Happy Thanksgiving Manoverse!! I hope all of you will be spending tomorrow enjoying the four F’s…food, family, friends, & football. I believe there are games every day for five days straight, which is pretty cool. Last week was a rather decent week for both of us, although Zach edged me by going 4-1 to my 3-2. I really thought the Seattle Seahawks were going to pull out that Monday night game. Ah well…c’est la vie, and we move on. We’re probably going to be sticking strictly to college football the next couple of weeks. This is commonly known as Rivalry Week, although realignment has negatively impacted the concept. As a West Virginia Mountaineers fan I really miss The Backyard Brawl against the Pitt Panthers. However, a few big games remain, and as a bonus a few of them even have playoff implications. Next week will be the conference title games, and a couple games this week will determine some of those matchups. It’s a great time to be a football fan. Enjoy.
My Season: 38-36
Z’s Season: 39-35
South Florida at Central Florida (-11)
In my pre-season poll I predicted that it’d be the Bulls who would reign supreme among the “non-power” teams, but it’s the undefeated Knights 
who have emerged at the top of that particular heap. USF isn’t far behind though, and with a victory could catapult themselves into a New Year’s bowl game against a “power” opponent. The winner of this game will face Memphis in the AAC title game. I’m pretty stubborn when it comes to sticking with my pre-season picks, and it’s not as if 9-1 USF is a bad team. The two campuses are less than a hundred miles apart, so I don’t think the home field advantage is much of a factor. Kickoff is on Black Friday afternoon, and I’ll be glad to be home cheering for the Bulls rather than fighting crowds at a shopping mall. Zach likes UCF head coach Scott Frost (who’s probably leaving soon for Nebraska), so he’s going with the favorites.
My Pick: South Florida
Z’s Pick: Central Florida
Louisville (-10) at Kentucky
No, it’s not a basketball game. Actually these are two rather decent football teams. The 7-4 Cardinals haven’t gotten as much attention as a year ago when quarterback 
Lamar Jackson took the NCAA by storm en route to winning the Heisman Trophy, but they’ve still had a nice season. The Wildcats are also 7-4 with impressive wins over Tennessee and South Carolina. Kentucky has the home field and the double digit points are a bit much in my opinion, so I’m leaning toward the underdogs. Zach concurs.
My Pick: Kentucky
Z’s Pick: Kentucky
Florida State (-5) at Florida
What a disappointing season it has been for both of these teams. The Seminoles stumbled right out of the gate and lost their starting QB for the season. At 4-6 this is a 
must win to even become bowl eligible, a circumstance they’re certainly not accustomed to in Tallahassee. The Gators are also 4-6 and have already fired their coach. They have no chance at qualifying for a bowl unless the NCAA makes some kind of exception since an early season game was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. What it all boils down to is that this is as close to post-season action as one or both of these teams might get, which makes it atleast somewhat interesting. Because the Seminoles still have a reasonable shot at being invited to a bowl game I have to give them the nod. Zach agrees.
My Pick: Florida State
Z’s Pick: Florida State
Notre Dame (-2.5) at Stanford
The Irish blew their opportunity to get into the playoff when they lost to Miami a couple of weeks ago, but at 9-2 will still probably find themselves playing in a January 
bowl game. Stanford may or not be heading to next week’s Pac 12 championship, but at 8-3 will be playing somewhere in the post-season. This game doesn’t affect their conference situation either way, but pride, momentum, & bowl position are on the line. It feels like a toss-up to me, but I’m going to pick the home team to score the mild upset. Zach agrees.
My Pick: Stanford
Z’s Pick: Stanford
Washington State at Washington (-9)
Stanford’s hopes of playing in the Pac 12 title game depend on the result of this game. If the Cougars win they’re in. If the Huskies win then Stanford earns the right to
meet USC next week based on their victory over Washington a couple of weeks ago. They call this game the Apple Cup, and when you peel away the hype and look at the core of the matchup the more fruitful offense belongs to Washington St., while Washington’s defense has a bit more juice. Ok…yeah…that was fun!! Anyway, The Vibes are telling me that Cougars’ QB Luke Falk…a potential first round NFL draft choice…will have a big day and lead his team to a huge win. Zach really likes State head coach Mike Leach and believes he will lead his team to victory.
