If a few weeks ago was the Drew Barrymore of Sexy Sixes, then this week is even worse. This slate is comparable to the last girl in a bar. Think about it. Your pretty much in the bag at this point and there’s this relatively unattractive girl at the bar, but with the number of drinks in you, your sure that after 1-2 more you can make it work. Well that’s this week’s Sexy Six. If your home Saturday. Grab yourself a full 30 if you usually grab a 24 because there is nothing sexy about this Saturday’s games. In fact when the best game is between Big Ten schools who may not even make the title if the one is unbeaten, that tells you all you need to know. Nonetheless, enjoy mine and K.M’s Sexy Six games of the week, and if you have faith in us to bounce back after last week, lay some cash on our Sexy Six “Hot Hook Ups”.
We’ve been pretty decent this year in our “Hot Hook Ups” which is when the two of us agree on a team against the spread. 8-5 in those games. So if you aren’t happy with winning 8 out of 13 bets, then you probably aren’t satisfied with our showing.
On our own, K.M is an impressive 15-9 against the spread, 14-10 straight up. Slightly behind, I myself am 14-10 straight up but only 13-11 against the spread.
K.M : NC State gave FSU all they wanted last year in Talla-holey, losing a wild shootout at the end. FSU this year has a much improved defense that has really come to life after the Oklahoma game, being able to really get to the quarterback. However Russell Wilson has the same kind of pocket presence and talents as Landry Jones, and should pose a serious problem for the Noles. I like what NCSU can do on offense, and I’m not sold that FSU is a juggernaught, and getting over a field goal at home against FSU, a team I have seen lay MANY a Thursday night turd in their history, everything about this game tells me to take the Wolfpack in the upset. So that is what I intend to do.
Prediction: NCSU 38, FSU 27
Bryan : I want to pick the Wolfpack. I need FSU to lose for Clemson’s sake. If there’s a game FSU is going to lose in the ACC other than Clemson, its probably this one. Nonetheless, I can’t bring myself to pick NCST. They’re not that impressive defensively by any standard. Florida St.’s strength defensively all year has been their front seven, specifically against the run and in rushing the passer. The Wolfpack’s offense entirely rests on the shoulders on Russell Wilson. 7th in the nation in passing, and 77th in rushing, if NC St. can’t keep the Seminoles pass rushers off Wilson, it could be a long afternoon. My colleague is right. FSU has a tendency to drop these games and this is the best chance NC St. has had at an Atlantic Division title since Tom O’Brien got there. Nonetheless, FSU knows if theu win this game, they all but wrap up the Atlantic division of the ACC and with both teams having about a week and a half for this game’s preperation, I think the Seminoles offense will be too balanced for NCST to really clamp down. They’ll need to force turnovers against Ponder in the passing game to stay competitive. Lay the points with FSU.
Prediction: Florida St. 30 NC St. 21
MSU at Iowa (-6.5)
K.M : If MSU would just fall off the face of the earth, things would be much better in my life. I hate this team, they are hard to get a handle on, but last week I saw them struggling to beat NW, and they did nearly eat the upset I expected. However, they ended up sneaking a cover out of it, making me just terrible in betting MSU games. I’ve given up feeling I have a handle on them, so let’s look at Iowa’s side of the football. Iowa is coming off just a brutal loss, where Wisconsin jammed a late drive right down Iowa’s great D’s throat, and that has to bring a hangover effect into this game. How can you expect Iowa to bounce back and act like last week didn’t happen, when this week the opponent is even stronger? I actually think Iowa wins this game in the end, as the MSU defense offers the Iowa offense a chance to put some points up on the board and overcome a slow start, but if you are giving me 6.5 points, I’ll take them. Bryan may not like splitting his ATS and SU winners, but I’ll do it when it feels right. It feels right here.
Prediction: Iowa 28, MSU 24
Bryan : As my colleague said, MSU is becoming a brutal pick each week. They are so up and down. They drum Wisconsin when I expect them to lose, yet they squeek by Northwestern and Notre Dame. Iowa on the other hand is about 14 total minutes of bad football from being unbeaten and in my opinion is still the 2nd best team in the Big Ten. Most of you should know where my pick is going, I’ve said it for weeks in the SSR rankings. But the 6.5 points is so tough. Favor MSU or knock it down to a FG and I lay the points with Iowa here easily. However MSU had a below average run game last week despite their terrific combo of LeVeon Bell and Edwin Baker. And anyone who saw the Iowa-Wisconsin game saw John Clay have a big game for the Badgers. Im weary of this game big time. Have you seen Michigan State’s shcedule after this game? If they win, they have a damn good chance to go unbeaten. And though coaches can give you the cliche’ “one game at a time”, you don’t think Coach D’Antonio is telling his team this message. This is maybe the biggest game in MSU history. And yet I can’t let my opinionated ties to Iowa pull me from taking them in this game. But a TD is too much. Iowa should be able to move the ball, but MSU won’t be blown out in a game with a magnitude as big as this. Like my colleauge, take Iowa SU, but snatch those points and run with them.
Prediction: Iowa 27 MSU 24
Hot Hook Up: MSU With The Points
Florida vs. Georgia (-3) in Jacksonville
K.M : Florida always wins the Cocktail party. Really, that’s all I got here. I was debating with a really good friend of mine Monday how many times we’ve seen Georgia win the Cocktail Party. To his credit, he remember the 3 in his and my lifetime that were the answer, I only remembered 2. Point is, I’m not that smart, and Florida always wins the cocktail party, since our CFB frame of reference goes back to like 1993.
