Happy Halloween Manoverse!! Okay okay…to be fair, by the time these games kick off we’ll be past Halloween, but right now, in this moment, it is still on the horizon. So what does Fright Night look like at The Bachelor Palace?? Full disclosure, it isn’t much more exciting than any other night. My secure location precludes me from hosting trick or treaters, which is unfortunate because once upon a time I rather enjoyed handing out candy to neighborhood crumb crunchers. I’m not much of a horror movie fan, although I do enjoy John Carpenter’s original 1978 Halloween. I will absolutely be snacking on candy corn (don’t come at me!) while choosing amongst other spooky-esque entertainment like Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, and of course the classic It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. I am also planning a reread of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Then, once I get all of that out of my system, it’ll be back to football. Your mileage may vary, and that’s okay.

Observations from Last Week:

• Yes, I gave us both a win for Boise’s 21 point victory over Nevada. That’s just how I roll.
• Announcers really can make a difference. I was flipping back & forth between Indiana/UCLA with my favorite duo of Gus Johnson & Joel Klatt on the call, and Kansas/Kansas St. that had Mike Golic Jr. as the color analyst. I adore Golic Sr., but his kid strikes me as kind of a douchenozzle. Any football guy that enthusiastically drops Taylor Swift trivia into a broadcast probably needs to find a new gig.
• With all due respect, I always thought it was odd that Brian Kelly would leave Notre Dame for LSU, especially after winning 10+ games in each of his final five seasons in South Bend. The grass usually isn’t greener elsewhere. Perhaps Kelly will end up at Penn State, Florida, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, or Virginia Tech.
• RIP Nick Mangold, former NY Jets center. 41 years old. Kidney disease. Damn.
• Some lucky coach is going to benefit from the NY Giants core of QB Jaxson Dart, RB Cam Skattebo, and WR Malik Nabors, but due to unfortunate injuries it probably won’t be Brian Daboll.

My Season: 27-24

Zach’s Season: 17-34

Arizona State at Iowa State (-5.5)

My boy Rocco Becht has had a rough go of it lately. After getting out of the gate 5-0 the Cyclones have dropped three straight games. They’re a middle of the pack Big 12 team when I thought they’d be serious contenders for the conference title. The Sun Devils are also 5-3 and have virtually no opportunity to win the conference either. So essentially, these teams are playing for pride and bowl positioning. I’m not going to jump off the Becht Bandwagon, and I think we’ll see his team rebound with a 7-10 point victory. Zach doesn’t view Iowa St. thru my prism. He believes this is a bounce back week for Arizona St.

My Pick: Iowa St.

Zach’s Pick: Arizona St.

Penn State at Ohio State (-20.5)

It felt like a much bigger game a month ago. That was before the Nittany Lions lost four consecutive games, had their starting QB go down with a season ending injury, and fired their head coach amidst that implosion. Meanwhile, the unbeaten Buckeyes haven’t really been challenged by anyone. They’ve only let one opponent even get to double digit points. Perhaps if the game were in Happy Valley I might give the underdogs a puncher’s chance, but the favorites look like a well oiled machine that’ll cruise into the CFP. Zach begrudgingly concedes that Ohio St. has been the best team in the nation. However, he is critical of their fairly weak schedule. He isn’t predicting an upset, but hopes that, somehow some way, it’s a closer game than the oddsmakers think it’ll be.

My Pick: Ohio St.

Zach’s Pick: Penn St.

Arizona (-4.5) at Colorado 

Are the folks in Boulder tired of Coach Prime’s BS yet?? Sure they were 9-4 a season ago, but losing a Heisman Trophy winner to the NFL will negatively affect any team. Neon Deion can recruit talent, but can he coach players who don’t happen to be five star prodigies?? The 4-3 Wildcats have shown some improvement but are too inconsistent. I’d definitely take the over because I don’t believe we’ll see stellar defense, and I think the ‘Cats will win by 5-7 points. Zach wonders if Sanders might receive an opportunity elsewhere on the very active coaching carousel despite the fact he is way overrated. He doesn’t believe Colorado will get their ass kicked as bad as they did last week at Utah, but then again Arizona doesn’t need to beat them that bad.

My Pick: Arizona

Zach’s Pick: Arizona 

Vanderbilt at Texas (-1.5)

I never thought I’d see the day when this matchup would be so highly anticipated. Indiana is getting alot of attention, and they deserve it, but let’s not overlook what the 7-1 Commodores have accomplished. However, they know that any positive mojo that has been built thus far will disappear in a nanosecond if they’re embarrassed by the Longhorns. While there is no shame in losing to Ohio St., I’m pretty sure the folks in Austin are still scratching their heads in confusion after being defeated in The Swamp by the Florida Gators a few weeks ago. This is one of those head vs. heart situations. I’d love to see Vandy silence their doubters and be validated by a win over a blueblood program, but despite the surprising odds I don’t believe it’ll be that close. Games are won in the trenches, and I think the home team will simply wear down their opponents in the 4th quarter. Zach has faith in Vandy’s defense and thinks Texas has been overrated all season.

My Pick: Texas

Zach’s Pick: Vanderbilt

Kansas City (-1.5) at Buffalo 

The Chiefs are back…I guess. After starting the season 2-3 KC has won three in a row. Meanwhile, the 5-2 Bills have lost two of their last three games. Don’t forget, that #1 seed in the conference is extremely important, as the top team receives a first round bye in the playoffs. It’s probably a bit premature to be discussing such things, especially with the Colts, Patriots, and Broncos all looking like serious contenders, but we cannot overlook the pedigree of these two teams. Momentum seems to be on the side of the favorites, but perhaps being underdogs in their own stadium will wake a sleeping giant in Buffalo. Zach loves Andy Reid, but he predicts the Bills will defend their turf in a close game…perhaps even overtime.

My Pick: Buffalo 

Zach’s Pick: Buffalo