This year we decided to invite UF beat writers from some of the major newspapers in Florida to increase the competition level of the alligatorSports Brand Picks Column.
Through the first six weeks of the season, it is obvious we were better off without them.
Only the Gainesville Sun's Edward Aschoff is in the top half of the standings.
The Palm Beach Post's Ben Volin finally had a week above .500, but will need to do a lot more to get out of the bottom table. Joe Goodman of the Miami Herald appears to be trying to battle Volin for last place after going 2-8 last week.
Maybe they can make a move to catch up to us younglings with this week's slate of games.
Instead of arguing the obvious choice of Oklahoma against Texas, we will be having a go at the Rutgers-Pittsburgh game.
Rutgers will win because... Tom Savage is Rutgers' quarterback. He is a true freshman, but he is the second coming of the great Mike Teel.
RU coach Greg Schiano single-handedly cost the Scarlet Knights their only loss by not having enough faith in the freshman and starting the game with Domenic Natale, who threw three interceptions in the loss to Cincinnati.
Since then, RU has walked all over powerhouses such as Howard, Florida International and Texas Southern.
Unfortunately, Natale had to step in for Savage for a game after he suffered a Tebow-like concussion, but he is back and ready to put his name in the Heisman talk with a dominate performance against Pitt. It won't hurt that he has a strong running game and defense to help out.
After the Scarlet Knights take down the Panthers, it will just be a waiting game for Cincinnati's eventual collapse, and it will be on to a BCS game for RU.
- BOBBY CALLOVI
Pittsburgh will cover the -3.5 point spread because… Look, I'll be honest. I know nothing about this game.
My pick is made out of pure loathing toward Bobby Callovi.
When Bobby handed me the list of picks this week, written in crayon, I brushed aside the smears of edible Play-Doh and held it up to the light so I could read it through the watercolor paint he had spilled on it.
Just beside the macaroni picture of a five-legged dog, Bobby had scrawled "Яutgers vs. Pittsbug," and it was the easiest pick of the week for me to make.
I can't take shots at Bobby for liking a smaller team, but there's only room for one underdog fan-favorite in our office, and the second-best football school in New Jersey (after Duke) isn't it.
All of Rutgers wins this year have come against abysmal opponents, and RU quarterback Tom Savage is going to get knocked into next week by the Panthers' defensive line as Pitt rolls to a win.
- MIKE McCALL
Now on to the picks!
Still holding on to the top spot with a 33-26 record is Mike "Do you know what I am saying?" DiFerdinando, who became a man this week, then ditched his journalism career to start a "kissing company" and got out of the business just in time to avoid being caught by the South Park Police.
Tied for second with a record of 30-29 is Ed "I'm so lonely" Aschoff, who will be trying to sneak into Gator Growl so he won't have to stay home all by himself Friday night because the few friends he has will be at world's largest student-run pep rally.
Also, in second is Bobby "Did you see the look in Charlie Strong's eyes? " Callovi, who apparently noticed something special about the UF defensive coordinator's eyes. Yeah, we don't look that hard either.
The first of three writers tied at 29-30 for fourth place is Phil "No fun " Kegler, who admits he has no sense of humor. He's right.
Next up in four hole logjam is Kyle "There's a curb there" Maistri, who on the way to Baton Rouge drove his Honda Civic over a parking chock, causing an hour delay in the trip.
The last of the three in fourth is Mike "Florida's too good" McCall, who stands by his point that UF's 13 points against LSU was a beatdown.
In seventh place with a 26-33 record is the Orlando Sentinel's Jeremy "Baby face" Fowler, who makes sure to point out when us Alligator writers haven't shaved in a couple days. Sounds to me like he is just jealous of our facial hair, but don't worry Jeremy being able to grow a beard doesn't make you a real man. Who am I kidding? Yes, it does.
Down in eighth place with a 25-34 record is Florida Times-Union's Mike "I'm just taking the odds, man" DiRocco, who will be paying for an AP writer's dinner after agreeing to a bet that Dan Werner and Chandler Parsons would play in the back court together this season.
From the Miami Herald in ninth place with a 22-37 record is Joe "Good job" Goodman, who I still refuse to say anything negative about. Keep up the great work, Joe.
Finally in dead-ass last place with a 17-43 record is Palm Beach Post writer Ben "Go Gators" Volin, who let his true colors out by donning a shirt with orange and blue that looked a lot like UF apparel at the basketball team's media day, and I thought he was supposed to be unbiased.
| MDF | EA | BC | PK | KM | |
| SC(+17)-Bama | Bama | SC | SC | SC | SC |
| OU(+4.5)-UT | UT | OU | OU | UT | OU |
| VT(-3.5)-GT | VT | GT | VT | VT | VT |
| USC(-10.5)-ND | ND | USC | ND | ND | ND |
| Iowa(+3.5)-Wisc | Iowa | Wisc | Iowa | Iowa | Iowa |
| Mizz(+7.5)-OSU | Mizz | OSU | Mizz | Mizz | OSU |
| Minn(+17.5)-PSU | Minn | Minn | PSU | Minn | Minn |
| Pitt(-3.5)-RU | Pitt | RU | RU | Pitt | RU |
| Cal(-3.5)-UCLA | Cal | Cal | Cal | Cal | Cal |
| Ark(+24.5)-UF | Ark | Ark | UF | UF | UF |
| MM | JF | MDR | JG | BV | |
| SC(+17)-Bama | SC | SC | SC | SC | Bama |
| OU(+4.5)-UT | OU | UT | UT | OU | OU |
| VT(-3.5)-GT | VT | VT | GT | VT | VT |
| USC(-10.5)-ND | ND | USC | ND | ND | ND |
| Iowa(+3.5)-Wisc | Iowa | Iowa | Wisc | Iowa | Wisc |
| Mizz(+7.5)-OSU | OSU | OSU | Mizz | Mizz | Mizz |
| Minn(+17.5)-PSU | Minn | Minn | Minn | Minn | Minn |
| Pitt(-3.5)-RU | Pitt | Pitt | RU | Pitt | Pitt |
| Cal(-3.5)-UCLA | UCLA | UCLA> | Cal | UCLA | Cal |
| Ark(+24.5)-UF | Ark | Ark | Ark | UF | Ark |
