The Retrospective, Week 10

Week 10 Record
Straight Up: 8-5
Against the Spread: 7-1

#3 West Virginia (+1.5) at #5 Louisville
My Prediction: WVU - 38, UL - 35
Actual Result: UL - 44, WVU - 34

I said there was no way Louisville could win this game convincingly, so they promptly went out there and did just that. Behind the strength of a couple of fumble and punt returns for touchdowns, the Cardinals made a pretty strong case for inclusion in the BCS title game, should they run the table and beat Rutgers.

#7 Florida (-15) at Vanderbilt
MP: UF - 27, VU - 17
AR: UF - 25, VU - 19

The Gators haven’t been garnering many style points lately, as they attempt to distinguish themselves from all the one-loss teams near the top of the rankings. They have some nice wins from earlier in the year, yes, but they’ll need to start winning games convincingly if they want to keep moving up in the BCS standings.

Mississippi State (+14) at Alabama
MP: UA - 24, MSU - 13
AR: MSU - 24, AU - 16

I do everything but call the Mississippi State upset all week, and then I chicken out at the last minute and pick Alabama. Sylvester Croom’s resume gets a big boost, while Mike Shula is having some serious, serious problems.

Arkansas State (+31) at #6 Auburn
MP: AU - 38, ASU - 14
AR: AU - 27, ASU - 0

A rival gets a cakewalk a week before the Georgia game. What else is new?

Northwestern State (OFF) at Mississippi
MP: UM - 34, NSU - 7
AR: UM - 27, NSU - 7

Yawn.

#12 Arkansas (-2) at South Carolina
MP: AU - 24, USC - 20
AR: AU - 26, USC - 20

So it was actually Blake Mitchell, not Syvelle Newton, who makes sure the Gamecocks keep it close, but ultimately get their hearts broken, yet again. This has got to start getting old.

#13 LSU (-2) at #8 Tennessee
MP: LSU - 16, UT - 13
AR: LSU - 28, UT - 24

Les Miles and JaMarcus Russell finally come away with a signature road win. It was against a Tennessee team playing without their starting quarterback, but Jonathan Crompton did play well in place of Erik Ainge, so I’ve got to give them credit.

Boston College (-4) at Wake Forest
MP: WFU - 27, BC - 21
AR: WFU - 21, BC - 14

Wake Forest made a bunch of big plays and, despite giving up over 400 yards through the air, never trailed as they beat a ranked opponent for the first time in, well, a while. But with Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Maryland still left on the schedule, the division title is far from wrapped up.

Oklahoma (-2.5) at Texas A&M
MP: TAMU - 20, OU - 17
AR: OU - 17, TAMU - 16

Oklahoma keeps proving they’re more than just Adrian Peterson’s supporting cast by winning their second straight conference road game without him. Funny, the Sooners’ biggest win of the year actually clinched the division for Texas.

#2 Carrollton at #5 Cartersville
MP: Carrollton - 20, Cartersville - 17
AR: Cartersville - 41, Carrollton - 37

I hear this was a pretty entertaining game. Yeah, I can’t think of anything else to say here.

#6 Mays vs. #10 Marist
MP: Marist - 17, Mays - 14
AR: Marist - 30, Mays - 6

Mays looks to have proven my theory to be correct. They get a hard fought victory one week to legitimize themselves as state title contenders, and then they turn around and get blown out the very next week.

Jenkins at Groves
MP: GHS - 31, JHS - 25
AR: GHS - 20, JHS - 14

No surprises here. Jenkins is much improved, but there’s a lot to be said for Groves’ experience in a region playoff race.

Georgia (-7) at Kentucky
MP: UGA - 30, UK - 17
AR: UK - 24, UGA - 20

Same script. Lead at halftime, turn it over, fail to give Lumpkin the football, allow a ridiculously easy game-winning drive. And Tony Taylor should be an All American.