Graham's Lines & Predictions for 11/11

This week's picks are going to be short and hopefully sweet. At least sweeter than last week. I started off rocky, going 2-3. The Cal loss was close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Apparently Oregon State wanted to make a statement and ASU wasn't going to try and stop them. Well, here we go again:

PAC-10 Picks:

Stanford @ Washington (-19.5)
Stanford is horrible. Obviously, everyone knows that by now. The thing that scares me is the way this line has jumped up 2 points this week. Washington has had QB troubles and the real question is if they can score enough points to cover. Stanford will only score 13, so do you think Washington will score 33? I don't.

Pick: Stanford (+19.5)
Prediction: UDumb 31 - Trees 13

Cal @ Arizona (+14)
Is this right? I know AZ just beat a pretty decent WSU team, but only 14? Cal seems to be for real and my pick to take the PAC-10. I really liked this before it hit that 14 point barrier that could end in a tie. Oh well, take the Bears to beat up on the school with the hottest coeds this side of the Mississip!

Pick: Cal (-14)
Prediction: Cal 42 - Arizona 20

Oregon St. @ UCLA (+2)
This is Matt Moore's chance to send off the coach that didn't believe enough in him with a nice kick to the groin. As much as I'm not a big OSU fan, I think they have their Beaver swagger and the Moore factor will come into play. Beavers pull out a close one and keep their 3rd place hopes alive.

Pick: Beavs (-2)
Prediction: OSU 31 - UCLA 27

WSU @ ASU (off)(pick)
The unknown status of Jason Hill and Michael Bumpus have this game off the line. ASU seems to have lost it (see last week vs. OSU). Koetter is definately on the hot seat and I think he will be looking for a job in the next month. UCLA assistant? Anyway, I think team from Washington scores more than the team from Arizona. There's no science involved in this one, just pure guesstimation.

Pick: WSU (cause they can drink more)
Prediction: WSU 35 - ASU 24 (ASU's coeds are hotter)

Game of the week:
Oregon @ USC (-8)
East coast college football fans, meet the next big running back of the PAC-10; Jonathon Stewart. The Toejams looked good against Stanford last week, but so does a Ford Focus when it races a Yugo. I think the Oregon athleticism makes it a tough day for USC. Look for the USC running game to struggle while Oregon runs, runs, runs, runs, play action. Turnover margin will decide this one.

Pick: Oregon (+8)
Prediction: Oregon 31 - USC 27

Other Picks:

Louisville (-7.5) @ Rutgers:
Louisville won lat years game by 40+ points. Is it really going to be THAT much closer? The jokes on me if it is.
Pick: Louisville (-7.5)

NC State @ Clemson (-17)
The paper tigers were favored by 13 last week against Maryland and disappointed. They are a much different team at home. How much different? NC State is up and down this year. My bet: NC State keeps it close... REAL close.
Pick: NC State (+17)

Temple (+36) @ Penn State
Will Joe Pa even be able to see the field from the booth? Those Coke bottles will be tested this week. So will the Nittany Lions. Ok, not really. Penn St. has averaged 16 points on offense the last 5 weeks. While their defense might rock, their offense is embarassing and 36 points is a lot.
Pick: Temple (+36) (holy crap, I'm actually picking TEMPLE!?)

Boise St. (-14.5) @ San Jose State
While SJSU has actually looked respectable this year, Boise State is goooood. Unless this game is played at like 8:00am like it was a couple years ago, I don't see anything odd happening. Look for Boise to continue to dominate. They'll be whining in a couple weeks after they are overlooked by the BCS even though they are undefeated.
Pick: Boise State (-14.5)

Good luck this week!

Graham