It is our pleasure to present this trophy to Texas Christian University, the 2009 Jesus Cup winner. /round of applause

Iron Bowl (ALA 39-33-1) Alabama 23 @ Auburn 17 – In traditional with Black Friday the main course will be served before all the appetizers today. Auburn will be able to move the ball, but the Tide defense will prove too tough and Mark Ingram too consistent.

Backyard Brawl (PITT 61-37-3) Pittsburgh 20 @ West Virginia 31 – My Wanstafidence is at an all time low, because the team is performing at an all time high.

Egg Bowl (MISS 60-39-6) Ole Miss 33 @ Mississippi State 24 – The Bulldogs will do what they’ve done all year, come close in a big game and ultimately fall short.

Commonwealth Cup (VT 48-37-5) Virginia Tech 41 @ Virginia 27 – #BeatUVa

Holy War (Utah 53–33–4) Utah 24 @ BYU 27 – The two  most vanilla 9-2 teams battle it out in the holiest of holies. Long story short I like BYU because they’re home.

Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate (UGA 59-39-5) Georgia 24 @ Georgia Tech 35 – It won’t be a blowout like our friends think it’ll be, because Georgia is talented and they’ve shown they can put up points against average defenses.

If you’re around this weekend and trying to avoid your family, feel free to join in on the conversation. She’ll be here.

H/T: Poon of the SEC

No she won’t.

Virginia Tech @ Maryland – If you’re looking for a preview of the game you won’t find that here. If those are things of interest to you then check out Gobbler Country’s What to Watch or Testudo Times. The only thing that matters in this fashion show game is that the Hokies win so I win a blogger bet with our friends at Girls Don’t Know Sports. The winner of said bet gets to defile the other’s banner atop their blog which will remain in place for a week. Please don’t fuck this up Hokies.

West Virginia 34 @ Cincinnati 42 – Bombs over Nippert. The ‘Eers have a sketchy secondary that Zach Collaros will exploit.

Miami 20 @ North Carolina 30 – The Canes will sleepwalk into a buzzsaw.

Iowa 13 @ Ohio State 24 – It will be close, but never within reach for the Hawkeyes. James Vandenberg didn’t make anyone a believer last week.

Utah 24 @ TCU 38 – Utah hasn’t done anything of note this year except win eight games. They’re flying under the radar in a bad way riding their street-cred (gasp Utah has street-cred) back up the rankings. TCU handles business in front of their first sellout in three years.

Notre Dame 24 @ Pittsburgh 21 – File this pick under things I never thought I would do. I’m taking the Irish in a must win road game, against a ranked team, at night, who plays stout defense and punishes opponents on the ground. Chuckles Weis is obviously failing to the Wanstache here.

This is a weekend of under cards, but let’s take a look at the inner beauty.

Florida State 28 @ North Carolina 26 – To date this is the least exciting Thursday night game of the season. FSU is fighting for bowl eligibility and North Carolina needs a big win at home to feed their fan base. The ‘Noles have proven they can put up points while North Carolina has struggled  to find their groove. FSU’s defense has been suspect, but is good enough to hold the Heels in check.

South Florida 13 @ Pittsburgh 20 – Don’t punch me in the balls Wanstache.

Georgia Tech 27 @ Virginia 17 – From here on out, for obvious reasons, I’ll have my eye on Georgia Tech. For those who turn a blind eye to ACC football, Virginia Tech needs our engineering brethren in the Dirty to lose so we control our own destiny in the ACC again. The Jackets haven’t won in Charlottesville since 1990, but unfortunately their offense will be too much for the Cavs to handle. They’ll grind out the clock and UVA will waste half of their precious possessions.

Boston College 27 @ Notre Dame 30 – Brian and Jeff took some time away from knitting new tights for dance class to take a look at the history between the Eagles and Irish. The Eagles are riding a six game winning streak into South Bend, but we’re picking the Irish because Boston College has been outscored 21-73 on the road this year. The winner will receive representation in the Jesus graphic above. Current Jesus Cup standings have been provided for your convenience.

Penn St 20 @ Michigan 21 – Here’s an excellent By The Numbers preview. Maggs should have more on this game tomorrow. If not I’ll Photoshop him three donkeys and a clown all riding a merry-go-round together.

Tennessee 14 @ Alabama 30 – If you want to know any more about this game please direct your attention to 3rd Saturday in Blogtober.

TCU 27 @ BYU 21 – This is the only fucking game featuring two top 25 teams and it is on, wait for it… Versus. Spettacolare! This statement will show my east coast bias, but when checking out Vanquish The Foe I was surprised to see just how much talent BYU has been stockpiling. It still blows my mind that they were able beat Oklahoma, yet lost to FSU at home. Meanwhile TCU has won on the road at Clemson and Virginia. This will be a tight game and I like the Frogs’ offense against a just better than average BYU defense.

Texas 35 @ Mizzou 20 – Because at some point Colt McCoy has to have a breakout game, right?

Someone other than Jesus is 30-18 (62.5%) on the year. These picks are only here to prove my omnipotence and are not be used as the basis for any actual cash wager. Jesus doesn’t endorse gambling.