seems way too high, especially as we’ve reached “Motivation Season.” The Panthers already have a bowl game locked up and do not have the urgency required to continue to attempt to tackle AJ Dillon all Saturday afternoon. The Eagles meanwhile sit at 5 wins and need to prevail this week to earn that sweet Quick Lane Bowl swag and a trip Detroit for Christmas….Ok, maybe the motivation won’t be the difference maker.

4. Texas Tech (+10) vs. Texas – The Longhorns certainly have the talent advantage here, but that has not been enough for them most of this season. I’m also sure Mr. Ehlinger will have some kind of “we don’t lose in Austin on Thanksgiving weekend (except for 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012…)” speech. Rumors are already swirling that Nick Saban and Bill Belichick and Jesus Christ are interested in coming to Austin to take over as the next head coach as the sharks are circling around Tom Herman. The Red Raiders are coming off back to back heartbreaking home losses and look to close the season on a high note. Think this one either ends with a Longhorn blowout victory or a Tech win

5. Cincinnati (+11) vs. Memphis – This is an objectively bad pick. There is no method or metric or process that has led me to make this selection. The Bearcats have simply been survivors all season – only losing at #1 Ohio State and squeaking out close victories against bad teams while Memphis has been a juggernaut, scoring over 40 points every week since the road loss to Temple in early October. Memphis is having that dream season that should lead to a NY6 bid: an SEC win, hosting GameDay, and romping through its schedule. However it can all come crashing down this week: not only would a loss here cost the Tigers home field in the AAC championship and likely end their NY6 bid, paired with a Navy win at Houston and Memphis won’t even win the division and perhaps their coach starts looking longingly at the Arkansas opening. I think it’s most likely that Mike Norvell’s squad can see this out to the finish line, but this nightmare scenario is on the table.

Your Picks

There is plenty this weekend to hold your attention between leftover servings, with Playoff implications, division titles to be earned, bowl bids up for grabs, and season win totals to be determined. Fill out your selections in the form below or click HERE if your browser doesn’t show the form on this page. Remember to get your picks in before the start of games you select – Week 14 Schedule. Good luck!