College Football Week 13

This is one of the most pivotal weeks in college football. Conference championships are set, National Championship berths are more than likely claimed, and of course, rivalries are won. If it isn't Michigan-Ohio State, it's Florida-Florida State that gives us one heck of a game this week. The best part about a lot of these rivalries is that the teams involved are highly ranked which only adds to the intensity.

Here are my picks!

Michigan-21 Ohio State-28- Ohio State looks good and the scariest part is that this team will be ready to go because it's their last game of the season. Urban Meyer will be making sure is guys leave it all out on the field because they will not play in a bowl game this season. Braxton Miller is the key player for the Bucks. He has been able to lead his team to many of their wins without throwing it a lot. He's going to need to be able to make some plays with his arm so the Buckeyes aren't one dimensional. I think the Michigan defense will contain him, but it won't be enough. As for Michigan, the quarterback situation will play a big roll. I'm not sure if Devin Gardener has what it takes to win against that Buckeyes defense. He or Robinson will make too mistakes and will give the win to Ohio State.

Oregon- 30 Oregon State- 28 - This is going to be a close one. The Ducks offense was shut down last week by Stanford and I think the perfect plan was drawn up for the Beavers. All they need to to is use their front seven to suffocate the Oregon offense. That won't be an easy task though. Marcus Mariota and Kenjon Barner will make adjustments from last week and will find a few wrinkles in the defense. The Beavers offense will have a tough task ahead of them too. The Ducks have an incredible red zone defense and tend to bend and not break. The passing game will come easy of the Beavers, but the run game will hurt them. I think the Ducks make the necessary stops in the passing game and will escape the Civil War with the W.

Oklahoma State- 30 Oklahoma- 35 - Oklahoma State has one of the best offenses in the nation. The running game, which is spear-headed by Joseph Randle, has really carried this team. The passing attack is high octane as well and is ranked number 5 in the nation. Oklahoma has proven that they can stop high powered offenses. They held Kansas State to 24 earlier in the season and showed they can out-gun teams like West Virginia. Both of those abilities should be detrimental to the Cowboys. The Sooners will do enough on defense to let their offense out gun the Cowboys and will slide past them for the win.

Florida State- 10 Florida- 26 This game will be a lot closer than in previous years. E.J. Manuel and the Florida State offense have been potent this year. They have put up some big numbers on the ACC. The defense is improved too. They are fast and running over everyone this year and will do the same against Florida. However, Florida has done some incredible things this year. If you look at that schedule, then look at their record, you can tell they are the better team. With their defense, which has allowed an average of 11.7 points per game, they will win this game. The Florida State offense hasn't faced a defense like this yet and it will really show today

Notre Dame- 24 USC- 20 - The Irish are going to win this game due to the injury to Matt Barkley. Max Wittek won't be ready for the defense initially, but will eventually cope. The problem is that the Irish capitalize on the smallest of set backs and create a win because of them. It will be a lot closer than a lot of people may think, but the Irish will do just enough, like they have in a lot of games, to pull out the win.

Quick Picks

South Carolina- 41 Clemson- 21

Stanford- 28 UCLA-24

Auburn-0 Alabama- 35

Baylor- 35 Texas Tech- 56 

Wisconsin- 20 Penn State- 22

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MLS Cup Deja Vu

After the first leg of the MLS Conference Finals, soccer fans have a case of Deja Vu. Last year's MLS Cup finalists Houston and Los Angeles opened up huge leads in the first leg and look destined to meet again in MLS Cup.

Houston showed their might in a 3-1 win against DC United with three unanswered goals in the second half from Hainault, Bruin, and Sarkodie. This was really the tale of two halves. In the first, it look as if DC had gotten the one goal they needed to take an advantage back home to RFK in the second leg. The second half show a Houston team ready to take control of this series by enforcing their style of play.

LA blasted Seattle 3-0 in LA. The Galaxy looked like the team of last year and ground out the win in the second half. LA had goals from Magee and a brace (two goals) from Keane. Though the Galay couldn't score in the first half, they looked the better team throughout, while Seattle looked stagnant.

So what can we expect in the second leg?

I expect DC to come out firing, as the game opens up they will get a bit porous in the defense. Houston to sit deep in their zone for much of the game and try to get goals off the counter attack. They will spend time on the ball and will probably walk away with a 1-2 result in DC, but a win in the aggregate, 4-3.

As for Seattle-LA, I expect a fiery Sounders offense. They will put a bit of a scare in LA fans as they go up 2-0 early. LA will compose themselves and find holes on the counter attack and eventually score two of their own and will go on to win the aggregate 5-2. 

Both of these games are on television tonight, so if you get the chance, check them out! The Houston-DC United game is at 4 p.m. on NBCSports and the LA-Seattle game is on ESPN at 9 p.m.

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College Football: Week 12

It seems like I've been saying this more and more, but we have one heck of a week in college football. There are so many team's who will make their case for their conference championship today or even a BCS bowl. The PAC-12 takes over for the SEC as the big game conference this week as it seems a few of the SEC's best are taking a bye week this week (West Carolina, really?). The Big 12 also has some tasty games today as well, so on to the picks!

