This team would dominate the college gridiron.

The season is slowly winding down, but The Blue House Lives is just getting going. After a feature article detailing Hampton Forecast’s comeback effort, The Blue House Lives furtively slipped back into second place. Will this stand? Who knows? The season is far from over, and the much-anticipated bowl pick ‘em will most likely decide the whole thing. Last week, no one gained any ground on anyone as everyone had strikingly similar picks. The Striker Report continues to lead the pack, but, as usual, it must be stated that no one really cares about Striker.

The “Fight Vols Fight” Pick of the Week:

  Vanderbilt Commodores at Tennessee Volunteers

The Vols were scorched on the ground last week by Ole Miss and Dexter McCluster. Luckily for the Vols, Vanderbilt is a cupcake. Following a dream season last year, the Commodores are having a very forgetful year. Hopefully, the Vols will have enough players out of jail to compete. The Blue House Lives predicts that this will happen, and the Vols will win.

The Blue House Lives:

Tennessee 41    Vanderbilt 20

Hampton Forecast:

Tennessee 39     Vanderbilt 16

Striker Report:

Tennessee 32     Vanderbilt 14

Washington Huskies at Bye Week

Here is the rematch for which Washington has been waiting. Bye Week bruised and battered the Huskies earlier in the year, but the purple and gold promise that this time will be different. Will Jake Locker avoid getting sacked by Bye Week’s lethargic defense?

The Blue House Lives:

Bye Week wins easily and parties with the Jonas Brothers in the Space Needle.

Hampton Forecast:

Washington 3     Bye Week 2

Striker Report:

No Pick. The Huskies aren’t worth his time.

#9 LSU Tigers at #23 Mississippi Rebels

Ole Miss is excited. Not only did they pulverize the Vols last week, but they instilled a whole heap of fear in the highly-touted Tigers. Les Miles has got to be worried about Dexter McCluster and his ability to zip through defenses. With the Magnolia Bowl trophy on the line for the second year, will Ole Miss remain the sole owner?

The Blue House Lives:

LSU 28     Mississippi 27

Hampton Forecast:

Mississippi 31     LSU 20

Striker Report:

Mississippi 25     LSU 19

#10 Ohio State Buckeyes at   Michigan Wolverines 

The Blue House Lives:

Ohio State 34      Michigan 10

Hampton Forecast:

Ohio State 33     Michigan 20

Striker Report:

Ohio State 31     Michigan 17

 California Golden Bears at  #15 Stanford Cardinal

The Blue House Lives:

Stanford 44     California 31

Hampton Forecast:

Stanford 35     California 22

Striker Report:

Stanford 35     California 27

 Oklahoma Sooners at Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Blue House Lives:

Oklahoma 32     Texas Tech 30

Hampton Forecast:

Texas Tech 28     Oklahoma 22

Striker Report:

Texas Tech 23     Oklahoma 22

Kansas State Wildcats at Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Blue House Lives:

Nebraska 30     Kansas State 27

Hampton Forecast:

Nebraska 27     Kansas State 18

Striker Report:

Nebraska 33     Kansas State 15 

#11 Oregon Ducks at  Arizona Wildcats

The Blue House Lives:

Oregon 27     Arizona 24

Hampton Forecast:

Oregon 33     Arizona 21

Striker Report:

Arizona 42     Oregon 30 

The Blue House Lives (47-29   0.618)

Hampton Forecast (35-22   0.614)

Striker Report (29-16   0.644)

Four score and seven years ago, the Vols were a championship team.

Finally, there are some good games. After last week’s less than intriguing matchups, this week brings rejuvenation. There are various top 25 games to pick from, and The Blue House Lives is more than excited. The Striker Report’s “go for broke” strategy paid off last week, as Striker came out looking good by picking Oregon State and Nebraska in big upsets. The Blue House Lives tied the Striker Report. The Hampton Forecast, although surging the past couple of weeks, was a game back.

Here are this week’s squirreliest picks:

Tennessee Volunteers at  Mississippi Rebels

The Vols stumble into Oxford missing three players lost due to attempted robbery. Does the fact that Tennessee’s players rob people with pellet guns frighten Ole Miss at all? Who cares? What should terrify the Rebs is the Tennessee defense. They have been playing lights-out lately. Ole Miss struggled in Week 1 with Memphis, and the Vols crushed the Tigers last Saturday. This tidbit puts Tennessee over the top.

The Blue House Lives:

Tennessee 31    Mississippi 27

Hampton Forecast:

Tennessee 33     Mississippi 24

Striker Report:

Tennessee 24     Mississippi 23

Washington Huskies at Oregon State Beavers

The Huskies continue to slip, and The Blue House Lives continues to enjoy it. This week, Washington limps into Oregon State, who is still celebrating their beat-down of California. With the Jonas Brothers buying the Space Needle, the Huskies are going to be way too distracted to win in Corvallis. Another week, another loss.

The Blue House Lives:

Oregon State 38     Washington 16

Hampton Forecast:

Oregon State 37     Washington 15

Striker Report:

Oregon State 36     Washington 22

#11 Utah Utes at #4 TCU Horned Frogs

What a strange season. This week marks the second week this season that the Mountain West Conference takes precedence over the more powerful and glamorous SEC and Big 12. There is one question that inhabits the mind of every college football critic: Is TCU good enough to play for the BCS championship? The Blue House Lives sees possibility, although we think that there is another non-BCS team that is just as good. This game should bolster TCU’s resume.

