It's 4th and 1.2 (percentage points) to go for LA Picks12 weeks down, 3 (plus the magical bowl season) left.  With 80% of the season "in the books," it's fourth down and 1.2 yards to go.  Why 1.2?  Because LA Pick Performance is 58.8% (50-35-1) ATS for the year...1.2% below my goal of 60%.  So, I need a 5 win (or better) performance this week to reach my goal and then drive to the final goal line.  Given my outstanding midweek performance (11-6, 65%), I'm going for both Top 25 Matchups in the midweek with Ball State (-6.5) @ Central Michigan and Miami, FL (+4.0) @ Georgia Tech.

Real Election Night 2008: "Pick" the Huskies in an upsetTrick?  Wow – that was more like an Exorcism.  After suffering my first losing week of the season, LA Picks fall to 42-31-1 ATS…or 57.5% correct for the year.  While under my goal of 60%, there are 5 weeks left in the regular season and I am still outpacing my rivals over at collegefootballnews.com – whose top analyst is picking at a 52.2% clip ATS.  So, consider the demons gone..."this house is cleeeeeean."

LA Honors Joe Tiller with an Upset Pick this weekPat yourself on the back if you called THAT.  Way to go Beavers and thanks for propelling me over the .500 mark in mid-week predictions.  This week, the LA picks come to you remote from South Bend, IN as I return back “home” to the Golden Dome and Touchdown Jesus.  Look for me on NBC at 3:30 Eastern.  But much more on that game later.  First, let’s put my 4-0 PICK OF THE WEEK record on the line with my selection for Week #5: UNC (+6.5) @ Miami (-6.5).

Finally, an issue we can all agree on...When reflecting upon my strong Kansas State pick this morning...and the smackdown that Louisville brought last night...I was searching for some common theme for why my first two midweek picks worked out so well and why my Kansas State pick flopped so miserably.  My conclusion:  Obama really is the man.  Using Obama "pics": 2-0.  College football pic:  0-1.  That, and Don is a jinx.  As I can't control Don's picks anymore than I can control Dave Wannstedt's playcalling ineptitude on Saturday afternoons, I have decided it must be Obama.  Hey, everyone needs a good luck charm.

Slammin' Down Thursday Night PicksWell, put Obama in his Baby Blue Unis...because North Carolina just laid a SMACK DOWN on Rutgers and LA continues to slam down the Thursday night picks. A big 2-0 on Thursday night while picking Vanderbilt and North Carolina - straight up no less.  If possible to undervalue your #1 underrated team of the year, I did.

Prediction:   UNC 27, Rutgers 24

Result:         UNC 44, Rutgers 12

Now, let's try to parlay that into my Lucky Seven for the week of September 13th. With any luck, I will reach 3-0 status in MY PICK OF THE WEEK category which is Wisconsin (PICK) @ Fresno State.