High School Playoffs....

VHSL Down to Regional Finals

The high school action in Virginia is at the Regional Finals stage so not a lot of games this week.

Last week I finished at 6-3…..so here goes this weeks picks.

Magna Vista @ Christiansburg

Warriors just may be too quick for C’Burg this year. MV by 8.

Cave Spring @ Richlands

Richlands by 4.

Brookville @ Liberty

Liberty by 10.

Chilhowie @ Radford

Radford by 2.

Galax @ Eastern Montgomery

Eastern Montgomery by 22.

Short and sweet this week….I’m off…back to Birthday celebrations!!!

NCAA Rivalry time!!!

NCAA Rivalry Weekend

Last week, I had another 11-4 week NCAA pick wise. This week there are lots of “Civil War” and other rivalries to be settled. For these games you can throw the form guides out of the window and expect the unexpected.

Here we go:

AP Top 25

Arizona (20) @ Oregon

Ducks still quacking!! Oregon 42-22.

Auburn (2) @ Alabama (9)

The Iron Bowl this year has huge ramifications for the Auburn Tigers….The Tide will be lying in wait….hmm…picking ‘Bama to pull one off 27-26.

Boise State (3) @ Nevada (19)

Big one for the Broncos, with a win and an Auburn loss….could be in “title game” seat. Nevada will be tough at home though…Boise St. 30-20.

TCU (4) @ New Mexico

TCU 50-10.

Northwestern @ Wisconsin (5)

Badgers 38-14.

LSU (6) @ Arkansas (12)

Upset!! Razorbacks 31-28.

Stanford (7) @ Oregon State

Stanford by 41-17.

Michigan @ Ohio State (8)

Buckeyes 30-21.

Oklahoma (14) @ Oklahoma State (10)

State by 27-22.

Michigan State (11) @ Penn State

Spartans by 22-13.

Virginia @ Virginia Tech (13)

Hokies for the seventh straight time 38-22.

Kansas @ Missouri (15)

Tigers, 42-10.

Colorado @ Nebraska (16)

‘Huskers 24-18.

South Carolina (18) @ Clemson

Danger for Gamecocks this weekend….Clemson 23-20.

N.C. State (21) @ Maryland

State 30-23.

Florida @ Florida State (22)

‘Noles 30-17.

BYU @ Utah

Big battle in Moorman country….Utah too good these days…..Utes 47-17.

Iowa (24) @ Minnesota

Iowa 28-6.

Mississippi State @ Ole Miss

Miss State 30-17.

Other Games:

West Virginia @ Pittsburgh

Pitt wins this years “Backyard Brawl” 18-10.

South Florida @ Miami, Fla,

‘Canes win the South Florida Championship…..33-22.

North Carolina @ Duke

Matchup would be better on the “hardwood”…Tar Heels 31-21.

Georgia Tech @ Georgia

Yellow Jackets win 21-17.

Notre Dame @ USC

Trojans 37-20.

That is all for this week NCAA wise….FCS Division Playoffs are around the corner and the bowl season is close……….

NFL Week 12 picks

Thanksgiving Starts off NFL Week 12

Last week a 13-3 record moved me to 99-61 for the season in NFL Predictions. This week’s action kicks off with the traditional Thanksgiving Day servings featuring the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions.

So here we go…..

New England @ Detroit

Detroit can surprise on Thanksgiving but this year the Pats may be too strong. New England 34-13.

New Orleans @ Dallas

Cowboys honeymoon is over….Saints 30-10.

Cincinnati @ NY Jets

There will be a feast of Bengal at the Meadowlands on Thanksgiving night…Jets 28-10.

Green Bay @ Atlanta

Could be a playoff preview, Falcons hang on at home 20-17.

Tennessee @ Houston

Both teams desperately need this one…..step forward Mr. Chris Johnson….Titans 24-21.

Minnesota @ Washington

Will the new coach euphoria carry the Vikings to a win?? Not this time ‘Skins 38-27.