The Blue House Lives:

TCU 31     Utah 21

Hampton Forecast:

TCU 33     Utah 21

Striker Report:

TCU 35     Utah 12

 #13 Iowa Hawkeyes at  #16 Ohio State Buckeyes

The Blue House Lives:

Ohio State 30      Iowa 24

Hampton Forecast:

Ohio State 22     Iowa 17

Striker Report:

Ohio State 37     Iowa 18

 #25 Stanford Cardinal vs. #13 USC Trojans

The Blue House Lives:

USC 33     Stanford 20

Hampton Forecast:

USC 35     Stanford 28

Striker Report:

USC 34     Stanford 21

 #19 Arizona Wildcats at California Golden Bears

The Blue House Lives:

California 31     Arizona 30

Hampton Forecast:

Arizona 32     California 17

Striker Report:

Arizona 25     California 20

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at #8 Pittsburgh Panthers

The Blue House Lives:

Notre Dame 28     Pittsburgh 27

Hampton Forecast:

Wanstache 37     Notre Dame 23

Striker Report:

Pittsburgh 27     Notre Dame 17 

The Blue House Lives (43-26   0.623)

Hampton Forecast (31-19   0.620)

Striker Report (25-13   0.673)

Jeff Goldblum knows that it's not chaos if the Vols win today.

How about the Hampton Forecast? After another brilliant week, it continues its upward surge. Whatever pep talk Jacob Hampton gave himself at the midpoint in the season, it has definitely paid off. As for The Blue House Lives, last week was nothing but atrocious. This week, however, the scent of rebound is in the air, and The House is extremely confident. Once again, as for the Striker Report, it must be stated that, as usual, no one cares about Striker. Good luck to him nonetheless.

Here is this week’s BHCS poll. As expected, Florida maintains the top spot after demolishing Georgia last week.

Here are this week’s randiest picks:

Memphis Tigers at Tennessee Volunteers

Lane Kiffin is definitely a stride. Last week, the Vols, outfitted with black jerseys, crushed South Carolina. The Vols are looking like one of the top rising programs in college football. Memphis rolls into Knoxville this week for homecoming. Memphis upset the Manning-led Vols in 1996, and the Tigers look to do the same this year. Their strategy: make Tennessee kick field goals. The Vols will presumably allow Chad Cunningham to continue handling all kicking duties with “Blockable” Daniel Lincoln on the sidelines. With or without field goals, Tennessee takes this one easily.

The Blue House Lives:

Tennessee 37    Memphis 9

Hampton Forecast:

Tennessee 33     Memphis 19

Striker Report:

Tennessee 39     Memphis 13

Washington Huskies at UCLA Bruins

After getting mauled by Bye Week, Washington goes to the Rose Bowl to take on the Bruins. The Bruins are the most inconsistent team in the Pac-10, and Washington is the most consistent. Luckily for UCLA, Washington is consistently bad. The Huskies will be extra distracted thinking about what it would take for them to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl. UCLA adds to Seattle’s woes.

The Blue House Lives:

UCLA 24     Washington 19

Hampton Forecast:

UCLA 15     Washington 14

Striker Report:

UCLA 27     Washington 25

#9 LSU Tigers at #3 Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama spent the entire bye week trying to figure out how Tennessee outplayed them two weeks ago. In 1993, an unranked LSU Tiger team knocked off #5 Alabama 17-13. LSU would love nothing more than to spoil Alabama national championship aspirations. The Tigers’ defense, behind John Chavis, is intense and unrelenting. Mark Ingram, however, is the best running back in college football. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Alabama wins.

The Blue House Lives:

Alabama 19     LSU 14

Hampton Forecast:

Alabama 27     LSU 18

Striker Report:

Alabama 28     LSU 24

#17 Ohio State Buckeyes at  #10 Penn State Nittany Lions

The Blue House Lives:

Penn State 22      Ohio State 21

Hampton Forecast:

Penn State 29     Ohio State 17

Striker Report:

Penn State 29     Ohio State 23

#14 USC Trojans vs. Arizona State Sun Devils

The Blue House Lives:

USC 37     Arizona State 29

Hampton Forecast:

USC 24     Arizona State 17

Striker Report:

USC 30     Arizona State 16

Oregon State Beavers at #19 California Golden Bears

The Blue House Lives:

California 33     Oregon State 24

Hampton Forecast:

California 31     Oregon State 24

Striker Report:

Oregon State 34     California 26

#23 Oklahoma Sooners at Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Blue House Lives:

Nebraska 28     Oklahoma 27

Hampton Forecast:

Oklahoma 41     Nebraska 25

Striker Report:

Nebraska 45     Oklahoma 37

South Carolina Gamecocks at Arkansas Razorbacks

The Blue House Lives:

Arkansas 28     South Carolina 21

Hampton Forecast:

Arkansas 35     South Carolina 23

Striker Report:

South Carolina 32     Arkansas 22

The Blue House Lives (37-24   0.607)

Hampton Forecast (31-19   0.620)

Striker Report (25-13   0.658)