Pigskin Prophet: College football is still fun edition

by Pigskin Prophet - Contributor - Fri Nov 11 08:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

If you love great college football matchups, this might not be your weekend. This would be a good weekend to deer hunt, get in some early Christmas shopping, or head down to Georgia to stump for your favorite candidate in the run-off.

Who am I kidding…every college football game is fun to watch, and while this weekend maybe doesn’t have that must-watch contest, there are four games between ranked teams with Alabama at Ole Miss, UCF at Tulane, Washington at Oregon, and TCU at Texas.

Let’s get on with the picks before someone at TigerNet realizes they left the server on and I’m running free around the office with Burger King coupons and jars of Mayo that belong to Shane Beamer.

SOUTH CAROLINA AT FLORIDA

The Gamecocks have won some impressive games this season, with victories over Charlotte, Georgia St., SC State, and miserable Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt squads. Florida has been a little better, but not by a lot, and these two are squaring off for bowl position inside the weak SEC East. But here’s the deal – Florida’s defense can be really bad at times, but one thing they do well is create turnovers. One thing that Spencer Rattler, AKA The Garter Snake, does is turn the ball over like he’s got an NIL deal with Martha Stewart’s turnover recipe. He will make some big plays, for both sides, and the Swamp will swallow up the little garter snake. FLORIDA 34, SOUTH CAROLINA 33

ALABAMA AT OLE MISS

I tell ya, little Nick Saban is looking tired. I think the players of this day and age – the entitled ones – are starting to wear on his old-school psyche. This week he takes his wounded crew into Oxford for a little Hotty Toddy in the Grove. Lane Kiffin’s team isn’t playing terrible, even though the defense is scuffling, and his rushing attack might have a little something for the wounded elephants. This one will go back and forth and back and forth, and then the best quarterback on the field will make a play. ALABAMA 38, OLE MISS 34

UNC AT WAKE FOREST

Hey, didn’t you used to be Wake Forest? The Demon Deacons are on the struggle bus after being beat by Louisville and an anemic NC State team that a few weeks ago had the pulse of an Egyptian mummy. That other school continues to play well as quarterback Drake Maye climbs the Heisman rankings. The good news for UNC is that this one is away from the Dean Dome, away from Buffy and Muffy and wine and cheese, and is in the land of a backslid deacon riding a Harley. That means there won’t be as many distractions. But the old guy – 42-year-old Wake quarterback Sam Hartman, will have something to say about this one, and my guess is the Deacs end their losing streak. WAKE FOREST 52, UNC 48

TCU AT TEXAS

I am really looking forward to this one. The Longhorns are favored for a reason – TCU has won against teams without their starting quarterback and the rest of the schedule has been underwhelming. In other words, the Horny Toads are ripe for an upset, and Bevo will stomp and snort and run over the little frogs. TEXAS 37, TCU 31

FLORIDA ST. AT SYRACUSE

Is it possible that the Noles are playing the best football of anyone in the ACC Atlantic right now? After losing to Clemson a few weeks ago, the Syracuse writers were saying that everything was ok, that the Orange would be happy with the consolation prize of the Orange Bowl. How’d that work out for ya? The Orange have lost three in a row, and Saturday will be four even though they are playing in that oversized parking garage called a stadium. The fans have already checked out and moved on to lacrosse and basketball, and the distant tribe will come in and feast on citrus. FSU 37, ORANGE 20

LOUISVILLE AT CLEMSON

So, the Tigers weren’t very good last week, getting whipped by a frenzied group of Indiana Catholics. Was this a one-time deal, or did it expose some issues within the program? This week, the team formerly known as the Fightin’ Petrinos comes to town under a head coach who thinks that Death Valley might somehow compare to UCF and Syracuse. We will cut him a break, it’s his first trip to Clemson with the Cardinals. The Cardinals have won five of six, and they’re hot, but they’ve been good at home and their signature win is over a Wake Forest team that saw its geriatric QB throw 19 interceptions. They’ve also lost to Boston College, and beaten South Florida, James Madison, and Virginia. They’re dangerous, but it’s Military Appreciation Day and the Tigers won’t lose in purple. CLEMSON 27, LOUISVILLE 24