[NU Sports] PIGSKIN PICKS - Week 11

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

I really don’t like how my teams keep getting down early by double digits, but if they all end up like they did this week, I’ll take it! Fitz gets his first huge upset in Iowa City against the hated bumblebees … and the Saints stay perfect against the hated Panthers. Dunno how long it will all last, but I’ll enjoy the moment this week.

No standings until Veteran’s Day at least, but with the friggin’ baseball season finally finished, we have Thursday night NFL action and a pretty big game (by Big Least standards) on Friday night, so with the holiday midweek, I wanted to get these out tonight.

November’s here and we have some dandies this week – all eyes will be in Columbus, but the big game in the Big Ten may be in West Lafayette, where Danny Hope could quietly pull off a heckuva coaching job and get Purdue on the brink of a bowl by beating Sparty. Winner stays alive for the bowl bash … and Michigan and Indiana and Illinois also face must-wins. Nationally, all B(C)S eyes will be on the Utes and Froggies, but ND/Pitt could be an equally interesting “poser bowl” between two teams who have been overrated all season. One more loss and it’s bye-bye, Charlie!

Picks due by kickoff FRIDAY! LET’S GO CATS!!! BEAT THE ILLINI!!!

PIGSKIN PICKS – WEEK 11
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Name: 

BIG TEN
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GAME 1: Indiana @ Penn State
WINNER: 

GAME 2: Iowa @ Ohio State
WINNER: 

GAME 3: Michigan @ Wisconsin
WINNER: 

GAME 4: Michigan State @ Purdue
WINNER: 

GAME 5: South Dakota State @ Minnesota
WINNER: 

NATIONAL
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GAME 6: West Virginia @ Cincinnati
WINNER: 

GAME 7: Utah @ Texas Christian
WINNER: 

GAME 8: Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh
WINNER: 

GAME 9: Auburn @ Georgia
WINNER: 

GAME 10: Arizona State @ Oregon
WINNER: 

MY PICKS
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* PENN STATE 35, Indiana 17 – Tough call as aside from one quarter, PSU has been flat the past two weeks and the Hoosiers are playing for their bowl lives … still gotta go with JoePa on senior day.

* OHIO STATE 27, Iowa 3 – Without Stanzi, the Hawkeyes won’t pose much of a threat on offense and the Buckeyes, who amazingly haven’t smelled the Roses since 1997, get a trip to Pasadena – which is NEVER a consolation prize!

* WISCONSIN 45, Michigan 21 – RichRod is running out of time in Ann Arbor after choking away a sure bowl bid after a 4-0 start, and a thumping in Madison to a Wisconsin team trying to impress the Citrus folk won’t help.

* PURDUE 38, Michigan State 34 – Hard not to cheer for Danny Hope here … after all those close losses to start the year, most teams would have packed it in on the verge of a seventh loss, but the Boilers have beaten the Buckeyes and Wolverines – and after beating Sparty, they’ll be a Bucket win away from a bowl bid.

* MINNESOTA 30, South Dakota State 10 – How lucky are the Gophers? A week after choking away a sixth win to the Illini, they get a second chance against SDSU – better win or they’ll have to win the Bacon Bowl in Iowa City to go bowling.

* CINCINNATI 51, West Virginia 42 – The Bearcats seemingly don’t have a defense (40+ to UConn???), but they don’t need one in the Big Least.

* TCU 23, Utah 20 – Should be a heck of a game and Utah’s had TCU’s number lately, but the Froggies are at home and know that this is their last obstacle to a B(C)S berth.

* NOTRE DAME 36, Pittsburgh 33 – I don’t believe either of these teams are that good (especially their defenses, which should make for a fun game) – the Irish were exposed last week, so it’s Pitt - “we lost at NC State” – sburgh’s turn this week.

* GEORGIA 27, Auburn 24 – Mild upset here as the SEC middle gets as muddled as the Big Ten and ACC.

* OREGON 48, Arizona State 14 – The Sun Devils played inspired last week against the Trojans, but in Autzen against an angry Ducks team is another matter.

And off the board …

* NORTHWESTERN 26, Illinois 24 – The Illini are vastly improved without Juice, and they’ll be looking to play spoiler for a third straight week at home in this rivalry game – and the Cats are hobbled at QB so it should be a nailbiter … but after last week’s win, you gotta hope Fitz and the Cats believe in each other and will carry the momentum over into a better bowl bid so they don’t pass us over again.

Picks due by Friday’s kickoff!
GO CATS!!!
GEAUX SAINTS!!!_
-SjT

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!