NCAA Week 9

Picks for NCAA Week 9

The NCAA season has hit Week 9 and the Football Four places are starting to be discussed in earnest. After a 21-4 finish in Week 8 , I sit at 159-41 on the season.

There may be a few traps set for ranked teams this week so let's pick the games!

Ole Miss (19) @ Auburn

Could be a tricky one for the Rebels.

Ole Miss 27-17

Syracuse @ Florida State (17)

FSU 38-22

Colorado @ UCLA (24)

UCLA 30-19

Georgia @ Florida (11)

Gators survive and take out the cocktail party!!

Florida 24-20

Clemson (3) @ NC State

The Pack seem to always play Clemson tough but the Tigers will not slip this week.

Clemson 35-24

Oklahoma (14) @ Kansas 

Oklahoma 41-13

Oklahoma State (12) @ Texas Tech

Seeing an upset here!

Texas Tech 42-38

Maryland @ Iowa (10)

Iowa 31-21

Michigan (15) @ Minnesota

Michigan 30-20

Tulane @ Memphis (16)

Memphis 42-17

Miami @ Duke

Duke 28-21

Vanderbilt @ Houston (18)

Houston 34-26

Oregon State @ Utah (13)

Utah 40-19

Notre Dame (9) @ Temple (21)

Could the Owls continue with their surprising season.

Temple 27-26

Stanford (8) @ Washington State

Stanford 30-28

Virginia Tech @ Boston College

Va Tech 30-24

S. Florida @ Navy

Navy 19-7

Rutgers @ Wisconsin

Wisconsin 45-21

Westen Kentucky @ Old Dominion

W Ky 34-30

Air Force @ Hawaii

Air Force 27-22

South Carolina @ Texas A&M

A&M 38-30

USC @ Cal

USC 38-35

Back with NFL picks tomorrow, enjoy the games!!

High Schools hit Week 10

Nearly Playoff Time!

Back in Virginia, high school football has reached the Week 9 mark so it is the time of year for playoff berths and bragging rights to be at stake!

In Week 9 , I finished up at 9-1 so right now, I'm at 66-24 for the season.

Let's pick 'em for this week!!

Liberty Christian @ Franklin County

Liberty Christian by 23

Martinsville @ Bassett

May go down to the wire and depth could decide it!

Bassett by 4

Magna Vista @ Tunstall

Magna Vista by 31

Halifax County @ GW Danville

GW by 45

Appomattox County @ Chatham 

Appomattox by 32

Altavista @ Dan River

Dan River by 2

Cave Spring @ Salem

Salem by 36

Hidden Valley @ Pulaski County

Pulaski County by 19

Galax @ Bland County

Galax by 25

Glenvar @ Radford

Glenvar by 10

That will do it for High Schools.....NCAA up in a day!

Kicking off the football week!

Picks for Thursday/Friday games

We have a few juicy appetisers on Thursday and Friday before the bigger part of the NCAA and NFL schedule kicks off over the weekend.

Ok...won't ramble on...let's just pick some games.

NCAA

North Carolina @ Pitt (25)

May be close between two surprising ACC teams ... going with the ranked, home standing Panthers

Pitt 27-22

West Virginia @ TCU (5)

TCU keeps rolling.

TCU 42-30

NFL

Miami @ New England

Soon the Pats will fall but maybe not this week!!

New England 30-21

Back with more over the next few days....

Week 7 NFL Predictions

Week 7 Has to be better pick wise

After a break even 7-7 Week 6 , I'm above water at 53-38 for the season but hoping for much better.

There is another venture into England this week with the Buffalo-Jacksonville game kicking off the week at Wembley.

So let's pick 'em!

Buffalo vs Jacksonville

Buffalo needs to bounce back and the trip across the Atlantic may be the cure. Of course the trip back will feel much better with a "W".

Buffalo 30-17

Atlanta @ Tennessee

Atlanta 27-20

Oakland @ San Diego

San Diego 33-21

Tampa Bay @ Washington

Washington 21-16

New Orleans @ Indianapolis

Indianapolis 38-30

Minnesota @ Detroit

Minnesota 27-22

Pittsburgh @ Kansas City

Pittsburgh 23-21

Cleveland @ St Louis

St Louis 30-20

Houston @ Miami

Miami 20-16

NY Jets @ New England

Of course I'm picking the Pats to lose!!

NY Jets 24-20

Dallas @ NY Giants

NY Giants 31-23

Philadelphia @ Carolina

Carolina 27-21

Baltimore @ Arizona

Arizona 35-27

Done for this week.....enjoy the games!

