The Season Thus Far
| Date | Game | Dave's Pick | Comments | Dave's Record vs. Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/23 | Northwestern -4 vs. Oklahoma |  |
OU was lousy last year and I've read nothing to indicate a great deal of improvement. NW 24-0 Easy pick. |
1 - 0 |
| 8/24 | Syracuse -8 vs. Wisconsin |  |
Ron Dayne is great, but when that is all you've got you're in trouble. Syr 34-0 Maybe he was hurt? |
2 - 0 |
| 8/30 | North Carolina State +25 @ Syracuse |  |
Eighteen returning starters may be able to hang with the Orangemen. NC St. 32-31 They not only hung with 'em, they won the game! |
3 - 0 |
| 8/30 | Louisville -3 @ Kentucky |  |
UK football gets a fresh start. UK 38-24 Perhaps if Bill Curry had played his stud QB, he would still have a job. Of course, Curry is too damn smug to admit that a freshman QB might actually help him. |
4 - 0 |
| 8/30 | UCLA +1 at Washington State |  |
Five returning starters on the offensive line should be the difference. Wash. St. 37-34 I seem to have forgotten that a defense can also help. Still, UCLA was robbed. Looked like a TD to me. |
4 - 1 |
| 8/30 | Southern Miss +27.5 @ Florida |  |
Spurrier's got a new QB and Florida isn't used to tough openers. Florida 21-6 UF's got a tremendous defense but the offense struggled as expected. It's no embarassment to beat USM by "only" two TDs. They'll be OK. |
5 - 1 |
| 8/30 | Texas Tech +24 @ Tennessee |  |
Big drop off for Texas Tech this year. Manning starts his Heisman run. UT 52-17 No surprises here. |
6 - 1 |
| 8/30 | Nevada +9 @ Colorado State |  |
Rams will roll. Colo. St. 45-13 I worried about this because the line seemed really out of whack to me. I thought I had missed something. I hadn't. |
7 - 1 |
| 9/4 | Auburn -2.5 @ Virginia |  |
Auburn is much stronger than the rebuilding Cavs. Auburn 28-17 Score was about what I expected, but neither team was overly impressive. |
8 - 1 |
| 9/6 | East Carolina +6.5 @ West Virginia |  |
East Carolina is one of those overlooked teams that is actually pretty good. West Virginia 24-17 This pick sucked because if I had shopped the casinos, I could have got that extra half point. Lesson learned. |
8 - 2 |
| 9/6 | Washington -6.5 @ Brigham Young |  |
Huskies (not Dawgs) are better in just about all facets of the game. Washington 42-20 The WAC needs to prove itself before whining about coalition bowls. |
9 - 2 |
| 9/6 | Syracuse -10 @ Oklahoma | |
Orangemen get back on track against outmanned Oklahoma. Oklahoma 36-34 This one surprised me. |
9 - 3 |
| 9/6 | Southern Mississippi -4 @ Illinois | |
Illinois is just plain bad. Southern Miss 24-7 Illini have no offense. |
10 - 3 |
| 9/13 | Colorado +1 @ Michigan |  |
Buffs are accustomed to tough road games. Michigan 27-3 Ouch! Does Michigan have enough to make the Big 10(+1) interesting? |
10 - 4 |
| 9/13 | West Virginia -6 @ Boston College |  |
BC doesn't have much. Boston College 31-24 But they've got enough to come back from 14 down to beat WVU! |
10 - 5 |
| 9/13 | Clemson +2.5 @ North Carolina State |  |
NC State comes back to earth. Clemson 19-17 NCSU gave them a better game than I thought they would. |
11 - 5 |
| 9/13 | Syracuse +2.5 @ Virginia Tech |  |
Season is over for Syracuse. Virginia Tech 31-3 The entire Big East is not impressing me much this year. |
12 - 5 |
| 9/13 | Arkansas -6.5 @ SMU |  |
No way the Hogs let it happen again. SMU 31-9 They're an embarassment to the SEC. |
12 - 6 |
| 9/13 | Central Florida +42 @ Nebraska |  |
I'll probably regret this, but the Golden Knights have looked OK so far. Nebraska 38-24 One of these days they're gonna win one against somebody good. |
13 - 6 |
| 9/20 | Penn State -20.5 @ Louisville |  |
This shouldn't be competitive. Look for PSU to win by 4 or 5 touchdowns. Penn State 57-21 As was expected. |