My Pick: Washington State
Z’s Pick: Washington State
Ohio State (-11.5) at Michigan
Everyone was a lot more excited about this matchup a few months ago. Since then the Wolverines have gone 8-3 and are nowhere near the 
playoff conversation or conference title contention, while the 9-2 Buckeyes will be playing in the Big Ten title game but are 9th in the playoff poll and would need a lot of dominoes to fall the right way. Still…it’s Ohio St.-Michigan. This IS college football. I’m not sure what exactly has gone wrong with the Wolverines this season, but I believe they are better than their record. The game is in The Big House in Ann Arbor, which is another factor to consider. Ohio St. is clearly the superior team and motivated by a lingering yet admittedly miniscule chance at a playoff spot so I think they’ll win, but what about the points?? The smart assumption is probably that it’ll be a closer game than the oddsmakers indicate, but sometimes one has to go big or go home. Zach’s opinion…in the interest of full accuracy…is “screw Ohio St”.
My Pick: Ohio State
Z’s Pick: Michigan
Alabama (-4.5) at Auburn
They call this the Iron Bowl because the city of Birmingham was a big producer of iron & steel back in the 70’s. More tangibly, this has become
one of the most anticipated annual games on the calendar because one or both teams are consistently near the top of the rankings and there is usually a lot riding on the outcome…this year is no exception. ‘Bama is the undefeated #1 team in the country and will secure a spot in the SEC title game with a victory. In my opinion if they make it that far they’ll be in the playoff win or lose. However, Auburn would take that SEC championship game spot and vault themselves into the playoff conversation with a victory. Tide head coach Nick Saban grew up in Monongah, WV which is about a half hour up the road from me, so most folks around here like to see him be successful, but as a football fan not only do I usually cheer for the underdog but I am also thoroughly bored with Alabama. Dynasties are only entertaining to fans of that particular team…everybody else is rooting for them to get knocked off. I also love chaos when it comes to the playoff because the methodology just doesn’t frost my cupcake. So that’s why I’ll be cheering for Auburn. Zach is fully invested in the Saban lovefest and thinks the Tide will roll by three TDs.
My Pick: Auburn
Z’s Pick: Alabama
It’s been a busy week so I am behind. That’s cool…I like being busy. At any rate, once again bonus picks weren’t a good idea, as I was 3-5 and Zach was only slightly better at 4-4. The college football playoff rankings remain the same at the top, although a few teams (most notably Penn St. & Ohio St.) have played themselves out of contention so the field is narrow. The NFL is a war of attrition on a scale I don’t recall seeing, with so many big stars out for the year with injuries. We’re going to do our best to stay / get back above .500, but it’s probably best if we take things slow with almost two months remaining in our season.
out of the college football playoff, but I suppose a conference title would be a nice consolation prize. On paper the Huskies are a better team, but Stanford does have the home field advantage and Heisman worthy running back Bryce Love. This is a late night game on Friday so I’ll be able to keep my eye on it at work. I’m going against the grain and with the home team underdogs. Zach is completely confused and believes Washington State coach Mike Leach is coaching in this game, which he is not. But anyway, he’s picking Washington…I think.
Undefeated Wisconsin is the Big Ten’s last remaining hope to have representation in the playoff, but unfortunately their weak early season 
schedule (Utah St., Florida Atlantic, BYU) isn’t doing them any favors. The Hawkeyes are coming off of a surprising beatdown of Ohio St., and I think if this game were being played in Iowa I might have to ponder whether they could pull off a shocker two weeks in a row. However, with everything that’s at stake and the fact that the game is in Madison I don’t think the Badgers are going to mess things up. Zach is unimpressed by Wisconsin and thinks Iowa is good enough to get a second straight huge upset win.
