NCAA College Football 2009 Week 8 Picks early games

NCAA College Football 2009 Week 8 Picks

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Fearless Rick's 2009 College Football Week 8 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | October 22-24

All times Eastern - Click here for late games.

Thursday, October 22

8:00 pm Florida State Seminoles at North Carolina Tar Heels (-2, 49) - As the season has progressed, more and more of these Thursday nighters have become throw-away games concerning teams which are playing just to get to .500 and into the bowl mix. Such is the case here, as the Seminoles and Tar Heels each seek their first ACC victory, though North Carolina has, arguably, better prospects, a better team and home field advantage.

They also are not suffering from the "fire the coach" contagion that has overwhelmed the Florida State campus and has become a major distraction. Unless 2-4 FSU begins winning, it could be the last season for Bobby Bowden, and rightfully so. His best days are behind him.

PREDICTION: Tar Heels 33 Seminoles 18

Saturday, October 24

12:00 pm South Florida Bulls at Pittsburgh Panthers (-6 1/2, 48 1/2) - Last week, the Bulls managed to hang with Cincinnati for most of 3 quarters before finally falling, 34-17. They have the look of an immature team led by a freshman QB, capable of big plays and big errors. That kind of undisciplined play isn't going to help them in Pittsburgh, where the 6-1 Panthers seek more respect after breaking into the national rankings off their 24-17 win at Rutgers.

Pitt is a very solid team in all respects, and they should be able to contain the Bulls and unleash their secret weapon - frosh Dion Lewis (918 yards on 126 carries) - the perfect complement to QB Bill Stull's accurate passing regimen.

PREDICTION: Panthers 30 Bulls 14

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12:00 pm Connecticut Huskies at West Virginia Mountaineers (-6 1/2, 48) - The 4-2 Huskies could be 6-0 right now had their defense not let down late in two games (their 12-10 loss to North Carolina and their 24-21 defeat at Pitt). They are a vastly underrated bunch, and, from the looks of the Vegas line, playing an overrated Mountaineer squad. Though West Virginia is 5-1, take a look at the level of opposition - Liberty, East Carolina, Auburn (their only loss), Colorado, Syracuse and Marshall. Outside of Auburn, these teams have a combined record of 16-16. Essentially, they have not played anyone on Connecticut's level, which means they are set up to lose and maybe lose big. While the Mountaineers have been plagued by turnovers this season, the Huskies thrive on ball control and lack of miscues.

PREDICTION: Huskies 24 Mountaineers 17

3:30 pm Clemson Tigers at Miami (FL) Hurricanes (-5 1/2, 43 1/2) - Clemson has played a rough schedule, with losses at Georgia Tech (3 points), home vs. TCU (4 points) and at Maryland (3 points), so they are good enough to play competitively against some of the best schools in the country and the Hurricanes are just that.

Statistically, this is a close call, as Clemson is a little better defensively, but the Hurricanes are better on offense. The Tigers will try to frustrate Miami QB Jacoby Harris with a zone passing defense, keeping everything in front of them, and disallowing long strikes downfield. That may work for a while, but eventually the Miami offense will break through, plus home field is a huge edge. Miami stamps its claim as the team to beat in the ACC.

PREDICTION: Hurricanes 28 Tigers 16

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3:30 pm Tennessee Volunteers at Alabama Crimson Tide (-14 1/2, 43 1/2) - After pounding South Carolina last weekend, the Crimson Tide vaulted to the top of Downtown Magazine's Top 25 rankings. Their defense is absolutely the best in the country. They are 4th behind Penn State, Florida and Oklahoma at 8.7 points per game allowed and just a fraction behind the Gators at 228.7 yards per game. The Gators are allowing 228.3. Even though Alabama doesn't score many points, they don't need to, and while the Vols are a good football team, they are not on the same level as the Crimson Tide. Look for Alabama to cement their SEC superiority with another whopper of a win.

PREDICTION: Crimson Tide 34 Volunteers 13

3:30 pm Penn State Nittany Lions (-4, 48) at Michigan Wolverines - Penn State continues to put up impressive defensive numbers, ranked as the #1 scoring defense (with Florida) in the nation, at 8.7 ppg. The Wolverines absolutely cannot compete on the defenisve side of the ball, but Michigan's spread offense has been a point-producing machine, clicking at 37.3 per outing, good for 9th in the nation. The Wolverines aren't the kind of team which Penn State can dominate, especially on the road. Michigan is very comfortable in the Big House, and the Nittany Lions will be hard pressed to slow down one of the trickiest offenses around.

Even though Penn State is ranked and Michigan is not, Michigan's only losses have been on the road, and they were close calls, losing 26-20 at Michigan St. and 30-28 at Big Ten leader Iowa. Once Michigan gets the lead, they will be able to dictate to Penn State, which does not possess enough offensive weapons to come back well.

PREDICTION: Wolverines 33 Nittany Lions 24

3:30 pm Oregon Ducks (-10, 52 1/2) at Washington Huskies - No contest here. The Ducks are the class of the PAC-10, currently riding a 5-game win streak after an opening loss at powerhouse Boise State. They've given up just 19 points over their last three games, all conference wins over Cal, Washington St. and UCLA, plus, they've had an extra week of preparation for this trip North.

Washington put up a valiant effort in a 24-17 loss at Arizona State last week, but fell to 3-4 and cannot match up well with the talented Ducks on either side of the ball.

PREDICTION: Ducks 33 Huskies 17

All times Eastern - Click here for late games

Copyright 2009, 2010, 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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