Jacksonville @ NY Giants

Giants 28-24.

Pittsburgh @ Buffalo

Steelers win 28-10.

Carolina @ Cleveland

Browns 35-17.

Kansas City @ Seattle

Seattle too tough at home…Seahawks 27-21.

Miami @ Oakland

Raiders bounce back after last week’s loss 24-20.

Philadelphia @ Chicago

Eagles continue to roll 24-21.

Tampa Bay @ Baltimore

Ravens win a close one at home, 21-13.

Saint Louis @ Denver

Rams win on the road 28-24.

San Diego @ Indianapolis

Chargers continue to roll 31-24.

San Francisco @ Arizona

Cardinals bounce back 21-17.

NFL Week 11 picks continued.....

NFL Week 11 continued

After getting the Thursday night Chicago win correct, it is on to the rest of this weeks picks.

Oakland @ Pittsburgh

This one conjures up memories of epic past battles and could be a classic in the frame of this season. Steelers at home will be too strong…Pittsburgh 30-21.

Cleveland @ Jacksonville

Jags seem to pull out the impossible wins, this week they get a routine one, 28-20.

Washington @ Tennessee

The Titans are hoping the home debut of Randy Moss provides the impetus for a big win and it will, Titans 38-17.

Houston @ NY Jets

Jets blast the still stunned Texans 30-10.

Baltimore @ Carolina

Ravens 27-7.

Green Bay @ Minnesota

Packers 34-10.

Arizona @ Kansas City

Cards bounce back in their visit to the old home state, Arizona 24-14.

Detroit @ Dallas

Cowboys get two in a row?? What?? Dallas 28-24.

Buffalo @ Cincinnati

Bengals 23-20.

Seattle @ New Orleans

Saints start tuning up for postseason with 31-10 win.

Tampa Bay @ San Francisco

Bucs continue to surprise in another close one 21-17.

Atlanta @ St. Louis

Falcons 38-21.

Indianapolis @ New England

Pats too tough at home for ailing Colts. New England by 30-20.

NY Giants @ Philadelphia

Vick continues to look Steve Young like….Eagles win 27-21.

Denver @ San Diego

Chargers continue to surge in topsy turvy AFC West, San Diego 34-24.

Short and sweet this week….Happy Thanksgiving to those in the USA….will be making my picks for the day soon.

NCAA Week 12

Good NCAA Week, Let’s do it again

Heading towards the money end of the season, I went 17-4 last week in NCAA Predictions, short time frame again this week so just doing Top 25 games.

Also, I was this weeks Armchair QB in the Martinsville Bulletin newspaper from Martinsville, Virginia (USA). Will be fun to see how I finish up.

Here we go:

Ole Miss @ LSU (5)

LSU getting stronger…wins 30-7.

Wisconsin (6) @ Michigan

Badgers ground game too strong Wisconsin wins 48-17.

Stanford (7) @ Cal

Cal is dangerous and this is a rivalry game….Stanford too solid though and the Cardinal wins 30-27.

Ohio State (8) @ Iowa (21)

Hawkeyes bounce back and upset Ohio State 24-21.

Nebraska (9) @ Texas A&M (18)

Nebraska drops one 28-17.

Purdue @ Michigan State (10)

Spartans win 30-13.

Oklahoma St. (12) @ Kansas

Cowboys win 38-13.

Arkansas (13) @ Mississippi St. (22)

Arkansas 37-20.

Virginia Tech (14) @ Miami, Fla. (24)

Va Tech 23-17.

Missouri (15) @ Iowa St.

Mizzou 42-23.

Oklahoma (16) @ Baylor

Sooners go down again 21-17.

Troy @ South Carolina (17)

Gamecocks 52-10.

New Mexico St. @ Nevada (19)

Nevada by heaps…..50-7.

USC (20) @ Oregon St.

Trojans 34-24.

Utah (25) @ San Diego St.

