THE CHOPPING BLOCK: WEEK 8 PICKS
By BRANDON HURLEY
Sports Editor
The Class 3A top 10 AP rankings remain a star-studded, top-heavy affair. Two-time defending state-champion Pella (7-0) is back on top after a several week absence thanks to a 38-0 dismantling of Norwalk in week seven, who was ranked third at the time. Frankly, if any team beats you 38-0 you should drop out of the rankings all together, but Norwalk only dropped to No. 6. Cedar Rapids Xavier (7-0) drops down to No. 2 while Creston-Orient-Macksburg leaps up to No. 3. Storm Lake, perhaps the surprise of the season pops into the top five at No. 5 behind an undefeated record and the power of a 41-3 beat down of Spirit Lake.
Solon (seven), Webster City (eight), Boone (nine) and Manchester West Delaware (10) round out the top 10.
In my opinion, Boone should be a little higher than they are, say ahead of Norwalk, but they come in only at No. 9. They have a better win than Webster City (Gilbert), who the Lynx lost to. But it does say a lot about the strength of Greene County’s district since they have two teams inside the top nine. But finally, Boone gets some respect, after running past its opponents over the last several weeks.
Week nine is where the biggest shakeups will happen, as Boone visits Webster City essentially for the district title, and Creston-O/M visits Carroll. What a couple of dandies those will be.
In other action, West Des Moines Valley (7-0) stays at No. 1 in Class 4A while West Union North Fayette stays at No. 1 in Class 2A. There wasn’t a shake up in Class 1A through eight-man, as Iowa City Regina (1A), St. Ansgar (A) and Fremont-Mills maintain their strangleholds on the top spots through seven weeks.
It was the tightest week yet for the Bee’s football contest in week seven, as we had five entrants tie for first place with 15 correct picks and just one miss.
Gene Hicks prevailed from the tiebreaker, predicting a total score of 851, which was just shy of the actual score of 865. Hicks’ only incorrect pick was the UNI-South Dakota game. South Dakota won 28-25. Hicks took UNI.
Kamden Kinne of Jefferson won second place with 15 correct picks and a predicted score of 939. Kinne also took UNI.
And in third, in the triple tie-breaker, we have David Skalla of Jefferson. Skalla made 15 correct picks, only missing the Miami - Florida State game (he took Miami). Skalla predicted a total score of 970 points.
Congratulations to all the winners.
There were 63 total entries for week seven.
***EDITOR’S NOTE:
The LSU-Florida game was postponed, so game 17 did not count for or against any entries.
I went 14-2 last week, my best run to date. Let’s see if this hot-streak continues. I still refuse to bet actual money on these games though.
SEASON RECORD: 77-38-3
1. Perry (2-5) at Greene County (0-7)
Greene County finally gets their first win of the year in the annual Cowbell game.
2. Ballard (4-3) at Gilbert (6-1)
I wasn’t that impressed with Gilbert last week, but their run game can wear anyone down.
3. Dallas Center-Grimes (5-2) at Boone (6-1)
The resurgence continues for the Toreadors. DC-G has a solid defense but they can’t stop Boone’s weapons.
4. Webster City (6-1) at Iowa Falls-Alden (3-4)
The Lynx run game overpowers the Cadets.
5. Carroll (7-0) at Atlantic (1-6)
The Trojans don’t stand a chance against a Carroll team in the midst of a special season.
6. East Sac County (3-4) at Kuemper Catholic (6-1)
This has the potential to be a low-scoring affair, but I give Kuemper the edge.
7. Ar-We-Va (5-2) at Glidden-Ralston (2-5)
Ar-We-Va’s offense is much too explosive for the Wildcats to handle.
8. Coon Rapids-Bayard (6-1) at Boyer Valley (4-3)
The Crusaders are too strong on offense and defense for Boyer Valley to keep up.
COLLEGE
9. Iowa at Purdue (+12.5)
Heck, Purdue might outright win this one. At home against a pathetic Hawkeye offense… could very well happen.
10. Iowa State at Texas (-13.5)
ISU is improving, but I think those back-to-back heartbreaking defeats catch up to them and Texas covers.
11. Kansas State at Oklahoma (-10.5)
This line opened at -14 and I would’ve taken K-State, but I don’t think the ‘Cats can cover 10.5. The Sooners still have a lot of offensive talent.
12. Alabama at Tennessee (+13)
The Volunteers are the toughest team to figure out. Until they outright don’t cover, I’m riding them.
13. Ohio State at Wisconsin (+10)
Camp Randall Stadium is definitely worth three points. So give me the Badgers to cover, but they don’t win. That defense is pretty dang good.
14. Stanford (+3) at Notre Dame
Stanford can’t be this bad, can they? Both teams are coming off consecutive weeks of pitiful performances. The Cardinal win and cover.
15. Nebraska (-3.5) at Indiana
This is a scary line, but I think Nebraska is ready to show they mean business.
16. Ole Miss at Arkansas (+7.5)
This is also tricky. It could be a high-scoring game which doesn’t fall in the Razorbacks’ favor. But giving them seven points at home is too much to pass up.
17. Minnesota (+6.5) at Maryland
The Gopher offense looked horrendous last weekend but I don’t trust Maryland one bit.
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