Prediction Outcomes, Week 13

Southern California (-3) @ Arizona State: Southern California 44-24 The Trojans are back in the Rose Bowl hunt - all they need are two wins and an Oregon loss, while the Sun Devils are looking for their first trip to Pasasdena in over ten years. If they can balance some solid passing with a running attack that the USC should stifle pretty well, they might have a good chance.
USC by 10 = That's the way people expected the Trojans to play all year. Better late than never I guess.

Mississippi (+7) @ Mississippi State: Mississippi State 17-14 The Bulldogs have had a successful season under Croom, knocking off Auburn & Alabama this year, and they're likely going to a decent bowl. The Rebels are down again, having only beaten Memphis, Louisiana Tech, and Northwestern State. Yikes. The Bulldogs should cruise at home.
Mississippi State by 14 = Nice win for the Croomers to get to 7-5 and a decent bowl game. The comeback was sharp.

Arkansas (+13.5) @ LSU: Arkansas 50-48 I think the Razorbacks have a decent shot in this one. The Tiger's vaunted defense is giving up points and yards at an alarming rate (for the #1 team in the land, that is), and McFadden and Jones can flat out run the ball, as we all know. LSU can score too though, so this one should be a shootout.
LSU wins, but Arkansas covers the spread = Well, Les Miles is going to have a lot less pressure in the weeks before he takes the Michigan job, that's for sure. Playing on the edge finally caught up with the Tigers, while the Razorbacks finish the season 5-1 to pull themselves back into a good bowl game.

Texas (-6) @ Texas A&M: Texas A&M 38-30 A loss by Oklahoma and a win for the Longhorns put Texas in the Big 12 Championship, and that's gotta be a motivating factor for Mack Brown's boys. The Aggies just haven't played up to their potential this year, and this will most likely be the last home game for Coach Fran.
Texas by 10 = The Aggies really do have the Longhorn's number, huh? That loss'll hurt, probably dropping Texas from BCS contention.

Boise State (+3) @ Hawaii: Hawaii 39-27 The Warriors rely on home-field advantage more than any team in the country, and they're gonna need it this week against the Broncos. This is a great non-BCS matchup and should be a really entertaining game.
Hawaii by 7 = Yup, it was a great game.

Missouri (+1.5) @ Kansas: Missouri 36-28 Flat. Out. Brawl. Neither of these teams have been anywhere close to the Big 12 Championship game ever, and they're both foaming at the mouth wanting to get there next week. Throw in the fact that they're both still eligible for the National Championship game? Dont' be surprised if this one spills over into Nebraska & Iowa.
Kansas by 7 = Kansas's struggles early really hurt them, since Missouri just kept punching the whole game. Even though the Jayhawks season is over, they should get into a good BCS bowl and scare the bejeezus out of whoever their opponent is. Great win for the previously-unable-to-get-over-the-hump Tigers. That win will pay dividends for years to come.

Clemson (-3) @ South Carolina: Clemson 23-21 Two teams that had high hopes for this season but have faltered down the stretch. Spurrier will be back next year - will Bowden? This game might go a long way in deciding that.
South Carolina by 7 = In thinking about it, there are some good coaches already available on the market, but I don't think Clemson is going to be able to find anyone better than Bowden - he's a good fit for them. Spurrier's name will come up with other coaching jobs, and I have to think he's going to listen to some of them (as long as they're in the southeast). This was supposed to be his year, and it's a major disappointment to finish 6-6, not to mention lose your last 5 games.

Virginia Tech (-3.5) @ Virginia: Virginia Tech 33-21 This one is for the right to play in the ACC Championship game next week, and both teams are feel-good stories this year. You can't not pull for the Hokies, and the Cavs are enjoying one of their best seasons ever. I like the Cavaliers in this one, at home, good in close games.
Cavaliers by 6 = Well, the Cavs would've been good in a close one at the end. But it wasn't. Shoulda thought of that. They still had a great season, as did the Hokies.

Alabama (+6) @ Auburn: Auburn 17-10 Will Saban lose 4 in a row? That would be a catastrophic event on the scale of... well, he already went the 9/11 & Pearl Harbor route... maybe the extinction of the dinosaurs? It doesn't matter - the savior is going to look awfully bad in Tuscaloosa if the Tide don't win, especially since they probably won't go bowling.
Auburn by 10 = Saban is looking awfully Weis-ish, isn't he? In reality, it's going to be tough for any coach to come to a new school and win 9 or 10 games his first season. But for some reason, the Alabama folks thought the combination of Saban's genius (overrated) and their tradition (semi-dormant) would work magic. They should be a lot better next year. Like Tommy Bowden and Clemson, Tommy Tuberville is a great fit for Auburn, and they should do anything to keep him.