Minor upset….Aztecs 30-28.

High School Football

VHSL Playoffs in full swing

The Virginia High School League football playoffs are in full swing with several big games featuring Piedmont District and Timesland teams.

Also I am this weeks “Armchair QB” for the Martinsville Bulletin newspaper back in Virginia. There is a mixture of high school, college and NFL games…..will see how I go.

Anyhow, here are my picks; some may vary since this morning when I talked to the paper back home.

Franklin County @ Colonial Forge

Eagles run may end after their first ever home playoff win last week. Colonial Forge by 16.

Alleghany @ Liberty

Liberty by 8.

Brookville @ Northside

Big one…..Northside takes another step towards title defense with a win by 4.

Martinsville @ Richlands

Upset special number 1!!! Bulldogs by 2.

Grundy @ Cave Spring

Grundy by 6.

Carroll County @ Christiansburg

C’burg by 18.

Magna Vista @ Salem

Return match from last season’s thriller, Magna Vista by 10 this year.

Covington @ Eastern Montgomery

Eastern Montgomery by 20.

George Wythe @ Radford

Radford by 10.

Ok, I’ll be looking for the highlights on Roanoke’s Channel 7 Friday Football Extra .

NFL Thursday Night!!!

Week 11 Kicks Off

A decent 9-5 ledger last week leaves me at 86-58 for the season in picking NFL games. Will the Cowboys continue to fire this week or will they go back to shooting blanks?? Who will start to show muscle heading into the second half of the season?

We have an early start again this week with the Chicago Bears travelling down to Miami for a battle with the Dolphins.

The Dolphins went through three QB’s last week so the question is who will be under centre this week. The Bears come in off of a big win over the Vikings and are looking to consolidate their record as they battle the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North.

Ultimately, I’ll take the Bears by 31-20 in this one.

I will be back with my Virginia High School and NCAA picks over the next 24hrs. Until then enjoy Thursday nights (Friday morning Aussie time) action.

Week 10 NFL continued.....

NFL Week 10 continues

I am off to a 1-0 start for the week after Atlanta snuck by Baltimore on Thursday night.

Before going on to this weeks pick I am going to look back at my preseason picks and pans. My picks of the AFC look good with the exception of not picking the NY Jets to even make the playoffs…hmmm…I am still sticking to my pick of the Tennessee Titans as conference champs and Super Bowl winners. Hopefully, my San Diego Chargers will continue the recent good form and bolt into the playoffs. In the NFC, even I had given the Cowboys the benefit of a doubt and put them on even footing with the NY Giants to win the division, oh well, chalk it up to not trusting your gut feelings. My pick of Arizona in the West Division looks tedious too. But New Orleans and Atlanta are sailing along now and my NFC champ pick of the Saints looks better each week as they get players back from injuries.

The rest of this weeks picks:

Cincinnati @ Indianapolis

Bengals not likely to reverse bad fortune on the road, Colts 30-20.

NY Jets @ Cleveland

Cleveland comes back to earth after 24-7 loss to the Jets.

Minnesota @ Chicago

Bears need a win but Vikings are unpredictable….hmm…Bears 24-21.

Tennessee @ Miami

Another “return” game for Randy Moss, Titans should take advantage of the new weapon with or without Vince Young, Titans 30-24.

Houston @ Jacksonville

Texans 24-20.

Detroit @ Buffalo

Finally a win for the Bills by 30-17.

Carolina @ Tampa Bay

Bucs 30-20.

Kansas City @ Denver

Chiefs lose one on the road 34-24.

St. Louis @ San Francisco

49ers get home win 24-23.

Dallas @ NY Giants

Cowboys in disarray….pick the margin!! Giants 38-10.

Seattle @ Arizona

Cardinals need this one and get it 30-28.

New England @ Pittsburgh

Marquis match up….Steelers 27-24.

Philadelphia @ Washington

Eagles take another one from the Redskins 35-27.

There you go for this week….