14 - 6 |
| 9/20 | North Carolina -22.5 @ Maryland |  |
Is this a new logo? Yeeeccchh! North Carolina 40-14 Had to sweat this one out. I was cursing Maryland's kickoff return for a TD until they fumbled and UNC ran it in. |
15 - 6 |
| *** | North Carolina Addendum |  |
A Tarheel fan by the name of Brandon explained the logo. What I had downloaded from another site was actually the logo for the University of Northern Colorado. This is what it should have looked like. Thanks, Brandon. | *** |
| 9/20 | Washington State -9.5 @ Illinois |  |
I just can't see Illinois doing much of anything this year. Washington State 35-22 OK, so Illinois doesn't suck as bad as I thought. They still couldn't cover the spread. |
16 - 6 |
| 9/20 | Kentucky +2.5 @ Indiana | |
Another big day for Couch. Kentucky 49-7 I think the secret is going to be out now. UK's got an offense for a change. |
17 - 6 |
| 9/20 | Michigan State +2.5 @ Notre Dame |  |
Notre Dame must show me something before they get the nod. Michigan State 23-7 I'm still waiting. |
18 - 6 |
| 9/20 | South Carolina +1.5 @ East Carolina |  |
It won't be easy, but SC has something to prove. South Carolina 26-0 Well, maybe it was easy. |
19 - 6 |
| 9/20 | Tennessee +4 @ Florida |  |
During preseason I thought this might be UT's year. I no longer feel that way. Visor boy wins again. Florida 33-20 Florida is still the team for the SEC to measure itself against. Will Manning lose his status as the annoited Heisman winner? |
20 - 6 |
| 9/20 | Nebraska +3 @ Washington | |
Nebraska is pretty good, but Washington will be 10 points better at home. Nebraska 27-14 This may screw up the Rose Bowl already. I like the way this season is shaping up. Things should be interesting all year. |
20 - 7 |
| 9/20 | Minnesota +2.5 @ Memphis |  |
Yeah, I know they lost to Hawaii. (That M is for Minnesota, btw.) Minnesota 20-17 Even though I was right, I really don't know why I picked this game. |
21 - 7 |
| 9/20 | Idaho +9 @ Central Florida | |
UCF will finally get that elusive "W". Central Florida 41-10 UCF poured it on late. Auburn better watch out. |
22 - 7 |
| 9/27 | West Virginia +9 @ Miami | |
Hurricanes blow. West Virginia 28-17 After dominating for years in the Orange Bowl, Miami just doesn't have it any more. |
23 - 7 |
| 9/27 | Clemson @ Georgia Tech pick'em |
|
Yellow Jackets aren't all the way back yet. Georgia Tech 23-20 Yellow Jackets may be learning how to win! They're stockpiling some young talent and could turn a few heads soon. |
23 - 8 |
| 9/27 | Central Michigan -3 @ Eastern Michigan |  |
Chippewas will win going away. Eastern Michigan 31-24 ??????? |
23 - 9 |
| 9/27 | Central Florida +17 @ Auburn | |
After Auburn's emotional win this has upset written all over it. Auburn 41-14 War Eagles/Tigers/Plainsmen didn't let down their guard. Pretty impressive after the way Central Florida has played some tough teams this year. |
23 - 10 |
| 10/4 | Texas A&M +3.5 @ Colorado |  |
It's about time for the Southern Division to make its mark on the conference. Texas A&M 16-10 Colorado not quite as good as I expected. |
24 - 10 |
| 10/4 | Michigan -20 @ Indiana |  |
Michigan is too good for Indiana to keep it close. Michigan 37-0 Wolverines looking good! |
25 - 10 |
| 10/4 | Texas -7 @ Oklahoma State |  |
Longhorns are ready to recover from UCLA debacle. Oklahoma State 42-16 Can't say I'm disappointed to see one of my least favorite coaches, Mackovic, get buried every now and then. |
25 - 11 |
| 10/4 | Notre Dame -1 @ Stanford |  |
This may be everybody's year to beat up on the ND tradition. I for one hope so. Stanford 33-15 Four losses in a row for the Irish. Can you say 1-10? I wonder which coalition bowl they'll go to and whether Powlus will be invited to the Downtown Athletic Club for the Heisman ceremony. |
