College Football Picks

I usually listen to the Picks on the Tony Kornheiser Show each week to gauge my opinions against that of Democratic strategist James Carville, who is having a rough season picking games but is hilarious. Last week, Tony had NBC correspondent Chuck Todd on who said he lost his ass one week because he took Carville's advice and took home underdogs in all cases.

It just so happens there are some intriguing games with home underdogs this week, but I'm going against the Carville Law. Winners are bolded.

Houston -1 1/2 at Tulsa
I'm not a big Houston fan as the UTEP loss and some narrow wins have me questioning how good the Cougars are. That said, Tulsa has been laughable at times this season. I'm sure Houston gets this win and covers.

Oregon -5 1/2 at Stanford
Northing against Stanford but Oregon is rolling right now. They feel the momentum of the Cal and USC wins and they still have an outside chance at the national title. The Ducks get it done by at least 7 here.

Oklahoma -6 at Nebraska
Nothing against my Cornhuskers but last week's performance at Baylor was less than impressive. It certainly didn't inspire any confidence in me that NU would beat Oklahoma. I correctly took Baylor and the points last week. This week I'll take OU and give the touchdown.

Northwestern at Iowa -16.5
I'm not even sure Iowa is capable of winning a game by 17 points. The Hawkeyes have made a habit of playing down to competition this season with near misses against Indiana and Northern Iowa. I'll take my second favorite team, the Northwestern Wildcats and the points.

Baylor at Missouri -16 1/2
Despite showing some tenacity in the second half I came away from last week's game in Waco thinking that Bears still have a while to go under Art Briles. If Robert Griffin were under center I'd give the Bears a prayer to keep this close. But Mizzou is steadily improving and this week should be a beatdown.

The BIG GAMES
I'm not hot on either one of these games but since you'll be watching them, I'll be picking them.

LSU at Alabama -9
I think this one is going to be close. Alabama's inexperience at QB will stop them from running away from this one, but Mt. Cody and the Tide defense will get Bama the win. I like Bama by 6.

Ohio State at Penn State -4
I think this will be a close game too. Ohio State did the right thing by getting a patsy to play last week. Maybe it got Terrelle Pryor's confidence up, but maybe not. The biggest factor will be the play of Nittany Lion passer Darryl Clark. I like my namesake to shake off the big game jitters and get Penn State a win by 7.