Week 11 NCAA picks

Bad Week NCAA wise

Ouch, a 10-12 NCAA week left me feeling like a Texas Longhorn fan!!! Nothing to do but bounce back this week so let’s get to it.

Oregon (1) @ California

Ducks continue to roll 53-17.

Georgia @ Auburn (2)

Will the week’s events have an affect on the Tigers?? Possibly but Georgia too weak to beat them. Auburn 34-10.

TCU (3) @ San Diego State

TCU 38-7.

Louisiana-Monroe @ LSU (5)

LSU 40-10.

Indiana @ Wisconsin (6)

Badgers 42-10.

Stanford (7) @ Arizona State

Stanford 27-14.

Penn State @ Ohio State (8)

Buckeyes 38-20.

Kansas @ Nebraska (9)

Nebraska 40-10.

Purdue @ Michigan State (10)

Spartans win 30-13.

Mississippi State (17) @ Alabama (11)

Alabama 33-6

Texas @ Oklahoma State (12)

Cowboys 23-21.

Iowa (13) @ Northwestern

Upset!!! Northwestern 17-13.

UTEP @ Arkansas (14)

Razorbacks 38-7.

Utah (15) @ Notre Dame

Utah 40-18.

Virginia Tech (16) @ North Carolina

Tech by 20-10.

USC @ Arizona (18)

USC wins 24-20.

Texas Tech @ Oklahoma (19)

Sooners 41-37.

Kansas State @ Missouri (20)

Mizzou by 28-17.

Nevada (21) @ Fresno State

Nevada 30-16.

South Carolina (22) @ Florida (24)

Gators beat former coach 28-24.

Texas A&M (23) @ Baylor

Baylor by 23-20.

Southern Mississippi @ Central Florida (25)

UCF 38-28.

Sorry just AP Top 25 games this week…..late night!!!

High School Playoffs are here

Playoffs are here!!

In Virginia, the first round of the VHSL playoffs is upon us. Last week, I went 9-1 on my blog picks. At http://www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/varsitycast  I had an 18-8 week putting me at 198-90 for the season.

Here goes with the playoff games:

Piedmont District Teams:

Abingdon @ Magna Vista

Warriors by 22.

Marion @ Martinsville

Dogs hold on for first round win by 7.

Tunstall @ Grundy

Trojans go down by 26.

Bassett @ Carroll County

Bassett got away with one against this team on the road to start the season, don’t expect the same, Carroll County by 8.

Other Games:

E.C. Glass @ Staunton River

Glass wins on the road by 7.

Robert E Lee @ Alleghany

Alleghany by 6.

Stuarts Drafts @ Brookville

Brookville by 24.

Woodbridge @ Franklin County

Eagles go down in a tough one by 4.

Covington @ Craig County

Craig County by 2.

Floyd County @ Fort Chiswell

Fort Chiswell by 16.

Grayson County @ George Wythe

Wythe by 10.

Heritage @ Broadway

Broadway by 12.

Rural Retreat @ Galax

Galax by 30.

Let’s see how the action pans out this week….good luck to all.

Thursday Night NFL.....

NFL Week, early start

NFL action kicks off early this week with a Thursday night special in Atlanta where the Falcons will host the Baltimore Ravens.

Last week, I had another 10-3 week, boosting me to 77-53 for the season. I will be back with the rest of my NFL picks later but first up, here is my pick for Thursday’s game.

Baltimore @ Atlanta

Can the Falcons suspect pass defense hold off the Ravens? Can the Falcon's offense score enough points to beat the Ravens?? I think the Falcons just may pull this one out by 27-20.

NFL Week 9

The Big Bounce Back!!!

Finally a decent NFL Week after last weeks 10-3 effort!! Now sitting at 67-50 for the season I am still in quest of the perfect week…..here goes!

San Diego @ Houston

Chargers get a good road win 33-30.

Arizona @ Minnesota

Hmm….coin flip…..Vikings get one 27-21.

