Miami is flying high due to the play of quarterback Jacory Harris, but the Hurricanes face their toughest test yet when they take on Virginia Tech this weekend. We left it up to Mike DiFerdinando and Kyle Maistri to debate who will win in the newest edition of the alligatorSports Brand Picks Column.
Miami will cover the -3 spread because … Tyrod Taylor isn't quite the Mike Vick clone he would like to be. T-Mobile has been anything but since he decided to act like a child and refuse to run to make some kind of point about his subpar ability as a passer. Taylor has just 10 yards rushing through three games. But hey, at least he has a 47.6 completion percentage.
- MIKE DiFERDINANDO
VT will cover the +3 spread because: I can't deny Miami has shown a type of offensive potency that hasn't been seen in South Florida since Brandon Meriweather did his best Floyd Mayweather impression against FIU a few years ago. Despite that, the Hokies pride themselves on tough defense and special teams, which will be the difference in a home game for VT.
- KYLE MAISTRI
Now, on to the picks!
In first place with a record of 17-12 is Mike "People just like me" DiFerdinando, whose column about horse racing prompted an amazing amount of fan mail, resulting in even more unbelievable amount of self-praise from DiFer.
In second at 14-15 is the Miami Herald's Joe "Did anyone ask about the baby?" Goodman, who had the news sense to ask safeties coach Chuck Heater how one of his players was handling becoming a dad this week.
In third place this week with a record of 13-16 is the Orlando Sentinel's Jeremy "Do you ever do yoga?" Fowler, who will have nothing to blog about since Lane Kiffin and Urban Meyer have quit throwing mud at each other.
In fourth place with a 12-17 record, we have the Gainesville Sun's Ed "Man, I want to get in that dance class" Aschoff, who is not quite high enough on the totem pole to make the trip to Lexington this week. Instead, he'll camp outside the football stadium for the next all-female hip-hop class.
Tied with Ed at 12-17 is Mike "I must have contracted the swine flu from the football team" McCall, who has claimed to be "sick" for the past week despite the fact that he shows no signs of illness.
It's a battle of the ankle biters in sixth place, with Bobby "Mike Teel is only one more injury away from seeing the field for the Seahawks" Callovi and the Florida Times-Union's Mike "She looked like she just walked out of the Twin Towers" DiRocco, all tied up at 11-18.
Despite his questionable choice of descriptions, DiRocco is lucky enough to be flying to the game this weekend, while Bob will have to settle for a booster seat in the back of our rental van.
Alone in eighth place with a record of 10-19 is Kyle "I could catch four passes for 30 yards" Maistri, who took so many shots at his beloved David Nelson this week that we fear their relationship is beyond repair.
And tied for dead-last place with piss-poor records of 7-22 are our own Phil "Have you heard I'm taking the LSAT this weekend?" Kegler and the Palm Beach Post's Ben "These college girls look 10 years older than me but are actually 10 years younger than me" Volin.
If you haven't heard, Phil is taking the test that will determine his entire future and quite possibly the fate of the world Saturday instead of coming with us to Kentucky.
Ben, on the other hand, has fallen in love with college life so much since he started graduate school that he's considering rushing a frat this spring. Sure, it would probably take a little time away from his job, but you can't really put a price on cheap beer and even cheaper women. Right, Ben?
| MDF | JG | JF | EA | MM | |
| Cal-Ore (+6) | Cal | Ore | Cal | Cal | Cal |
| UM-VT (+3) | UM | UM | VT | VT | VT |
| Ark (+17)-Bama | Ark | Ark | Ark | Ark | Ark |
| RU-MD (+2.5) | RU | RU | RU | RU | RU |
| ILL (+14)-OSU | OSU | ILL | ILL | ILL | OSU |
| WF-BC (+2) | BC | WF | WF | WF | WF |
| USF (+14)-FSU | FSU | FSU | FSU | FSU | FSU |
| MSU (+3)-Wisc | Wisc | Wisc | MSU | MSU | Wisc |
| UNC-GT (+3) | UNC | UNC | UNC | GT | GT |
| UF-UK (+21.5) | UF | UK | UF | UF | UF |
| BC | MDR | KM | PK | BV | |
| Cal-Ore (+6) | Cal | Cal | Ore | Cal | Cal |
| UM-VT (+3) | UM | UM | VT | UM | UM |
| Ark (+17)-Bama | Ark | Ark | Ark | Ark | Bama |
| RU-MD (+2.5) | RU | RU | RU | RU | MD |
| ILL (+14)-OSU | OSU | OSU | ILL | OSU | ILL |
| WF-BC (+2) | BC | BC | WF | WF | WF |
| USF (+14)-FSU | FSU | FSU | FSU | USF | FSU |
| MSU (+3)-Wisc | MSU | Wisc | MSU | Wisc | MSU |
| UNC-GT (+3) | GT | UNC | GT | GT | UNC |
| UF-UK (+21.5) | UF | UK | UF | UF | UK |
