Jersey Contest: Week 10 -- Blogger Picks

Here are our thoughts on this week's games.  For the second week, daisy duck is making picks in place of Matt Daddy -- and this time she offers her thoughts on the California at Washington State.  As a reminder, the deadline for submitting your picks is tonight at 11:59:59 PM PT.  You can submit your picks here.  Here's a list of all the users that have successfully submitted picks this week, as of 10:00 AM PT today.  

TCU at Utah [Dominic]:

This is a great match up all around. I could see this going either way but I liked the Horned Frogs to pull it out in a tough road game. Defense wins championships and even though Utah is no slouch, I just can't discount what TCU has done all year long. This may be one of those classic games where the team that has it last wins.

Arizona at Stanford (-7.5) [Jared]:

Stanford and Arizona will try to keep their Rose Bowl hopes alive in Palo Alto this weekend. It sounds like Nick Foles is going to play, and if he comes in at his pre-injury form, the Arizona offense should be able to move the ball well against Stanford. The Cardinal have been solid against many of their opponents, but have struggled with more unconventional schemes, and Arizona is going to pressure every point of the Stanford defense, which will struggle at times against Arizona. But Stanford also has one of the top QBs in the nation in Andrew Luck, and I think they'll move the ball well against a surprisingly stout Arizona defense. 

Pick: Stanford straight up, Arizona ATS.

Baylor at Oklahoma State [Paul]:

Baylor is one of the feel-good stories of the year. And I'm a sucker for feel-good stories. I'm also a sucker for athletic QBs, and there's no doubt Robert Griffin III fits into that category. So why am I picking Oklahoma State? Because they're better, and they're at home. I think it will be a great game, and I don't think the Cowboys can stop Griffin, but they won't need to because they have Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. Expect a high-scoring affair from two of the nation's top 10 offenses, but don't expect a Baylor win.

Arkansas at South Carolina [Jeremy]:

I finally get a break from the Big Ten. I see some national guys calling for the Arkansas upset, but I don't see it that way. Yes, Ryan Mallett leads the SEC in passing and South Carolina is last in pass defense. So I could be all wet. The Gamecocks are stout against the run and will need to at least contain Mallett. They'll have to make him uncomfortable in the pocket or that upset will happen. The difference maker could be SC's freshman RB marcus Lattimore. If he can chew up yards and lead long scoring drives, Mallett stays off the field. This should be a very close game, probably ending on the last possession. I'll give South Carolina the slight edge playing at home with the added motivation of being just a win or two from wrapping up the SEC's weaker division and a spot in the SEC championship. The Gamecocks have a lot to lose in this game and I think they'll show up with their A game.

California (-14.5) at Washington State [daisy duck]:

With Kevin Riley probably out for the season, picking this game became a bit more interesting.  The Cougs have often been game this season, and while their defense has been porous, Jeff Tuel and the offense are much improved.   They will score points on Cal’s defense, which has given up 35+ pts in 3 out of 4 road games.  Cal has been Jekyll and Hyde this season depending on the venue – they’ve been great at home (4-0) and horrific on the road (0-4).   While I think Cal has too many weapons for WSU and will win their first Pac10 road game, I’m picking an inspired WSU team to beat the 14.5 pt spread.  And I’m not going to be shocked at all if WSU wins it outright.