College Football Week 8 Preview

BYU @ TCU, Thursday 8pm
Evan: I’m a big horned frog fan right now. While I do root for BCS chaos, I don’t want to see BYU crash the party, especially if it is at the expense of the Gators. Now, if UF loses again, I’ll be all for BYU going undefeated and seeing what happens. I think BYU gets caught the same way Vandy did last week. Pick: TCU
Ahad: I don’t want BYU to finish undefeated. There needs to be no teams that mess with PSU going to the national championship game. Pick: TCU
Matt: I don’t think BYU gets caught like Vandy. Although, it is another Thursday night matchup with a highly ranked team facing an unranked opponent, so anything could happen. Pick: BYU
Mike: TCU had their chance to prove if they were any good but got blown out by Oklahoma. I think BYU makes it to Utah with both teams undefeated. The winner will not be in the title game. Pick: BYU

Ohio State @ Michigan State, Saturday 3:30pm
Evan: I rarely pick Ohio St, if for no other reason then my utter disdain for them and all they stand for. Ohio is still a swing state, Michigan is in Obama’s camp. MSU also has a solid running game and can eat up some clock, limiting Pryor’s touches. Pick: Spartans
Ahad: I am anti-sweater vest. If MSU can successfully run the ball, they have a shot. Pick: MSU
Matt: Will the Spartans swoon in the 2nd half of the season like they have done in the past? If they do, let’s hope it starts after this week. Ohio State is just not right, and they appear vulnerable. Unless there is some Pryor miracle, I like Ringer and the Spartans. Pick: Michigan State
Mike: The past few years Ohio State has played poorly against bad teams making me thing they would definitely be beaten when they hit some of the harder games on their schedule. It never seems to work out that way. I don’t have enough confidence in Michigan State to say they will deliver that blow to Ohio State. Pick: Ohio State

North Carolina @ Virginia, Saturday 3:30pm
Evan: Will the real Virginia please stand up? You get destroyed by Duke in something other than basketball and then you turn around destroy Maryland? UNC is for real. Pick: Tar Heels
Ahad: UNC is coming off a tough win against Notre Dame and Virginia is a very unpredictable team. I think the bad UVA shows up this week. Pick: UNC
Matt: I don’t think this game will be close. Even though Virginia is playing better, UNC is playing too well. Pick: UNC
Mike: You could just paste Evan’s choice here. If I putting money down on games I would not go anywhere near Virginia. You can’t predict what will happen week-to-week with them. I’m continuing my UNC support. Pick: North Carolina

Missouri @ Texas, Saturday 8pm
Evan: I can confirm that Chase Daniels did in fact call his mom crying last week, just as I had predicted. What I did not foresee was that his girlfriend would also dump him that night in favor of the backup QB, whose name is also Chase, and, according to ESPN magazine has a better shot of being an NFL star. This will be another BIG 12 matchup that showcases offensive defensive play. Law of averages says that the number 1 team goes down. Pick: Mizzou
Ahad: If Chase switches back to number 10, Missouri has a good shot. Number 25 showed him no love. I don’t see Texas putting together back to back games against quality opponents. The Big 12 shows why it is the best conference in the land. Pick: Missouri
Matt: The QB who wins this game wins the Heisman? I think Texas will lose, but just not this week. Chase’s ex-girlfriend starts dating Colt McCoy. Pick: Texas
Mike: Texas is hot. I don’t think they went in to the Oklahoma game knowing they could win. I think during the game they realized, ‘Hey, we’re pretty good.’ Now they have a ton of confidence and Missouri can’t believe they lost to Oklahoma State. Pick: Texas

Virginia Tech @ Boston College, Saturday 8pm
Evan: BC may be the only sports team in beantown that is mildly respectable right now. The citizens need something to cheer about. Pick: Boston College
Ahad: I don’t like Boston therefore I don’t like BC. The fans in Boston have had enough to cheer about, let’s make kick them while they are down. Pick: Va Tech
Matt: There is no Matt Ryan to produce a miracle for Boston College this year. Pick: Virginia Tech
Mike: Were you aware that BC kept the football program going after Matt Ryan left? I wasn’t until I saw this game. They are quietly (at least to me) right in the middle of the ACC Atlantic race. To be fair, you have to try to be considered out of it in the ACC. I’m going on the assumption that they’ve been kept so quiet because there isn’t much to be loud about. I’d love them to prove me wrong. Pick: Virginia Tech Also, Ahad, is your problem with Boston strictly because they’ve been winning or do you have a problem with the city itself?

Michigan visits Penn State on Saturday. Michigan has won the last 9 games between the 2 schools. I’m hoping Penn State doesn’t get too excited about finally having a shot to not only win but destroy Michigan. Last weekend I said I wanted triple digits but that is a lofty goal. I’ll settle for a comfortable win.