Football Future-see 2013: Week Ten

RECORD

Week 1	8-2
Week 2	4-1
Week 3	4-1
Week 4	5-0
Week 5	5-0
Week 6	3-2
Week 7	2-3
Week 8	1-4
Week 9	4-1
Week 10	4-1
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Total	40-15	.727

So after three terrible weeks (which happened to coincide with helping a co-worker with NFL Confidence picks), I’ve rebounded with a 4-1 week (while not helping said coworker with said Picks). It’s nice to get back on track, as there were few upsets last week to really disrupt the apple cart. Sometimes I can pick an upset pretty well (as I did with Oklahoma taking down Texas Tech), but I wouldn’t have ever predicted Mizzou and South Carolina going double-OT and Mizzou losing on a missed field goal.

So who’s up this week? Well, for one, Georgia returns to the slate, as does Florida. Missouri is still on the list, as they look to lock up the SEC East. We’ve got a Big Ten battle in Michigan, and Big XII battle in Lubbock, and an epic ACC clash coming to us from Tallahassee. Should be fun.

As an aside, two new features debut on this edition of Football Future-see. After the Top Ten, I’ll give you my playoff selection, if the playoffs began today. I’ll also give you my first round of in-season bowl projections.

Tennessee at 9 Missouri ( 7:00pm, ESPN/ESPN2) .....CORRECT

Missouri still has all their goals open to them, and nothing is really out of reach for the Tigers yet. Losing in double-OT to South Carolina is nothing to be ashamed of, though letting the Gamecocks come back from 17 points down in the fourth quarter might be cause for concern. Tennessee just took a “whuppin” at Alabama and will be looking to blow off some steam. Columbia might not be the place to do that, though. Tigers win and solidify their spot in the SEC East.

Final Score: Missouri 34, Tennessee 24

21 Michigan at 22 Michigan State (3:30pm, ABC).....CORRECT

A Big Ten clash from the lovely campus of Michigan State. The Spartans have a defense that, at times, can play better than anyone in the nation. Their offense, though sputters. (They’re basically the Florida of the Big Ten.) Michigan, meanwhile, is still on the road to returning to national prominence. The winner of this game gets a boatload of in-state bragging rights, but likely little else. Ohio State has the run of the Big Ten this year and it’s possible the conference only gets one team into the BCS. Michigan QB Devin Gardner has been rather inconsistent lately. He’ll need to sort out his issues if the Wolverines hope to win this one. This game is likely a coin-flip, given the close rankings, but I think the Michigan State defense steps up against their cross-state rival.

Final Score: Michigan State 24, Michigan 21

Georgia vs Florida (in Jacksonville) (3:30pm, CBS).....CORRECT

At the beginning of this season, there was no one who would have predicted this game would feature two 4-3 teams who are perhaps the most banged-up teams in the nation. Georgia, though, is finally getting a little bit of hope, as stud RB Todd Gurley has returned to practice after suffering a high-ankle sprain against LSU. If he plays on Saturday, that gives Georgia a huge boost of confidence and offensive production. QB Aaron Murray has told the media that Gurley is “beautiful” in practice. Florida, meanwhile, is hurting on both sides of the ball and it doesn’t look to be getting better. The Gators will throw everything they have at Georgia, as that’s what you do in a rivalry game, but a Gurley-infused Bulldog offense will likely be too much for Florida.

Final Score: Georgia 35, Florida 28

18 Oklahoma State at 15 Texas Tech (7:00pm, FOX).....INCORRECT

Texas Tech will definitely be out for revenge against any school from the state of Oklahoma. The Red Raiders play host to the Cowboys of Oklahoma State in what could be an old-fashioned Big XII shootout. Oklahoma State, a team many thought would make a run at the Big XII championship (I picked Oklahoma, but I also said Baylor would return to the cellar), is making amends for a loss to West Virginia and Texas Tech now has a blemished record thanks to last week’s loss in Norman. I really think Texas Tech gets back on track.

