We're dead even, not brain dead

So, Cleveland and Hood both picked 11 winners and 4 losers last week and remained tied on the season with 72-30 records. The upset of the week was that Orley actually picked the Saints correctly.  You've heard of the Blind Hog  theory that even a blind hog occasionally finds  the acorn? This was the Blind Hood theory at work.

Hood picked Ole Miss over Georgia, which was almost as bad as Cleveland picking USM over UAB. Actually, both missed on USM and both have vowed to not let that happen again.

Orley's picks

Mississippi State at LSU: One could hardly go down to Baton Rouge at a more propitious time, considering Alabama ripped the Tigers’ hearts out last week. But LSU lethargy may not be enough for State, busted flat the last two weeks by Bama and A&M. LSU 24, State 17.

Vandy at Ole Miss: Joker Phillips was most certainly done before last week, but Vandy surely finished him off with a 40-0 victory in Lexington. Can the Comms go into Oxford and hammer Ole Miss, too? Nope. Bowl eligibility is at stake for Ole Miss. It won’t be easy. Rebels 30, VU 27.

USM at SMU: I’m done wishin’ and hopin’ for the Golden Eagles. They may finish oh-for-2012. SMU 35, Southern 17.

Arkansas at South Carolina: Before the season, oooh, really big game. Now? Routine. Chickens 38, Hogs 28.

Texas A&M at Alabama: Big, big, big. A&M gets better every week. Alabama comes off an emotional victory at Tiger Stadium. Danger? Absolutely. But this is the week that Johnny Football runs into big bad linebackers who can scramble his brain pan. Alabama 38, A & M 24.

Missouri at Tennessee: No change from last week. Gotta figure Derek Dickey’s got to win out. Good for him the game’s in Knoxville. UT 30, Mizzou 25.

Louisiana Lafayette at Florida: I reckon the Gators have enough to overcome my man, Brandon High grad Brett Baer, the best 8-year-old catcher I’ve ever seen (and he did it smiling and laughing all the time). OK, he could hardly make a penalty kick for Brandon High and the Chicago Fire of Mississippi, but he can hardly miss a field goal for the Ragin’ Cajuns. Gators 45, my man Brett’s Ragin’ Cajuns 20 (Brett kicks two at the Swamp!).

Georgia at Auburn: Aaron Murray against that defense? Hide your eyes. Georgia 52, Auburn 10.

Georgia Tech at North Carolina: Tech’s been running like crazy. Yellow Jackets 31, Tar Heels 27.

Miami at Virginia: The Wahoos stink, even in Charlottesville. Miami 28, UVA 14.

West Virginia at Oklahoma State: Two 2012 disappointments here. The Mountaineers get worse and worse. OSU can’t play “D” either. Cowboys 50, West Virginia 40.

Kansas State at TCU: TCU’s pretty good. Kansas State’s pretty great. Wildcats 52, Horned Frogs 28.

Oregon State at Stanford: Stanford still has a shot at the Rose Bowl. Cardinal 24, a very good Oregon State team 20.

Atlanta at New Orleans: How I wish … But, alas, how can the Saints defend Matt Ryan and Michael Turner? Falcons 38, Saints 35. Hope I’m wrong.

Rick's picks

Mississippi State at LSU: The good news: Johnny Football doesn't play for LSU. The bad news: A whole bunch of big, bad dudes do. They may be mad this week, too. LSU, 27-13.

Vandy at Ole Miss: For whatever reason — including that Vandy football is much improved — the Commodores have had the Rebels' number in recent years. Got to change, doesn't it?  Ole Miss, 26-24.

USM at SMU: SMU is a vastly superior team to the UAB bunch that outscored USM 27-3 in the second half at Hattiesburg last week. It just gets worse. SMU,  31-10.

Arkansas at South Carolina: Gamecocks, 30-20.

Texas A&M at Alabama: Here's a game I would actually pay money to see, might even scalp a ticket. College football's best defense against college football's best player. You know what Bear used to say: "Boys, call your mamas" and "defense wins." Bama, 27-19.

Missouri at Tennessee: This one's a toss-up. So, tails, it's Missouri 37-34.

Louisiana Lafayette at Florida: I love what Orley said about this game. So I'm picking Brett Baer to kick three field goals and the Gators to win 30-16.

Georgia at Auburn: Georgia, in a mugging, 37-7.

Georgia Tech at North Carolina: I love to watch Tech's offense. So would Emory Bellard. Yellow Jackets 30-26.

Miami at Virginia: Miami's not what it used to be but The U still has more athletes than the U of V. Miami, 31-17.

West Virginia at Oklahoma State: Statisticians, start  your calculators. Okie State, 45-52..

Kansas State at TCU: Kansas State keeps on keeping on, 41-38.

Oregon State at Stanford: Great game on the Left Coast. Could go either way, but I'll take the smart guys from Stanford, 34-27.

Atlanta at New Orleans: Mike Smith says he learned everything he knows from Jack Carlisle. Well, he learned pretty well. Atlanta, 34-17.