Pick 'Em Corner - The Professor's Week 10 Smart Money Picks

Much like my reaction to the news of the Tim Brewster firing, The Professor would like to celebrate the end of East Coast Bias Week for the 2010 season. The fact that The Host allows Pick 'Em Corner to be hijacked by a couple of transplants who play Duck, Duck, Goose and Flush/Knockout is a troubling sign for the future of this esteemed program. With that in mind, I propose that in weeks that The Host is too busy to choose games, the previous week's top scorer should do the honors.

Of course, that would mean The Host actually gets around to, you know, doing his job and compiling the results from previous weeks, so never mind, I guess.

On to Week 10. The Professor is happy to see we're done with the abomination of ECBW, even though I did notch 13 points last week. The Professor is also happy to see Cornerman and Steve Stellar have listened to the plethora of complaints from Pick 'Em Corner's Midwest-centric fan base and avoided games like Syracuse-Louisville and Boston College-Wake Forest. Good on ya, fellow panelists.

So, without further ado, sit up straight, sharpen your pencils and enjoy the lecture, for these are The Professor's Smart Money Picks (West Coast Bias Week Edition), brought to you by the City of Chanhassen.

Iowa -17.5 INDIANA
The Professor can admit when he's wrong. I partially had written off Iowa after they picked up their second loss a couple weeks ago. Oops. That thumping of Sparty showed how far off I was. Two losses or not, the Hawkeyes are still in the mix for the Big Ten title and they're not going to let their foot off the gas in what should be an Iowa rout in Bloomington.

MICHIGAN ST. -24.5 Minnesota
The Professor's Progeny (v1), Special K, learned quickly last week what it means to be a Gopher fan. After Ohio State marched down the field for a touchdown on its opening possession, Special K turned to me and said, "I want to go home." Expect the Gophers to feel much the same way early on in this tilt with Sparty.

MICHIGAN -3 Illinois
The Ron Zook Postulate does not apply for games where the spread is actually opposite of what it should be. This is one of those games. Much like last season, the wheels are coming off in Michigan. Meanwhile, the Illini look like a team just a notch below the Big Ten elite. It's hard to believe, given who their coach is, but this is my secondary lock of the week (no extra points awarded, though they should be if you pick a team coached by Ron Zook).

MIAMI (Fla.) -7.5 Maryland
Ugh, Steve Stellar's East Coast bias rears its ugly head again. Fear the Turtle.

Wisconsin -20 PURDUE
You know I hate to do it, but I have to pick Bucky here. Purdue is bad, really bad, like almost Minnesota bad.

Air Force -6.5 ARMY (Service Academcy GOW)
Army's new awesome camouflage uniforms are good enough for a cover in West Point.

On, brave old Army team!
On to the fray.
Fight on to victory
For that's the fearless Army way.

TCU -4.5 UTAH (Home)
Some people are looking at this game as a playoff for a BCS bowl spot. Others are looking at this game as the winner's opportunity to leapfrog Boise State in the BCS standings. The Professor is looking at this game as a battle between two teams who really haven't played anybody. Ok, TCU beat Oregon State and Baylor, but that doesn't do a lot for me. And Utah beat, well, umm, choose which team does it for you: Iowa State, Pitt, Air Force. TCU's body of work is a tad stronger that the Utes, so that's what I'm going with here.

BOISE STATE -21 Hawai'i
I really want to take the Rainbow Warriors here as they've put together a solid season, but Boise State is on a mission to upset the apple cart that is the BCS. To do that, the Broncos obviously need to win, but moreso, win big. That's exactly what they do here.

Alabama -6.5 LSU (RTT GOW)
Like the Cornerman, I wouldn't be sad to see the Roll Tide Turkey Game of the Week take a break from time to time, but not this week. I'm still of the belief that LSU is as mediocre a 7-1 team as you'll find. Meanwhile, Alabama should be back to being Alabama after a pair of good wins following the upset loss to South Carolina. The difference maker here is the Tide defense. Aside from the hiccup in Columbia, Bama has allowed more 13 points just once this season. The Bama defense will stop the LSU run and force the anemic Tiger pass offense to do what it does best - throw interceptions. Roll! Tide! Turkey!

PENN STATE -5.5 Northwestern
Joe Paterno gets his first shot at getting his 400th win and his players aren't going to let a team of nerds prevent it from happening.

OREGON -35 Washington
It worked last week, so why not try it again? In the spirit of the Mighty Ducks movies, of which the esteemed publication Let's Play Hockey was a part: Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack! DO YOU HEAR THAT SOUND? EEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR-PLUNK! EEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR-PLUNK! EEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR-PLUNK! It's The Professor's Statistically-Proven Lock of the Week, brought to you by National American University!



Nebraska -17.5 IOWA STATEI'm tired of picking the favorite. Yup, that's why I'm going with the Cyclones.

California -14 WASHINGTON STATE (Victory Sports Meaningless GOW)
See Nebraska-Iowa State.

STANFORD -9.5 Arizona
I'm running out of steam here, I'll admit. I like the Cardinal to take the win here, but the spread is just a tad too big for me, especially considering Zona's stout defense. Go Cats.

USC -5 Arizona StateLast week's game against Oregon was USC's bowl game for they year and they allowed 53 points. Now, I don't expect Arizona State to put up anywhere near the same numbers as the Ducks, but there's just no chance the prima donna-laden Trojan roster has any sort of motivation for this game with the Devils. Lane Kiffin will do his best to rally the troops, but in a season that now means nothing, the USC players will mail in the rest of the season, starting with this game. DEVILS!!!



Thus concludes The Professor's Smart Money Picks, brought to you by The City of Chanhassen.