FTRS Picks Week 10: Battles of Techs and Titans

results from last week

Top 2 last week were The Rubes with 8 correct picks and YankeeJacket with 7 correct picks. Below that there was a 3 way tie at 3rd place between JStew_GT, Swgawrych89, and RamblinRocketman.

aknartrebna is still on top this week, but the race is getting closer with most of our top contenders struggling last week. One good week is all it take to jump to the top

Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn’t great for GT last week, and we weren’t the only ones having a bad time. In the ACC both Syracuse and Wake Forest suffered from unexpected losses to Notre Dame and Louisville respectively. Although I guess you can be happy if you are a UNC fan.

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

In the BIG 12 Oklahoma State suffered an embarrassing loss to Kansas State. While this makes things look better and better for TCU, it also gives plenty of slow starters like Baylor and Texas a chance to make some late season magic happen and end up playing for a BIG 12 championship.

Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

UCF took out the Bearcats and now are only behind Tulane in the American conference. Don’t expect any dark horse contenders for the playoff this year, but the game between UCF and Tulane 2 weeks away is looking to be promising.

Jamar Coach/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

In other news Tennessee is still looking good. Their real test will be this week, but the Vols have got me excited to someone other than uga and Alabama (or LSU and Florida to a lesser extent).

I guess the main takeaway from last week is that picking winning teams based on their mascot is not a smart thing to do.

picks for this week:

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ Virginia Tech Hokies (-3.5)

Logan: The Techmo bowl? This rivalry has lost most of its luster the past few year. GT goes on the road against the worst team in the ACC and the Jackets are expected to lose by more than a field goal. I think this game comes down to one thing, can GT find their offense. Honestly the defense has done its best to keep us in games and has done pretty good, but if the offense can’t move the ball then GT is going to lose eventually. I’ll take the Jackets, but this won’t be the last time this season that I won’t feel good about that pick.

Logan’s pick: Yellow Jackets cover

#18 Oklahoma State Cowboys (-3.5) @ Kansas Jayhawks

Logan: Come on Kansas, you were doing so good at the start of the season. All of a sudden gameday comes to your campus and you go on a 3 game losing streak. Both these teams are looking to overcome some disappointment with Oklahoma State falling apart last week against another Kansas team. I really can’t explain the Cowboy loss last week, but I do expect them to find their feet again this week. Kansas needs to find themselves soon, or they’ll miss a bowl after starting the season 5-0. I don’t think this game will be the end of the Jayhawk’s losing streak.

Logan’s pick: Oklahoma State

#22 Syracuse Orange @ Pittsburgh Panthers (-3.5)

Logan: Syracuse lost their past 2 games against big name programs in Notre Dame and Clemson. This week The Orange go on the road to face a floundering Pitt program. Honestly, other than a win against VT, Pitt has fallen apart since GT kicked them to the curb a few weeks back... those were good times. Pitt might be favored because of the homefield advantage but Syracuse has the better team overall so I expect The Orange to take this game.

Logan’s pick: Syracuse

Texas Longhorns (-1.5) @ #13 Kansas State Wildcats

Logan: This game is very important in the race for the second spot in the BIG 12 Championship. Texas was on a hot streak up until they played Oklahoma State and lost. The Longhorns are coming off a bye week, but Kansas State is coming off crushing Oklahoma State by 48 points. I don’t know that this one will be as close as the experts seem to think it will be; Kansas State should win this one by at least a few touchdowns.

Logan’s pick: Kansas State

#5 Clemson Tigers (-3.5) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Logan: Battle of the teams that just beat up Syracuse. Does that make you feel tough guys? Knowing that you can beat up Syracuse? Anyway... Clemson wins this one because Clemson is a better team. Pretty straightforward.

Logan’s pick: Clemson

Texas Tech Red Raiders @ #7 TCU Horned Frogs (-10.0)

Logan: TCU just needs to make things easier on themselves. They’re a good team, so I don’t know why they have to make every single win some kind of crazy struggle to survive. TCU should find a way to win this one, but given how The Horned Frogs have played and the big spread I will take the Red Raiders to cover in this one.

Logan’s pick: Texas Tech

#20 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-4.0) @ #21 NC State Wolfpack

Logan: Wake Forest didn’t look like themselves last week. Louisville made the Wake Forest defense look silly. That’s not what the Deacs want to see before going on the road to NC State. NC State’s QB has shifted since season starter Devin Leary was injured against Syracuse. The offense for the Wolfpack has not looked the same, but they have still found ways to win. This is tough, normally I would take Wake without thinking about it, but with the Pack getting Wake Forest at home the new starting QB should be feeling more confident. ugh... give me NC State in a close game.

Logan’s pick: NC State

Air Force Falcons (-7.0) v Army Black Knights

Logan: The second leg of the Commander and Chief trophy. Air Force stands to win the whole thing if they can pull the victory off against Army at a neutral site in... Choctaw Stadium in Arlington Texas, home stadium of the Texas Rangers. I fully expect this game to be a mess. Two Veer Option programs playing at a baseball stadium. I don’t know who wins, but it should be closer that a touchdown so I will say Army covers.

Logan’s pick: Army

#24 Oregon State Beavers @ Washington Huskies (-4.5)

Logan: Oregon State is hanging in there as a darkhorse in the PAC 12. This is a matchup that really should be in the Beavers wheel house given their defense and consistent run game. This is a total gut pick for me, but I’ll take the Beavers. I’m hoping for a big matchup against Oregon to cause some chaos later this year.

Logan’s pick: Oregon State

#6 Alabama Crimson Tide (-13.0) @ #15 LSU Tigers

Logan: Alabama is starting to make me feel better about picking them to cover. Still won’t be picking them this week. A night game on the road at LSU stadium is always a tough game. If you are an Alabama or LSU fan, I shouldn’t have to tell you that this one will be close. With that in mind, I’m gonna say LSU should at least cover.

Logan’s pick: LSU

#2 Tennessee Volunteers @ that school in athens (-9.0)

Logan: I refuse to take uga... I hope and pray that Tennessee wins this one. I’m not a fan of UT, but I would be so happy if they crushed some bulldog fans dreams on Saturday. I might have to become a fan if they pull it off somehow.

Logan’s pick: ROCKY TOP, YOU’LL ALWAYS BE, HOME SWEET HOME, TO ME!