26 - 11 |
| 10/4 | Washington State -7 @ Oregon | |
Oregon won't put up much fight. Washington State 24-13 Quack, quack. |
27 - 11 |
| 10/4 | Miami (Ohio) +20 @ Virginia Tech | |
I'd feel better about this pick if it was Miami (Florida), but Hokies should roll. Miami (Ohio) 24-17 Big East sux. |
27 - 12 |
| 10/11 | Air Force +1 @ Navy |  |
The Air Force will crash and burn this week. Air Force 10-7 Blocked punt for a touchdown. Unbelieveable. |
27 - 13 |
| 10/11 | Brigham Young -2 @ Rice |  |
Rice is surprisingly good but not good enough. Rice 27-14 Even more surprising than I thought. |
27 - 14 |
| 10/11 | Colorado -3.5 @ Oklahoma State |  |
I made a mistake last week when I didn't pick the Cowboys. Oklahoma State 33-29 First 6-0 start since The Big One, WWII. |
28 - 14 |
| 10/11 | Florida -13 @ LSU | |
This should be the standard Spurrier rout. LSU 28-21 The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Florida "bench" near the end says it all. |
28 - 15 |
| 10/11 | Georgia +10 @ Tennessee |  |
I am not impartial here. This is where we learn whether Dawgs are for real. Tennessee 38-13 The less said the better. |
28 - 16 |
| 10/11 | Kentucky +2 @ South Carolina | |
The Mumme/Couch offense should eat South Carolina's linebackers for lunch. South Carolina 38-24 It started out that way, but then SC decided they did want to play this season, after all. |
28 - 17 |
| 10/18 | Georgia Tech +23.5 @ Florida State |  |
Tech yet to get the respect they've earned. Should be low-scoring. Florida State 38-0 Well, it was low-scoring on one end. |
28 - 18 |
| 10/18 | South Carolina -1.5 @ Arkansas | |
Hasn't Arkansas fired Ford yet? South Carolina 39-13 It won't be long now. |
29 - 18 |
| 10/18 | Tennessee -8.5 @ Alabama | |
Tennessee's ability to throw and run should enable them to prevail. Tennessee 38-21 Tennessee needs some luck in the form of somebody knocking off Florida, but if it happens they've still got a possibly great season cooking. |
30 - 18 |
| 10/18 | Wisconsin +2 @ Purdue |  |
Dayne has gotten it back into gear. Purdue 45-20 Boilermakers making some noise for a change. |
30 - 19 |
| 10/25 | Michigan -2 @ Michigan State | |
State is not that close to Michigan in talent. Michigan 23-7 But they are getting closer. |
31 - 19 |
| 10/25 | Purdue -10.5 @ Illinois |  |
Purdue is beating everyone by more than 10, and Illinois is losing to everyone by more than 10. No-brainer. Purdue 48-3 That was one of the easiest picks of the year. |
32 - 19 |
| 10/25 | Colorado -4.5 @ Texas | |
Colorado hasn't been all that impressive, but Texas has been worse. Colorado 47-30 Texas' defense must be awful. |
33 - 19 |
| 10/25 | Virginia Tech +1 @ West Virginia | |
Virginia Tech is at least a touchdown better. West Virginia 30-17 Now it's down to West Virginia vs. Syracuse for the Coalition spot. |
33 - 20 |
| 10/25 | Tulane +8 @ Southern Mississippi |  |
Bowden #3 is quietly building a pretty good team at Tulane. Southern Miss 34-13 Not good enough, yet. |
33 - 21 |
| 10/25 | San Diego State -7 @ Hawaii |  |
I've been looking for a chance to get that Fighting Rainbow logo onto my page. San Diego State 10-3 A push |
33 - 21 |
| 11/1 | Pittsburgh +4.5 @ Boston College |  |
Pittsburgh is lousy. Boston College 22-21 |
33 - 22 |
| 11/1 | Missouri +14 @ Colorado |  |
Colorado's been a disappointment. Missouri 41-31 |
34 - 22 |
| 11/1 | Penn State -17 @ Northwestern | |
It's not 1995 any more. Penn State 30-27 |
34 - 23 |
| 11/1 | Oklahoma State +9 @ Texas A&M | |
Cowboys will bounce back and win outright. Texas A&M 28-25 |
35 - 23 |
| 11/1 | Rice -4.5 @ SMU |  |
The Owls are playing well this year. SMU 24-6 |
35 - 24 |
| 11/1 | West Virginia +10.5 @ Syracuse | |
I just can't see a team as bad as West Virginia making it to the coalition. Syracuse 40-10 |
