SimonOnSports

With the college football regular season over it's time to shift The Big 5 over to college hoops. Xavier Musketeers at #17 Butler Bulldogs (Sat 2) The battle between Butler and Xavier will put a nice quality win in the resume. Butler has been about .500 this season in their big OOC games with this being their last tester. Xavier had lost all of their big games thus far until their win last weekend over crosstown rival Cincy. The loser of this game just might need a tremendous run in conference to make the tournament. The Pick: Xavier by 2 Florida State Seminoles at #15 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (FSN, Sun 5:30) The ACC schedule started already? This seems a bit early, but regardless the matchup of Florida State and Georgia Tech will set a good starter for two teams looking to get into the tournament and slide into the 3rd or 4th spot in the conference. The Pick: FSU by 2

Honestly you can't really get a better weekend to close out the college football schedule. You get the normal three conference championship games from the ACC, SEC, and Big 12 plus you get psuedo title games in the Big East and Pac 10. 5. Army Black Knights at Navy Midshipmen I could go with the ACC title game, but that seemingly lacks appeal each year when the blimp pans over an empty stadium. Thus, I choose Army vs. Navy which is always fun when competitive. Unfortunately the Naval Academy continues to be in a different stratosphere than the Black Knights. The Pick: Navy by 18 4. Pac 10 Title Game: Oregon Ducks at Oregon State Beavers So who had the Pac 10 coming down to a battle between Oregon vs. Oregon State on a Thursday Night in December? Me, that's who*. The Ducks are a better team than the Beavers but the Beavers have homefield advantage. The Degrees are leaning Beavers but I'm going with the Ducks and Masoli. The Pick: Oregon by 3 3. Big East Title G...

This weekend is pretty much just an appetizer to Conference Championship weekend. 5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Cardinal Not like Charlie Weis has any life support cords still connected to his body but in the 0.005% chance that Notre Dame has not already made up their mind to fire him, a loss to Stanford would pretty much cinch that up. The Pick: Cardinal by 3 4. Pittsburgh Panthers at West Virginia Mountaineers The Wannstache heads into the back yard brawl dreaming of BCS trips to come. All he needs to do is beat Cincinnati next weekend. But what about the backyard brawl? It is their rivalry game? It kind of means nothing when it comes to the BCS bid. Will he overlook them? The Pick: Pitt by 3 3. Texas Lonhorns at Texas A&M Aggies The Longhorns are two wins away from the Championship Game trip that narrowly escaped them last year. The Aggies won't be much of a road block. The Pick: Longhorns by 20 2. Florida State Seminoles at Florida Gators Oh how ...

What an absolute garbage weekend for college football. The #1 and #2 teams are ducking competition and there is no showcase games whatsoever. This might be a good Saturday to run errands. Hell even the normally interesting Michigan vs. Ohio State game is completely irrelevant. The Buckeyes are already in the Rose Bowl and Michigan is turrible. 5. Louisiana State Tigers at Ole Miss Rebels This game could have meant something big had both teams not been dumped by Alabama. Now it's just a battle between two teams that are good. It should be entertaining but it doesn't have much meaning. The Pick: LSU by 3 4. Virginia Cavaliers at Clemson Tigers Clemson wins and they are in the ACC title game. They lose and BC likely gets to go to the ACC title game and lose for the 37th time in a row. Good thing Clemson is facing Al Groh. The Pick: Tigers by 16 3. Kansas Jayhawks at Texas Longhorns Mark Mangino just might be getting fired soon thanks to his former players saying he w...

It's time for Spurrier to take another crack at knocking the Gators off. Hasn't really worked so well for him in the past and chances are it won't be working on Saturday either. 5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Pittsburgh Panthers Shall we dub this the Fire Charlie Weis bowl? After a loss against Navy it's time Charlie does something that he never seems to do, beat a team that he's supposed to lose to. A 4th loss just might be the final straw in the FUPA's tenure. Than again the Wannstache doesn't exactly win big games often either. The Pick: FUPA by 3 4. Florida Gators at South Carolina Gamecocks Like I said before Spurrier vs. the Gators is always interesting. Problem is since Meyer took over the Swamp ship, the Gators have been amongst the best teams in the country. Meyer has a 3-1 advantage over Spurrier and I think its time to make that 4-1. The Pick: Gators by 16 3. West Virginia Mountaineers at Cincinnati Bearcats The Mountaineers win out and they on...

