Rapid Fire Picks for November 5th

College Football:

Last Week: 16-8
Overall: 180-51

Top 25, based on BCS Standings:
#2 Alabama over #1 LSU
#3 Oklahoma State over #14 Kansas State
#4 Stanford over Oregon State
#5 Boise State over UNLV
#6 Oklahoma over Texas A&M
#9 South Carolina over #7 Arkansas…I’m sticking with the pick from the beginning of the year, SC 49-17
#8 Oregon over Washington…could be a trap game for the Ducks
#10 Nebraska over Northwestern
#13 Houston over UAB
#15 Michigan over Iowa
#17 Michigan State over Minnesota
#18 Georgia over New Mexico State
#19 Arizona State over UCLA
#20 Wisconsin over Purdue
#21 Texas over Texas Tech
#24 West Virginia over Louisville
#25 Southern Miss over East Carolina

SEC:
Florida over Vanderbilt…close
Ole Miss over Kentucky…first to score might win this game
Tennessee over Middle Tennessee State
Mississippi State over Tennessee-Martin

ACC:
Virginia over Maryland
North Carolina over North Carolina State
Miami (FL) over Duke
Notre Dame over Wake Forest

Other Games:
SMU over Tulane
Troy over Navy
Air Force over Army

NFL

Last Week: 8-5
Overall: 77-38

Bills over Jets
Cowboys over Seahawks
Falcons over Colts
Chiefs over Dolphins
Saints over Buccaneers
49ers over Redskins
Texans over Browns
Raiders over Broncos
Patriots over Giants
Rams over Cardinals
Packers over Chargers
Steelers over Ravens
Bears over Eagles

Rapid Fire Picks for October 29th

There was an issue with the site that these are normally posted on, so they will be here today.

NFL:

Last Week: 7-6
Overall: 69-33

Titans over Colts
Saints over Rams
Dolphins over Giants
Panthers over Vikings
Ravens over Cardinals
Texans over Jaguars
Bills over Redskins
Lions over Broncos
Patriots over Steelers
49ers over Browns
Seahawks over Bengals
Cowboys over Eagles
Chiefs over Chargers

College Football (Rankings based on BCS Standings):

Last Week: 18-7
Overall: 164-43

#3 Oklahoma State over Baylor
#5 Clemson over Georgia Tech
#6 Stanford over USC
#7 Oregon over Washington State
#9 Oklahoma over #8 Kansas State
#10 Arkansas over Vanderbilt
#14 Nebraska over #11 Michigan State
#12 Virginia Tech over Duke
#13 South Carolina over Tennessee…SC 23-16
#15 Wisconsin over Ohio State
#16 Texas A&M over Missouri
#18 Michigan over Purdue
#19 Penn State over Illinois
#20 Texas Tech over Iowa State
#21 Arizona State over Colorado
Florida over #22 Georgia
#23 Auburn over Ole Miss
#24 Texas over Kansas
#25 West Virginia over Rutgers

ACC:

Florida State over North Carolina State
Maryland over Boston College
Wake Forest over North Carolina

SEC:

Kentucky over Mississippi State

Other Games:

Notre Dame over Navy

Fundraiser:
Remember that WUSC’s fall fundraiser runs through November 3rd. To donate, click on “Support” at the top of the page or call the station at (803) 576-WUSC or online at wusc.sc.edu

Show Correction:
During the show, I kept saying that Texas hasn’t lost back-to-back games since August. That was the Texas Rangers, not the Texas Longhorns football team.

Have a Happy Halloween!!

NFL Prospect Post-Combine Rankings: Defense

The defensive rankings had a few more changes than the offensive, but still not many.  The most notable changes are at cornerback.

Joe Haden of Florida hurt himself in the combine with a 40-yard dash time of 4.57 seconds.  However, I ultimately went back to his game footage and still think highly of me.  A 40-yard dash time at the Combine does not determine a player’s future, and while this was unfortunate for him, his day as a whole was not bad enough to hurt him too badly.

With all of that being said, Joe Haden did drop to #2 on the cornerback rankings because of Rutgers’ Devin McCourty.  McCourty ran a 4.34 second 40-yard dash and posted a respectable 16 reps on the bench press.

The other defensive winners of the NFL Combine include former TCU linebacker Daryl Washington, former South Carolina linebacker Eric Norwood and Florida State’s Dakoda Walker.  Washington and Norwood impressed in position drills, making them seem smooth and effortless.  Walker showed his unmatched athletic ability with a 4.50 second 40-yard dash, a 40 inch vertical jump and a broad jump of over eleven feet.

Note, the asterisk (*) denotes and defensive end or outside linebacker that would fit best as a rush linebacker in a 3-4.

Defensive End

1. Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech
2. Jason Pierre-Paul, South Florida
3. Carlos Dunlap, Florida
4. Brandon Graham*, Michigan
5. Everson Griffen, USC

Defensive Tackle

1. Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
2. Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma
3. Brian Price, UCLA
4. Dan Williams, Tennessee
5. Jared Odrick, Penn State

Inside Linebacker

1. Rolando McClain, Alabama
2. Daryl Washington, TCU
3. Brandon Spikes, Florida
4. Jamar Chaney, Mississippi State
5. Micah Johnson, Kentucky

Outside Linebacker

1. Sergio Kindle*, Texas
2. Jerry Hughes*, TCU
3. Novorro Bowman, Penn State
4. Eric Norwood, South Carolina
5. Dakoda Walker, Florida State

Cornerback

1. Devin McCourty, Rutgers
2. Joe Haden, Florida
3. Kyle Wilson, Boise State
4. Kareem Jackson, Alabama
5. Brandon Ghee, Wake Forest

Safety

1. Eric Berry, Tennessee
2. Earl Thomas, Texas
3. Taylor Mays, USC
4. Nate Allen, South Florida
5. Myron Rolle, Florida State

Eric Norwood was originally not in my top five at outside linebacker, but his performance in the Combine proved he can thrive in both 3-4 and 4-3 defensive schemes.

Taylor Mays, while having a “freakish” Combine, still has trouble in coverage, as shown in the Senior Bowl.  Fellow safety Myron Rolle however showed that he is still prepared for the NFL after his trip to Oxford.

Even though some players fizzled out while others shined through, no ranking is final until each player has his pro day.  And no matter the showings this week or in pro days, we are sure to see an interesting NFL Draft.