2008 Rivalry Week Picks

It's time once again for my annual rivalry week picks. They're a little earlier than normal due to the Texas/Texas A&M game being played on Thanksgiving, but they're still full of their normal awesomeness. Feel free to leave your own picks or your reasons why I'm obviously wrong in the the comments section...

The Lonestar Showdown
Texas Longhorns v. Texas A&M Aggies
Cinco Pick: Texas A&M has been fairly quiet this season. Don't look for them to start making any noise now. Look for Colt McCoy and the Longhorns to stick it to the Aggies as they're going to need the style points to hold of Oklahoma in the BCS in order to make it to the Big XII Championship (not to mention keep their National Title hopes alive). Texas
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The Battle for the Boot
LSU Tigers v. Arkansas Razorbacks
Cinco Pick: Last year the Hogs stole one from the Tigers. That trend shouldn't continue this year. Sure, Les Miles is feeling the heat down in Baton Rouge, but if you think LSU is going to lose to Ole Miss and Arkansas in the same season, you're crazy. LSU
No Bueno!

The Governor's Cup
Florida Gators v. Florida State Seminoles
Cinco Pick: Sure, Alabama has been the SEC's darling most of this season, but if you haven't noticed, Florida has been kicking ass and taking names since their loss to Ole Miss. LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, and The Citadel have all felt the wrath of Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer. Can Bobby Bowden and Seminoles slow down the Tebow Express as it rambles on to the SEC Championship? Probably not. I love pulling for my conference, but the ACC takes the *L* here. Florida
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The Bedlam Series
Oklahoma Sooners v. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Cinco Pick: How good has the Big XII been this year? It's been long time since I've seen a conference put together so many matchups of Top 25 teams. In this matchup, Oklahoma needs to get the W if it wants to keep its Big XII Championship (as well as National Title) hopes alive. Like Texas, they're going to need to do so in style -- especially if they want to make the voters forget about their early season loss to the Longhorns. They do get some help from the Cowboys as OSU is ranked in the Top 25, whereas the Aggies (UT's opponent) comes in unranked. A win over a solid OSU team may be what the Sooners need to put them over the top in the race for the Big XII South crown. Oklahoma
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The Backyard Brawl
West Virginia Mountaineers v. Pittsburgh Panthers
Cinco Pick: Unlike last year, this game doesn't have much on the line. Or does it? Sure, last year the Mountaineers had an opportunity to play for a national championship on the line and blew it, but with a win here they could still get to a BCS bowl -- with a little help from Syracuse, who plays conference leader Cincinnati this weekend. Pittsburgh could potentially crash the BCS as well with some help from the Orangemen as well. But if I'm not mistaken, this game is played on Friday, so that Syracuse/Cincinnati game is a non-factor. That being said, look for West Virginia to pick up the win that may help ease the pain of last year's stunning upset. West BAH GAWD Virginia
No Bueno!

The Egg Bowl
Mississippi State Bulldogs v. Ole Miss Rebels
Cinco Pick: Houston Nutt has led a nice little turnaround at Ole Miss. In his first year, he has the Rebels bowl eligible and in second place in the SEC West with wins over Auburn, LSU, and Florida. Heck, he even pushed Alabama to the limit. I dig cheering for the "Fighting Sylvesters," but they're just not on Ole Miss's level this year. No one's getting "Croomed" this year. Ole Miss
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The Commonwealth Cup
Virginia Cavaliers v. Virginia Tech Hokies
Cinco Pick: Hmm... The way the ACC Coastal Division has been this year, I have no clue who's going to win this game. Virginia Tech struggled with Duke for much of the game last week while Virginia was kept out of the endzone in their matchup with Clemson. In the same breath, both of these teams have the ability to randomly put up points. The safe bet is on the Hokies, but as Virigina needs to win this game if they want to have a postseason, I'll go out on a limb and pick the Cavaliers. UVa
No Bueno!

The Border Showdown for the Indian War Drum
Kansas Jayhawks v. Missouri Tigers
Cinco Pick: Unlike last year's game, this game has nothing on the line other than bragging rights. Mizzou has already locked up the Big XII North and this game is nothing more than a formality. I'm certain that the Tigers are looking past the Jayhawks as their matchup with whoever comes out of the Big XII South has bigger implications. Mizzou
No Bueno!

