Week 7 CFB ‘Expert’ Picks

I’ll admit it…I gave up on my Arizona Wildcats’ season after they lost the opener to Hawaii. The team played like garbage for most of the 60 minutes and honestly the score and end result was likely closer than the overall game itself.

But something has happened since then – the team that I was convinced had NO heart has showed plenty. In beating Northern Arizona, Texas Tech, UCLA, and on the road at Colorado, my opinion has radically changed.

I have been critical of Khalil Tate plenty over the last 13 months. He’s an incredible talent but I haven’t been a fan of his selfishness towards his teammates, the media, and the fans. But he balled out on Saturday throwing for over 400 yards upon returning from an injury which sidelined him for the previous week. It’s those glimpses of greatness that make it so frustrating when he makes the wrong read over and over (and over)…

Now let me be honest…

Though they’re in first place currently, Arizona isn’t going to win the PAC-12 South…(and for that matter nor is ASU).

The schedule is simply too difficult and I’m not at the point where I can trust consistency on either side of the ball.

But can this team win 6-8 games, potentially beat ASU, and make a bowl game? You bet.

If they beat Washington, that’s a game changer. Then suddenly the road trips to USC and Stanford become less intimidating. Win 2 of the next 3, then we can start talking bigger things. For now 4-1 is a lot better than I anticipated after the Hawaii game and for that I’m grateful.

On to the picks where I was flat out dreadful last weekend…and therefore JB has taken complete command of the ATS picks which I consider the most important and difficult. I’m hoping to get back on track in Week 7.

Week 7 Picks

	Eric Cohen	Jon Bell	Steve Malina	Wesley Franco
Twitter:	@cohencurse1580	@koshercoach	@beardownsteven	@producerwes
Last Week (SU)	5-6	7-4	6-5	6-5
Last Week (ATS)	2-9	8-3	6-5	6-5
Season (SU)	46-26	47-25	47-25	43-29
Season (ATS)	34-38	44-28	33-39	34-38
Washington State at ASU (-2.5)	ASU 34-21	ASU 21-20	ASU 24-20	ASU 37-32
Washington (-6.5) at Arizona	WASH 33-24	AZ 38-31	WASH 31-27	WASH 35-28
Virginia at Miami (-1.5)	VA 27-23	VA 24-17	MIA 24-21	VA 24-17
Colorado at Oregon (-20.5)	ORE 41-24	ORE 24-20	ORE 31-20	ORE 38-14
Oklahoma (-9.5) vs. Texas in Dallas	OK 45-38	OK 41-38	OK 34-31	OK 42-35
Alabama (-17.5) at Texas A&M	ALA 34-23	ALA 41-3	ALA 41-17	ALA 24-7
Michigan State at Wisconsin (-9.5)	WISC 24-10	WISC 14-10	WISC 31-14	WISC 30-14
Utah (-13.5) at Oregon State	UTAH 34-24	OSU 31-21	UTAH 44-27	UTAH 27-7
USC at Notre Dame (-11.5)	ND 30-23	ND 41-20	ND 24-10	ND 30-27
Penn State (-3.5) at Iowa	IOWA 26-20	IOWA 21-17	PSU 24-13	IOWA 24-21
Florida at LSU (-12.5)	LSU 30-13	LSU 27-20	LSU 28-24	LSU 38-35
Hawaii at Boise State (-12.5)	BOISE 37-30	BOISE 31-27	BOISE 31-24	BOISE 32-28

This Week’s Bold Predictions

EC: Will there be more empty seats at the Miami-Virginia game on Friday or the Dolphins-Redskins contest on Sunday? Either way, the poor folks at Hard Rock Stadium might not see a home team win anytime soon. The Hurricanes stink this year and maybe coach Manny Diaz isn’t the right guy long term to bring back glory to “The U”.

JB: The “I don’t get this PAC-12 season” tour continues, with suddenly hot Arizona and Oregon State beating trendy preseason favorites Washington and Utah at home.

SM: South Carolina puts a scare into Georgia in Athens. Georgia eventually pulls away but the game is way too close for comfort until the middle of the 4th quarter. Bet big on the Gamecocks in the first half.

WF: Eno Benjamin has a breakout party in this one. He rushes for more than 200 yards for the first time since last year against Oregon State. Fork Em’ Devils!

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