Week 8 Predictions
I kind of took a bye week on the blog the same as our football team did last week. I still nailed the straight up picks and actually predicted the Pitt/Rutgers game score while pushing the UL/UConn game, although had I waited that was a likely win as the number moved in my favor. Anyway on to this week’s games. Again, all lines used are provided here:
Last Week: 4-0 Year to date: 38-3
ATS: 2-1 (and a push) Year to date: 17-12
Friday:
Rutgers at Army: Line RU -10; O/U 39.5. Rutgers again gets to lick its wounds against a marginal opponent. Although to their credit, Army has played with a bunch of middling BCS teams (Duke and Vandy). I expect Savage should be able to find Brown freely in the Cadet secondary. The number seems low since Rutgers hasn’t played anyone of consequence except the top teams in the BE and we’ve seen how that turned out. Take the Scarlet Knights 30-13.
Saturday:
South Florida at Pittsbugh:Line Pitt -6.5;O/U 48.5. Best game on the Big East slate this week. How does USF respond to its potential deflating loss to Cincy? Pitt controlled the game at Rutgers last week but didn’t put the game away. Dion Lewis is a machine, but can he rush against the Bulls? I picked Pitt in the preseason as the conference champ because of favorable games like this at home. Still something tells me that USF isn’t ready to wilt just yet. I’m taking Daniels play making ability and good ol conservative Wanny ball to give USF the outright win. 24-20.
Connecticut at West Virginia: Line WV -7;O/U 54. I’m not sure I would touch this game. Heavy hearted UConn travels to Morgantown in the wake of Jasper Howard’s tragic death. How do they respond? They could look like world beaters for a half and just run out of gas or they could just be in a funk and not contend at all. How would you know. WV having Jarrett Brown available and the game at home should be enough to cover this one. WV 30-20.
Akron at Syracuse: Line SU -10.5;O/U 47.5; Bye week rested Orange look for revenge against a Zip team that put out an APB for QB this week. Walt Harris has a tough task getting the Zips a W. The Orange should be ready to atone for last season’s GRob career killer. Take the Orange going away 37-14.
Louisville at Cincinnati: Line UC -17;O/U 53. Bobby Petrino rolled 70 points on the Bearcats not too long ago. I’m sure the Cincy fans would love to return the favor. The only thing that can keep this game close is who is under center for UC. The Cards are banged up and their defense is a total sieve at this point. The Keg O Nails is staying in the Queen City and Bearcats will be making a BCS statement this week. UC wins 55-20.