I feel confident in assuming that the Bulldogs aren’t going to lose their final two games against Kentucky & Georgia Tech, and things are set up 
so that even if they’d lose the SEC title game to Alabama they’d probably still get a spot in the playoff. So, the only roadblock left for Georgia is traveling to Auburn. Meanwhile, the Tigers still have an outside chance to play in the conference championship (they have ‘Bama at home in a few weeks) and perhaps even make the playoff, but this is a must-win. I hope that this game is as good as it should be, and since I have a few issues with how the playoff is decided and therefore root for chaos, I am pulling for Auburn. Conversely, Zach thinks Georgia is unstoppable.
this is the first time in a long time that the game has really mattered in the bigger picture. The Irish are a solid playoff entrant at the moment, but that could easily change with a loss. Conversely, the Hurricanes are on the outside looking in and have to get a victory. They’re going to be playing in the ACC title game regardless, but obviously a playoff berth is a bigger goal. A lot of folks say Miami hadn’t really played anyone until they beat Virginia Tech last week, and that may be a valid point. Notre Dame has had the tougher schedule…but not that much tougher unless you’re counting #1 Georgia, a game Notre Dame lost. I’m a sucker for home field advantage. I really do think it can make a difference, especially in college. That’s why I am leaning toward Miami. Zach concurs.
quarterback woes have doomed the 3-5 Broncos. I don’t know who’s starting behind center for Denver this week, but I don’t think it matters all that much. This is the Sunday night game on NBC, and since its being played in Mile High territory I guess there is always a chance it might be more fun & competitive than one might assume…but probably not. Zach believes the Pats will win big…possibly four TDs big.
The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released next week, but we already have a pretty good idea about the teams…probably about a dozen at the moment…that are a legit part of the debate. And while all of that adds a layer of interest to the conversation I must admit that it creates an odd dynamic for these picks since I don’t really want to focus on just a handful of teams over & over again for the next several weeks. We have the same issue with the NFL because, while they are only at the mid-point of the season, the difference between contenders & pretenders is becoming clear. As fans it is expected that we pay more attention to good teams and competitive matchups, but on the other hand I don’t want to bore Zach, myself, & whoever else might be out there reading our silly little opinions. At any rate, we’ll do the best we can, and hopefully going forward that’ll mean being better than last week. I went 2-3, while Zach was 1-4 (a half point made the difference in the Jets-Dolphins game). Overall we are both still keeping our heads above water, but I think we need to wash the nasty taste of a subpar week out of our mouths with some bonus picks today. You’re welcome.
Tar Heels can only hope that Miami is looking ahead to those two games and isn’t prepared for this one, which seems unlikely. I am typically uncomfortable with three touchdown point spreads, but I think I’m okay with it for this particular game. Zach concurs.
The Big Ten has Ohio St., Penn St., & Michigan, so up until now no one has paid much attention to the 7-0 Badgers. Well…except whoever votes 
in the polls since they are in the Top 5. Wisconsin has a very real chance to make it into the playoff, especially since Michigan isn’t living up to the hype and the other two previously mentioned teams aren’t on the schedule. Conversely, the 2-5 Illini have lost five straight after unimpressive victories over inferior opponents to begin the season. Wisconsin will win this game, but by how much?? I’m feeling frisky, so let’s roll the dice on another huge point spread. Zach isn’t sold on Wisconsin, but he believes they’ll win this game…just not by 26 points.
For decades this rivalry was known as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, but the PC Police nixed that moniker several years ago, atleast 
on an official basis. I’m sure fans & alumni of both schools still call it that. Anyway, it is a “neutral” site game played in Jacksonville, FL, which is about 71 miles from Gainesville, FL and over 300 miles from Athens, GA. I guess they define neutral differently in The South. The 7-0 Bulldogs are serious playoff contenders and seem to be headed toward a clash with Alabama in the SEC title game. The Gators are 3-3…far below expectations. I assume Florida will finish the season with 7 or 8 wins and play in some December bowl game that no one will watch, but let’s be honest…this is their championship game. They would love nothing more than to torpedo Georgia’s National Championship dreams. Do I think that’ll happen?? No, but they’ll give it a good try at home in The Swamp and probably keep it closer than two TDs. Zach isn’t totally sold on Georgia either and thinks they haven’t really been tested yet, but he doesn’t believe the Gators will be much competition either.
