NCAA College Football 2007 Week 14 Picks early games

NCAA College Football 2007 Week 14 Picks

Sports Handicappers Lounge
Check out the web's best sports handicapping forum - get free service plays from Capper's Lounge.
www.capperslounge.com

Sports handicapping:
Get NFL picks from Top Ten Cappers, the best football picks on the web.
toptencappers.com

Fearless Rick's College Football Week 14 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | December 1

All times Eastern - Click here for late games.

12:00 pm Navy (-14, 65) at Army - The annual clash of the service academies will more resemble the attack of a mighty armada than the charge of the cavalry. While 7-4 Navy has compiled the better record (Army is 3-8), but this game will not look like Custer's last stand. Navy hasn't beaten anyone by more than 11 points all season, though Army has had their share of double-digit losses. Arguably, the Black Knights have played a tougher schedule, with losses to Boston College, Tulsa, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Rutgers already in the book.

Army will not be discredited here and may pull off the upset as they find ways through Navy's floating defense in a high-scoring affair.

Prediction: Navy 45 Army 38

12:00 pm Tulsa at UCF (-7, 75) - The Golden Hurricane of Tulsa has quietly compiled a 9-3 record and a berth in the Conference USA title game and have won five straight. Their last loss, however, was at UCF, a 44-23 thumping on October 20, in which the Knights rolled up 453 yards of offense. Returning to the scene of the crime with more at stake won't help Tulsa's weak defenders, allowing 34.7 ppg. And while the Golden Hurricane has whipped up an average of 548 yards and 40 points per outing, the Knights' defenders have their number.

Prediction: UCF 54 Golden Hurricane 35

1:00 pm Virginia Tech (-4 1/2, 46 1/2) at Boston College - Something clicked in the Hokies' offense after that stunning 14-10 loss to the Eagles in October. Since then they've put up 144 points in four games (33.3 ppg) and roll into the ACC title clash fully loaded and seeking revenge. Virginia Tech's defense completely throttled BC in that regular season loss, allowing two TDs by the Eagles in the final two minutes of play. As they say, payback's a ..., well, you know the rest. The Hokies will put a serious pasting on BC and roll into a BCS bowl.

Prediction: Hokies 38 Eagles 21

--- Story continues below ---

4:00 pm Tennessee vs. LSU (-7 1/2, 60 1/2) - Interestingly, the SEC championship features two teams with less-than-overwhelming regular season records. Tennessee has lost 3, while the Tigers have 2 OT losses, the last coming at the hands of a gutsy Arkansas squad last week.

The Vols showed true grit in their overtime win at Kentucky last weekend, almost blowing a big lead to finally prevail in 4 OTs. LSU still appears to be the class of the conference, but the Vols have played sufficiently well over a tough schedule to rate a good chance at the upset here. Both teams are physical, but Tennessee may have a slight edge on offense with Erik Ainge at QB. The Vols defense will have to play a full 60 minutes if they expect to hold these Tigers.

Prediction: Volunteers 24 Tigers 21

4:30 pm UCLA at USC (-20, 46 1/2) - Fun in the sun out on the coast in the annual restoration of the rivalry in LA. This game has produced some classics, not the least of which was last season's 13-9 win by the Bruins. USC has a couple of losses, but none with John David Booty at QB, so the question is whether the Bruins can muster enough defense to contain the explosive Trojans. Last Saturday's 16-0 throttling of Oregon by UCLA may offer a clue. If the Bruins can put up more than 14 points against the overrated USC defense, they can win another for the blue and gold.

Prediction: Bruins 21 Trojans 20

All times Eastern - Click here for late games

Copyright 2007, 2008, Rick Gagliano, Downtown Magazine. All rights reserved. Downtown Magazine is located in the Uinted States of America and is not affiliated with the National Football League or the NCAA. For more information, contact us here. Use of this site is for entertainment purposes only.