College Football Picks

I was 4-5 last weekend, dropping me to an even .500 on the season (31-31). This is, perhaps, the most important weekend of the season, though. So much will be determined. Here are my picks:

Thursday 9:00 PM - ESPN
#16 Oregon State Beavers @ #7 Oregon Ducks
This is the Pac-10 Championship Game, for all intents and purposes. Oregon's only 2 losses came on the road to good teams, one being Boise State, the other being Stanford. The Ducks haven't lost a Pac-10 home game since 2007, and they won't lose this one. They'll destroy the Beavers.

Prediction:
Oregon 45, Oregon State 17



Saturday 12:00 PM - ABC
#5 Cincinnati Bearcats @ #15 Pitt Panthers
This is essentially the Big East title game. Winner goes to the Orange Bowl, or just maybe into the National Title game (with tons of help). But I think Pittsburgh's going to do the BCS a big favor. It's going to be cold with a chance of flurries in western Pennsylvania, and that seals the prediction for me.

Pitt 27, Cincy 24



Saturday 4:00 PM - CBS
SEC Championship Game (Atlanta, GA)
#1 Florida vs. #2 Alabama
Drooling yet? This is a National Semifinal, and the winner is all but guaranteed to go to the title game. Alabama has a tough defense and an excellent running attack. But Florida's defense is fierce. I mean like wolves hunting deer fierce. Bama will put up a good fight, but Florida will pull away take the Conference Championship.

Florida 31, Alabama 17



Saturday 8:00 PM - ABC
Big XII Championship Game (Arlington, TX)
#3 Texas Longhorns @ #22 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Texas has one more step to take to get to Pasadena. Nebraska racked up a 9-3 record thanks to a soft non-conference schedule, and an almost as soft Big XII North. I've been impress with how calm, cool, and collected the Longhorns have been all season. They haven't been really tested, but they've avoided the normal pitfalls that often ruin Title contenders' seasons. The Longhorns take care of business in their own backyard.

Texas 38, Nebraska 14



Saturday 8:00 PM - ESPN
ACC Title Game (Tampa Bay, FL)
No National Title implications here, but this game will be the most entertaining on Saturday. So once Texas pulls away, flip over to ESPN to watch some good old fashioned rushing football. Clemson's CJ Spiller rushed for 912 yards this season. As a team, Georgia Tech ran the ball 686 times (57 times a game) for 3,660 yards (305 yards a game). But they can occasionally pass the ball for big plays. These teams played a close game (30-27), but Tech won't let the Tigers come back and make this game too interesting.

Georgia Tech 35, Clemson 21



So there it is. According to these results, the Bowl Games will go like this:

National Championship: Florida vs. Texas
Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Oregon
Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Pittsburgh
Fiesta Bowl: ? vs. ?
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. ?

-The Commodore