From the pen of Mike Sheerin;

Welcome back to the picks blog. Conference championship week always bums me out a bit. It’s the first real sobering reminder the season’s almost over. With that said there’s quite a bit at stake this weekend. Before the picks I had a thought. Let me preface this by saying I hate Ohio State. No real rhyme or reason to it just never liked the buckeyes. I’m also not a fan of Mr Born on Third Base himself Ryan Day. I think the coach and the program are heading towards and inevitable divorce and I know just the place for him. Hello Virginia Tech have you met my friend Ryan?

It’s time for Virginia Tech to come back to national relevance after a long time away. I think Ryan Day could do that? He’s clearly got the recruiting chops and the ACC is there for the taking. I don’t know I just think this works.

Last week was special. We went 5-0 +4.59 units bringing the blog to 31-31 +0.28 units. Can’t start high stepping yet, we’ve been in positions like this at times and then had a bad week. Needless to say this is a big one.

Clemson @ SMU (N) -2.5 o/u 55.5

SMU has had a wonderful season. What Rhett Lashlee has done for this team in his first season is fantastic. Kevin Jennings is a mobile QB and we saw what LaNorris Sellers did to this Clemson defense. Problem is Jennings isn’t Sellers. Clemson could have had 2 or 3 more sacks against South Carolina which would have changed the outcome of the game. I think Clemson’s defense proves to be too much. Give me Clemson ML +112.

Tulane @ Army +5.5 o/u 45.5

Tulane played itself out of a potential playoff berth last week by losing to Memphis. Despite Coach Sumrall likely having a foot out the door I think Tulane controls this game. Fun fact, Sumrall has played against an option offense 3 times. In those games his team has given up a combined 9 points. Tulane -5.5.

UNLV @ Boise State -4 o/u 57.5

Our first unofficial playoff game will be happening in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game. Couple factors play into my pick here. A) This is a rematch and I tend to play the loser of the first game in rematch. 2) I’ve been largely unimpressed with Boise State’s play down the stretch. D) 4 feels like one or two points too many. Give me UNLV +4.

Penn State @ Oregon (N) -3.5 o/u 50.5

Kind of crazy to think Dan Lanning has yet to bring any silverware to Eugene right? Well it’s true the next boy wonder is still waiting to win that first banner for the Ducks. Honest question, will you bet James Franklin in a big game? I have very little faith. Penn State just doesn’t have the outside playmakers to threaten Oregon. We’ve seen Penn State’s defense get gashed on the ground against Ohio State. And USC showed you can move the ball through the air. Nothing personal here to fellow writer Tyler I think Penn State gets exposed. Quack Quack Sco Ducks -3.5.

Marshall @ UL-Lafayette -5.5 o/u 57.5

Yeah I’m showing the Sun Belt a little love. Over the course of its conference schedule Marshall was outgained. I think the luck runs out here. Not to mention Marshall Coach Charles Huff likely exiting for a new job soon. Give me UL-Lafayette -5.5.

On Twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon!