College Football Picks: Week 17, 2008

College Football Picks (Weeks 1-2, 2008): 6-6 (-$50)
College Football Picks (Week 3, 2008): 3-2 (+$780)
College Football Picks (Week 4, 2008): 3-2 (+$340)
College Football Picks (Week 5, 2008): 2-3 (+$10)
College Football Picks (Week 6, 2008): 3-2 (-$370)
College Football Picks (Week 7, 2008): 4-1 (+$470)
College Football Picks (Week 8, 2008): 3-2 (+$110)
College Football Picks (Week 9, 2008): 3-2 (+$140)
College Football Picks (Week 10, 2008): 1-4 (-$760)
College Football Picks (Week 11, 2008): 3-2 (+$250)
College Football Picks (Week 12, 2008): 4-1 (+$950)
College Football Picks (Week 13, 2008): 3-2 (+$510)
College Football Picks (Week 14, 2008): 3-2 (+$750)
College Football Picks (Week 15, 2008): 3-2 (+$570)
College Football Picks (Week 16, 2008): 1-3 (-$890)

College Football Picks (2008 Season): 45-36 (+$2,810)

By the way, the second-annual Walter/Joker Annual Challenge is on, as I'll be competing with the Joker's College Picks. We each pick five games and see who does the best each week.

Minnesota (7-5) vs. Kansas (7-5)
Line: Kansas by 8.5.
Wednesday, 6:00 ET

I was pretty bad in my first winter-practice-game effort before Christmas, going just 1-3. I did get screwed over when Wake Forest scored on a late touchdown when they were running out the clock with about a minute left in regulation, but still. I did manage to learn a few things, so hopefully I do better with these.

Even though both of these squads are 7-5, Kansas is far superior. They're more battle-tested coming out of the Big XII. Meanwhile, Big Ten teams are 0-2 thus far in these exhibition games. That's not an accident because that conference has been terrible recently.

Prediction: Kansas 41, Minnesota 24
Kansas -8.5 (3 Units)

---

Penn State (11-1) vs. USC (11-1)
Line: USC by 9.
Thursday, 5:00 ET

I love Penn State here. USC has been to this particular crappy winter practice game the past two years, and has come away with huge victories. The Trojans wanted to go to a different contest this season and battle someone like Texas. Unfortunately for them, that didn't happen, and they're stuck in Los Angeles for the third consecutive year.

Penn State, meanwhile, wanted to go to this game more than anything. Every player had roses is in their mouth after the clinching victory over Michigan State. I don't get what's so important about this particular exhibition game, but whatever. It's not my motivation that we're concerned with; it's the players'. They want a win to prove themselves. USC, meanwhile, has nothing to prove.

Not only do the Nittany Lions have the motivational edge; they're also the better team. They're explosive on offense, while USC's scoring attack can be dreadful because Mark Sanchez can't read defenses.

Even though I'm a Penn State alumnus, I won't be watching this game. I just don't care about some silly exhibition contest. That, and I'll probably still be sleeping after drinking way too much on New Years Eve.

This is my final College Football Pick of the Month until August.

Prediction: Penn State 20, USC 17
Penn State +9 (7 Units)

---

Utah (12-0) vs. Alabama (12-1)
Line: Alabama by 9.5.
Friday, 8:15 ET

Congratulations, Alabama! You came within one quarter of winning the SEC, but were still invited into the Winter Practice Series! Now, you get a chance to prove yourself against... umm... Utah! Yeah!

Not much motivation here for the Crimson Tide. Utah, meanwhile, can prove that they belong amongst the elite.

By the way, given that Boise State lost, this is now the national championship. But given how stupid college football is, Utah can become champs with a victory, but if Alabama wins, they'll share the title with like 100 other one-loss teams, including Utah. Whoops!

Prediction: Alabama 16, Utah 10
Utah +9.5 (2 Units)

---

Buffalo (8-5) at Connecticut (7-5)
Line: Connecticut by 5.
Saturday, 12:00 ET

Playing Buffalo can be tricky. The team's quarterback is D.Willy, and if you have seven days to prepare, you may not realize that his weakness is Bubble Lead.

Fortunately for Connecticut, they've had a whole month to figure that out. Speaking of which, that's pretty smart of college football. "Yeah, let's have these kids play every week from September to November, and then give them a whole month off to prepare for an exhibition contest that doesn't mean anything!"

I like Connecticut. They're much more battle-tested coming out of the Big East, while Buffalo has gone through an easy MAC schedule. I think that gives the Huskies a big edge. Keep in mind that the one chance Buffalo had against a Big East team, it lost, 27-16.

Prediction: Connecticut 34, Buffalo 24
Connecticut -5 (3 Units)

---

Florida (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1)
Line: Florida by 3.
Thursday, Jan. 8, 8:15 ET

I'll have a pick up for this final winter practice game no later than Tuesday night. I have a strong idea as to where I'm going with this pick, but I want to make sure of a few things first.

Prediction: TBA

---

2009 NFL Mock Draft


Week 18 NFL Picks

2010 NFL Mock Draft


2009 NFL Mock Draft Database

Last Week's College Football Picks (Week 16, 2008): 1-3 (-$890)
Last Week's 2-3 Unit College Picks (Week 16, 2008): 0-2 (-$550)
Last Week's 4-5 Unit College Picks (Week 16, 2008): 0-1 (-$440)

2008 College Football Picks of the Month: 4-1, 80.0% (+$2,030)

2008 College Football Picks: 45-36, 55.6% (+$2,810)
2008 2-3 Unit College Picks: 20-19, 51.3% (+$70)
2008 4-5 Unit College Picks: 12-10, 54.5% (+$460)

2004 Against the Spread: 57-51-2 (52.8%)
2006 Against the Spread: 112-103-4 (52.1%)
2007 Picks Against the Spread: 73-65-3, 52.9% (+$1,030)

2004 2-3 Unit College Picks: 20-13-1 (60.7%)
2006 2-3 Unit College Picks: 60-56-1 (51.7%)
2007 2-3 Unit College Picks: 43-36-2, 54.4% (+$1,280)

2006 4-5 Unit College Picks: 13-16 (44.8%)
2007 4-5 Unit College Picks: 20-17-2, 54.1% (+$810)

2006 NCAA Picks of the Month: 1-0 (100%)
2007 NCAA Picks of the Month: 2-1-1, 66.7% (+$580)

Career College Football Picks: 396-362-10, 52.2% (+$3,840)
Career 2-3 Unit College Picks: 156-133-3, 54.0% (+$1,350)
Career 4-5 Unit College Picks: 45-43-2, 51.1% (+$1,740)
Career Picks of the Month: 7-2-1, 77.8% (+$2,610)


2008 Week: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |

2007 Week: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |