NCAA College Football 2008 Week 14 Picks early games

NCAA College Football 2008 Week 14 Picks

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Fearless Rick's 2008 College Football Week 14 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | November 27-29, 2008

All times Eastern - Click here for late games.

Tuesday, November 25

7:00 pm Western Michigan Broncos at Ball State Cardinals (-10 1/2, 54 1/2) - The 11-0 Cardinals survived a scare last week from Central Michigan, but this week they play another 1-loss divisional foe who are staring at the Mid American West title. A win by the Broncos sets up a situation like that in the Big 12, with the top three teams all beating each other, as the Cardinals already have a win over the Chippewas and the Broncos lost to them. Both teams have more than enough incentive for a win, and if the Cardinals are off their game at all, Western Michigan will stun them. As it is, the point spread is about 5 points too large. Last season, Ball St. won at W. Michigan, 27-23, but this year's Bronco defense is better.

Prediction: Broncos 27 Cardinals 24

Friday, November 28

12:00 pm West Virginia Mountaineers (-3 1/2, N/A) at Pittsburgh Panthers - Plenty of football action to view the day after the holiday, beginning with a tough rivalry in Pittsburgh, where the Panthers had everything lined up for them before losing at Cincinnati last week, 28-21. As has been the case in each of Pitt's losses, it has been a number of mistakes or missed assignments at critical points of the game which has cost them. It comes down to coaching in close games and Dave Wannstedt has been only adequate, not superior.

The Mountaineers are still looking for a share of the Big East title, though their one conference loss was also to Cincy, 26-23, on November 8, and that would give the tie-breaker to the Bearcats. Cincinnati only has to win at home vs. Syracuse on December 6 to capture the flag. West Virginia is 2-2 on the road, but the two wins were recent and against conference opponents. They seem to have the momentum (in addition to the incredible Pat White at QB) to get past the Panthers and move up in the polls.

Prediction: Mountaineers 33 Panthers 27

12:30 pm Mississippi State Bulldogs at Mississippi Rebels (-14, N/A) - A rivalry of in-state SEC foes which is always fun. Last season the Bulldogs took a 17-14 decision at home, but Houston Nutt seems to have the Rebels pointed in the right direction. Remember, they are the only team to have beaten the Gators this season, so they are probably going to win this home finale and their bowl game. This could be a massive blowout due primarily to the ineptitude of the Miss. St. offense, which is scoring under 17 ppg, near the very bottom of all of college football.

Prediction: Rebels 44 Bulldogs 13

2:30 pm LSU Tigers (-4 1/2) at Arkansas Razorbacks - The Razorbacks are an interesting story in the powerful SEC. They lost three straight games to highly-ranked opponents (Alabama, Texas and Florida), but since then have knocked off two lower-ranked teams (Auburn and Tulsa), though those were wrapped round a pair of close losses (21-20 at Kentucky and 23-21 to Mississippi). Last week they lost at Miss. St., 31-28, so they've had their share of close calls. LSU dropped their 4th game of the season and looked outplayed in so doing. Ole Miss hammered them, 31-13. The Tiger defense simply has not been up to the task this year. Despite the fact that LSU has not won back-to-back games this season, this is on the road and Arkansas is looking for something on which to base optimism for next season. This is their last game, so expect the Razorbacks to leave nothing behind.

Prediction: Razorbacks 24 Tigers 20

6:00 pm Fresno State Bulldogs at Boise State Broncos (-21, N/A) - The Bulldogs were ranked as high as #15 or so preseason, but something funny happened on the way through the regular season, they lost three games by three points each, to Wisconsin, Hawaii and Louisiana Tech, and were bounced out of the polls and forgotten. Still, Fresno is 7-4 and bowl-bound, so a solid performance is not out of their question here. Their worst lost was to Nevada, 41-28, and Boise slipped by the Wolf Pack by 7 points just last week, so there's room to consider taking the points.

At 11-0 Boise State is on their way to a BCS bowl if they finish undefeated. They should, but the Bulldogs can keep it interesting.

Prediction: Broncos 38 Bulldogs 26

Saturday, November 29

12:00 pm Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Georgia Bulldogs (-8, 50) - The annual meeting between Peach State rivals usually produces a monumental clash. Many of the players on either side of the ball know each other from high school days, so there's always a good number of heated exchanges on the field. While the Bulldogs have availed themselves of a runner-up spot in the SEC, the Yellow Jackets are poised to at least get into a tie-breaker with Virginia Tech for the ACC Coastal crown. VATech won the Sept. 13 tilt over the Jackets, 17-13, so Tech will have to hope for a Cavalier win in that game (see below).

Georgia Tech holds a strong advantage over the Bulldogs defensively, allowing just 16.7 ppg (12th nationally), to the Bulldogs' 23.8. Georgia will mix in runs by Knowshon Moreno and passes from Matthew Stafford against the Yellow Jackets' imposing defense, while the Tech offense will rely on their triple option rushing game (4th nationally at 2979 over 11 games against Georgia's stout run defense. Tech should have more success, as stopping the run does not always mean you can stop an option attack. Points look very juicy here.

Prediction: Yellow Jackets 24 Bulldogs 21

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12:00 pm Virginia Cavaliers at Virginia Tech Hokies (-8 1/2, 38 1/2) - The Cavaliers have pulled off a number of stunning upsets this season, including wins over Maryland, North Carolina and Georgia Tech. However, they've now lost three straight and the Hokies have a traditional advantage in this matchup, having won 4 straight and 8 of their last 10 meetings, including four straight at home, by an average margin of 16 points. Looks like the Hokies may yet win the ACC Coastal. All they have to do is hold up at home here and they'll advance to the ACC championship game.

Prediction: Hokies 30 Cavaliers 18

12:00 pm South Carolina Gamecocks at Clemson Tigers (-1, 40 1/2) - Another season-ender between traditional rivals, though this one pits the ACC against the SEC, and that's gone the SEC's way most of the year. Clemson had been ranked in the top ten preseason, but were hammered by Alabama in their opener and never recovered. At 6-5, the Tigers are bowl-eligible, but barely. South Carolina is an improving offensive squad with a solid defense. The matchup favors the Gamecocks as the home team has lost three straight, even though Clemson has prevailed in five of the last six meetings. This one goes to Spurrier's kids.

Prediction: Gamecocks 21 Tigers 14

12:30 pm Kansas Jayhawks at Missouri Tigers (-14, 70) - A border war in the Big 12, though post-season spots seem to already have been determined. Missouri has wrapped up the Big 12 North and will be in the championship game December 6. Kansas, having failed to even come close to their remarkable 12-1 2007 campaign in 2008, currently checks in at a humble 6-5, and would like to reverse last season's 36-28 loss to the Mizzou. The game is played on a neutral site, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and it's not like the Jayhawks are exactly pushovers. Of their five losses, three are to Big 12 South powerhouses Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma. The others were road losses to quality teams: a 3 point loss at South Florida and a 10-point humbling at Nebraska. Missouri's two losses were to Oklahoma State and at Texas. In the latter, they were completely blown out in the first half, so there's a case to be made that Kansas played a much tougher schedule and will be highly competitive here.

Prediction: Jayhawks 38 Tigers 36

All times Eastern - Click here for late games

Copyright 2008, 2009, 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.

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