Note: PICKS ARE DUE BY 7:00 PM CST THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008!!!

1. Texas A&M @ #2 Texas (Little XII vs Little XII) — THURSDAY NIGHT!!!!
2. West Virginia @ #25 Pittsburgh (Big Least vs Big Least)
3. LSU @ Arkansas (SEC vs SEC)
4. Fresno State @ #9 Boise State (WAC vs WAC)
5. #22 Georgia Tech @ #11 Georgia (ACC vs SEC)
6. Maryland @ #21 Boston College (ACC vs ACC)
7. #4 Florida @ #20 Florida State (SEC vs ACC)
8. Baylor @ #7 Texas Tech (Little XII vs Little XII)
9. #23 Oregon @ #17 Oregon State (PAC-10 vs PAC-10)

Give the Score:

10. #3 Oklahoma @ #12 Oklahoma State (Little XII vs Little XII) — Bedlam Baby!!!

Note: PICKS ARE DUE BY 7:00 PM CST THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008!!!

Here they are:

1. NC State @ North Carolina
The Wolfpack aren't that good this year, especially away from home. The Tarheels are beat up and they just can't seem to win that one game that gets them over the hump in the wide-open ACC. They get this win though and then it is wait and see.
Pack 13 Heels 24
2. Tennessee @ Vanderbilt
The season that just wasn't for the Vols will continue today as they will lose 8 games in a season for the very first time in the history of Volunteer football. Yeah, Meeechigan did that last week and now the Vols pony up. Vandy becomes the best team in Tennessee for a year. They also get to 7 wins for the first time, in well, I honestly don't know how long its been.
Vols 13 Dores 17
3. Arkansas @ Mississippi State
Arkansas needs these last two games to become bowl eligible. It isn't really about going to the bowl game that this team needs or even wants. It is the extra 4 weeks of practice for one of the youngest teams in the country. Also, this week, the younger Dick, Nathan, will start under center. That leads to all kinds of problems for the Bulldog secondary as the Hog receivers get open time and again.
Hogs 31 Bulldogs 17
4. #15 Michigan State @ #8 Penn State
Happy Valley at night. Could be JoePa's last game in Happy Valley. No way on earth the Nitny Lions will find a way to lose this one. The Lions clinch a share of the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl tonight by stopping Ringer and Sparty.
Spartans 17 Lions 35
5. Mississippi @ #18 LSU
If there ever was a team that as struggling mightily during a season to find itself, it is the Tigers on the Bayou this year. Jarrett Lee, the embattled QB for the Tigers has thrown 7, yes, SEVEN pick-sixes this year. That doesn't count the other 8 INT he has thrown. WOW. Houston Dale will have the Rebels fired up, but if they can't stop Scott, it won't matter.
Rebels 21 Tigers 24
6. #14 BYU @ #7 Utah
Cougars and Utes. The Holy War has a LOT of meaning this year for the Utes. Can they hold off the Cougs and be the BCS Darlings this year? Will the high-flying Cougs ruin the Utes parade this year? It will be the best Holy War game in possibly all of history. In the end the Utes come out on top at home.
Cougs 17 Utes 20
7. #20 Pittsburgh @ #19 Cincinnati
So who wants to win the Big Least and a trip to the Orange Bowl? Doesn't appear anyone does really. And if they do are they actually even worthy of a BCS Bowl trip and payout?? I mean really. This conference has just cratered since Rich Rod and Bobby P left it. At home the Bearcats are amazing. If they can just find a QB for this last game, they should be fine.
Pitt 16 Bearcats 24
8. #21 Oregon State @ Arizona
The last major hurdle for the Beavers before a possible trip to the Rose Bowl for a re-match with the Nitny Lions. The Beavers were humiliated to open the season in Happy Valley and would like another shot please. To get past Desert Swarm they are going to have to play well the entire game. But i think they realize that and they have a GREAT coach to get them there.
Beavers 28 Wildcats 24
9. Florida State @ #25 Maryland
Yeah, Maryland is ranked. Amazing huh? This Terrapin team thought it's season was done after some tough non-conference losses and then some horrible road losses in the ACC. But alas, it is the ACC and if there is one conference that can compete with the Big Least for conference doormat status, it is the ACC. No one, and I repeat no one wants to win this conference. Just look at the egg Miami laid in Atlanta Thursday night. Geez! The Turtle defense gets this one done though.
Noles 17 Terps 24

