The Retrospective, Week 5

Week 5 Record
Straight Up: 6-1
Against the Spread: 3-4

My first losing weekend against the spread. The first few weeks had me considering a career in gambling. Good to know I was just getting lucky.

#10 Georgia (-17) at Mississippi
MP: UGA - 27, UM - 13
AR: UGA - 14, UM - 9

This game will be getting its own post.

#2 Auburn (-14) at South Carolina
My Prediction: AU - 27, USC - 10
Actual Result: AU - 24, USC - 17

I guess Kenny Irons did end up providing the difference in this game. However, I (and everyone else, with the exception of Lou Holtz) was not banking on Syvelle Newton having the game of his life to keep the Gamecocks in it. Holtz was right. Had Mitchell or Smelley gotten the start, they would have spent the better part of the night eight yards behind the line of scrimmage in the fetal position. It wasn’t pretty, but winning a conference game on the road under the lights (as USC and Ohio State did) should always count for something.

#1 Ohio State (-7) at #13 Iowa
MP: OSU - 24, UI - 20
AR: OSU - 38, UI - 17

Alright. I admit it. I was wrong about Ohio State. They are the best team in the country right now. While Iowa is not nearly as good as I expected them to be this year, this is the second time the Buckeyes have gotten what should be their opponents’ best shot on the road in prime time. They just rolled over the Hawkeyes, offensively and defensively. I’ve been converted.

Alabama (+13) at #5 Florida
MP: UF - 21, UA - 13
AR: UF - 28, UA - 13

I can’t believe I was a late, meaningless pick six away from having this one absolutely pegged. Thus, the reason why betting on football is stupid. But what I didn’t bet on was the Tide offense looking surprisingly solid. I still don’t know how they managed only 6 points, though. Just a solid all-around effort by the Gators.

#14 Oregon (-1.5) at Arizona State
MP: UO - 38, ASU - 24
AR: UO - 48, ASU - 13

As suspected, Arizona State just isn’t very good. Either, way this is a great statement game for Oregon, after had to hear about that Oklahoma game for two weeks. They’re looking more and more like Southern Cal’s biggest challenger for the Pac-10 title.

Mississippi State (+32) at #9 Louisiana State
MP: LSU - 45, MSU - 3
AR: LSU - 48, MSU - 17

Exhibit B as to why gambling on college football can be a bad, bad idea. The Bulldogs beat the spread on a meaningless extra point at the end of the game, and in the process upsetting the “loyal” Tiger fans who mysteriously stuck around to see the end of a glorified scrimmage that featured an excruciatingly long weather delay.

#24 Georgia Tech (+9) at #11 Virginia Tech
MP: VT - 17, GT - 10
AR: GT - 38, VT - 27

And here we have the one where I was just completely off base. While the Hokies may prove to be little more than another mediocre team in the ACC this year, I have to give all the credit in the world to a Georgia Tech team that finally won a big-time road game with conference title implications. Maybe Reggie Ball has turned a corner after all. But most importantly, this may have made Tech-Clemson the biggest game of the ACC regular season. Both of those teams deserve much higher rankings, by the way.