There are some interesting goings on in College Football this weekend, Football Fiends.  Besides my Press Pass, there are a number of cool match ups.

South Carolina vs Kentucky should be interesting.  Kentucky almost beat Auburn last weekend. Only a field goal as time expired elevated the Tigers above the Wildcats. South Carolina upset the former #1 and defending national champions Alabama in a stunner of a game. South Carolina might have just a bit of swagger and confidence from that historic win. Kentucky might be just angry enough at last week’s near miss to take it out on the Gamecocks. I am going with South Carolina in my picks, but I would not be surprised if Kentucky pulled this one off.

Both Florida and USC are coming off two losses in a row, something neither program is used to. How it will affect their morale is yet to be seen. Florida faces Mississippi State in an SEC battle.  Both teams are 4-2. Florida is the more talented and should prevail.

Cal is coming into the Coliseum off a big win versus UCLA. USC meets Cal coming off two losses. Five seconds and two plays are all that separate these Trojans from being undefeated. Cal QB Kevin Reilly is not the most impressive of passers which is good news for USC’s weak against the pass defense. This will be a GAME, it almost always is when Cal and USC face off. I expect USC to pull the win out here to head into their bye week before facing the dreaded Ducks of Oregon on October 30th.

Oregon State, fresh off an upset of Arizona, heads into its game versus Washington with a curiously small point-spread of -1.5.  James Rodgers is out for the Beavers – he blew his knee out. But Jacquizz is still there, and we all know how devastatingly quick and wily he can be against defenses. This is the Pac-1o and it is a competitive conference, but Oregon State is a team on the verge of greatness while Washington is a decent team that gets lucky.  In my opinion, of course.

Now, onto my picks for week 7:

USC over Cal

Miami over Duke

Pitt over Syracuse

Georgia over Vandy

South Carolina over Kentucky

Florida over Mississippi State

Alabama over Ole Miss

Oklahoma over Iowa State

FSU over BC

Iowa over Michigan

Oregon State over Washington

Arizona over Washington State

Texas A&M over Missouri

Arkansas over Auburn

Nevada over Hawaii

Utah over Wyoming

-Your Gridiron Goddess

Recap: 13-3

Hey Football Fiends-

I am taking the week off from Official NFL Picks. I will however let you know how I fare this week in my pick em league. I’ve been stinking up the joint so far this season so…

But College Football! YAY! Here are my picks for this week. I am rooting for Oregon State to upset Boise State, after all, Oregon State painted their practice field blue to prepare for the Smurf Turf.

Gridiron Goddess Week 3 College Football Picks

USC over Washington State

Texas over UCLA

VA Tech over Boston College

Penn State over Temple

GA Tech over NC State

Florida State over Wake Forest

Georgia over Mississippi State

Alabama over Arkansas

Stanford over Notre Dame

Arizona over California

Nevada over BYU

South Carolina over Auburn

Oregon over ASU

Tennessee over UAB

Florida over Kentucky

Oregon State over Boise State

-Your Gridiron Goddess

Final Stats 13-3

Football Fiends!!

How INSANE was that Boise State-Virginia Tech game?! It exemplified all the reasons I LOVE College Football so much!!!!

Anyway, for week 1 I went 15-1!!!! Who fucked it all up for me? Those damn bRuins from Westwood, of course!!! I should have known!! Damn my Pac-10 loyalty!!!

The Gridiron Goddess Official CFB Week 2 Picks:

USC over UVA

WVU over Marshall

GA Tech Over Kansas

UGA over So Carolina

Wake Forest over Duke

Florida over South Florida

LSU over Vanderbilt

Iowa over Iowa State

Cal over Colorado

Oklahoma over Florida State

Notre Dame over Michigan

Ohio State over Miami (FL)

Oregon over Tennessee

Washington over Syracuse

Alabama over Penn State

Stanford over UCLA

-Your Gridiron Goddess

ACC Atlantic Division

By ‘Nole Chick

Ever since the ACC expanded to form a “powerhouse” conference, I think most fans (including myself) are tired of waiting for it to happen! Now that Atlantic division new coaches have some experience notched and no more coaches in waiting, we might start to see a powerhouse glimpse this season. As we bid farewell to a legend, Bobby Bowden, this could be a very interesting year for the conference!

Clemson Tigers

Now that Dabo Swinney has some experience under his belt with the Clemson Tigers, the team seems to be heading in the right direction. The 2009 season started on shaky ground for the program, but ended well with the Tigers winning the their division and their bowl game. Clemson had to replace C.J Spiller and have 2 eager running backs ready for the job in Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper. The Tigers start the season with young quarterbacks that will need to find consistency and some maturity to make it to the championship this year. On defense, safeties DeAndre McDaniel and Rashard Hall combine as corners that are perhaps the best in the NCAA. The real run for Clemson will be beating the other top contenders to win the division, FSU and Boston College on the road. The Tigers also play Georgia Tech and Miami from the Coastal division that will be a test for the Tigers but at least the play them at home.