Give the Score
10. #2 Texas Tech @ #5 Oklahoma
While I would love more than anything in the world for Texas Tech to just roll Bob Stoops, I have to listen to reality here. The Raiders have lost 9 straight in Norman. They haven't been able to get over that hump each and every year in the Little XII. They have this year, you say. Not really. They had their two toughest opponents by far of the year in the friendly confines of Jones Stadium. This week, they travel to Norman. Tradition. Pageantry. And lots and lots of talent on both sides of the ball. The game will be close due to the inexperience on the defensive side of the ball for the Sooners. However, they can stop the run. This will allow the Sooners to be able to better control the game with their running game. Sam Bradford makes his bid for the Heisman and throws the Little XII South into a tizzy.
Raiders 41 Sooners 51

Ok, so this should get us caught up…

Top Ten Things Seen/Read/Heard from Week 12

1. How good is Florida? No idea, but WOW. Just WOW. Half a hundred on the ol' ball coach is impressive.
2. Whomever would like to win the ACC, please stand up. With 2 weeks left, 8 of the 12 teams are still in the hunt for the "coveted" ACC Championship.
3. So, you play football for 129 years and it only takes Rich Rodriguez one year to allow your team to lose 8 games in a season for the first time ever. Nice job there Rich Rod.
4. Quietly, the Beavers are moving on up. They "control their own destiny", just like everyone else in college football. Win out, go to Rose Bowl.
5. After spotting Idaho 7, the Broncos rolled off 45 straight for a 45 – 10 win over the Vandals.
6. After leading 48 – 17 in the 3rd quarter, the Ducks had to hold off "Desert Swarm" to beat the Wildcats 55 – 45. Geez, gotta love that PAC-10 D.
7. Oh so close. Just ever so close to seeing "Pear Bryant" melt-down. The Irish hold off a serious last minute rally by Navy to beat the Midshipmen.
8. The Trojans avenge their loss to the Cardinal by stopping them late. The Cardinal played valiantly though.
9. Wow. You go from BCS Darling three weeks ago to hoping you can somehow win your conference. Tulsa gets just pummeled by Houston. Cougs 70 Tropical Depression 30. Wow!
10. And finally, how do you give up a 31 – 3 lead with 16:26 left in the game? And lose 40 – 31? If you are Troy that is how. Just run the ball!!!

Brick of the Week

Wow, this week it was either, everyone got the pick correct, or no one got the pick correct. It was a tale of dichotomies if I ever have seen one. However, we did have one person who sank to depths not seen by the other contestants this week. Everyone correctly predicted that Ohio State would once again win on the road in the Big 10(1). Even if it was against Illinois and ALL of that talent Zook has. Remember, someone still needs to coach that talent. So, alas, the BOTW this week goes to Mr. Jason "I need some more Juice" Shirey. Sorry bud.

Pick of the Week

Well this one was almost as easy to award as the BOTW was. However, it took some very good courage to step up to the plate and make this pick. Let's consider the evidence. This team had previously lost to Fresno State and NAVY! They had been playing well as of late, but to pull off a win over a conference foe on the road? A conference foe who had beaten Kansas?? Well, for picking the Rutgers Scarlett Knights to upend the Bulls of South Florida, the POTW this week goes to Mrs. Tammy "It's all about Ozzie and Ellie now" Tucker. Congratulations!

Champion of the Week

Once again, in a topsy turvy kind of week, we had some very unique picks this week. There were three individuals who were 7 – 3 and everyone else was 6 – 4. Yeah, pretty amazing actually. Those three who only missed 3 picks this week all missed North Carolina and Florida State losing. Thus we went to the Tie-breaker again this week. Becoming a pattern, eh? This weeks tie-break scores were not as good as last week though. In third place this week with a 24 tie-break score was Mr. Ben "All about the line" Gilbert. Runner-up this week with a tie-break score of 17 was Mr. Jon "You should see my cell phone" McCurdy. And that leaves this weeks COTW with a tie-break score of 13, that honor belongs to Mr. Steven "Bring on Boomer!!!" Leija. Congrats bud!

Ohio State 30
Illinois 20

Rutgers 49
South Florida 16

Georgia 17
Auburn 13

South Carolina 6
Florida 56

North Carolina 15
Maryland 17

California 21
Oregon State 34

USC 45
Stanford 23

Vanderbilt 31
Kentucky 24

Mississippi State 7
Alabama 32

Boston College 27
Florida State 17

7 – 3
Steven Leija (13)
Jon McCurdy (17)
Ben Gilbert (24)
6 – 4
Lisa Hill
April Mashburn
Jonathan Butcher
Jerry Tucker
Jason Shirey
Jessica Leija
Lance Williams
Gene Strode
Brian Mashburn
Tammy Tucker
Travis Stout
Damon Hill
Carroll Walls
No Picks
Chaz Brandon
Jamey Vaught
Jim Carter
Lee Smith

85 – 35

Jerry Tucker
84 – 36
Carroll Walls
83 – 37
April Mashburn
82 – 38
Gene Strode
Brian Mashburn
Steven Leija
81 – 39
Jason Shirey
79 – 41
Tammy Tucker
Ben Gilbert
78 – 42
Jessica Leija
Lisa Hill
73 – 47
Damon Hill
72 – 48
Lance Williams
77 – 33
Travis Stout
73 – 37
Jonathan Butcher
Jon McCurdy
33 – 17
Jamey Vaught
20 – 9
Jim Carter
11 – 9
Chaz Brandon
12 – 7
Lee Smith

Here are the results for Week 11.

