Another week, another set of coin flips.
Last week both Trent and I—and with different picks I might add—both went 2-4, which is good for a win percentage of .333. Neither of us have done all that great lately. Maybe one or both of us will get back in the win column this Saturday? (Or, more likely, maybe I finally get to drop my first oh-fer?)
Mercifully, the Pokes are off this week. My sister B. sent me a text a few days ago asking if OSU played this weekend. My reply: ‘No for fuck sake thank god.’
Trent is three games back. There’s plenty of time—plus I have way too many upset picks this week for good measure!
Trent last week: 2-4 (.333)
Trent overall: 40-25 (.615)
Nate last week: 2-4 (.333)
Nate overall: 43-22 (.661)
Friday
No. 16 Utah 27, Arizona State 31. This is the 35th meeting between these two foes, and I’m not going to even pretend to know how many conferences they’ve been apart of since their first meeting in 1961 until now. The Sun Devils own the all-time edge 22-12, and though they lost their final meeting as members of the Pac 12 last year 55-3, and have lost their last four to the Utes, this seems—particularly now that both squads are part of the goofiest conference in the country—like exactly the kind of game in which to take ASU.
Cincinnati 34, UCF 27. Basing this pick both on the savviness of Cincy—which has generally looked better than advertized so far—and the thought that so many UCF players, unfortunately, have so much more important things (for several too many weeks in succession) than football to think about this weekend.
Arizona 30, BYU 35. Kalani Sitaki is 3-0 against the U of A as BYU’s coach. These two met every year from 1962-1977 and the overall record is 12-12-1. Vegas has the Mormons by three. I think it’ll turn out more or less as the gamblers predict.
No. 11 Iowa State 33, WVU 37. These two have been incredibly even since WVU joined the conference, with the Mountaineers owning the edge 6-5 since 2012. Personally—and I know I have some Twitter folks who will give me a hard time about this if I’m wrong—I think ISU is a pretty laughable No. 11 at this point. Thus I’m picking the ‘Eers.
No. 18 Kansas State 45, Colorado 42. I’m kind of excited about this game simply because it’s one of the few products of the most recent round of realignment (personally I prefer to call it conglomeration now) to re-produce (I wanted to write disinter, lols) a classic game. These two first met in 1912, and played every year from 1948-2010. That’s 62 years in a row—and, though not a fierce rivalry, exactly the kind of game college football was built on.