BREAKING DOWN AN OFF COLLEGE GAMEDAY WEEKEND, BUT A PERFECT NFL WEEK!

I knew going into this week’s College GameDay picks column that it was going to be a rough week. Last week we were a perfect 7-0 against the spread and 1-0 in our upset picks, so duplicating that feat was going to be near impossible. On top of that, it’s the law of averages that it could very well be the complete opposite at the end of the day. But as Saturday came to close, we had a 2-4-1 record for the day, which is a losing week, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it could have been. The bigger news on the selections front, however, went down the following day. I didn’t know it was happening right away, as I was busy at the Jets game against the Bengals Sunday afternoon and later on the ride home. But as the 4 p.m. games were coming to a close, and I finally settled down in front of a television, I thought for a minute that my NFL picks had to be doing great. Score after score that popped up on the screen, I thought that I was picking almost every one of those games correctly. Well, I did. Perfection. Unbelievable. Now, it wasn’t done yet, as I had the Chargers and Browns on Sunday and Monday night, respectively. But, as you know by now, those both hit as well, making me perfect for the NFL week. Just unbelievable. Of course, when something like that comes into focus, you think of what could have been. If I had put down a $25 bet on those games, I would have walked away with a million bucks. But it’s all good.. I’ll enjoy this one for a while, as I’ve never pulled this trick before. I had one week back in college when I went something like 10-1, but never perfect. So, that makes it two perfect weeks in a row. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s still a “wow” moment for me. We are 49-34-2 with our NFL picks this season, which is just great. Anyway, on to our weekly college football breakdown, a little late in the week, but still here we go.

My Saturday: 2-4-1 (spread); 5-2 (overall); 0-0 (upset picks)
My Season: 27-20-1 (spread); 38-11 (overall); 3-1 (upset picks)
My Money: UP $500 (season)
Craig's Saturday: 1-5-1 (spread)
Craig's Season: 18-29-1 (spread)
Craig's Money: DOWN $1,390 (season)

No. 1 Oklahoma -7 at No. 5 Texas
My Pick: Oklahoma 27, Texas 17
Actual Score: Texas 45, Oklahoma 35
Right before kickoff, I got a call from Craig wanting to change his pick from Oklahoma to Texas. So, right off the bat, I knew that I would win this game. Nobody has had worse “luck” picking games this year than Craig. And it looked good early and into the third quarter, as Oklahoma twice led by 11 in the first half and by eight in the third, but that all came undone real quick. It was so quick in fact, that I missed Texas taking their 10-point lead. I had to call Craig and ask what happened. “Texas took control,” he said. Simple but true and we both start out the day at 0-1.

Colorado +14 at No. 16 Kansas
My Pick: Kansas 38, Colorado 14
Actual Score: Kansas 30, Colorado 14
Kansas evens out the day for us on the early games, covering the spread with a safety. Craig is 0-2, if you even had to ask.

Tennessee +12 at No. 10 Georgia
My Pick: Georgia 31, Tennessee 10
Actual Score: Georgia 26, Tennessee 14
Nothing is worse than a game ending in a tie, unless of course, you come back to tie the game. But here Tennessee kept the game just close enough, while Georgia couldn’t put the final hammer down. These are two teams that historically never come through when you need them. So, I’m 1-1-1 and Craig is 0-2-1.

Notre Dame +7.5 at No. 22 North Carolina
My Pick: North Carolina 33, Notre Dame 23
Actual Score: North Carolina 29, Notre Dame 24
Notre Dame isn’t as bad as I thought they were. They stayed in the game until the very end, which is more than I can say for UConn the previous week against North Carolina. But that was all good, because I picked UNC to pull off the rout. This week, I expected it to be closer, but I still end up on the losing end. I’m 1-2-1 and Craig is 0-3-1. At this rate, I may wrap up the championship next week.

No. 6 Penn State -6 at Wisconsin
My Pick: Penn State 23, Wisconsin 20
Actual Score: Penn State 48, Wisconsin 7
Penn State put the beat down on Wisconsin, which made Craig happy because he gets his customary one victory for the week. Craig and I are both 1-3-1 with two more games that are soon to end.

No. 17 Oklahoma State +14 at No. 3 Missouri
My Pick: Missouri 44, Oklahoma State 27
Actual Score: Oklahoma 28, Missouri 23
Missouri really disappointed me here as I bought into the hype so much that I picked them to cover a huge spread. Well, they ended up losing the game, and I have officially filed for divorce from Missouri as GameDay’s favorite team. We’ll pick a new one next week. Who? I have no idea. We both lose this game as well and we’re both a horrible 1-4-1 for the week.

No. 4 LSU +6 at No. 11 Florida
My Pick: Florida 35, LSU 24
Actual Score: Florida 51, LSU 31
Florida came through for me and gave me a little more respectable 2-4-1 record for the week. Not good, but I’m not going to go crazy about it. I knew it was going to be a rough week with the spreads being so crazy and the fact that we were undefeated a week earlier. Craig ends at 1-5-1 for the week and his first “upset” pick goes down by 20. Hopefully next week we’ll turn things around. Afternoon GameDay RETURNS NEXT WEEK.

(Florida offensive lineman Mike Pouncey (55) celebrates with teammate Percy Harvin (1) after Harvin scored a touchdown on a 70-yard pass play against LSU during the first half in Gainesville, Fla. Saturday.)