Benster and D Pick Your Games----Row That Boat Axe Chili Hot Edition

Old dude, we're in Madison, but the game is in Minneapolis. What were you thinking about?

Huh? Can't hear you over the storm.

Well, you can't say no to the family, and Fleck would say that you row the boat through the snow. Of course, he has bigger things to worry about.

Yeah, I suppose he does.

The Gopher fans are feeling the HYYYYYYYYPPPEEE!, and it is time to watch me work.

Beloved Wisconsin Badgers (-2.5) vs. Minnesota Golden Elite Rowers of the Boat That line makes no sense to me, and I would have flipped it around. It turns out that P.J. Fleck can coach, and this is a massive game. This game is so important, that Fleck needs to outsource his pregame speech. Tim Brewster, is that chili hot?

 The winner gets to be a sacrificial lamb to A School in Columbus, but you still want to win. The storm will make things more difficult for the underrated Tanner Morgan as well as the underrated Jack Coan. I would not be surprised to see the Gophers win this game, but the thing is that in rivalry games, you look at the senior class. Wisconsin has the more accomplished senior class, winning 3 bowl games, including two straight New Years Six bowl games. Wisconsin also is a run heavy team, which the Gophers have struggled with at times. The Gophers may be an amazing story, but sometimes the bad guy gets to win. Badgers 24, Gophers 21.

Weather. Here's the early forecast for the game:

Or was it this?

Either way, Lee Corso is gonna hate it. If it's just sloppy, advantage Gophers. If it's worse, advantage Badgers. Gophers 17, Badgers 16.

Glorious Green Bay Packers (-6.5) vs. New York Football Giants  Last week was a disaster for the Packers, but the good news is that the schedule gets easier for them for a few weeks. The Giants are a team that quite frankly doesn't look good. The worrying thing is that this is a long flight, and the Packers struggle with long flights. The Packers should be fine and cruise home to a comfortable win, and can put the pressure back on the Vikings to match. Packers 35, All Hail The New York Giants 17.

We ran the Madagascar clip before, so we'll dispense with that. Packers need this one. They'll get it. Packers 28, Giants 13.

Minnesota Vikings (+2.5) vs. Seattle Seachickens The Vikings on the other hand are facing a more difficult opponent and a stadium that they could not conquer last year. Vikings fans generally seem happy with Cousins, but this is the type of game that the narrative says he doesn't win. The narrative is that Cousins can't beat winning teams, can't win on the road, and can't win on national television. I think the narrative is unfair, but I didn't start it. Seattle needs this game because they are hot on the tails of the 49ers. In this game, I go with the desperate team at home theory, which usually makes sense. Seahawks 14, Vikings 8.

The Vikings might be better than the Packers overall, but winning in Seattle on a Monday night ain't happening. Seahawks 20, Vikings 17.

Be safe in the storm. Also, be on the lookout for an Axe in Minnesota or Wisconsin. Ben out,