The Weekly Scoreboard: Gators Still Cruising

My only hope for a good week was a Tennessee cover, but late Saturday night came and the Crimson Tide were surgical and unforgiving with their murder of the Volunteers.

Alas, another 4-4 week and I'm still stuck in the basement.

Our week 8 winner was afkas17 who dominated with a 7-1 record moving him to just 3 games out of the overall lead. Heading into week 9 we have two co-leaders in Irishane and WorstRayEver.

Pretty decent week from everyone.

Recap:

1) Virginia Tech 17 at Clemson 38

Winner: Clemson (-7.5)

88% picked correctly

Virginia Tech actually held Clemson's offense in check (295 yards) but 4 turnovers absolutely killed the Hokies.

Va Tech now sits at 4-4 while Clemson is a very quiet 6-1 on the season.

2) LSU 24 at Texas A&M 19

Winner: LSU (-3.5)

55% picked correctly

Early on in this one it looked like Texas A&M was going to run away with it as they raced out to a 12-0 lead into the 2nd quarter. Then the free-spirited ways of Johnny Football doomed the Aggies.

LSU held the A&M QB to just 27 yards rushing and forced 5 turnovers---including 3 picks from Manziel. The Bayou Bengals gained just 316 yards and were an abysmal 2 for 16 on third down, but it was enough to win the game.

3) Michigan State 10 at Michigan 12

Winner: Michigan State (+9.5)

64% picked correctly

Michigan continues to prove that they cannot do anything offensively outside of Denard Robinson and it was just enough to rally late to beat State on a last-second field goal.

How about those Spartan helmets?

Leon Halip/Getty Images

4) Nebraska 29 at Northwestern 28

Winner: Northwestern (+6.5)

48% picked correctly

Despite nearly being doubled up in total yards, Northwestern was able to cover against the Corn. However, it took a huge 4th quarter from T-Magic and Nebraska to pull this one out. Northwestern drove down the field late in the game but just missed the game-winning field goal.

The Wildcats also wore some strange helmets this weekend too.

Jerry Lai/US Presswire

5) South Carolina 11 at Florida 44

Winner: Florida (-3.5)

30% picked correctly

This game was brutal to watch. South Carolina turned the ball over 4 times and gained just 2.9 yards per play on a total of 191 yards.

Florida gained just 2.8 yards per play on a total of 183 yards and somehow won by 33 points.

This is the epitome of SEC football.

6) BYU 14 at Notre Dame 17

Winner: BYU (+13.5)

18% picked correctly

We had a little scare there, didn't we?

7) Kansas State 55 at West Virginia 14

Winner: Kansas State (+2.5)

70% picked correctly

Collin Klein's 4 rushing touchdowns and 3 passing scores allowed K-State to cruise over the now seriously reeling West Virginia Mountaineers.

Klein has now taken over the Heisman race while Geno Smith has been knocked down a few pegs.

8) Alabama 44 at Tennessee 13

Winner: Alabama (-20.5)

70% picked correctly

Alabama covers a large spread once again, limiting Tennessee to just 282 yards while piling up 539 yards at 8.0 yards per snap themselves.

I'm about done picking against the Tide this year.

Opponent Watch:

• Indiana 30 at Navy 31

The Middies get over .500 on the season with a win over a BCS team---if you're still considering Indiana as such. The Hoosiers head coach Kevin Wilson is now 3-16 through a year and a half in his new job.

• Purdue 22 at Ohio State 29

The Boilers had OSU down for the count with QB Braxton Miller injured and everything. Then they remembered they are Purdue and let the Buckeyes score a touchdown with seconds left, convert the 2-point attempt, and then win in overtime. Boilers are now 3-4 and 0-3 in B1G play.

• Florida State 33 at Miami 20

The Canes fought hard but just couldn't overcome the Seminoles. Miami drops to 4-4 and have lost 3 straight games.

• Stanford 21 at California 3

The Cardinal responded well after the loss at Notre Dame with a methodical beat down of Cal in this rivalry game. That gets Stanford to 5-2 on the season, while the Bears fall to 3-5.

• Kansas 7 at Oklahoma 52

The Sooners feasted on Kansas a week before hosting Notre Dame as Dayne Crist has officially been benched as the Jayhawk starting quarterback. The Sooners moved to 5-1 on the season.

• Pitt 20 at Buffalo 6

The Panthers were outgained and struggled to beat one of the worst teams in the MAC. Pitt moves to 3-4 on the season, but damn are they not playing well in Paul Chryst's first season.

• Boston College 17 at Georgia Tech 37

This could be the worst BC team in 20 or 30 years---maybe even longer. The Eagles fall to 1-6 on the season and might not win another if they can't pick up a victory in the next two weeks against Maryland and Wake Forest.

• Wake Forest 20 at Virginia 13

The spunky Demon Deacons got their second ACC win of the season over the faltering Cavaliers. Wake now sits at 4-3 while Mike London's Virginia squad is a frightful 2-6 and have lost their last 6 games.

• Colorado 6 at USC 50

Wow, is Colorado terrible or what? The Buffs are now 1-6 on the season and falling fast. Matt Barkely took the opportunity in this game to put up crazy stats, finishing 19 of 20 for 298 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Early Lines for This Week's Big E Picks:

Colorado (+45.5) at Oregon

Kent State (+14.5) at Rutgers

Texas Tech (+7.5) at Kansas State

Florida (-6.5) at Georgia

Ohio State (+2.5) at Penn State

Michigan (+2.5) at Nebraska

Notre Dame (+10.5) at Oklahoma

Mississippi State (+23.5) at Alabama