This weekend is all about Nick Saban. It's Nick Saban's world and he'll where a stupid straw hat if he wants to. 5. Oregon Ducks at Stanford Cardinal The Cardinal aren't a terrible team and coming off the high of beating USC last weekend perhaps the Ducks are in store for a let down. Or not. The Pick: Ducks by 13 4. Oklahoma Sooners at Nebraska Cornhuskers These teams were supposed to be good at the beginning of the season. Too bad neither really is. The Pick: Oklahoma by 7 3. Oregon State Beavers at California Golden Bears Yes I'm reaching a bit. There's really two big games this weekend and that's it. Anyway, both of these teams have two Pac 10 losses so perhaps they still have a moderate shot of getting into the Rose Bowl. The Beavers still have the Civil War opportunity ahead but it won't matter after they lose this weekend. The Pick: Cal by 7 2. Ohio State Buckeyes at Penn State Nittany Lions The Buckeyes are still alive for a Big 10 title and...

Well the Pac 10 is up for grabs, and Mark Richt could use a big win. Other than that the weekend would be entirely more interesting if Dez Bryant wasn't suspended. 5. Central Michigan at Boston College Eagles Is this game big? No, but it at least has some intrigue. The Chippawas are on the cusp of being ranked and they get another BCS team on the road to join the top 25. The Pick: Eagles by 2 4. West Virginia at South Florida Am I reaching a bit with this game too? Ya a little bit, but WVU is still undefeated and has a solid chance of reaching the a BCS bowl game. South Florida is just one opponent standing in the way. The Pick: South Florida by 3 3. Texas Longhorns at Oklahoma State Cowboys The truth shall set you free Dez. Can't the NCAA just reinstate him for this game and this game alone? I really don't care about the rest of Okie State's games, but I'd really like them to beat Texas, something they most likely will not do without Dez. The Pick: Longhorns ...

Coming off last weekends constant action and excitement, it was probably too much to ask for something similar. So this week we get a week where the biggest matchup is outside the BCS. 5. Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan Wolverines This is the prime time game on ABC this week, which sounds like a good matchup especially when you look at the 5-1 vs. 4-2 records, the problem is neither of these teams are very good. Penn State plays a joke schedule and Michigan's defense is very very suspect. This game will probably be close but I just don't know if Michigan is quite ready to jump back into the conference race. The Pick: Joe Pa's by 7 4. Tennessee Volunteers at Alabama Crimson Tide Kiffikins gets his first trip down to Tuscaloosa to battle the #2 Crimson Tide. Kiffikins asked the SEC and BAma if it was ok if UT wore their pastel orange home jerseys against the Tide but Dictator Saban said no. Dictator Saban is also going to lead the Tide to a 20-10 victory. The Pick: Cr...

Welcome to fun week, where every team is basically playing a big game. 5. Cincinnati Bearcats at South Florida Bulls The Bearcats are a sneaky team that could run the table and with a lot of chips falling in their favor find their way into the BCS title. Granted they would get pummeled in the game, but they could get there. This week is arguably their biggest challenge, headed to face their old DC and the South Florida Bulls. Do they win? The Pick: Bearcats by 3 4. Southern California Trojans at Notre Dame Fighting Irish I mention this game not just for the fact that the two are ranked but partially because its fun saying Notre Dame is going to get crunched. Jimmy Clausen is having a good year, but not after Taylor Mays breaks him in two. The Pick: Trojans by 17 3. Virginia Tech Hokies at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Just ask the Jets what some classic rushing football can do to a "good" defense, VaTech. The issue? Their defense sucks. The Pick: Hokies by 13. 2. South Car...

And finally we are getting into the heart of the conference schedules. There will be big games every week and this week we get the first big challenge for the Gators and 4 more classic conference games. 5. Wisconsin Badgers at Ohio State Buckeyes The Badgers play a cupcake filled out of conference schedule every year so their 5-0 record is a bit bloated but they did handle Minnesota last weekend in their rivalry game. Meanwhile, OSU hasn't really been challenged since their close loss to USC. OSU is still the class of the big 10 and should win this game with relative ease. The Pick: Buckeyes by 10 4. Boston College Eagles at Virginia Tech Hokies The Eagles have been the bane of the Hokies regular season ACC existence. They have been the one team to consistently knock off the Hokies, and then of course lose to them in the ACC Championship game. I feel as if part of the Hokies struggles were looking past Duke and towards BC and that this weekend they will come out fired up and will...

