Curator & Coach - Week 8

Curator Sam Burnham
Upset of the Week
8Michigan @ Michigan State 
Sparty was good to me last week in this column. I may have been the only person who wasn't dressed in green who thought the Spartans could pull that off in Happy Valley. I tend to believe they can do it again. Michigan is riding high after a big win over Wisconsin last week. But this is still Michigan we're talking about. Harbaugh consistently struggles against Ohio State and Sparty. With home field advantage and whatever Harbaugh's curse is, the Spartans are more like the favorites coming into this one. I think the wolverines keep it close but I don't think they keep it close enough. 

​Game of the Week
Mississippi State @ 5LSU
LSU took a huge step foward last week. I don't think anyone could have predicted the score to be that lopsided. On the other side, the Bulldogs have losses to Kentucky and Florida. But they also have a blowout of Auburn two weeks ago. LSU needs this game much more than MSU. With a win they continue to control their own destiny in the SEC West. The Bulldogs have nothing to lose and can be a bit more relaxed in their approach. 

Most importantly, this is an SEC football game in Baton Rouge. Expect a physical game with a lot of defense. This may not even be the closest game of the weekend but if you are a traditionalist, as I am, you'll probably love this one. There's just something about a game in Death Valley, It never seems to disappoint.
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Coach Drew Burnham
Upset of the Week
10Oregon @ Washington State
Coming off a highly emotional game last week vs. Washington, you have to think that the Ducks are flying high and feeling invincible. That is not a great position to be in heading into the home of the pirate himself, Mike Leech. The Cougars are also riding high after a sneaky 5-1 start to their season and sliding into the top 25 this week. Neither of those accomplishments will overly impress the Ducks, but will still fuel the fire leading Wazzu into battle. I like this matchup. Watch for some creative play calling in key situations (3rd down and in the red zone) from Leech.

Game of the Week
10NC State @ 2Clemson
​Is this the defacto ACC title game? With both teams unbeaten it certainly starts to feel that way. NC State survived a scare last week from Boston College, likely due to looking ahead to what they had to know was their biggest test of the season. Looking past lesser opponents has been a reoccurring theme for them (see the nail biter vs. James Madison in week 1). This opponent will obviously not be overlooked. I believe that Clemson is a contender this year, but obviously not “the team to beat” that they have been in recent years. NC State has done a great job of building that culture into one that expects to win, I just don’t think it’s quite developed enough to handle this one, when both sides know what to expect. They’ve done enough that the element of surprise is gone for the Wolfpack and I believe that will keep them from taking this one.

Curator's Picks (38-32)
Michigan @ Sparty
Oklahoma @ TCU
Auburn @ Ole Miss
UVA @ Duke
Colorado @ Washington
NC State @ Clemson
Mississippi State @ LSU
Ohio State @ Purdue
Vandy @ Kentucky
Arizona @ UCLA

Coach's Picks (40-30)
Michigan @ Sparty
Oklahoma @ TCU
Auburn @ Ole Miss
UVA @ Duke
Colorado @ Washington
NC State @ Clemson
Mississippi State @ LSU
Ohio State @ Purdue
Vandy @ Kentucky
Arizona @ UCLA