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Week 9 Predictions
I regrettably fell prey to USF being a contending team, so I missed a straight up pick last week. Still the record isn’t too shabby. Let’s get right at this week’s slate. Again, all lines used are provided here:
Last Week: 4-1 Year to date: 42-4
ATS: 3-2 Year to date: 20-13
Friday:
West Virginia at South Florida: Line WV -3;O/U 47.5. The Bulls were starting to catch everyone’s fancy with their big win at Florida St. Then the big boys of the conference started to roll in and the results aren’t pretty. Cincy rushed for 189 yards and Pitt 214. Now in comes Noel Devine. With Jarrett Brown sluggish last week against UConn, Devine should see alot of carries. USF needs to take advantage of a WV team that has started slow the last two weeks. That means BJ Daniels will have to do more than 4-8 with two picks like he had versus Pitt. The Pick: The wheels are off USF, although the game will be close WV will win – 24-20.
Saturday:
Rutgers at Connecticut: Line: UConn – 7.5;O/U 47. UConn gets its first home game since the death of Jasper Howard. They played with great heart and emotion last week at Morgantown. I expect they’ll have alot of fire again this week. Rutgers has continued to play less than stellar opponents ok, but has struggled against talent. Why should this week be any different. UConn is just the mentally tougher team right now. UConn wins 30-17.
Cincinnati at Syracuse: Line UC -15;O/U 51. Bearcats dropped in the BCS polls after hammering Louisville in the Keg O Nails. The pollsters will likely be less impressed with a similar result against Syracuse. Orange must run like they did last week against Akron to have any chance. Pick was made in the preview.
Arkansas St at Louisville: Line UL -3;O/U 51. Watershed game for the Cardinals. Their defense was picked apart more than a pile of nachos last week against the Bearcats. Could this game be Coach Kragthorpe’s Akron? A loss would all but signal the end there. Meanwhile Ark St can’t be overlooked as they battled Iowa tough before losinig by 3. Their strengths are running the ball and if they can limit turnovers and penalties – two areas that have killed the team thus far, this game could get real interesting. The Pick: Because the Wolves haven’t won a road game yet this year, I think the Cards will do just enough to eke this one out. 30-23.