Prediction: Florida 24, Georgia 21
Bryan :Seriously, how bad is this weekend when, though a great rivalry, we include a game featuring a 4-3 team vs. a 4-4 team. Most years this game has national title implications, if only for one team. This year it will determine which team loses 4 conference games first. Neither team has been impressive. Florida has lost 3 straight. Georgia’s basically beat the 3 worse SEC teams the past 3 weeks. Since coming back from suspension, Washaun Ealey has been great for Georgia who along with Aaron Murray has some offensive balance missing since the Stafford/Moreno days. Have you seen Florida play offense this year? Stop the running game and you stop Florida. Georgia’s been pretty good at that most of the year (12th in the nation), and frankly do you have faith in John Brantley throwing the football? Neither do I. Georgis is overdue for a win in this game as K.M alluded to. If Georgia can’t win this year, when can they?
Predicition: Georgia 27 Florida 17
Michigan (-1) at Penn State
K.M : Penn State as a slight home dog may look tasty, but Im pretty sure Penn State is totally awful. Michigan has no defense, but Penn State has no offense. What happens when the unable to tackle meet the unable to catch? When the team that can’t shed blocks meets the team that can’t block? I don’t know, but it can’t equal anything that great for Penn State. Meanwhile, Penn State doesn’t have enough to slow down the Michigan attack. Picking Michigan is square of me, I fully realize this. But I can’t stomach the alternative, picking PSU, so my hands are tied.
Prediction: Michigan 28, Penn State 10
Bryan : Hard to argue with most of what my colleague had to say. I don’t think either teams are very good and frankly Im grateful Michigan dropped a couple games because I couldn’t stomach anymore of them in the Top 25. When your that bad defensively and rely on one guy that much offensively, your not a very good football team. Basically Penn St. has laid an egg against any credible team. Their best win thus far is Temple. That says a lot about you. They’re ok against the pass, but lets be serious, unless you can stop Denard Robinson on the ground, then it doesn’t matter how good you are against the pass because he will just run all over you. Like K.M said, there’s not a whole lot to this game and frankly, its not even a very intriguing game, but every now and then you have down weeks where the number of quality games just isn’t there and so we’re forced to add this in. Typical game. Michigan’s offense shines. Penn St’s offense despite not being very good will do alright because Michigan couldn’t stop 11 schoolgirls, but in the end, Michigan will be too much and walk away from Happy Valley with the victory.
Prediction: Michigan 30 Penn St. 17
Hot Hook Up: Michigan laying the points
Mizzou at Nebraska (-7)
K.M : People seem to be upset at Bryan and myself for our lower opinion of Mizzou then some feel warrented. Oddly, people felt the same thing about the previous opinion that we both had on Nebraska before the Texas game. So this is a game nobody wants to hear what we have to say about. Tough for all of them. Nebraska has a defense I don’t believe is that good, and an offense that runs hot and cold, but just put out a great performance on the road vs. a tough OSU team. Mizzou has one game worth mentioning, a win over Oklahoma. Mizzou has their first road test here, and I’m not going to bet the team playing it’s first road game when I can pick a team at home that has a win on their resume that I respect. I’ll take Nebraska in a shootout.
Prediction: Nebraska 41, Mizzou 30
Bryan : Good points all around by K.M. Frankly, is there anything about either of these teams that you should feel strongly about. Nebraska got beatdown by a poor Texas team and though they had a good road win last week, gave up 41, albeit to Oklahoma St., despite being shoved down our throats as an elite defensive unit. Mizzou finally has a resume’ building win and I blame myself for falling for the Oklahoma trap as oppose to anything Mizzou did. You have a team with a good offense vs. perhaps an overrated defense on one side. On the other a good QB vs. a defense that has proven nothing. Nebraska is back at home and knows they need this game to have any shot at the Big 12 title. Bo Pelini will have an answer for the Tigers offense come Saturday and Im not sure Mizzou will contain Taylor Martinez all too well. Give me the Cornhuskers at home to re-establish themselves as the class of the Big 12 North. I should make this a hot hook up and lay the points. Im pretty confident in Nebraska, but after a down week last week, I’m not going to roll the dice just for entertainment value. Take the Huskers but don’t lay the points.
Prediction: Nebraska 38 Mizzou 34
Oregon (-7) at USC
K.M : If Oregon is going to lose a game, this is the most obvious game to pick. USC still has talent on both sides of the ball, and home field is always a good thing. Meanwhile Oregon has got fat by rolling teams left and right. A lot of people are predicting the Oregon upset this week, but I’m not sure this young Trojans team has the depth to play at the pace Oregon’s offense wants to play at, or the experience for what Oregon is going to throw at them. This just seems like an awful matchup for the men of Troy. I’ll take Oregon in a semi-comfortable fashion, and keep the Civil War in mind when I look for the game that Oregon will eventually lose, since Oregon losing a game at some point, that just feels right to expect to happen somewhere down the line.
Prediction: Oregon 35, USC 23
Bryan : As K.M. said, Oregon, if they go down are going down on the road. I love Arizona. Rank them in the SSR weekly, but they’re not winning in Eugene. So it seems like this or Oregon St. would be the pick to send Oregon down. But did you not see this game last year? A better USC team was bent over by Oregon and had absolutely no answer defensively for the Ducks. I don’t see a ton of difference this year to make me pick differently. The Trojans will need, and should expect a strong game from Barkley and co. to give them a chance. At home, in a season where they aren’t going bowling, this is their Rose Bowl. They’re big game to shine. So I expect the whole barrage this game from Kiffin. Nonetheless, Chip Kelly is the master of keeping his team even-keel. Not too overconfident. But at the same time, letitng them know they are good enough to beat anyone. Plus, he’s a New Engalnd native (Manchester, NH) so its hard to pick against one of my own. Look for a shootout, but the Ducks are better equipped to win that game and Im not that concerned about Oregon here at all.
Prediction: Oregon 45 USC 31
Hot Hook Up: Oregon Laying the Points
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