Already it seems like every week a handful of massive undefeated favorites get smacked in the face and knocked from the ranks of the unbeatens. This week the true testers come to those that already have one loss that desire to keep themselves in play for the BCS Title Game. 5. Wisconsin Badgers at Minnesota Golden Gophers The depth in Week 5 is not too impressive. So we turn to undefeated 'Sconsin at Minnesota for Paul Bunyan's Axe. We're giving the slight edge to Minny and their new outdoor stadium. The Pick: Golden Gophers by 6 4. Auburn Tigers at Tennessee Volunteers The Kiffikins gets another crack at this whole SEC thing when he gets to host Chizik and the War Eagle. Auburn has a nice win over WVU to be happy about, but I think they take a step back in Volunteer country. The Pick: Vols by 7 3. Louisiana State Tigers at Georgia Bulldogs The Tigers have moved up the rankings all the way to 4 courtesy of losses from other squads. Now, a week after barely holding off ...

And this week of college football is pretty much mediocre. Outside of the Hokie-Hurricane game I'm really not terribly interested in any of these games. There are a handful of games that should be entertaining, but nothing is a can't miss. 5. Illinois Fighting Illini at Ohio State Buckeyes There's a lot of important conference games this week, but the battle of Juice v. Pryor intrigues me. The Zookers were embarrassed by Mizzou in the opener and have only played one massive cupcake since so thoughts on whether they will compete for the Big 10 title this year or not currently do not look promising. A win in the Shoe by the Juice would certainly change that around. The Pick: Ohio State by 10 4. Texas Tech Red Raiders at Houston Cougars Beating Okie State puts Houston on the BCS spoiler watch. This weekend they host Texas Tech whom just lost to rival Texas. If Houston could beat Texas Tech they could lay claim to the Big 12 South and with a sweep of Conference USA would e...

In week 3 there is no heavyweight slugfest but there is many games of intrigue. 5. Nebraska Cornhuskers at Virginia Tech Hokies Last time the two met the Hokies cleaned up the Huskers in Nebraska, this time the black shirts head into Blacksburg in search of revenge. Nebraska looks to throw their name into the top 25 hat while the Hokies look to get their 2009 campaign straightened out for another trip to the Orange bowl. The Pick: Hokies by 6 4. South California Trojans at Washington Huskies As I mentioned in the Blogpoll ROundtable, I think this weekends game between USC and Washington will be incredibly interesting. USC continually loses to someone they should easily beat. They just won their biggest OOC game, so if there is going to be a game they sleepwalk through it might very well be this one, especially with Barkley banged up. In the end they probably still win. The Pick: USC 10 3. Tennessee Volunteers at Florida Gators Oh the humor that will likely be provided by this game. Th...

For it being week 1 of the college football season, it doesn't seem like it will take us too long to get immersed. With a stellar matchup on thursday and saturday nights, I'm going to be fully amped up. 5. Miami Hurricanes at Florida State Seminoles The classic Hurricane vs. Seminole game to kickoff the football season. Sure they still aren't back to their dominance of previous decades but both the Canes and Noles have a chance to challenge for their respective ACC divisions this year. If they truly want to challenge the Hokies of the world than winning week one is imperative. The Pick: Seminoles by 6 4. Brigham Young Cougars vs. Oklahoma Sooners in Arlington I guess Jerrah Jones just wants to flaunt his stadium, because there's really no other reason for BYU and Oklahoma to be playing in Texas. It's nice that the Sooners have a little more gusto than the Gators and Longhorns in week one and play a mid-major team who has a chance to win their conference, but I'm...

This weeks theme is bubble watch. 5. Michigan Wolverines vs. UConn Huskies Obviously this game is close to my heart. The Wolverines are trying to climb back onto the bubble and beating the #1 team on the road would certainly be a great help to their cause. Too bad they have zero height and Hasheem Thabeet will likely be able to have nearly 10 put back dunks. The Pick: UConn by 22 4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. UCLA Bruins Before Big East play the Fighting Irish looked like a lock for the NCAA tournament. Now they have a mountain to climb to get back in. The first step, just like Michigan, is going on the road and knocking off a highly ranked opponent. Not gonna happen. The Pick: Bruins by 12 3. Boston College vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons BC has the sparkly victory over UNC and the nice 6-3 ACC record. They also have losses to Harvard and St. Louis, yuck. Their RPI leaves something to be desired, so they need to start winning a couple more sparkly gems to secure their spot. B...