The Huskies are 6-1 and in a dog fight to win their division. The 4-3 Bruins have not bounced back from a putrid 2016 nearly as well as I thought they would, even though QB Josh Rosen has remained healthy. If this game were being played in Los Angeles I’d pick the underdogs in a heartbeat, but it’s not. I’m kind of ticked off that the game isn’t scheduled for prime time (late at night here on the East Coast) so I could have something to entertain me at work that night, but that’s life. I might regret it, but I’m going to go with my gut and believe in UCLA to keep it competitive. Zach agrees.
Year’s bowl games. It is the college football equivalent of affirmative action. What they really should do is split Division 1-A, aka the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) into two separate divisions, each with its own national title, but that’s a discussion for another day. Right now South Florida, Central Florida, & Memphis are contenders for that spot. The 7-0 Bulls have had one game cancelled and one rescheduled because of hurricanes, but the cancelled game was against a 1-AA/FCS opponent so it doesn’t really matter. Meanwhile, the 4-3 Cougars have fallen off just a bit under new head coach Major Applewhite. I suspect that’ll change in the future, but for now they’ll have to take their lumps. I ranked South Florida in 
streak. Obviously neither team is going to win the conference, but they can play the spoiler role and also position themselves for a lovely tropical bowl location. I think 100+ points collectively will be scored, and I’m going to pick the underdogs to get the job done at home. Zach agrees.
game, and solidly in the college football playoff. However, all of that could change with a loss at The Horseshoe in Columbus. After an early season loss to Oklahoma the Buckeyes have rebounded and currently stand at 6-1, still have a shot to play in the conference championship game, and at #6 in the polls could easily vault back into playoff contention. I know Ohio St. has the home field, but I am still surprised that they are favored by a touchdown. That is either wicked awesome respect for the Buckeyes, or total disregard for Penn St. Perhaps it’s a little of both. In 
division. Conversely, the 4-2 Bills are only a half-game behind the Patriots. I don’t think it’d be out of line to say that this is a battle for a wildcard spot in the playoffs. Is Buffalo for real?? Can Oakland battle back from an uneven start and prove they’re the legit contender many thought they’d be?? I’m pretty stubborn when it comes to such matters. If the Bills are really that good this is the time to prove it, but I still think the Raiders are the better team. Zach concurs.
The 3-3 Texans are coming out of their bye week, and I think they are better than their record would indicate. That being said, the 4-2 Seahawks 
are pretty darn good too…especially at home. I love Houston QB Deshaun Watson, and I’ll be rooting for him in this game. However, I think it might be a little too much to ask a rookie to go into Seattle and win. Zach is a little suspicious of Seattle’s offensive line and thinks that might be enough for Houston’s defense to get the job done. I wouldn’t be mad if he’s right.
Ohhhhhh…it’s Friday the 13th!! Are you scared?? Do you need to be held gently and reassured that everything is going to be alright?? Well, if that’s the case you’ve come to the wrong place. Having said that though, we are feeling a little frisky so y’all are getting some bonus picks this week. As far as last week goes, Zach was an impressive 4-1, while I didn’t do so well with a 2-3 record.
playoff contention. The Wildcats were getting some pre-season love but limp into this game at 3-2 after a double overtime loss to Texas. I never really bought into the hype anyway, and for that I am gad. From what I’ve seen…referees be damned…TCU is the real deal. I don’t expect them to get into the playoff, but I do think they’ll win this game easily. Zach agrees.
questions about head coach Ed Orgeron’s job security are quelled…for now. Conversely, Auburn has gotten to 5-1 relatively unscathed…only a loss to defending national champion Clemson stains their record, and there’s no shame in that. So which LSU team will show up…the team that lost to the clearly inferior Troy, or the team that went into one of the most hostile environments in college football and scored a victory?? I’m going to assume it’ll be someplace in the middle, and that’s probably not going to be enough to win this one. Zach thinks it might be close, but Auburn will do just enough to cover.