The Civil War
Oregon Ducks v. Oregon State Beavers
Cinco Pick: With the Big XII and SEC getting most of the press leading up to this weekend, I think this game has been seriously overlooked. #17 Oregon State is looking to secure the Pac-10 Championship but in order to do so, they've got to through #19 Oregon. For a state that doesn't matter, this game has serious BCS implications. A win by Oregon State gets them into the BCS along with SoCal, who would most likely grab an at-large bid. That same win also pretty much guarantees that TCU or Ball State would be denied entry to the BCS as well as just making the Rose Bowl completely uninteresting. For those reasons alone, I'm cheering for Oregon. Oregon
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The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh
Notre Dame Fighting Irish v. USC Trojans
Cinco Pick: Look for a few more logs to be thrown in the fire Charlie Weiss is currently sitting in. The Trojans should rout the Irish easily. Will it be enough to convince the BCS voters that USC is deserving of a title shot? Probably not, unless six teams manage to lose between now and the end of the season. But hey, crazier things have happened. Southern California
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Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate
Georgia Bulldogs v. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Cinco Pick: We all know that Clemson is the team most deserving of the "not living up to expectations" award this season. The runner-up for that award? Georgia. They started the season with a #1 ranking and dreams of winning the national title. They followed that up with a lackluster showing in Columbia against a weak South Carolina team, an asswhupping at the hands of Alabama, and a severe thrashing by Florida at the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. The cherry on this season of unfilled expectations will be a loss to their cross-state rivals. I'm sure some of you are laughing at the thought of that, but I think Georgia Tech's triple option will be enough to shake the Bulldogs. Hey, if Auburn can hang with Georiga, Tech should have no problem doing the same. Georgia Tech
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The Tobacco Road Brawl
North Carolina Tarheels v. Duke Blue Devils
Cinco Pick: Yet another ACC Coastal Division matchup where there's no telling who's going to come out as the victor. In Butch Davis' 2nd year, he has the Tar Heels on the verge of an 8 win season but in the same breath, David Cutcliffe has Duke on the verge of a 5 win season. Quit smirking, that's big for Duke. I'd love to see the Dukies pull this one out, but I think the Tar Heels, knowing that a possible trip to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl is on the line, get the win here in what will be a surprisingly good game. North Carolina
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The Iron Bowl
Auburn Tigers v. Alabama Crimson Tide
Cinco Pick: Interesting. This is my third year doing this and only my first time predicting the Iron Bowl. Go fig. Anyhow, I picked a sleeper of a year to start. While last year may have been a toss up as to who was going to win, this year is a pretty much a foregone conclusion. If it were played earlier in the year, Auburn may have been able to lull Alabama to sleep and sneak out of Tuscaloosa with the upset. But at the end of the year, one game before Alabama's date with Florida, Auburn has no chance as they are not only beat up but also will be facing an Alabama team that will be completely focused. Auburn may be able to keep it respectable, but look for Alabama to get the win -- along with probably the next two in the series. Alabama
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The Battle for the Palmetto State
South Carolina Gamecocks v. Clemson Tigers
Cinco Pick: I try to be as honest as possible when picking this game. In '06, I (correctly) picked the Gamecocks because they were the better team. In '07, I (correctly) picked my Tigers, because they were the better team. This year I'm picking my Tigers once more, why? Because they're the better team. I can hear the Carolina faithful going crazy already, citing their 7-4 record and their "heralded" #11 defense. The thing is, Carolina has beaten just as many good teams as Clemson has this season - 0. It's easy to look good defensively when you're playing NC State, Wofford, and UAB. Now in fairness, they held the Georgia and LSU offenses in check, but neither of those teams (along with the rest of the SEC - sans Florida) were known for having impressive offenses this season. Now I'll be honest in saying that Clemson's defense isn't as good as Carolina's, but we're not far behind. On the other side of the ball though, our offense is better than theirs. Especially with Carolina starting Smelley at QB. Combine that with little chance for backup QB Steven Garcia to play for the Gamecocks due to a stomach virus and C.J. Spiller's ability to break a game open in the blink of an eye, the Tigers should win this one in a close game - giving the Tigers that 7th win we need to become bowl eligible. Clemson
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