The first ever Big 5 for basketball is of course heavily focused on the Big East. 5. Maryland Terrapins vs. Duke Blue Devils The Blue Devils are next in line to take over the #1 seed. Will they give away that opportunity before it comes to fruition? Or will they take care of business on Coach K court against the Terps. As always, here's hoping they lose. The Pick: Duke by 8 4. Baylor Bears vs. Oklahoma Sooners Um... When did Baylor get good at basketball? They are currently ranked and only have three losses on the season thus far. Meanwhile, the Sooners seem too physical for the vast majority of their opponents. The Pick: Sooners by 12 3. UConn Huskies vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Ugly White Awkward Power Forward vs. Ugly Black Tall Goofy Center. It's Harngody vs. Thabeet. The Huskies look to knock down the Irish doors with their tremendous depth. The Irish on the other rely on two white guys for the majority of their points. Hmm... Who has the Advantage? The Pick: UConn...

It's Championship Week and Trips to BCS games are on the line everywhere. 5. MAC Championship: Ball State Cardinals vs. Buffalo Bulls Ya this is a reach. Do you really care about Ball State? No I didn't think so. I actually hope they lose because they ducked playing Boise in a bowl game. The Pick: Cardinals by 6 4. Southern California Trojans vs. California Los Angeles Bears Red vs. Powder Blue. Two years ago the Trojans faced off against UCLA in the Rose Bowl with a chance to play in the Championship game and they ended up giving Karl Dorrell one more year. This year there will be no slip up, the Bruins will not see the end zone. The Pick: Trojans by 30 3. ACC Championship: Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Boston College Eagles For a trip to the Orange bowl the Hokies and Eagles rematch in what might be dubbed " The No One in Attendance Bowl ". The Eagles are without their starting quarterback and for the most part the Hokies have gotten horrible QB play. Might be a borin...

Lots of big games this week and a couple of rivalry games like the Iron Bowl that just don't quite make the cut. 5. Oregon Ducks at Oregon State Beavers Isn't this called the Civil War or something? Either way the Beavers need to beat their biggest rival to secure a spot in the Rose Bowl. If they can than they also significantly diminish USC's chances of playing in the Championship game. The Pick: Beavers by 6 4. Texas A&M Aggies at Texas Longhorns This is usually a rivalry game and a few years back the Aggies mauled Colt McCoy almost to death in the upset victory. Unfortunately the Aggies pretty much suck this season and have little shot of upsetting their in-state rival. The Pick: Texas by 23 3. Kansas Jayhawks vs. Missouri Tigers in Kansas City Missouri already clinched a trip to the Big 12 title game, why does this game have any meaning at all? Well that's pretty damn simple, computers. In all likelihood the Longhorns and Sooners tie-breaker will come down t...

Last weekend was incredibly lackluster but this weekend is when BCS trips are decided. All 5 of the Big 5 this week have major implications on whether you're in or your out of the money. 5. Oregon State Beavers at Arizona Wildcats Once again the Beavers just need to win out and then they likely get a rematch with PSU in the Rose Bowl. Lose and they'll go to some boring bowl no one cares about. The Pick: Beavers by 6 4. Brigham Young Cougars at Utah Utes In the battle of the Mormon state the Cougars have the opportuntiy to ruin intrastate rival Utah's return to the BCS. If the Utes pull off the victory than they can book their trip to whichever BCS bowl has last pick. The Pick: Utes by 3 3. Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats This is the Bearcats chance to clinch the Big East championship and their BCS bid because there is no way they lose to the Cuse in the following week. Meanwhile Wanny if he could win 3 games in a row would also win he will somehow earn a tri...

BOOORRRRING WEEK. So this will be quick. 5. Northwestern Wildcats at Michigan Wolverines Yes I know this game isn't big, but doesn't it seem odd to see 7-3 Wildcats and 3-7 Wolverines? The Pick: Wolverines by 6 4. North Carolina Tarheels at Maryland Terapins Both squads have a shot at the ACC title game, so I guess that makes this one important. The Pick: Terps by 6 3. California Bears at Oregon State Beavers Again Beavers win out equals trip to Rose Bowl. The Pick: Beavers by 3 2. Kansas Jayhawks vs. Texas Longhorns Weren't the Jayhawks supposed to be good this year? They just lost to the F'n Cornhuskers. They're gonna get drubbed this weekend. The Pick: Longhorns by 14 1. South Carolina Gamecocks at Florida Gators This is obviously the biggest game as it pits two ranked teams and Spurrier headed back to the Swamp. The problem is the Gators are currently playing out of their minds and they have much more talent than the Cocks. The Pick: Gators by 17