I still sometimes forget that Maryland is in the Big Ten. The Terps come into this game 3-2 and appear to be a really inconsistent team. 
Northwestern is 2-3 and has also been inconsistent. If this game were taking place in Evanston, IL I might be tempted to pick the Wildcats, but since Maryland has the home field advantage it seems like a pretty clear choice to me, though the oddsmakers disagree for some reason. Zach doesn’t believe in Maryland at all and is siding with the folks in Vegas.
polls, one can see a definite pathway for Ohio St. to sneak back into the playoff picture. In 
Sooners are probably still stunned that Iowa St. beat them last week, but I wasn’t that surprised. Because of lack of respect for the Big 12 they are most likely out of the playoff conversation unless a lot of dominoes fall just right , but that doesn’t matter when it comes to this game. The Longhorns have shown signs of life, though a mediocre 3-2 record might not fully indicate that. Let us not forget that they lost a heartbreaker in double overtime at USC a few weeks back. This is a neutral site game being played at the old Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which is just shy of 200 miles away from both Austin, TX & Norman, OK. This series has remained fairly even thru the years, with each team occasionally winning 4 or 5 in a row only to see the other come back and do the same thing, so it is a somewhat unpredictable game. Essentially one either has to believe that Oklahoma is down and that last week’s loss was a harbinger of doom, or that the loss was merely an unlucky hiccup that’ll just have them fired up. Most seem to be on the same page with Texas…they’re headed in the right direction but probably aren’t where they need to be quite yet. Having said all of that, I like Texas to keep it very close, and if they lose it’ll be by less than a touchdown. Zach also likes the Longhorns and believes they’ll win outright.
had picked up right where they left off until a couple of weeks ago then were upended by the surprising Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins are 2-2, which is right about where most expected them to be. Atlanta has the home field in their shiny new stadium, but the question is whether or not they can cover a double digit spread. I think they can, unless the entire Dolphins team snorts blow during pre-game warm-ups. Zach is picking Atlanta to roll to an easy victory.
This should be called the Gun Control Bowl. They definitely cannot take a page out of the Oklahoma-Texas playbook…people in these two cities 
might have an actual shootout. At any rate, the 1-4 Bears got their only win a few weeks back over my Pittsburgh Steelers, and are already giving up on QB Mike Glennon. Enter rookie signal caller Mitch Trubisky, who has demonstrated some talent in limited playing time. This opportunity comes a little sooner for him than most expected, but it’s a smart move in my opinion. Meanwhile, the Ravens are 3-2, which sadly is good enough to have them tied atop the AFC North. Baltimore is getting a really generous home field advantage, but I’m not buying it. I watched Trubisky a little bit in the pre-season and it was immediately evident to me that the young man has…it. I don’t know if he’ll be able to spin that talent into anything tangible, and I’m not sure if a great team will ever be assembled around him, but I think he’ll flash that potential for all to see and get his first win. Zach likes Trubisky well enough but thinks that right now Baltimore is the better team.
the 2-3 Cardinals are even worse than the record indicates. I do know that Arizona was desperate enough to trade for RB Adrian Peterson, which would’ve been a brilliant move…four years ago. Now?? I can’t imagine he has much left in the tank. Who knows though…maybe he can flip a switch ;-). The Vibes are telling me that this won’t be very close or competitive, that the favorites will win handily. Zach likes Peterson to have a big game with his new team, but believes Tampa will cruise to an easy win.
