Wahoo Wire

This has not been the best week for college football, but UVA is at home for Senior Day and there is a great slate of games.  The standings of the Pick ‘Em are quite close and, accordingly, the staff is at each other’s throats…or maybe that’s just me.  Here’s the slate for the week and make sure you put your picks in the comments section…

Duke @ UVA

#7 Oregon @ #4 Stanford

#19 Nebraska @ #12 Penn State

#20 Auburn @ #15 Georgia

Texas A&M @ #14 Kansas State

Drew Fallen (29-16)

UVa – The ‘Hoos have lost to Duke three years in a row, but you have to think they’ll right the train this week in Charlottesville.

Stanford – LaMichael James is still out and Stanford has the best quarterback in the world. Might be close, but the Cardinal get it done in front of a rampant Gameday crowd at home.

Penn St. – The world will be watching to see how the Nittany Lions respond to controversy on the actual gridiron. In what’s sure to be an emotional day in Happy Valley, I see the Tom Bradley era at PSU starting with a victory.

Georgia – I just cannot figure Auburn out this year. One week they look great and the next they’re anemic. With that in mind, I have to pick the Bulldogs at home.
Texas A&M – I’ll repeat that Kansas State isn’t for real and that the Aggies are a good team despite their record. A&M gets it done on the road, assuming they play two full halves.

Sean McGoey (34-16)

UVA

Oregon

Nebraska

Georgia

Kansas State

Hannah Wagner (22-8)

UVA

Stanford

Nebraska

Georgia

Kansas State

Peter Szeremeta (30-15)

UVA

Stanford

Nebraska

Georgia

Kansas State

David Berlinghof

UVA- This is going to be tighter than UVA fans hope, but count on the UVA defense to step up when it matters most.

Oregon- A better team than Stanford. Quicker. More athletic. This game is at Stanford, which is the only reason why Stanford may win. Boise State may be cheering harder for Oregon than they will for their own team.

Nebraska-  Penn State has won their last 5 games by 10 points or less. This team is not legit. Nebraska seeks revenge after last week’s dud against Northwestern.

Georgia- Auburn may be the better team but Georgia has something they are playing for, at home…….

Kansas State- Texas A&M is the most overrated team this century has seen.

Olivia Szymanski (24-21)

UVA

Stanford

Penn State

Georgia

Texas A&M

Lance Zimmerman (33-17)

UVA

Stanford

Nebraska

Georgia

Kansas State

Brad Larkin (26-19)

UVA

Stanford

Nebraska

Texas A&M

Georgia

Kylene Daily (31-14)

UVA

Stanford

Penn State- Not in honor of Paterno, but for every player that has ever contributed.   Paterno always said it wasn’t his team, but theirs.

Georgia

Kansas State

Matt Lewis (35-15)

UVA

Stanford

Nebraska

Georgia

Kansas State

Dawson Friedland (30-20)

UVA

Stanford

Nebraska

Auburn

Kansas State

Pierce Bishop (31-19)

UVA- Maybe the greatest piece of news this week is that Mike London turned down an offer to be the new coach at Penn State and added he wants to sign an extension here, per a source to the Washington Post.  It’s hard to argue how much of an impact he has already made on this program and the prospects look good if you extrapolate that.  Now, the actual game.  We have lost to Duke each of the last three matchups, but I think UVA is hitting its stride.  This is dangerous in a way, though, because Duke has hung in with the big dogs this year and UVA could be guilty of looking ahead.  Yet, I think UVA’s current flourish will be too much for the Blue Devils.  As a side note, what happens to David Cutcliffe?  He is undoubtedly a great coach but he just can’t get the right team together in Durham.  Another note, looking ahead, if UVA can win this game and SOMEHOW go to Florida State and win there, the game the Saturday after Thanksgiving against the Institute of Blacksburg will be to go to the ACC Championship game.  As the kids say, “I’m not sayin, but I’m sayin”.

Stanford- I watched what Andrew Luck did against USC in the fourth quarter to come back.  He is the epitome of cooled than the other side of the pillow.  I think they find a way to deal with Oregon’s athleticism and all the fans put down their quantum physics homework just in time to catch the end of this contest.

Penn State- This is not a political news source and it is not a place to discuss legal issues.  Wahoo Wire is a sports news source.  Accordingly, I think Penn State shows everyone this weekend that they are a legitimate football team and they beat what I believe is an inconsistent Nebraska squad.  Given the troubling times, Senior Day in Happy Valley will provide a venue for all to celebrate the contributions of those outgoing players and a respite from the din that has been so debilitating this week.

Auburn- I’m a big believer in the SEC home game and the power of their crowds…but this is THAT Georgia team.  Since their opening losing streak, they have not beaten a good team, unless you count the win over Florida by just 4 points.  Auburn, while inconsistent, is fed up with their latest road losses at LSU and at Arkansas.  I think they come out hot and give Aaron Murray and the Bulldogs a tough day, ultimately winning by 10.

Texas A&M- Talk about two baffling teams.  Kansas State is a mirage if I’ve ever seen one and Texas A&M is the family that is all set to buy the perfect house and then they find a couple lead paint chips and it all blows up, they just can’t close the deal.  This week, though, the Aggies actually get it done.