Final Score: Texas Tech 38, Oklahoma State 34

7 Miami at 3 Florida State (8:00pm, ABC).....CORRECT

Oh, the Miami fans are chirping. You’d think Miami had locked themselves into a guaranteed BCS bowl berth already, when in reality they barely scraped by Wake Forest and their signature win is a game in which they were dominated on both sides of the ball by Florida, but the Gators self-destructed, handing Miami a win. I’m not saying the Hurricanes aren’t a good team. They are. But they’re about to run into a buzzsaw named Florida State. The Seminoles own one of the most impressive wins on the season (beating Clemson 51-14) and they’ve really showed no signs of slowing down. The Seminoles have played two ranked teams on the year (Miami’s only played one), and FSU is 2-0 in those two games, winning by a combined score of 114-14. Florida State will win this game. I’d like to think it will be a close game, but the more I look at things, the more I think FSU will really run away with it in the second half.

Final Score: Florida State 45, Miami 24

The Right Wing Top Ten (RWT10)

Week Four of the Right Wing Top Ten. Not a whole lot of chaos last week, so not a lot of change in the RWT10.

In this week: Auburn

Out this week: Texas Tech

10. Missouri Tigers

A heart-breaker in Double-OT pushed Missouri back to #10, but all their goals for the conference are still in front of them.

9. Auburn Tigers

Auburn jumps to #9 in the RWT10, but this may be short lived. I figure Missouri will move back in front of Auburn soon.

8. Clemson Tigers

Clemson regained some swagger by trouncing Maryland, but they’re still on the outside looking in on an ACC BCS berth at the moment, thanks to Miami and FSU. Of course, Clemson’s BCS hopes will change by the end of Saturday night.

7. Stanford Cardinal

Stanford has two weeks to prepare for #2 Oregon to come to Palo Alto.

6. Miami Hurricanes

Miami really struggled with a team that the Hurricanes were favored to beat by 24 points. Letting Wake Forest hang around, and frankly nearly win, doesn’t speak well for the upcoming clash with the Seminoles.

5. Baylor Bears

Baylor may have the most explosive offense in football. As much as I hate high scoring games, I’d really like to see them play Oregon. The biggest knock on Baylor is their schedule, but that’s about to work itself out.

4. Ohio State Buckeyes

I still hate putting the Buckeyes this high, as the mediocrity of the B1G is still really becoming apparent.

3. Florida State Seminoles

FSU has a chance to really put a stamp on this season, if they can crush Miami this week. They’ll need all the help they can get to leapfrog Alabama or Oregon.

2. Oregon Ducks

The Ducks played a slow first half against UCLA before pouring it on. They get a week off in preparation for visiting Stanford.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama holds on to the top spot by virtue of whipping Tennessee, although I actually questions Nick Saban’s choices in that game (leaving AJ McCarron in the game with a 42-10 lead in the 4th Quarter).

If the Playoff began today…

This is how I see the playoff shaping up, if it were to start today. By season’s end, I think as many as three or four teams will have better claim than Ohio State, even if the Buckeyes go undefeated.

#1	Alabama	vs	#4	Ohio State
#2	Oregon	vs	#3	Florida State

Bowl Projections

Here’s how I envision the bowl picture shaking out. These bowl projections account mainly for the BCS and mostly bowls associated with the SEC.

BCS National Championship Game: Alabama (BCS #1 / SEC Champ) vs Oregon (BCS #2 / PAC12 Champ)

Rose Bowl: Ohio State (Big Ten Champ) vs Stanford (BCS at-large)

Fiesta Bowl: Fresno State (BCS at-large) vs Baylor (Big XII Champ)

Sugar Bowl: Missouri (BCS at-large) vs Clemson (BCS at-large)

Orange Bowl: Florida State (ACC Champ) vs Central Florida (AAC Champ)

Capital One Bowl: LSU vs Michigan State

Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma vs Auburn

Gator Bowl: Minnesota vs South Carolina

Outback Bowl: Georgia vs Michigan

Chick-fil-A Bowl: Texas A&M vs Miami