The Big E College Football Picks: Week 9

WE HAVE A NEW LEADER.

But first, our week 8 champion was scttmtclf who notched 15 wins. Well done, old chap. However, dudeacow has been lurking near the top of the leaderboard and now opens up a 2-game lead with a 102-60 record.

LEAGUE STANDINGS

Ya boy is staying middling.

Big E: 10-9 (87-75 overall, 37th place)

Now for this week's picks...

No. 19 Ole Miss (-7.5) at Auburn

Pick: Ole Miss

The Rebels easily handled Texas A&M last week and remain in the hunt for the division title. That'll be a theme for this week's picks. Auburn was staring at disaster even with a 4-2 record prior to last week. Then they went and lost a crazy overtime battle with Arkansas.

It doesn't seem like the Tigers are going to turn anything around this year. After being a trendy pick to win the ENTIRE SEC they're going to be sitting at 4-4 by Saturday evening. Now that Georgia Tech upset Florida State I think Auburn takes the Most Underwhelming Team belt right now and wears it well.

Georgia (+3) at No. 11 Florida

Pick: Georgia

I'm seeing two forces in this game. The first is Florida winning and cruising to the SEC East title. The second is Georgia losing and the heat turning up on Mark Richt--no for real this time.

That seems like too much good fortune for Florida. With Muschamp's head underneath the ax last year somehow the Gators romped over the Bulldogs. I think Georgia returns the favor this year, but not in a huge way.

No. 3 Clemson (-10) at NC State

Pick: Clemson

NC State seemingly every year has a quiet season where we don't know much about them thanks to a wet paper OOC schedule. This year seems like it's worse than ever. Once again, Jacoby Brissett has nice numbers but hasn't taken off or grabbed any headlines.

While NC State has been unimpressive, Clemson has to be careful not to look ahead to Florida State and a chance to waltz right into the conference title game--and maybe/possibly/probably the playoffs. I really do like Clemson's well-rounded team, though. The offensive line has stabilized nicely so a double-digit win in Raleigh looks probable.

Maryland (+17) at No. 10 Iowa

Pick: Maryland

"Have we talked about superconferences yet?" One thing we can agree on is that Iowa is dropping a 'WTF' game at some point before the end of the regular season. I don't think I'd put the Terps as that team on Saturday but Maryland played a little better in their first game without Randy Edsall and this is a crap ton of points to give them. I smell a close Iowa win and another week of "how the heck are they still unbeaten?" talk.

Miami (OFF) at No. 22 Duke

Pick: Miami

I'm going to ride the interim coach bump this week for the Canes. I like Miami having to go on the road, get away from campus during a tough time, and focusing on football for the weekend. Duke can stay in a tie for first place in the division with a win but I'm going with Miami in a complete upset. This has looked like a 9-3 type of Duke team (still great for them!) within the confines of the ACC and they have to lose a couple more games somewhere on the schedule.

This line came off the board in our league because Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya is not expected to play. The line is floating around -10 to -11 in Duke's favor. Don't care, taking Da U.

No. 8 Stanford (-12) at Washington State

Pick: Stanford

For sole possession of the Pac-12 North! A win by the Cougars would give them the head-to-head tie breaker within the division. What a good job by Mike Leach to avert disaster after losing to a FCS team earlier this year. Remember, weird things happen in Pullman. There and Corvalis is where we've seen some nutty upsets out west in the modern era.

That said, the Cardinal have been playing too good and there's a lot on the line here. It's doubtful that Washington State is going 8-1 in conference so a Stanford win here could conceivably wrap up the North. With a road game to Boulder and two homes games against Oregon and Cal I don't see Stanford losing 2 of 3 and blowing it all down the stretch.