Oregon- 50 Stanford-30 This will be Oregon's biggest test of the year. It's bigger than USC because the Cardinal can stop the run and has a solid defense. As much as I want to say that Stanford can pull the upset   because they can stop the run, Marcus Mariota is one of the best Oregon QB's in a while. He will lead his team through the AIR as the Ducks out play Stanford after all four quarters. 

USC- 45 UCLA- 35 - Showed a lot in their game versus Oregon. I think they have a great offense that should be able to score with the best of them. UCLA will cause some problems because they can score too, but ultimately their defense will crumble under the pressure of Matt Barkley's arm. 

Texas Tech- 43 Oklahoma State- 45 - This will be another classic Big 12 shoot out. OK State has proven in the past few weeks that they still have a lot of bite despite losing a lot of key players last year. They have a potent offense that will put up some big numbers on this Red Raiders defense. Tech will also put up some big numbers on the lackluster Cowboys defense. The aspect that will set these two apart is OK State's ability to run the ball. The Cowboys have a running game and Tech doesn't which means Tech is more likely to be a little one dimensional. That will lead to more turnovers and a narrow victory by State. 

Kansas State- 43 Baylor- 20 - Last week showed a lot about Kansas State. It showed me that Collin Klein will not let his team lose a game this year. That being said, the Wildcats will jump out to an early lead because of him and slide into next weeks game against Texas. 

Ohio State- 38 Wisconsin- 20 - Normally this would be a huge game, but the Badgers aren't so good this year and Ohio State can't play in any sort of title game. Plus the Badgers have their Big Ten Championship game spot locked up. I'm sure the Badgers would love to beat Ohio State, but Montee Ball needs to have a big game if they hope to do so. Ohio State will play great defense and Braxton Miller will do just enough on the other side of the ball to get it done and lead the Bucks to a victory. 

QUICK PICKS

Miami (OH) -45 CMU- 30

Miami - 35 USF- 29 

Oklahoma- 40 West Virginia- 17 

Northwestern- 30 MSU- 17 

Western Michigan- 41 Eastern Michigan- 10 

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College Football: Week 11

This is one of those weeks in college football where there is a smorgasbord of tasty games in the top 25 and slim picking anywhere else. Just like every other week, the SEC has two monster games with monster implications with a few other conferences having big games.
This will be the week where we find out a lot about teams like Mississippi State, Oregon State, and Texas A&M. People don't expect a ton from these teams this week, but will they give the favorites a run for their money or even squeak out a win. With that, here are my picks.

Oregon State- 13 Stanford- 10 - The Beavers are finally going to prove to people that they belong up in the top 25. They are a bit one dimensional on offense, but Mannion has been having a wonderful year throwing the ball and will find some big passes against the Cardinal. Stanford looks like they wont have their starting QB Nunes I also think Sanford have already hit their peak for this season against USC. They will keep this game close, but the Beaver defense will be too much.

LSU- 38 Mississippi State- 17 - There's no way the hat loses a second straight game. Les Miles will have his boys ready for this game. It's unfortunate for the Bulldogs because any other week they might have had a chance. The Tigers will come out mad and take out all that hate for Saben out on Mississippi State. Plus the Bulldogs just don't have the offense to hang with LSU and the Tigers running game will get points just by pounding away at the front seven. All in all, it will be Mississippi State's third straight loss to a ranked SEC team by 38 points. How infuriating is that?

Texas A&M-17  Alabama- 30 - Johnny Manziel and this Aggie team are the surprise story of the season. After last year's horrible fourth quarter losses in the Big 12, A&M have reinvented themselves in the SEC. This upcoming week will be a tough one though. This will be the game that ends the Aggies dream run in the SEC. All Alabama needs to win is a solid game from their defense, which is almost a given. The Aggies are 0-2 when their explosive offense is held under 20 points. The Tide haven't allowed more than 17 points in one game and that was to LSU last week. The Tide's offense will have a decent game, they will have better success than last week, but will still looked stumped at times. It was a good run Texas A&M, but it's time to let the big boys take over.

Kansas State- 48 TCU- 38 - This game should be close. A TCU win here vindicates the bad start in the Big 12 and makes them look great. They have really impressed me by not throwing in the towel after Pachall got suspended. Gary Patterson has really done a nice job of keeping his team together. Boykin has turned out to be just as good as Pachall in my opinion. It's hard to compare them this season because of the deference in schedule when the two played, but Boykins seems to have a calm head. Kansas State will just be too much for the Horned Frogs. Playing wise, Colin Klein is on other planet right now and it's going to take a small army to stop him. The TCU defense hasn't faced a guy like this yet and the running attack from K-State will really punish them.