NCAA picks for Week 8

Upsets this week?

Last week did not produce the upsets that I predicted and some of my other picks were upset.

There are a few ranked teams on the road this weekend so there could be a Scary Saturday ahead. Last week was scary for me prediction wise with a struggle to finish at 17-8 for Week 7 taking my record to 138-37 for the year.

Let's pick 'em!

Clemson (6) @ Miami

Could this be the week in Coral Gables? The 'Canes will scare but fall short again!!

Clemson 32-27

Duke (23) @ Va Tech

The Hokies will surprise?

Va Tech 27-22

Utah (3) @ USC

Utah 30-28

Houston (21) @ UCF

Houston 40-23

Pitt (25) @ Syracuse

Pitt 28-17

Iowa State @ Baylor (2)

Baylor 51-31

Toledo (19) @ UMass

Toledo 41-10

Texas Tech @ Oklahoma (17)

Oklahoma 40-12

Kansas @ Oklahoma State (14)

Oklahoma State 35-17

Indiana @ Michigan State (7)

Michigan State 27-17

Tennessee @ Alabama (8)

Bama 34-24

Western Kentucky @ LSU (5)

LSU 38-14

Texas A&M (15) @ Ole Miss (24)

A&M 26-22

Florida State (9) @ Georgia Tech

Florida State 30-27

Ohio State (1) @ Rutgers

Ohio State 40-8

Washington @ Stanford (10)

Stanford 31-20

Virginia @ North Carolina

UNC 32-22

Tulane @ Navy

Navy 28-13

Wisconsin @ Illinois 

Wisconsin 30-17

Penn State @ Maryland

Penn State 26-14

Old Dominion @ Florida International

FIU 23-20

Bowling Green @ Kent State

Bowling Green 38-21

Kentucky @ Mississippi State

Miss St 28-21

Looking forward to GameDay from James Madison University!!!

Back tomorrow with the rest of my NFL picks...enjoy the games!!

High Schools Week 9

Looking towards playoffs back in Virginia

With just a few weeks left in the regular season, lots of teams are jockeying for post season places so it should be interesting.

Last week, in my Blog Picks , I finished the week at 8-2 so I'm now at 57-23 on the year. Not sure what is up with my connection to Varsity Forecaster through the Roanoke Times newspaper website, oh well, will just be the blog picks for the rest of the season.

GW Danville @ Bassett

GW by 26

Franklin County @ Halifax County

Halifax by 3

Magna Vista @ Patrick County

Could be another ugly one for the Cougars!

Magna Vista by 43

Tunstall @ Martinsville

Martinsville by 2

William Fleming @ Lord Botetourt

Botetourt by 10

Northside @ Rockbridge County

The Vikings have players suspended but may be able to squeak one out on the road.

Northside by 4

Cave Spring @ Blacksburg

Blacksburg by 6

Bluestone @ Chatham

Chatham by 7

Dan River @ Gretna

Dan River by 2

Salem @ Patrick Henry-Roanoke

Salem by 17

Back over the weekend with more picks.

Thursday night picks for NFL and NCAA

Two big ones in the NCAA

Thursday night's football schedule features a couple of key games for ranked teams in the NCAA and a battle for survival between Seattle and San Francisco in the NFL.

Pick wise here we go:

Temple (22) @ East Carolina

The Owls are hoping to move further up the ranking and a win on the road here could help with that.

Temple 30-24

Cal (20) @ UCLA

The Bruins have dropped from lofty expectations at the start of the season and now will be looking to play spoilers against Cal. Will be a tough road trip for the Golden Bears!

UCLA 24-22

NFL

Seattle @ San Francisco

Both need a win to have a realistic chance at post season play. The 49ers have shown promise at times and the Seahawks are getting healthier and looking to live up to their rosters' potential. Time to turn up Seattle!

Seattle 31-21

Back with more picks as the weekend turns!

NFL Week 6 predictions

NFL Sunday Ahead

Week 6 of the NFL season will be kicking off shortly and teams are still sorting out their identities while other are looking to continue on with their form.

Last week, I finished up at 10-4 for Week 5 taking my record to 46-31 on the season.

Ok, Week 6....here we go....

Washington @ NY Jets

Jets 24-20

Arizona @ Pittsburgh

Tricky road trip for the Cardinals 

Arizona 28-24

Kansas City @ Minnesota

Chiefs need a win but may be in trouble

Minnesota 31-24

Cincinnati @ Buffalo

This may be the week that the Bengals drop one

Buffalo 28-26

Chicago @ Detroit

Detroit gets one!!

