Pigskin Picks: Pack Over Heels

Well, last week I smacked hard into a brick wall, going 2-4. But it was so close to going the other way! I don’t know how people with money on these things make it through. I’m sure it’s with their hearts in their throats.

I had Miami over State, and the Pack wins by three in overtime. I picked Wake Forest over Virginia, and the Cavaliers win it by a point. I go with Notre Dame over Navy, and the Midshipmen win it by two in triple overtime. I take Alabama at home against LSU, and the Tigers pull it out in the late stages of the fourth quarter. I also go with Carolina, who barely squeaks by Maryland by three.

You think you know, but most of the time it’s like those multiple-choice tests I used to take in school. I check one answer and say a little prayer. Picking games can be agonizing – kind of like walking through a briar patch with no shoes.

And I’m just doing it for fun!

Before the season began, I thought State would be the better team. I changed my mind about that in early October. Now I’ve changed it back again.

The Wolfpack has won three straight games and has pulled to 4-5 for the season. This is a team that is coming together, listening to a head coach and his staff who know what they’re doing.

At the start of the season, the Pack didn’t look like they had a clue. Now they run the ball better and they pass-protect better. Daniel Evans and the passing game have been pinpoint accurate.

Defensively, they’re getting after the quarterback, and State’s pass defense was pretty good even when nothing else was. Now, good teams can run the ball on State. But let’s face it: the running game hasn’t been a Tar Heel strong point.

State has lost three straight to the Tar Heels, and you know that I picked State to win all three of those. So, my track record hasn’t been too good here.

Oh yeah, Carolina can win this game. I mean, State is not all of a sudden LSU. The young Heels have some dangerous weapons in the passing game and a defense that’s beginning to get after it with confidence.

What’s more, Carolina has dominated State over the long history of this series. It’s a lopsided 63-27-6 in favor of UNC. I believe the Wolfpack will make a small cut into that large margin on Saturday, though.

State is due. They keep on winning, and they can turn a bad season into a pretty good one.

At home with a crowd as hungry as the team, I think it will be a red-and-white day.

Oh man, is this game a big one. Both schools are just a game back of Boston College in the Atlantic Division.

Clemson is back to playing good football – and they better against Wake Forest. The Deacons always give effort and are always in any game they play.

If Clemson beats Wake Forest, they control their fate, with Boston College coming to Tiger-town on in a week.

With Clemson you never know, though. Tommy Bowden’s teams have a history of messing up things when it counts.

I know that I’m taking that chance. Wake is dangerous, but in front of those 80,000-plus fans wearing orange, I like James Davis, C.J. Spiller and company.

The ACC expanded for Miami’s powerful football program. The Canes so far have been a total flop. Last week, they couldn’t beat N.C. State at home. Sure they ran the ball, but Kirby Freeman completed just one pass. I know Miami is thanking their lucky stars that Kyle Wright will be back under center. Miami fans are thinking, “Gee, I know we’re in trouble when we’re glad that Kyle Wright is back.”

Virginia somehow keeps winning. They beat Wake Forest by a point last week, and here they are tied with Virginia Tech for first place in the Coastal Division.

I hear a mention of the University of Miami, and I still think of those great Hurricane teams of the past that used to intimate with swagger and talent. Players on those teams have to be disgusted with this bunch.

It’s the last game for Miami in the historic Orange Bowl. Gosh, they may even have a decent crowd there.

Virginia really isn’t that impressive, but they just keep winning. This is big for them. Win this and they have a real chance to make the ACC championship game.

I’m still not sure of Al Groh’s ability to motivate a team, but he’s doing something right.

How about Florida State going to Boston College and knocking the Eagles from the ranks of the unbeaten? The Noles still have a little something, don’t they?

The schedule-makers sure didn’t help them. Last week, they had to go to Boston College and this week the trek to scenic Blacksburg.

Before the season, this is the game that was predicted to be the ACC championship game. Virginia Tech was picked to win it all. Well, Florida State won’t make it, but the Hokies still have a chance.

Can Florida State go on the road and pull back-to-back upsets? The old FSU could. I’m going out on a limb here. That limb is not a steady one, and I can feel the pain of the fall even as I write this. But here it goes.

It was back in 2003 when Duke, under interim coach Ted Roof, stunned the Jackets in Durham. It was one of just six wins in Ted Roof’s head coaching career at Duke.

Roof was a great linebacker at Tech, and he would love to pull this upset. He needs for his team to pull this upset. Duke, though, has been regressing. The young Devils are still trying, but they just don’t have it, do they? They’ve been getting hammered like a nail into a board.

Georgia Tech is also getting their great running back Tashard Choice back from a knee injury. He says he’s ready to go. That’s not good for Duke.

Hey, I've got to make sure I get one right!

I knew the Gamecocks were vastly overrated when they jumped as high as No. 6 in the polls. I knew they weren’t that good when I saw them barely hold off UNC.

Steve Spurrier will be going against his old school in Columbia, and how badly do you think he wants to win this one? The Gamecocks almost beat the soon-to-be national champions at Florida last season.

It will be a heck of an atmosphere on Saturday. South Carolina has faded to 6-4. They will play hard to be sure, but it’s hard to pick a team that let a running back – even one as good as Arkansas’s Darren McFadden – rush for 323 yards.

Florida has better players, or better players most of the time win. Spurrier, “the ole ball coach,” hasn’t lost four straight as a college head coach since his first year at Duke in 1987. I guess it happens every 20 years.

I’m rolling the dice on the Gators.

My pick is Florida.

What do you think? Most of these could go either way.

For the season, I am 36 up and 24 down.