Brick of the Week

This week saw some VERY good picks being made across the board, as the average number of correct picks was 7.75. Not too shabby for our 15 contestants submitting picks this week. However, there were a couple who stood out for their unfortunate ineptitude this week. The winner however, thought that surely the Cal Bears would put up enough of a fight to take down the mighty Trojans. However, they did not, and therefore as the only one thinking they could pull the upset, the BOTW goes to Mr. Brian "Really? I get it for that pick?" Mashburn. Sorry bud.

Pick of the Week

As is sometimes the case, this week, we really had no clear "PICK" that was worthy of the moniker POTW. There were several games that could have gone either way, but they didn't. When the worst percentage for the week is over .500 for any one game, it is hard to say that one person or even two or three should get the POTW. Therefore, this week, we will go with the 4 games that every single contestant correctly picked as being the POTW games. Those were Ohio State over Northwestern, Georgia over Kentucky, Florida State over Clemson, and Florida over Vanderbilt. Congratulations for each contestant for correctly picking those games.

Champion of the Week

Well, when you have as many correct picks as we had this week, that typically means we will have to use the tie-breaker and of course we did. Not only did we have two individuals get 9 out of 10, this week we had 3!! Therefore, we go to the tie-breaker and all three correctly picked Alabama over LSU. The tie-break scores were incredibly low as well. Coming in third with a tie-break score of 8, was Mr. Brian "I hate Berkley" Mashburn. And the runner-up this week with a tie-break score of 7 was Mr. Jason "I love me some Pear Bryant" Shirey. The winner this week, with a tie-break score of 2, was Mr. Gene "Just call me a homer" Strode. The only game Gene missed this weeK? Yep, Arkansas @ South Carolina It's okay bud.

Actual Scores of the Week

Ohio State 45
Northwestern 10

Georgia Tech 7
North Carolina 28

Georgia 42
Kentucky 38

Clemson 27
Florida State 41

Arkansas 21
South Carolina 34

Oklahoma State 20

Texas Tech 56

California 3
USC 17

Florida 42
Vanderbilt 14

Notre Dame 0
Boston College 17

Alabama 27
LSU 21 OT

Standings for Week 11

9 – 1
Gene Strode (2)
Brian Mashburn (7)
Jason Shirey (8)
8 – 2
April Mashburn
Jonathan Butcher
Ben Gilbert
Carroll Walls
Jerry Tucker
Travis Stout
7 – 3
Lisa Hill
Steven Leija
Jessica Leija
Lance Williams
Tammy Tucker
Damon Hill
No Picks
Chaz Brandon
Jamey Vaught
Jim Carter
Lee Smith
Jon McCurdy

Overall Standings After Week 11

79 – 31
Jerry Tucker
78 – 32
Carroll Walls
77 – 33
April Mashburn
76 – 34
Gene Strode
Brian Mashburn
75 – 35
Steven Leija
Jason Shirey
73 – 37
Tammy Tucker
72 – 38
Jessica Leija
Ben Gilbert
72 – 39
Lisa Hill
67 – 43
Damon Hill
66 – 44
Lance Williams

71 – 29
Travis Stout
67 – 33
Jonathan Butcher
66 – 34
Jon McCurdy
33 – 17
Jamey Vaught
20 – 9
Jim Carter
11 – 9
Chaz Brandon
12 – 7
Lee Smith

Here they are. They are due in my inbox no later than 10:00 AM CST Saturday, November 22, 2008.

1. NC State @ North Carolina (ACC vs ACC)
2. Tennessee @ Vanderbilt (SEC vs SEC)
3. Arkansas @ Mississippi State (SEC vs SEC)
4. #15 Michigan State @ #8 Penn State (Big 10(1) vs Big 10(1))
5. Mississippi @ #18 LSU (SEC vs SEC)
6. #14 BYU @ #7 Utah (MWC vs MWC)
7. #20 Pittsburgh @ #19 Cincinnati (Big East vs Big East)
8. #21 Oregon State @ Arizona (PAC-10 vs PAC-10)
9. Florida State @ #25 Maryland (ACC vs ACC)

Give the Score

10. #2 Texas Tech @ #5 Oklahoma (Little XII vs Little XII)