Florida State (+14) @ Florida: Florida 45-12 So the Seminoles are going to "plant" Tebow, huh? Two things - one, Tebow hasn't been planted by anyone this year (the Dawgs came the closest, and he still scored 3 TD's against them), and two, the Seminoles haven't planted anyone themselves (Boston College, you say? Ryan still passed for over 400 yards against them.)
Florida by 17 = Dadgumit, I hate being right.

Oklahoma State (+13) @ Oklahoma: Oklahoma 49-17 Stoops must be seething that they blew their National Championship game hopes last week. Now the Sooners get to play spoiler, and you can bet they're going to try to use this game as a tune-up for the Big 12 Championship next week. That's if Bradford can play. If he can't, you can bet the Cowboys are going to be smelling blood. (Saturday AM Update: looks like Bradford is cleared to play.)
Oklahoma by 17 = Another slugfest next week with Missouri is now on the docket. After losing two they shouldn't have, the Sooners will be ready. After losing to Oklahoma earlier in the season, the Tigers will be ready too. Should be a great game.

Oregon (-1.5) @ UCLA: UCLA 16-0 The Ducks just aren't the same team without Dixon, and the Bruins are still needing at least one more win to become bowl-eligible.
UCLA by 7 = Don't look now, but with a win over the Trojans and an Arizona win over Arizona State (not out of the question), the Bruins are in the Rose Bowl. How do you think that'll effect Dorrell's firing?

More picks? Okay, why not. There's lots to choose from during the real rivalry week I suppose.

Washington State (+6) @ Washington: Washington State 42-35 This one's for pride, since both the Huskies and the Cougars are 4-7. Who can end their Pac10 season (Washington is still @ Hawaii next week) on a high note? Tricky call, but the Huskies are coming off a solid win against Cal, while the Cougars lost bad to Oregon State.
Washington by 7 = Yeah, maybe I should've stuck with just one helping. Going back for seconds hasn't started well. At least the Huskies get to play in Hawaii next week.

Georgia (-4) @ Georgia Tech: Georgia 31-17 The Dawgs are playing as good as anyone in the country right now, while the Yellow Jackets have a couple wins against North Carolina & Duke in the last two weeks and haven't really beaten anybody all season. And Tech is only a 4 point underdog? Seriously? I just don't get it.
Georgia by 17 = Well, the Dawgs win, but they don't get to go to the SEC Championship game. Which actually might help them, since they're sitting BCS-pretty at 10-2, blowing people away at the end of the season.

UConn (+17.5) @ West Virginia: West Virginia 66-21 The Mountaineer's National Championship hopes are still alive, but just barely. They really need some chips to fall their way in other places, but the only thing they can control is themselves. If they can hang onto the ball, they should be able to put on a show, though the Huskies are one of the major surprises this year at 9-2. 18 is a lot to make up against a 9-2 team, but the Mountaineers have both the offense and defense to do it.
West Virginia by 20 = That was a bit of a statement. It'll help with the polls (the Mountaineers will be in the Top 2 after LSU's loss) and with the computers (beating a 9-2 team). One more win & they're in.

Tennessee (+3) @ Kentucky: Tennessee 52-50 If the Vols win they play LSU next week, if not the Dawgs do. But the Wildcats are looking to make a statement - they haven't beaten the Vols since 1984, and if there was a season they have a good shot, it's this one.
Tennessee by 6 = That was a fantastic game. You've gotta feel for Kentucky.

Notre Dame (+3.5) @ Stanford: Notre Dame 21-14 I'm more curious to see if the Stanford band is allowed anywhere near the stadium.
Notre Dame by 7 = A high note for the Irish to end their season on. At least they didn't lose 10 this year, I suppose that's good.

Well, picking those extra ones quite helped. Ending a season on a strong note will make up for my lousy picks in October and early November, so let's keep this up, shall we?
Both straight picks and against the spread I was 11 for 17 (64.71%).
Season Totals: 108 of 161 straight up (67.08%), 77.5 of 161 against the spread (48.13%).