Monday, January 02, 2006

Happy New Year from The Man

Here are The Man's New Year's Day (late) picks:

Florida vs. Iowa
Not a lot stands out when The Man looks at the stats for these teams - on paper they're comparable. The Big Ten hasn't posted a bowl victory yet, and the SEC is a stronger conference overall... couple Urban Meyer's spread offense with Iowa wins against bad teams like Illinois, Northern Iowa, Indiana and Purdue, and a season finale loss to Iowa State means the Hawkeyes are goin' down. Take Florida getting a point.

Alabama vs. Texas Tech
Too much offense versus a horrid offense means Texas Tech should cover the 3 point spread. Take Tech -3.

Virginia Tech vs. Louisville
VA Tech was considered a national title contender at one time. And Louisville's without their starting QB Brohm. Look for Marcus Vick to have a big game running and passing. The man's buying 2.5 points to bring it down to VA Tech -7.

Wisconsin vs. Auburn
Auburn's running game is going to send Barry Alvarez out a loser. The Man read that the Badgers D is giving up over 400 yards a game, and the Auburn O line is monstrous. Buy a couple of points to bring it under 10, take Auburn -7.

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
The Hawk and the impressive Buckeye defense will be the key to this game. I don't like giving ex-NFL coach Charlie Weiss 5 points, though -- this team almost beat USC. The Man is buying 2 and betting that ND will keep it within a TD.

Georgia vs. West Virginia
The beneficiaries of Hurricane Katrina, Georgia's playing what amounts to a home game at the Georgia Dome. Look for the Dawgs to cover the spread at -6.5.

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