New Orleans @ Carolina

Saints 34-20.

New England @ Cleveland

Pats 38-10.

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta

Actual big game for these two, I’ll take the home Falcons by 27-24.

Chicago @ Buffalo

Bills finally get one 30-28.

Miami @ Baltimore

Ravens “D” too strong Baltimore 27-17.

NY Jets @ Detroit

Jets 27-10.

NY Giants @ Seattle

Giants 24-21.

Indianapolis @ Philadelphia

Return of the “Vick” help Eagles to 27-17 home win.

Kansas City @ Oakland

AFC West is now a minefield…..Raiders at home by 24-13.

Dallas @ Green Bay

Have the Cowboys given up?? Packers 34-13.

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati

Steelers 20-7.

Will any teams start to separate themselves from the pack this week??? Hmmmm…..we shall see….

NCAA Weekly picks...

College Football Week 10

The jockeying for BCS positions will pick up with some key matchups this weekend.

Last week, I went 18-3, so here goes for this week’s action from the AP Top 25 and a few other key games.

Top 25 Games:

Washington @ Oregon (1)

Ducks roll on 54-12. Hawaii @ Boise State (2)

Could be a quality win for Broncs…34-20.

Chattanooga @ Auburn (3)

Auburn 48-7.

TCU (4) @ Utah (6)

Big one with fringe BCS ramifications….Utah is hard to beat at home so taking the Utes by 31-24.

Alabama (5) @LSU (12)

Hmm…tempted to take LSU but will go with Alabama 24-22.

Wisconsin (7) @ Perdue

Badgers in an easy one 41-10.

Nebraska (9) @ Iowa State

Upset!!! Iowa State 27-22.

Arizona (13) @ Stanford (10)

Stanford gets a quality one at home 31-28.

Oklahoma (11) @ Texas A&M

Sooners 31-21.

Missouri (14) @ Texas Tech

Tigers 31-17.

Iowa (15) @ Indiana

Iowa 38-13.

Minnesota @ Michigan State (16)

Spartans big….44-7.

Arkansas (17) @ South Carolina (18)

Big SEC contest…Gamecocks 28-20.

Baylor (22) @ Oklahoma State (19)

Baylor 21-17.

N.C. State (23) @ Clemson

Wolfpack looking to consolidate Top 25 spot….win 24-17.

North Carolina @ Florida State (24)

Florida State 38-27.

Nevada (25) @ Idaho

Nevada 24-10.

Other Games:

Air Force @ Army

Army 21-20.

Virginia @ Duke

UVa 30-20.

Navy @ East Carolina

ECU 40-31.

FCS Games:

Wm & Mary @ New Hampshire

W&M 24-10.

James Madison @ Richmond

JMU 14-10.

Ok, that will do it for this week….getting to be crunch time…should be some good games out there.

High School Football time....

And Friday is upon us

Gee a 9-0 week last week felt good. As playoff time gets closer, the action should be hot and heavy this week with teas jockeying for position.

Here we go:

Piedmont District:

Bassett @ Magna Vista

This one can be tough regardless of place in the standings….still, I think; the Warriors will take this one by 13.

Martinsville @ Patrick County

A dismal season for Patrick County ends with another loss, this time by 32 or so.

Tunstall (Bye)

Hoping for playoff berth.

Other Games:

William Fleming @ GW-Danville

GW by 8.

Patrick Henry-Roanoke @ Halifax County

PH by 7.

Staunton River @ Northside

Playoff type game, Vikings looking to start their title defense win by 6.

Cave Spring @ Hidden valley

Cave spring big by 24 or more.

Gretna @ Chatham

Hawks by 30.

Glenvar @ Floyd County

Floyd County by 6.

Salem @ Pulaski County

Upset, Pulaski County by 4!!!

Franklin County @ Osbourn Park

Playoff type match up for Eagles, they lose this one on the road by 8.

Rug up, get out and enjoy some of the action!!!!