THE CHOPPING BLOCK: Week 7 football

What a time to be alive.. October warms up

By BRANDON HURLEY

Sports Editor 

sports@beeherald.com

@BrandonJHurley

October is hitting its stride and now begins the span of days where it proves itself as one of the top three sports months of the year. 

The baseball playoffs, NFL, College football and the beginning of the NBA regular season.. does it get better than this? 

The MLB postseason has seen a rejuvenation in recent years, and no, it’s not because of the extra wild card, though those extra, play-in games make for some excellent TV. The story lines this year are endless, the Cubs are trying to end a LONG World Series drought. In fact, eight teams in the playoffs this year have gone 392 years combined without a championship. 

The young talent in the game is unmatched, which makes for exciting baseball in itself. And let’s not forget, their are big time games on TV pretty much every single night for a solid month. Every pitch, every swing, every catch matters. 

On the football side, the college conference slates really pick up in October and the weather fits hand-in-hand with big time match ups. The NFL kicks it into high gear with divisional match ups and the NBA begins at the tail end of the month. Can the Cavs repeat? How will Durant fit in with the Warriors? 

For a sports nerd like myself, it doesn’t get much better than October. Throw in Halloween to close out the month and you’ve got a recipe for a run at the top. 

 

On to business…

Craig Marquardt of Paton captured first with a record of 15-2. His only two incorrect picks were Iowa (lost to Northwestern) and Michigan State (lost to Indiana). 

Kaitlin Fields of Paton secured second place, separating herself from a four-way tie with 14 correct picks. Her guess of 952 for a total score was closest to the actual combined score of 1,000. 

Calvin Fields of Paton picked 14 correct games and predicted a total score of 947, as he came in third overall. 

Congrats to all the winners! 

 

I went 11-5-1 in week six and I’m on a bit of a roll as of late, let’s see if I can keep it rolling!

 

  • Season record: 63-36-3

 

1. Gilbert (5-1) at Greene County (0-6)

Gilbert’s offense is too explosive for the Rams to keep up with. 

2. Boone (5-1) at Ballard (4-2)

Boone is rolling, and not even a matchup with the nearby rival can stop them. 

3. Iowa Falls-Alden (3-3) at Dallas Center-Grimes (4-2)

I wasn’t that impressed with DC-G earlier this season, but Iowa Falls-Alden got a little fortunate in Jefferson, so I’m going with the Mustangs here. 

4. Perry (2-4) at Webster City (5-1)

Webster City has one of the best rushing attacks in the state, and Perry has really fallen off since their 2-0 start. Lynx in a landslide. 

5. Denison-Schleswig (2-4) at Carroll (6-0)

I think it’s going to be one of those incredibly special seasons for Carroll as they are fresh off a spectacular 19-point comeback in week six. Tigers win big. 

6. Kuemper Catholic (5-1) at Red Oak (1-6)

Kuemper put together a big-time rally as well. Their defense will be too much for Red Oak. 

7. Boyer Valley (4-2) at Ar-We-Va (4-2) 

On paper, this looks like a saucy matchup, but the Rockets have plenty of fire to handle Boyer Valley in a big district eight matchup. 

8. River Valley (0-6) at Coon Rapids-Bayard (5-1)

CR-B will pound the ball over and over on the ground for an easy victory. 

9. Glidden-Ralston (2-4) at Audubon (6-0)

Audubon hasn’t been matched this year, and the Wildcats won’t be the one to stop them. Wheelers win big. 

College

10. Iowa (-1.5) at Minnesota 

Now I’m finally comfortable with an Iowa line. Give me the Hawks in an ugly, Big Ten battle. 

11. Iowa St. (+17) at Oklahoma St.

This seems like a hefty line and I doubted the Clones last week. Can they keep it going on the road in Stillwater? 

12. Northern Iowa at South Dakota

Yeah, not much to say here. UNI is a much better program than USD. 

13. Texas (+10.5) vs Oklahoma

Give me the points all day. I think Oklahoma wins, but in a rivalry game with both teams on a down swing, I can’t see the Longhorns getting blown out. 

14. Florida St. (+3) vs Miami (Fla.)

Underdog, underdog, underdog. See a common theme yet? FSU is a better team than their record shows, and they don’t go down again, do they? 

15. Alabama at Arkansas (+14)

Call me crazy, but giving the Razorbacks 14 points at home is just too much to pass up. 

16. Tennessee (+7) at Texas A&M 

Whoa, this is a surprising line. I’m all in on the underdogs this week. Tennessee has been lucky the last few weeks, but they aren’t that much worse of a team. They shake off the Hail Mary hangover.

17. LSU at Florida (+3)

This would’ve been an incredible matchup going into the fall, but now LSU has hit a lull and fired their coach. The public is all in on that big bounce-back win last week, I’m bullish. 

 

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