Bounce-back game of the week: Georgia (-9.5)

In honor of my goal to get a bounce-back win this week, i'm going with a team that shares the same goal.  The Dawgs got smacked around last week (like i believe i said they would), and they aren't looking like a pretty favorite this week on the road in the SEC.  But Kentucky is really beat up.  They have issues on both sides of the ball, and are set up to be a punching bag the rest of the way.  We already saw what Florida did to them... Georgia won't match it, but they still have some serious talent on offense and should be able to take out some frustrations on a youthful and banged up defense...

Georgia 38-17

Big 10 game of the week: Penn St (-7)

As i look at what these teams have done, i am surprised that some people are calling for a possible upset in this one.  What i see from Penn St is very impressive... prior to beating Ohio St, they had beaten their 7 Div 1 opponents by an average score of 42-12, with the closest being a 14 win at Purdue... What i see from Iowa is not that impressive...  They have blowout wins over Wisconsin, Illinois and Fla Int, a close win over Iowa St (yuck!), and close losses to Pitt, NW, Mich St and Illinois... The toughest game Iowa had to play this year was a 13-16 loss at Michigan St. The toughest game Penn St had to play this year was a 13-6 win at Ohio St. Ohio St beat Mich St 45-7 at Mich St.  Now i don't think any of those scores fail to reflect the power structure of the teams.  Penn St is the best team in the Big 10, and Mich St is the 3rd best... and the gap between Ohio St (at #2) and Mich St (at #3) is a massive one... Iowa falls around #4 or #5 on the Big 10 ladder... They can keep a game close if they can make it a garbage game... but that requires two key things... 1) they must be able to run the ball very effectively, despite their inability to throw it, and 2) they can't fall behind by 2 scores... you might say it requires a 3rd thing: a weak opponent... Penn St is not!  They will be geared to stop the run, forcing Stanzi to throw the ball more than the Hawkeyes want him to... and once Penn St gets a couple of scores on the board, Iowa will be hard pressed not to abandon their only offensive weapon and further the damage by going to the air... i doubt Iowa can score more than 17... but i see something more like...

Penn St 34-10

WAC game of the week:  SJ St (-6.5)

Let's see if i can get a rebound with my WAC game of the week and SJ St at once (both losers on my board last week)... SJ St needs one win to have a shot at a bowl game, and 2 wins to virtually ensure it.  They know they need this one, as La Tech is a flailing team this year.  La Tech's win against Fresno St means little... it's a long trip for Fresno, and they are a team in complete disarray.  Even Utah St and Hawaii beat them.  I expect Nevada will, too... but this is a write-up on SJ St!  They want to finish off 3-0 (or at worst 2-1) to secure a nice bowl game, and La Tech is 0-4 on the road this year, with the closest game being a 7 point loss to Army.  SJ St is 3-1 at home, with their only loss coming to Boise St.  The Spartans defense (despite their lackluster 4th quarter performance last week) has been solid, and the Bulldogs defense has not.  Regardless of the QB status of Reed (since Myles is just as good), i think SJ St will have an easy time with La Tech at home...

SJ St 38-21