College Game Picks 12/5

The Big Four

#2 Alabama vs #1 Florida
The epic matchup that we've been anticipating for about 2 months is finally here! But if you come into the game thinking that the game will be taken over by the offensive stars by either team such as 'Bama running back Mark Ingram or Florida's media darling Tim Tebow, you're going to be disappointed. This is going to be a defensive struggle by the two best teams points per game wise in the country. I think the winner of this game will be the team that forces a big play on defense or special teams. Mark Ingram will play for Alabama despite the hip flexor but I expect the bulk of the carries to go to freshman sensation Trent Richardson as was the case in the 2nd half last week at Auburn. At the end of the day, I think it's going to be the same story as last year. Both teams are pretty evenly matched except at the most important position. Tim Tebow is arguably the best college quarterback of all time. Greg McElroy isn't the best quarterback in the SEC West. McElroy is forced into a key mistake or two and the Gator defense shuts down the Crimson Tide offense late and Florida wins 19-13 and goes to the national championship game.

#22 Nebraska vs #3 Texas
Nebraska's only chance to upset the heavily favored Longhorns is to hold Texas under 20 points. If the Huskers' two dominant defensive tackles, Ndamukong Suh and Jared Crick, can shut down the run early, Texas can be prone to abandoning the ground attack almost completely. At that point, Nebraska must not allow Colt McCoy to go absolutely nuts and keep him in check. If they can do that, Big Red can keep Texas' offense in check. I actually think Nebraska's defense will keep Texas' offense in check, but I also think that Texas' defense is better than anything they've seen all year. Texas scores a TD late to put it out of reach and the Longhorns win 24-9.

#5 Cincinnati at #15 Pittsburgh
With all the talk going towards the SEC title game, this game has fallen a bit under the radar. This is probably the first time that a December Top-15 matchup for a conference title that involved an undefeated team that could possibly reach the national title game with a win and an upset has gone under the radar. Both teams boast excellent offenses with Cincinnati relying on what I consider the best passing game in America behind NFL prospects, QB Tony Pike and WR's Mardy Gilyard and DJ Woods. Pitt uses a more balanced attack behind freshman sensation RB Dion Lewis and vastly improved veteran QB Bill Stull. Pittsburgh leads the country in sacks behind DE Greg Romeus but Cincinnati's quick strike passing attack will help to nullify that outstanding pass rush. Cincinnati wins at Pitt, 45-37, and becomes the biggest Nebraska Cornhusker fans in the world.

Clemson vs. #10 Georgia Tech
It's like I've already seen this game. Oh wait, I have. Tech defeated Clemson 30-27 on a Thursday night in Atlanta early in the season after having to rally late despite a 24-0 first half lead. Clemson is a much better team now than they were then. Redshirt freshman quarterback Kyle Parker had a 47% completion percentage over the first 4 games of the season for the Tigers but has had close to a 60% completion percentage and a 14-6 TD-INT ratio since. CJ Spiller has played in a somewhat limited role the past 2 weeks(he still had an 88 yard kickoff return TD last week) due to a turf toe but should be healthier and return to the form that got him into Heisman contention. One aspect of this game that has gone unlooked is that this is essentially going to be a Clemson home game in Tampa and I think that that will be the difference as Clemson fans scream "Yabo Dabo Doo" in a 34-27 win en route to the Tigers first ACC title since 1991.

Upset Pick of the Week
East Carolina over #21 Houston