The Goldin Guarantee: Picking Clemson-FSU and Week 4

Wow, what a weekend of college football. I went 2-5 on the week, picking BYU and Oklahoma's victories. I knew that ECU would give the Hokies some trouble, but man, Virginia Tech really Virginia Tech'd that one. That was classic Beamering. And Georgia. When you have the ball on the 4 YARD LINE, and you have Todd Gurley, PUNCH THE BALL IN!!!! I'm not even mad that Boston College gave me another loss by beating USC, because that was hilarious. The only downside to that is that we might have to start viewing BC as a legit opponent again, like they were under Tom O'Brien and Jeff Jagodzinski. Now, enough ramblings, on to the picks!

Thursday 9/18

Auburn (-6.5) @ Kansas St (+6.5) 7:30 (ESPN)

In what should be an entertaining game, Auburn heads out to the Little Apple (Manhattan, KS) to face Bill Snyder's Cats on Thursday night. This one has all the makings for a wild night. The defending SEC Champs are the more talented team, but the factors of traveling on a shortened week paired with a wild crowd could spell trouble for the Tigers. That being said, I think Auburn may still have a little luck up their sleeves. The Goldin Guarantee: Auburn 28 K State 26

Saturday 9/20

Georgia Tech (+7) @ Virginia Tech (-7) 12:00 (ESPN)

Virginia Tech shocked the world in each of the last 2 weeks. In week 2, they knocked off Ohio State in Columbus. Last week, they fell flat on their face against ECU in Blacksburg. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, has skidded to 3-0 on a steady diet of cupcakes. Cupcakes that have actually given GT some scares. While we don't know which Hokie team shows up this week, I'm pretty confident that either one of them beats GT. The Goldin Guarantee: VT 35 GT 21

Virginia (+13.5) @ BYU (-13.5) 3:30 (ESPNU)

Virginia has actually looked like a decent squad over the past few weeks. The problem for the Wahoos: BYU has looked like a pretty good squad over the past few weeks. Not only are they good, but UVA is having to go to Provo to play. Too many things going in the Cougars' direction. The Goldin Guarantee: BYU 38 UVA 17

Florida (+17) @ Alabama (-17) 3:30 (CBS)

We'll get to learn a little more about Alabama this week, after seeing them play FAU and Southern Miss over the past 2 weeks. They did not look dominating against West Virginia in Atlanta, but it is hard to judge a team on opening weekend. I was shocked that Clemson-FSU got game day over this game, until Florida got taken to Triple OT by Kentucky and reminded me that this isn't the same Florida I'm used to seeing. Saban's old DC Will Muschamp (a fellow alum of my old High School, Darlington School in Rome, Georgia) has his team playing better than they did last year, but not well enough to knock off the Tide. The Goldin Guarantee: Alabama 31 Florida 10

South Carolina (-20.5) @ Vanderbilt (+20.5) 7:30 (SEC Network)

After holding off UGA, South Carolina has new life. Their goals of competing for the SEC Championship, and even a spot in the playoffs are still intact, and should stay intact after this week, because Vanderbilt does not stand a chance. This IS your grandpa's Vandy. The one that is the punching bag for the rest of the conference. But, hey Vandy, you've got academics and baseball. You don't have to be good at everything. The Goldin Guarantee: South Carolina 49 Vandy 7

Clemson (+22) @ Florida State (-22) 8:00 (ABC)

For the third straight year, Clemson-FSU gets College Gameday and the 8:00 ABC game, so all eyes will be on what has to be the hottest rivalry in the ACC. Last year was ugly. However, these aren't the same teams that we saw play last year. Like I said about Alabama, it's hard to judge FSU because we've seen them get a close win over OK State in Dallas and then easily down The Citadel. A lot of people are saying they aren't as good as last year. This weekend is where we find that out. For Clemson, I really think that we won't play as bad as we did last year. Everything that could go wrong went wrong that game for us, while it all went right for the 'Noles. I don't feel super optimistic about us getting the win, but my Solid Orange blood isn't going to let me pick against Clemson. Sorry for being biased, but you're reading a Clemson blog, so you should expect it. The Goldin Guarantee: Clemson 27 FSU 24

Now, my final piece of business is for the fans going to Tallahassee: Gameday Signs. After all the fodder that FSU has provided for us this offseason, I think that our Gameday sign game should be skrong. A lot of their fans brought signs to Gameday in Clemson last year, so don't be afraid to do the same to them. I'm going to throw a few ideas out there if anyone wants to use them, but please also post ideas in the comments. As always, be classy. My ideas:

"Jameis stole my other sign"

"If Corso is skrong, Herbstreit gonna be skrong den"

"Hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your crab legs"

"Extra

Security in

Publix

Needed"

"Free

Seafood

University"

As you can see, I'm not the best at this, so please contribute if you're not going and want to help someone else out.