According to the CFP Committee Ohio St. is now #1, which probably doesn’t sit well with the folks down in Georgia. I’ve always believed in the philosophy of “Nature Boy” Ric Flair: to be The Man you’ve got to beat The Man. I didn’t see the show, but I assume the powers-that-be may have watched the Bulldogs let Auburn hang around awhile several weeks ago and also got all tingly watching the Buckeyes beat Penn St. Whatever the details, I’m sure they somehow justified their decision to the talking heads. None of it really matters at this point, although the playoff picture is slowly coming into focus. At any rate, I was 4-1 last week, while Zach was 3-2. There are some potentially important matchups this week, atleast on paper. Hopefully they’ll live up to expectations. We’ll see.

My Season: 35-23

Zach’s Season: 28-30

Notre Dame (-3) at Clemson

What in the hell has happened to the Tigers?? I didn’t expect that they’d compete for a playoff spot this season, but neither did I forsee them entering November at 4-4 with back-to-back losses, including one to NC St. Meanwhile, the 7-2 Irish might still be thinking months from now how an inexplicable loss to Louisville cost them a playoff opportunity. Neither team is elite, but both are still good enough to draw interest. Can the negative energy be galvanized by Dabo Swinney into enough motivation to pull off an upset?? How crazy is it that Clemson winning a game at home would be an upset?? Zach thinks that Coach Swinney has perhaps lost a bit of his team, but doesn’t believe it’s a long term problem. He agrees that we’ll see just enough of that old magic emerge for an upset to occur.

My Pick: Clemson

Zach’s Pick: Clemson

Oklahoma (-6) at Oklahoma State

Is this the last hurrah for Bedlam?? The 7-1 Sooners will be moving to the SEC next year because the NCAA clearly doesn’t give a damn about tradition & common sense anymore. Will the 6-2 Cowboys view it as a final opportunity for bragging rights?? The visiting favorites got outyanked at Kansas last week, while the home underdogs are riding a four game winning streak. This will be an emotional back & forth battle, and I think we’ll see a surprising result. Conversely, Zach thinks the Sooners will be ticked off after getting beat a week ago and will take out their frustration on their in-state rival.

My Pick: Oklahoma St.

Zach’s Pick: Oklahoma

Washington (-3.5) at Southern California

Let’s be honest…other than beating Oregon at home the undefeated Huskies haven’t really been challenged. As a matter of fact, it has occasionally felt like they’ve played down to the level of their competition in games that were closer than expected. Conversely, the 7-2 Trojans have come up short in two huge games that they probably should’ve won. It just seems like certain parties at USC aren’t “all in” and might be focused on other things. I think the underdogs will give it all they’ve got, but the visitors are so close to securing a playoff berth I don’t believe they’ll get caught by surprise…atleast not this week. Zach thinks we’re in for a shootout…first team to 60 wins!!

My Pick: Washington

Zach’s Pick: Washington

LSU at Alabama (-3)

Does this battle have as much cachet as it used to?? Maybe not. However, the 6-2 Bayou Bengals have won three in a row, while the 7-1 Tide is just sitting there in the Top 10 waiting for a couple of dominoes to fall so they can claim the playoff berth they believe is owed them. Both teams are coming out of a bye week, so they should be well-rested & healthy. ‘Bama gets the requisite home field bump, but I smell an upset and a changing of the guard at the top of the SEC West. Zach forsees another low scoring defensive battle, which is kind of the norm in this rivalry. He’s a Coach Saban fanboy almost as much as he loves Michigan.

My Pick: LSU

Zach’s Pick: Alabama

Miami vs. Kansas City (-2.5)

For the first time ever the NFL is playing a game in Germany. It’s a 9:30am kickoff on NFL Network here in The States, with a matchup worthy of getting out of bed to watch. Some folks are seeing chinks in the armor of the 6-2 Chiefs, which is understandable given a surprising loss at Denver last week. Meanwhile, the prolific Miami offense has scored less than 31 points in only one game thus far. At 6-2 the Dolphins lead their division but can’t afford to ease up now. Most fans are likely expecting or atleast hoping for a shootout that’ll pad the fantasy numbers of countless couch GMs across the country. That would indeed be fun to watch, but every time that kind of game looks to be on the horizon it rarely seems to actually happen. We’ll probably see a 28-24 type of game, with penalties & turnovers playing a factor. Reports of KC’s demise are far too premature, but right now I think Miami is the hotter team. Zach concurs.

My Pick: Miami

Zach’s Pick: Miami