trail Jacksonville…yes, Jacksonville…in the AFC South. In 
We’re baaaaaaccccckkkk. I sincerely hope The Manoverse considers that a good thing, although I know there are those that don’t particularly enjoy sports related topics. Be patient. Y’all know that The Manofesto is a cornucopia where we discuss all kinds of stuff, and I will do my best to not focus solely on football for the next five months. This will be my 6th season making these picks, while my nephew Zach joins me for the fifth time. I finished 2016 with a record of 54-49 (a 52% winning percentage), while Zach struggled a bit and finished at 38-65 (37%). As always Week 1 is all about college football since the NFL hasn’t began its season just yet. Fortunately, because of the College Football Playoff, teams are bulking up their schedules with better early season non-conference games, and we fans are the beneficiaries. There are a couple of monster matchups on the opening weekend, so it wasn’t difficult to choose which games to pick. Let me remind you that Zach & I do not have any money riding on these games and I do not encourage gambling, but if that is an activity that frosts your cupcake and you have the disposable income while still paying your bills & feeding your family then go right ahead and do what you enjoy. Just don’t put too much stock in what you read here…we’re not very good at this.
neutral anymore. I don’t think it makes much of a difference though. The Cougars are coming off of a solid 8-4 season and have already played a game last weekend, beating 1-AA Portland St. in unimpressive fashion. Equaling 2016’s record might be the best BYU can aspire to. The Bayou Bengals also finished last year at 8-4 in a season in which they fired their longtime head coach. RB Leonard Fournette has moved on to the NFL, which isn’t necessarily disastrous for LSU because honestly, he rarely lived up to the hype in my opinion. They probably aren’t winning their conference or even their division, but the boys from Baton Rouge shouldn’t have any problems winning this game. Zach thinks it’ll be a blowout.
I’d have to do research to know for sure (and that ain’t happening), but it seems like a rare occurrence that the Pac 12 and ACC 
meet up during the regular season. The Golden Bears were an atrocious 5-7 last year, while the Tar Heels were 8-5. QB Mitch Trubisky & WR Ryan Switzer have both left Chapel Hill behind for the NFL, and that concerns me a little, especially for the first game of the season. I’m not bold enough to predict an outright upset, but the points feel like a bit much to me. Zach doesn’t foresee a blowout, but believes Carolina will win by a comfortable enough margin.
round NFL Draft pick next spring. The Aggies started off strong last season but struggled in the second half, limping to an 8-5 finish. They are without the services of defensive end Myles Garrett, who was chosen #1 overall by the Cleveland Browns. UCLA gets just a slight home field bump from the oddsmakers, but I don’t believe it’ll be that close. Zach likes A&M well enough but can’t overlook the home field advantage.
Michigan might be getting more love and national title hype if a) they didn’t have to replace ¾ of last season’s starters, and b) 
they didn’t play in the same conference as Ohio St. & Penn St. I expect a slight dropoff for the Wolverines from last year’s 10-3 record, though I still consider them a Top 25 team. Florida plays in the SEC, which might not be as good as in year’s past, but it’s still a pretty tough road. The Gators were 9-4 in 2016 and would probably be more than satisfied to equal that mark this season. This is a neutral site game being played at The Palace in Dallas, which atleast will make it fun to watch on TV. I think the oddsmakers have nailed this one. It’ll be competitive, but Michigan will win by a touchdown. Zach is a huge Michigan fan, but is shocking the world by predicting an upset.
2010 and lost last season’s title game to Clemson on a touchdown pass in the final seconds. The Seminoles haven’t won a national title since 2013 but are always in the conversation. The winner of this game will emerge as the undisputed #1 team in the land, although the loser will still have a decent chance to make the playoff. It’s another neutral site game, this time emanating from the brand spankin’ new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. This is a battle of wits between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher. I am expecting a low scoring, smashmouth defensive struggle, with a couple of big plays making the difference. I’m not brave enough to predict the outright upset, but I do think the game will be decided by less than a touchdown. Zach loves Saban and thinks the Tide will roll by two TDs.
The Manofesto 