Week 11 CFB ‘Expert’ Picks

Dare I say last Saturday was NOT a good one for me. UofA (no I will never refer to my alma mater as UArizona) got smoked by a lousy Oregon State team on Homecoming and I suffered probably the worst bad betting beat in years!

Here’s a brief chronological summary of Saturday’s action via Twitter:

This is as horrendous a home defensive performance as I’ve seen in years. What a complete embarrassment!

— Eric Cohen (@CohenCurse1580) November 2, 2019

I love UofA football…I haven’t missed a home game since 2007. But this program is in shambles. I thought Sumlin was an upgrade over RichRod…holy crap was I wrong! Someone needs to do something…there is no excuse for a debacle like today!!

— Eric Cohen (@CohenCurse1580) November 2, 2019

Epic #CohensCorner coming on Wednesday https://t.co/XWhXhhTmYA

— Jon Bell (@KosherCoach) November 3, 2019

I had Memphis and this makes me absolutely sick! https://t.co/9EoLDHnMYD

— Eric Cohen (@CohenCurse1580) November 3, 2019

A few lingering thoughts from that day:

-What a debacle Arizona Football has become in a matter of only one month. From a 4-1 start with promise on the horizon to 4-5 with two top ten teams + ASU remaining on the schedule. What a nightmare! 

-Apparently Chuck Cecil isn’t a miracle worker. In fact, I’m not sure what the hell he was doing last week drawing up defensive gameplans. I’m pretty sure I could’ve been calling defensive plays and not done much worse than allowing Oregon State to score on 8 of 11 possessions and convert 7 of 10 third down attempts.

-No wonder people don’t go to the games in Tucson anymore. This team stinks defensively and people don’t want to pay their hard earned money to watch their favorite team get embarrassed week-in, week-out.

-2016 was an awful 3-9 season for the Wildcats but all anyone remembers is the 56-35 drubbing of ASU. 2011 was a disaster at 4-8 but the victory over ASU is also remembered. It seems likely that 2019 will be added to the nightmare season list…I just hope it ends with a victory over the rival Sun Devils as well.

-I loved Sonny Dykes as UofA’s OC in the late-2000s but what in God’s name was he doing in the final 3 minutes on Saturday night as coach of SMU? After his team scored to cut Memphis’ lead to 54-46, Dykes inexplicably went for 2 when no analytics nor reasoning would support it. Some of us had the spread at 6.5 for Memphis…did Sonny have it the other way? Either way, his gimmicky trick play worked and cut the deficit to 6. And to add insult to injury, I gave both of The Fanatic’s morning show hosts, Bruce Jacobs and Dale Hellestrae SMU with 6.5 points earlier in the week.

On to the picks, where I have taken the lead against the spread while Steve and I are in a tight battle for first place in the straight up picks!

Guest Picker Records:
Week 9: Jason “Chief” Carter: 6-4 SU, 4-6 ATS
Week 10: JROD: 5-5 SU, 4-6 ATS

Glad to have another Daily Blender Super Fan, Boogie join us as this week’s guest picker!

Week 11 Picks

This Week’s Bold Predictions

EC: I can’t wait for this weekend of college football! We get a #1 vs. #2 matchup in the regular season for the first time since 2011 – when it was LSU vs. Alabama yet again. This time around, take the UNDER! I know that both of these teams can score in bunches but I can’t see this game being any more than in the low-50s point total-wise.

And a bonus bold prediction in light of Florida State’s firing of Willie Taggart, whose decision to bolt from Oregon to Florida State after only one season in 2017 might go down as one of the worst public career moves in recent memory. After the season, FSU makes a splash by hiring Gus Malzahn from Auburn to guide the Seminoles. It’s fair to say that Malzahn’s job security would likely be safer year-to-year in Tallahassee than it is now.

JB: Eight years after the initial “Game of the Century,” the Tide and Tigers face off in Tuscaloosa once again ranked 1-2. This version looks more like Michigan-Ohio State 2006 than the 9-6 defensive showdown in 2011. The Tigers lead at half but Tua at home is too much for the Tigers, who ultimately fall 48-31 in an offensive explosion. 

SM: After a hard fought win by the Scum Devils of ASU over USC, Clay Helton is fired on the tarmac in order to get a head start on the head coaching search with Florida State already speeding through the process.

WF: Leaning on the boldness for this one: college players will be college players and after Oklahoma slipped up against K-State, I think not being a CFB Playoff team plays to their emotions. Iowa State just wants the win more. Cyclones roll, put the CFB Playoff fork into the Boomer Sooners.

BOOGIE: Three predictions: Dartmouth 28, Princeton 27 in the undefeated 7-0 matchup of Ivy League teams this weekend. (Oklahoma QB) Jalen Hurts doesn’t get drafted in first four rounds. And (former Ohio State coach) Urban Meyer gets in trouble for passing students in his ethics class with failing grades.
(Nicely done, Boogie with that last one!)

To read previous entries of my blog, click here. Also make sure to follow me on Twitter @cohencurse1580.