Championship Week: The Picks are in! The Picks are in!

Here we are. The (effective) last week of games in the regular season. Get ready to get down on a slate of games this weekend that includes bigtime matchups in the SEC, B1G, BIG 12 and yes, even the ACC. As a point of order, Marcus made his Ohio—NIU pick well before kickoff; I just took forever to post it. Onto the picks...

Marcus says...

Michigan State +10 vs. Wisconsin (in Indianapolis)
The inaugural Big Ten Championship game is a rematch of the thriller that was the October 22 contest in East Lansing. That game ended with a Spartan W, thanks to a last second hail mary from Cousins to Nichol. MSU got all the breaks in that game and their defense had trouble containing Russell Wilson and the Badger offense. Wiscy ended up losing two straight, but finished the season strong to earn a Big Ten Leaders division title and a berth in the title game. Montee Ball has been terrorizing defenses, with 11 TDs in the last 4 games. Kirk Cousins and B.J. Cunningham keep cementing their places in Spartan history and will need to put some points up on the board. This is going to be a tough game for Sparty, but they win if they can control the ball and keep the Badger offense off the field. I’m taking MSU and the points.

Virginia Tech -7 vs. Clemson (in Charlotte)
The ACC title game gives Va Tech another shot at a Clemson team that handed them their only loss of the season. We’ve written a lot about Coach Dabo Swinney’s Tiger team, who have gone from National Championship contention to losing 3 of 4. Clemson was exposed against Georgia Tech and QB Tajh Boyd hasn’t been the same since. The Hokie defense blanked Virginia last wek and isn’t look to help Boyd get his groove back. Expect Logan Thomas and Va Tech to have a good day and cover the spread.

Northern Illinois -3.5 vs. Ohio (in Detroit)
The MAC title game at Ford Field pits the high flying Northern Illinois offense against a very balanced Ohio squad on Friday night. Last season the Huskies came into the game behind star QB Chandler Harnish ranked in the Top 25 and expected to roll through Miami (OH). The Redhawks ended up upsetting NIU and the Huskies have been itching to get back to the title game ever since. Ohio is led by sophomore QB Tyler Tettleton (yes Detroit Tiger fans, that’s Mickey’s kid) who does it all for the Bobcats when it comes to scoring. Tettleton has thrown for 26 TDs and ran for 8 more. Ohio will try to slow the game down, but won’t be able to. I’m taking NIU to cover.

Cincinnati -9 vs. UConn
Nobody is cheering harder for Cincinnati than West Virginia in this one. With a Bearcat win, there will be a three way tie atop the Big East between WVU, Cincy and Louisville. Based on rankings, the Mountaineers would be headed to the BCS. QB Zach Callaros knows that his team isn’t headed to the BCS, but at this point a share of the Big East title would feel good after a disappointing 4-8 campaign last season. UConn has been largely inconsistent and hasn’t won two games in a row all season. RB Lyle McCombs has had a stellar freshmen year, but this season won’t end on a positive note. They’ll be partying in Morgantown (think burning couches) on Saturday night after Cincy wins and covers the spread.


Kyle says...

UCLA @ Oregon -31
Is it basketball season yet? UCLA's humiliation won't be forgotten until March, as it's scheduled to be nationally televised tonight. Look for Oregon to take out a lot of unchecked agression on the wallowers from Westwood. Ducks cover.

UNLV @ TCU -38.5
Vegas knows this team well. Look for TCU to make a statement as they emphatically grab their first MWC title—with Boise State in the league—tomorrow. Frogs cover.

Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State -3.5
OSU is plain better than OU this year, but I'm not quite sure how much better. Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon prevail in a shootout, but OU covers.

Georgia vs. LSU -13 (in Atlanta)
Ugga is hot, on a 10 game win streak... but nobody is hotter than the boys from the Bayou. LSU covers in what'll likely be a blowout considering Georgia's wins have come against teams with the consistency and polish of dogshit.

Season Standings:

Kyle - 25-25-2
Marcus - 24-27-1