36 - 24 |
| 11/1 | Brigham Young -20 @ Texas-El Paso | |
No contest. UTEP 14-3 |
36 - 25 |
| 11/1 | Alabama-Birminham +24 @ Virginia Tech | |
UAB? C'mon! Virginia Tech 37-0 |
37 - 25 |
| 11/1 | Central Florida -14 @ Northeast Louisiana | |
Central Florida will roll. Northeast Louisiana 45-41 |
37 - 26 |
| 11/8 | Michigan +2.5 @ Penn State | |
Paterno's team has been close to failing all year. Michigan 34-8 Wipeout! |
38 - 26 |
| 11/8 | Michigan State +2 @ Purdue | |
Purdue's early success won't continue. Purdue 22-21 Tough luck for MSU, but they beat the spread! |
39 - 26 |
| 11/8 | Oklahoma State -6 @ Oklahoma | |
The biggest rout of the day. Oklahoma State 30-7 Easy win. |
40 - 26 |
| 11/8 | LSU -6 @ Alabama |  |
Tigers looking for revenge after last year, and Bama can't put up much resistance. LSU 27-0 Tigers turned the tables on the Tide. |
41 - 26 |
| 11/8 | Southern Mississippi +18 @ Tennessee | |
The world awaits to see whether Tennesse can blow this opportunity. Tennessee 44-20 It looked shaky early. |
42 - 26 |
| 11/8 | Louisiana Tech -8 @ Alabama-Birmingham |  |
Looking for back to back wins in the state of Alabama. Louisiana Tech 32-29 Why the hell do I keep trying to pick games like this? |
42 - 27 |
| 11/15 | Ole Miss +1 @ Tulane |  |
Tuberville's boys will handle the Green Wave. Ole Miss 41-24 |
43 - 27 |
| 11/15 | Mississippi State +3.5 @ Alabama |  |
First year woes continue for DuBose. Mississippi State 32-20 |
44 - 27 |
| 11/15 | Notre Dame +11 @ LSU | |
It seems you can't go wrong picking against the Irish this year. Notre Dame 24-6 |
44 - 28 |
| 11/15 | Penn State -6 @ Purdue | |
Nittany Lions bounce back as Purdue comes down off their cloud. Penn State 42-17 |
45 - 28 |
| 11/15 | Syaracuse -19 @ Pittsburgh | |
Orangemen making a push for a big bowl. Syracuse 32-27 |
45 - 29 |
| 11/15 | Virginia -1 @ NC State |  |
Cavs will score a lot vs. Wolfpack. North Carolina State 31-24 |
45 - 30 |
| 11/15 | Texas A&M -14 @ Oklahoma | |
Sooners will find the going tough. Texas A&M 51-7 |
46 - 30 |
| 11/15 | Washington +2.5 @ UCLA | |
Huskies bounce back strong as UCLA streak ends. UCLA 52-28 |
46 - 31 |
| 11/22 | Ohio State +3.5 @ Michigan | |
Michigan big. Michigan 20-14 |
47 - 31 |
| 11/22 | Clemson pick 'em @ South Carolina | |
SEC maintains its dominance over ACC. Clemson 47-21 |
47 - 32 |
| 11/22 | West Virginia +10.5 @ Notre Dame | |
One good game and people think the Irish are back? Notre Dame 21-14 |
48 - 32 |
| 11/22 | Mississippi State -5 @ Arkansas | |
Sherrill has his boys playing well. Arkansas 17-7 |
48 - 33 |
| 11/22 | Florida State -4.5 @ Florida |  |
If Spurrier can pull this one off I might have to reevaluate my opinion of him. Florida 32-29 |
48 - 34 |
| 11/22 | Washington State +6 @ Washington | |
Huskies have let season slip away. Washington State 41-35 |
49 - 34 |
| 11/22 | UCLA -9 @ USC | |
OK, the Bruins have finally convinced me they're for real. UCLA 31-24 |
49 - 35 |
| 11/22 | Virginia Tech -11 @ Pitt | |
I'm gonna keep picking against Pitt until I'm right. Pitt 30-23 |
49 - 36 |
| 11/28 | Nebraska -21 @ Colorado |  |
Huskers are in no mood to let MNC chances vanish. Nebraska 27-24 |
49 - 37 |
| 11/28 | Arkansas +19 @ LSU | |
Hawgs will play them a little tougher than this. Arkansas 31-21 |
50 - 37 |
| 11/29 | Syracuse -6.5 @ Miami | |
Orangemen fighting for the Alliance. Syracuse 33-13 |
51 - 37 |
| 12/6 | Army +13 vs. Navy |  |
Too many points, weather may be a factor. | 51 - 38 |
| 12/6 | Texas A&M +18 vs. Nebraska | |
I don't think A&M wins, but I do think it'll be closer than 18. | 51 - 39 |
| 12/6 | Auburn +6.5 vs. Tennessee | |
This pick hinges on my expectation that Jamal Lewis will be the difference. If Auburn can stop him they do have a chance at outright victory. | 51 - 40 |
July 15, 1998
