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NCAA College Football 2006 Week 14 Picks
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Fearless Rick's NCAA College Football Week 14 Picks - Early Games
Rick Gagliano | 11/28/06
For games of 11/30 - 12/2/06
All times Eastern - Click here for late Saturday games
Thursday, November 30
7:30 pm Central Michigan at Ohio (-3.5, 43.5) - Mid-America conference championship on the line as the Chippewas bring an 8-4 record to the 9-3 Bobcats of Ohio. Both teams are 7-1 in conference and the respective winners of their divisions.
Ohio hasn't lost since September, when they dropped a 21-9 decision to Bowling Green for their only conference loss. Central Michigan had won 6 straight conference games before losing to Northern Illinois 31-10 on November 17. The Chippewas bounced back to end the season with a resounding 55-28 thrashing of doormat Buffalo.
This will be the Chippewas 8th road game this season, so they are used to traveling to get their wins and they are 5-2 in away games. The question is whether their offense will dominate or the Bobcats' defense will prevail. Both are the conference leaders in those respective categories.
Tough call, but Ohio's defense is the key. In conference games in which their opponents score 20 or more, the Bobcats are 3-1.
Prediction: Bobcats 27 Chippewas 21
8:00 pm Southern Miss at Houston (-5, 54) - These two play for the Conference USA title and it's a rematch of the October 14 game won by Southern Miss at home, 31-27, so home field favors the Cougars. Both teams have potent offenses, but Houston the more potent, averaging 32.7 points and 439.6 yard per outing. Southern Miss checks in at 25.7 and 333.5.
The difference on defense is not nearly as glaring, with Southern Miss holding the slight edge. The Golden Eagles have won 4 straight after a shaky 4-4 start, while the Cougars have reeled off 5 straight wins. Their 3 losses have come by a total of 8 points and they look like the quality squad here.
Prediction: Cougars 38 Golden Eagles 24
1:00 pm Wake Forest at Georgia Tech (-2 1/2, 41) - Georgia Tech is coming off a gut-wrenching road loss to Georgia, 15-12, allowing the winning TD after they had just drove to take the lead late in the game. They'll have to put that behind them and focus on finding ways to score on the Demon Deacons, who are allowing only 15.4 points per game.
The Yellow Jackets are in the same class defensively, but Tech QB Reggie Ball has a nasty habit of making bad decisions in big games and this is about as big as it gets - the ACC championship.
Wake Forest is on par with the best in the conference and their senior leadership should provide enough big plays to get the job done.
Prediction: Demon Deacons 20 Yellow Jackets 17
Prediction: Midshipmen 42 Cadets 17
All times Eastern - Click here for late Saturday games
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Fearless Rick has been picking pro and college football for 25 years and you can help keep these picks FREE with a small donation (yes I'm talking to you, you cheap loser).