Detroit 23-17

Denver @ Cleveland

Denver 30-14

Houston @ Jacksonville

Houston 31-24

Miami @ Tennessee

Tennessee 26-21

Carolina @ Seattle

Seahawks rebound...

Seattle 23-20

San Diego @ Green Bay

Green Bay 34-26

Baltimore @ San Francisco

Super Bowl rematch not really a marquee match

San Fran 28-23

New England @ Indianapolis

Colts are out to deflate the Patriot egos

Indianapolis 30-28

NY Giants @ Philadelphia

Division is Giants for taking!!

All for now ...enjoy games...until next week...

Week 7 NCAA picks

Interesting weekend ahead

After kicking off the week by picking Stanford over UCLA I'm looking to carry on into a big tipping week.

For Week 6 , I finished at 21-4 and for the season I'm at 121-29

Let's pick 'em

Eastern Michigan @ Toledo (22)

Toledo 40-9

West Virginia @ Baylor (2)

Baylor 50-30

Iowa (17) @ Northwestern (20)

Big 10 clash in ChiTown should be a good one.

Northwestern 23-16

Ole Miss (13) @ Memphis

Memphis is undefeated but taking on a "Big Brother" type of team they may give them a scare.

Ole Miss 28-22

Louisville @ Florida State (11)

Florida State 34-17

Alabama (10) @ Texas A&M (9) 

This one has produced some magic over the years.

A&M 27-22

Oklahoma (19) @ Kansas State

Oklahoma 30-17

Michigan State (7) @ Michigan (12)

Big One in the Big House!! This one has that extra something this season for the first time in years!!

Michigan 19-14

Florida (8) @ LSU (6)

The Gators have had a wild week but their defense is intact. Will it be enough?

LSU 21-13

Boston College @ Clemson (5)

Clemson 35-14

TCU (3) @ Iowa State

TCU 48-24

USC @ Notre Dame (14)

Surprise in South Bend??

USC 27-26

Penn State @ Ohio State (1)

Ohio State 38-17

Arizona State @ Utah (4)

Another upset!!

Arizona State 30-28

Va Tech @ Miami

Miami 24-22

Syracuse @ Virginia

UVa 20-16

Wake Forest @ North Carolina

North Carolina 31-17

Central Florida @ Temple

Temple 30-8

Purdue @ Wisconsin

Wisconsin 33-24

Nebraska @ Minnesota

Minnesota 32-27

LA Tech @ Mississippi State

Mississippi State 30-8

Charlotte @ Old Dominion

Old Dominion 23-12

Oregon @ Washington

Oregon 42-34

Nevada @ Wyoming

Nevada 26-22

Back with NFL picks in 24!!

Virginia High Schools Week 8

High Schools reach Week 8

Precious few weeks remain back in the home state of Virginia  for teams to get postseason ready and we near November.

The rescheduling due to weather has wreaked havoc with my picking as I've missed a few games due to deadlines as a Varsity Forecaster, I'm currently at 103-68 on the season after Week 7 saw me finish at 7-17 due to missed games. Luckily with my Blog Picks , I nearly had the perfect week but I wrongly picked William Fleming over William Byrd so after going 9-1, I am 49-21 on the year.

Ok...here we go with this week's picks....

Bassett @ Patrick County

The Cougars got destroyed last week, not sure if they bounce back yet....

Bassett by 13

Franklin County @ Magna Vista

Magna Vista by 22

GW-Danville @ Martinsville

This rivalry has been known to get intense!!

GW by 30

Halifax County @ Tunstall

Halifax by 10

Chatham @ Nelson County

Coin Flip finish to the home team...

Nelson County by 6 

William Campbell @ Dan River

Campbell by 14

William Byrd @ Northside

Northside by 16

Carroll County @ Cave Spring

Cave Spring by 4

Blacksburg @ Pulaski County

Pulaski County by 15

Radford @ Giles

Give it to the home team

Giles by 3

That will be it for now....back with NCAA and NFL picks over the weekend!!

Thursday night picks

Excitement ahead on Thursday night

The Atlanta Falcons travel to NOLA to take on the Saints and UCLA visits The Farm to take on Stanford for Thursday night's football offering.

No need to dally ... just time to pick 'em.

UCLA (18) @ Stanford (15)

Big on in the Pac 12 scheme of things as both teams are vying for their respective divisional crowns. Will be a tough trip North for the Bruins as the Cardinal crowd will be waiting.

It will be close but in the end...Stanford may wear them down.