OK State- 47 West Virginia- 40 - OK State will be on the rebound with another big win. They have lost to some really good teams this year, but they will turn the tide here. West Virginia is coming off an emotional loss to TCU and haven't looked that good since the fifth game of the season. I think it's a confidence issue. They have the stats and play to get wins, but they just aren't finishing them. Both offenses will run up the score, but OK State has the better defense. That's what will put them over the Mountaineers and into bowl contention

Quick picks

CMU- 34 EMU- 21

Michigan- 28 Northwestern- 17

Nebraska- 17 Penn State- 3

Tulsa- 48 Houston- 24

Oklahoma-38 Baylor- 28

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MLS Playoffs: Conference Semis Leg 2

The MLS playoffs are in full swing and after the next four games we will know the final four of the US soccer world. In the MLS the conference semi finals and finals are conducted in a two leg format. Both teams play a home game and the two scores of the games are added up for a cumulative score. The first leg has been played so you could almost consider this halftime.
In the West, there is the Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders match up that has become a playoff regularity. In the first leg of the semi, the whistle was blown after a total of zero goals and no real action. It was a truly boring game and should give Salt Lake an advantage. The match up everyone was looking forward to is the other semi final which is the LA Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes. This rivalry has been growing over the past few years and after a 1-0 Earthquake victory in the first leg, the Quakes will be chomping at the bit for a chance to knock off the reigning champions at home. In the East there is the DC NYC rivalry which finished in a draw of own goals. Once again, it was another boring game. The other game was a total shocker which was the Houston Dynamo's 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City.
Now all over the series switch to the second leg which should be very interesting. Here's how I think the second legs will go.

Real Salt Lake vs Seattle Sounders - Whoever wins this game will win the series. I think RSL will score two goals because they have gotten the better of Seattle recently. The Sounders are a very streaky team and they aren't hitting their strides at the moment. Seattle may get a late one, but I think RSL win 2-1 and move on to the Western Conference Final.

San Jose Earthquakes vs LA Galaxy - I think this one is over after the first leg. The Quakes are clearly the best team in the entire league and Chris Wondoloski has been on another level this year. I think Wondo will find a small opening and squirt one past Josh Saunders while Gordon and Lenhart will add two late. The Galaxy will make it interesting by scoring one goal, but they will lose their chance at a second straight title to their dreaded in state rivals and fall 4-1 through both legs.

DC United vs New York Red Bulls - The first leg of this series was boring and very odd. One own goal was crazy, but when a second one went in only minutes later, it was insane. Someone is going to have to step up this second leg. I think Henry will show his mental strength and score an early goal. Someone from DC will score late and the game will go to overtime. Eventually the match will make its way to penalties where the Redbulls will win the shoot out 4-2.

Houston Dynamo vs Sporting Kansas City - The Dynamo are on a roll just like last year. They will continue their roll when they hold Kansas City to a 1-1 draw in Kansas. Both goals will be scored late and Kansas City will look out of sync due to the Dynamo's pressing offensive style they will move on to the Eastern Conference Finals.

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College Football Week 10

This week features games that will affect the National Title race in three of the major conferences. You have another game of the century between LSU and the Tide in the SEC, KSU trying to navigate around OK State, and the Pac-10 game of the year in Oregon and USC. Needless to say, this might be the best week in college football so far. With a lot of the other top teams playing easier games, there will be some movement at the top, and the National Title picture should get a little clearer. Besides all those big games, there's a bigger one on my mind right now that's taking place in Mount Pleasant today. The Battle for the Cannon between CMU and WMU is only hours away which is definitely big news. So with that, we get to the picks.

Alabama-31 LSU-10 - I know LSU is really good at home, but they are not going to be able to get around this Bama defense again. Look for shades of last years National title sprinkled throughout this one as A,J, McCarron shows his mental strength to get the Tide what they need in Baton Rouge

KSU- 41 OK State- 24 - Though I was really hot on the Pokes early in the season, KSU is just too good to lose to OK State. Colling Klein should have an easy time tearing up a weak OK State secondary which has not fared well this season. Oklahoma State will have the chance to make this game interesting by effectively using their run game, but KSU will still win by simply outscoring them.

Oregon- 40 USC-30 - The Ducks will face their first real test this week when they face USC. The Trojans will keep the game close throughout while maybe taking the lead for a bit. It's just hard to see this USC defense keep up with this lighting fast offense with the cool head of Marcus Mariota at the helm. The difference from last year will be the Duck's defense. It is much stronger than last year. The Ducks only need to stop you a few times to beat you, and I think they do that against USC.

CMU- 34 WMU-24 The cannon will be brought back to the Mount! I think Radcliff will want to show the home fans what this team is capable of and that they can go on and maybe make it to five hundred. The fans will play a huge part in the game and will make it hard for WMU to play in comfort. As for the Broncos team, the passing game will stay effective, but Tyler Van Tubbergen will make a few to many mistakes and hand the game to the Chippewas.

Quick picks!

Texas A&M-17 Mississippi State- 10

TCU- 35 West Virginia- 45

Notre Dame- 35 Pitt- 10

Texas- 30 Texas Tech-23

Nebraska- 30 Michigan State- 12

Thanks for reading!