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Saturday, October 8, 2011

October 8th Picks

October 7th pick results-

Sweden- Won 2-1
Italy-  Won (1-1 draw)

Record for day 2-0
Record for the month 7-6


Pick #1 LSU Winning Margin or tie

  Florida struggled to score severely last week at home. With them on the road to face another outstanding defense, I don't expect them to perform better than last week's 38-10 loss at home to Alabama. Not to mention Florida will be without John Brantley. Even last week with Brantley, Florida just could not get on the board often enough to keep up. Maybe Charlie Weis has come up with something to help their freshman QB Jeff Driskel, but I just don't see it happening.

Confidence rating: 82%


Pick #2 Honduras Win, Draw, Lose by 1

 This will be brief, but Honduras for sure. Not a huge amount of confidence, but plenty to pick them. The US men's team has really struggled lately. Even with it being a friendly, I do not think the US will win by 2+. The outcome should be between a draw to a 1 point loss for Hunduras. Also, the US will be without Landon Donovan as well, and that will not help thier case.
   The US has looked pretty bad in friendlies, going 0-3-4 since January. Honduras has gone 1-2-4. Even if the US wins, I just dont see it being by more than 1. I think the US will experiment today with some new players as well. Win or lose, Honduras for the pick.

Confidence rating: 79%

Possible Pick- Tennessee

   As a huge Tennessee fan, I just couldn't resist putting this game up. Tennessee (3-1) will host the Georgia Bulldogs (3-2) tonight in Neyland Stadium. The Vols passing attack this year has been phenomenal. Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray, is averaging about 336 passing yards a game. His worse game came to the Gators after throwing for 288 yards, 3 tds and 2 interceptions in a 33-23 loss in Gainesville.
    Georgia's Aaron Murray has looked pretty good himself. Completing 83 of 135 for 1100 yards and 13 touchdowns. But the real story has been in Georgia's runnning game, featuring freshman running back Isaiah Crowell. Crowell has run for 515 yards on 99 carries (5.2 ypc) and 2 tds (surprisingly low), with Junior support running back Carlton Thomas rushing the ball 28 times for 143 yards (5.1 ypc) and 2 tds. Defensively, both teams are almost identical, allowing about 20 pts per game.
     One of my biggest concerns is Tennessee being without reciever Justin Hunter. The Vols played fine last week without him in their 41-10 romp over Buffalo at home, but I still feel it might be a factor. The Bulldogs have been beaten pretty bad in their last 2 trips to Knoxville. 2007 they lost 35-14, and in 2009 they lost 45-19. As well as many SEC stadiums, Neyland Stadium isn't an easy place to play. With their seating capacity just over 103,000, I think the Vols will have a huge 12th man advantage and may even be the deciding factor of the game. My prediction? Tennesee 30, Georgia 27.

Final thoughts: Tennessee 30, Georgia 27: The Bulldogs have a more balanced offense, and superior defensive statistics. But they haven't faced a passer of Tyler Bray's caliber since Boise State's Kellen Moore riddled them in the season opener.
Neyland Stadium should be a factor. The Bulldogs have lost 10 of their last 17 games away from Sanford Stadium.
Confidence rating: 65%

Sorry this post didn't get up till noon, but I changed my mind on some picks and wanted to put some thought into my predictions. I will have more up. I just havn't decided what else I like tonight.

Thanks to everyone following,

Streakhelper