Boston College

The Eagles have always been one of those “fly under the radar” teams. They win consistently every year, but never get a lot of chatter about them. They have won at 7 games or more in the past 11 seasons.  The ended up in 2nd place in the ACC. Frank Spaziani will be going into his 2nd season at BC with a lot more confidence. Mark Herzlich has beaten the cancer that kept him off the field last year and you can bet on an emotional return to the field for him come September. He has been practicing but with no contact so what can he bring to the table this season on defense is still a big question mark. On the QB scene, there is the 25-year-old Dave Shinskie and the sophomore Mike Marscovetra returning as the starter and back-up respectively. Look for Marscovetra to turn it on this year as he tries to upend Shinskie from the starting position. Last year, BC was ranked 116th in 3rd down conversions. The O-line and QB’s need to take the maturity they are bringing to the field this year and focus on improving that stat. RB Montel Harris returns after a 1457 yard season last year. Schedule wise, BC has VT and Clemson at home along with Notre Dame. The other test will be on the road against FSU. BC starts the 2010 season with veterans and maturity and should be a division winning contender.

Florida State University

Now we come to FSU. My love! I will say that the preseason ranking is a bit of a stretch. They are coming off of another mediocre season and has a defense full of issues. There is a lot of hoopla surrounding the head coach Jimbo Fisher and what he can do with this team now that he is no longer the coach in waiting. The recruiting improved to levels seen years ago under Bowden in the FSU hay day. On offense, Christian Ponder returns at QB with lots of talent and maturity. He has a seasoned O-line returning, including all-star stud LG Rodney Hudson,  which will give him the edge and support this year to be an excellent QB.  In the running back department, on the surface it appears that FSU is pretty loaded. Last year’s leading rusher left the team due to competition in the position. On defense, this is where FSU used to have it’s swagger. Greg Reid will be the player to watch and hopefully ignite this lackluster team. LB Nigel Bradham returns as well and gives the Noles the boost they will need on tackles. Having Mark Stoops on the defensive coach has to help this team. Way too many points scored on them last year. The schedule will be tough for FSU. OOC is Oklahoma on the road, BYU and Florida at home.  FSU has Miami on the road as well. Top contenders for the division title is FSU, Clemson, and BC. FSU has both Clemson and BC match-ups at home. FSU went from dominating the ACC title to not even winning a division title in 5 years. Rebuilding should be over. It is time for this team to step it up a lot.

Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons had a losing season in 2009 for the first time in 4 years. They didn’t get anyone of note in their recruiting class this year and lost a ton of veterans. QB Riley Skinner graduated last year leaving Skylar Jones and Brendan Cross to vie for the starting position. On offense, they have 2 potential stars in backs Josh Adams and Brandon Pendergrass. The O-line for Wake appears to be weak again this year. WR Devon Brown returns after a 600 ++ yard season. Defensively, look for Kyle Wilber to return strong after missing most of last year with a broken leg. Schedule wise, Wake goes on the road to FSU, but OOC is Presbyterian, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Navy. If they were a little more seasoned, they might have a shot at post – season play and may still have a shot with what should be easy wins against Duke, Presbyterian, Maryland, etc,

North Carolina State

NC State has had 3 seven loss seasons in a row. They lacked a defense and a running game in all 3 of those years and this season should prove to be no different. At least they are consistent on something! The team is young and inexperienced. QB Russell Wilson returns with confidence and poise that relics that of Philip Rivers. However, rumor has it the MLB wants him for his talents in baseball. If that happens, this team is as good as done. On defense, LB Nate Irving returns after a season long injury. NC State’s biggest issue last season was turnovers. They gave up the ball 25 times. Schedule wise, not super tough. Notable game will be against BC in which NC State’s coach Tom O’Brien voluntarily left his coaching position at BC to go to NC State. OOC games include Western Carolina, UCF, Cincinnati, and East Carolina.

Maryland Terrapins

Maryland returns this year after a 2 – 10 season. Not pretty. Shockingly, Ralph Friedgen somehow kept his employment after that season. This was a coach who was very successful at Maryland at one time. It has been 7 years since this team has been talented. On offense, QB Jamarr Robinson returns this year as the starter.  WR Torrey Smith returns as well after a 824 yard season. RB Da”Rel Scott returns as a senior. He has been plagued with injuries so his value is yet to be determined. Defensively, Alex Wujciak leads the team in tackles last year at 131. Schedule wise, they have some cake teams suck as FIU and Morgan State at home. Additionally, they have Navy at home and West Virginia on the road in their OOC play. They also have Duke and NC State at home.