Operation Pick Em - Week 5 Picks

A lot of Pick Em contestants are looking to redeem themselves after a poor showing last week. Penn State (85%) at Illinois (15%) - Paterno's lion cubs are feeling down, and, being felines, their digestive systems aren't exactly perked up with a big dose of Juice. – Jim Gindin, Football Frontier - We will find out a lot about the leadership and the direction of the rest of the season for Penn State this game. The Lions by a late field goal.. - Brian Sakowski, In The Bleachers - ESPN hates Illinois. I'm not too keen on them either. This will probably be the pundits upset special, but I don't agree. PSU by 21. - Chris Mason, In The Bleachers - I wouldn't have wanted to be in a Penn State practice this week, after they stunk it up in the Big House. - Greg Gowins, Average Joe -Zook will be pleased with the effort and see promise in the 30 point loss. – John Radcliff, Mountainlair Alabama (62%) at Florida State (38%) - Jeff Bowden might not be the problem after all. Fire the recruiting coordinator!!! - John, Mountainlair - I can’t see Florida State’s offense waking up and winning this game. What is it about old coaches not being able to produce offensively anymore? - Brian, In The Bleachers - A tossup. The Seminoles have the ACC's best defense, but the ACC has been very, very bad this season. – Jim, Football Frontier - Seminoles have talent edge and coming of bye week. – Tony, Sportsbone TV - Bama is coming off a tough loss to UGA, so they could be a little down. Has FSU finally woken up, or was their outburst an anomaly? This could turn into a low scoring slugfest if FSU's defense shows up. Bama by 11. – Chris, In The Bleachers. - Tuscaloosa is another place where I wouldn't have wanted to be in practice this week. - Greg, Average Joe Michigan State (7%) at Wisconsin (93%) - Wisconsin. Camp Randall is a tough place to play. They might win ugly, but they win. – Jon Johnston, Corn Nation - Wisconsin is overdue to lose and Michigan State looks like they could be the team to do it. – Charlie Swager, In The Bleachers - Wisconsin wins big at home. – Greg, Average Joe - We get to see which team is more for real. Wisconsin should take this at home, especially after MSU looking less than stellar in their first half against Notre Dame. Wisconsin by 14. – Chris, In The Bleachers - Wisconsin. That Pitt win isn't looking too sexy now is it? - John, Mountainlair - The Spartans invariably return to reality after a few delusional weeks. – Jim, Football Frontier West Virginia (93%) at South Florida (7%) - West Virginia. Too much offensive fire power for SFU to hang all night. – Tony, Sportsbone TV - The Mountaineers have too much speed on the offensive side of the ball for the Bulls to handle. Grothe must have a career game for the Bulls to win, and he isn’t at that level just yet. – Brian, In The Bleachers - The Bulls have a solid defense and have the better win so far (Auburn vs. nothing for WVU), but WVU should have the horses on offense to get past USF. WVU by 17. – Chris, In The Bleachers - UCLA Like the S. Carolina-LSU game last week, if this one was at South Florida, the Bulls would have a chance at the upset. But the Mountaineers win a closer than expected one in Morgantown.- Greg Gowins, Average Joe. - A tough run defense will force West Virginia's hand. The Bulls are potential BCS representatives. -Jim, Football Frontier - I feel like WVU is running on all cylinders right now. They are playing much more efficiently, as far as penalties and turnovers, than they did last season. –Charlie, In The Bleachers - West Virginia- Jorts be damned! – John, Mountainlair Clemson (39%) at Georgia Tech (61%) - Clemson, when in doubt pick against Gailey. – John, Mountainlair - Georgia Tech, this will be a fun one to watch. Strong offense vs strong defense. - Charlie, In The Bleachers. - Georgia Tech was exposed by only hanging 33 on Notre Dame. – Jim, Football Frontier - The Tigers will control the clock and the game with Davis and Spiller. – Brian, In The Bleachers - The Tigers win a closer than expected battle in Atlanta. Greg, Average Joe - These games are always close, and picking between Chan Gailey and Tommy Bowden is like picking between a pre-op and post-op tranny, but Clemson has the potential to run through the ACC (at least until they play BC). Clemson by 23. - Chris, In The Bleachers California (31%) at Oregon (69%) - The winner has an outside shot at stealing the PAC-10 from USC and the inside track to an at-large BCS. The loser misses out on a BCS bowl and will struggle to hold off the middle of the conference. This is another one that could go over 100 points and a 1000 yards. Oregon by 5. – Chris, In The Bleachers - Oregon because my tea leaves said so. – John, Mountainlair - Dixon started off great last season but became inconsistent and this is about the time of year he did it. Cal has too much on the offensive side of the ball and their defense isn’t as bad as people think. – Brian, In The Bleachers -I'm picking the Ducks until someone can keep them under 100 yards per quarter. – Jim, Football Frontier - Oregon. Cal's defense gives up too many points, but I suppose the same could be said about 100 teams this year. – Jon, Corn Nation - Two very good teams here. I'll take the home team in a close game. – Charlie, In The Bleachers - This one was a hard one to pick. The teams are pretty even, with Cal having a slight edge in talent. But I think the Ducks get a slightly bigger edge from the home field advantage. – Greg, Average Joe

Bruce Feldman - Illinois, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, Oregon Brian Sakowski - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, California Charlie Swager - Penn State, Florida State, Michigan State, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oregon Chris Mason - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, Oregon John Radcliff - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, Oregon Jon Johnston - Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, California Adam Nettina - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oregon Mike Rizzo - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oregon Jim Gindin - Illinois, Alabama, Wisconsin, South Florida, Clemson, Oregon Tony Delbusso - Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Oregon Cyril Tircuit - - Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, California Greg Gowins - Penn State, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, Oregon Lorena The Dodgerchick - Penn State, Florida State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Clemson, California