Stanford 28-24

Atlanta @ New Orleans

The Saints are still finding themselves and can't afford another division loss but Atlanta is on a mission!

Atlanta 34-27

Back with more picks as the weekend turns.

NFL picks to finish off the weekend

Week 5 NFL picks

The NFL season is at the quarter mark with injuries galore to key players wrecking havoc with the win-loss column.

In Week 4 , I finished up at 9-6 and currently I am at 36-27 for the 2015 season.

Not gonna waste lots of time, let's pick a game or three!!

Chicago @ Kansas City

KC 30-21

Seattle @ Cincinnati 

Seattle 28-20

Washington @ Atlanta

Atlanta 27-17

Jacksonville @ Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay 24-17

New Orleans @Philadelphia

The Eagles need a win badly!!

Philadelphia 30-28

Cleveland @ Baltimore

Baltimore 28-24

St Louis @ Green Bay

Green Bay 31-21

Buffalo @ Tennessee

Buffalo 20-13

Arizona @ Detroit

Arizona 34-27

New England @ Dallas

New England 38-24

Denver @ Oakland

Denver 32-19

San Francisco @ NY Giants

NY Giants 34-20

Pittsburgh @ San Diego

Time to Bolt Up!!

San Diego 23-16

That concludes my picking week...enjoy the games!!

NCAA Week 6 picks

Full slate of games to pick for Week 6

NCAA Football for 2015 is heading into the middle of the schedule and there are still no clear cut favourites for the 2016 title game. There are only two games pitting Top 25 teams against one another this weekend but there still may be some surprises.

Week 5 was not the best ever but a decent 17-8 week has me sitting at 100-25 on the year thus far.

Let's do a bit better this week!!

New Mexico State @ Ole Miss (14)

Ole Miss 44-10

Baylor (3) @ Kansas 

Baylor 51-6

Oklahoma (10) vs Texas

Oklahoma 35-21

Illinois @ Iowa (22)

Iowa 27-17

Maryland @ Ohio State (1)

Ohio State 34-14

Kent State @ Toledo (24) 

Toledo 38-10

Navy @ Notre Dame (15)

Tough traditional battle, but Irish are at home...

Notre Dame 30-20

Northwestern (13) @ Michigan (18)

Will a loss start a Northwestern slide??

Michigan 26-23

LSU (7) vs South Carolina

A bonus home "away" game for the Bayou Bengals!!

LSU 28-16

Georgia (19) @ Tennessee

Georgia 27-26

Georgia Tech @ Clemson (6)

Big ACC clash in Death Valley!

Clemson 34-30

Arkansas @ Alabama (8)

Bama 35-17

Oklahoma State (21) @ West Virginia

Minor Upset!!

WVa 28-24

Boise State (25) @ Colorado State 

Boise State 30-17

TCU (2) @ Kansas State

TCU 42-27

Florida (11) @ Missouri

Danger road trip for the Gators

Florida 28-22

Miami @ Florida State (12)

Would love a 'Canes win, have to be realistic and expect a close loss on the road.

Florida State 30-27

Michigan State (4) @ Rutgers

Michigan State 38-17

Cal (23) @ Utah (5)

Bears have been known to pull the odd road upset!

Cal 27-23

Virginia @ Pitt

Pitt 24-20

Tulane @ Temple

Owls may crack Top 25 with a win.

Temple 28-21

Wisconsin @ Nebraska

Wisconsin 26-17

Duke @ Army

Duke 31-21

Troy @ Mississippi State

Miss State 45-14

Done and dusted for this week, enjoy the games, NFL picks tomorrow!

High school picks for the weekend

Schedule back on track after weather

After a fortnight of wild weather, high school teams in Virginia return to some variation of normal this weekend as teams vie for district, conference and playoff positions.

For Week 6 , I did manage a 9-1 week, taking my record out to 40-20 for the season. Meanwhile, as a Varsity Forecaster I had a 15-8 week and sit at 96-51 for the season.

OK, Week 7 picks....here we go!!

Bassett @ Magna Vista

Magna Vista by 31

Halifax County @ Martinsville

Halifax by 8

Patrick County @ GW Danville

Could get very ugly!

GW by 45

Northside @ Staunton River 

Northside by 10

William Fleming @ William Byrd

Fleming by 6

Heritage @ Franklin County

Heritage by 7

Patrick Henry @ Cave Spring

PH by 13

Fort Chiswell @ Galax

Galax by 12

Chatham @ Altavista

Altavista by 22

Dan River @ Appomattox

Appomattox by 13

That will do it for this week....get out and enjoy the games!!