NCAA Week 5 picks

I'm doing about average on my picks, but upsets are fewer so far.  That means I'm not picking as well.  Let's see if this week can reverse that.

Wednesday Sept 30
Hawaii Warriors at Lousiana Tech Bulldogs:  Hawaii tends to suck away from home, but the Bulldogs are having a tough year.  HAWAII

Thurs Oct 1
Colorado Buffaloes at West Virginia Mountaineers:  Forget Colorado, it looks like their season is already done.  WEST VIRGINIA

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at UAB Blazers:  A game on CBS in the middle of the week?  What time of year IS it?  Despite the strange timing, I don't think the game will end strangely.  UAB is a decent team, but Southern Miss is finding themselves after a rough start.  SOUTHERN MISS

Friday Oct 2
Pittsburgh Panthers at Louisville Cardinals:  Louisville is having a REALLY rough year.  Pitt should recover nicely from last week's loss.  PITT

Utah State Aggies at #22 BYU Cougars:  Not much chance of an upset here.  BYU

Top 25
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide at Kentucky Wildcats:  Kentucky only scored seven points against Florida last week.  With Alabama's defense, is a shutout likely?  ALABAMA

UC Davis at #4 Boise State Broncos:  Blowout.  BOISE STATE

#5 Auburn Tigers at Tennessee Volunteers:  Auburn's defense should give the Vols fits, but Lane Kiffin might have some tricks up his sleeve.  Watch for an upset if Auburn gets overconfident.  AUBURN

Arkansas Razorbacks at #6 Texas A&M Aggies:  Another upset possibility, but A&M has been quiet enough that the Hogs might not get "up" enough for this game.  A&M

#8 Michigan Wolverines at Michigan State Spartans:  These in-state rivalries can be bitter and unpredictable, and few get as emotional as this game.  The Spartans aren't terrible, despite a terrible record, so an upset is possible here, too, but I think Rich Rodriquez has the Wolverines moving well this season.  MICHIGAN

#9 LSU Tigers at Georgia Bulldogs:  Georgia has been looking better, but LSU is the team to bring them back down.  LSU

Arkansas State Red Wolves at #10 Iowa Hawkeyes: Expect this one to be a blowout.  IOWA

#11 Cincinnati Bearcats at Miami Ohio Redhawks:  Not much is expected of the Big East Conference, but Cincinnati is proving to be worth a look.  CINCINNATI

#13 Ohio State Buckeyes at Indiana Hoosiers:  The Hoosiers played Michigan tough last week, but the Buckeyes' defense is at their peak, coming off consecutive shutouts.  They won't completely shut down the Hoosiers, but they will beat them.  OHIO STATE

#14 USC Trojans at Cal Golden Bears:  After the beating Cal took at Oregon, nobody is expecting much from them, but Cal has beaten USC in the past.  Moreover, after suffering a staggering loss like that, Cal will want to beat USC.  I don't think they will, but they'll keep it close.  USC

#15 Penn State Nittany Lions at Illinois Fighting Illini:  The Illini offense is suffering.  Penn State will keep them pinned back for most of the game.  PENN STATE

Washington State Cougars at #17 Oregon Ducks:  The Ducks are flying high again, and the Cougars are struggling.  Not a good time for WSU to meet Oregon.  OREGON

UCLA Bruins at #18 Stanford Cardinal:  Here's a game with upset potential written all over it!  Stanford is an up-and-down team, and last week they were up.  That would seem to indicate a down week this week.  UCLA is dangerous, had an extra week to prepare, and is the only unbeaten team in the Pac-10.  I have to go against the Cardinal on this one.  UCLA

#19 Oklahoma Sooners at Miami Hurricanes:  The Hurricanes want to avoid losing two in a row, and the Sooners are still without Bradford.  That gives the Miami defense more time to strike.  However, an extra week to plan should help the Sooners.  This game will be close, but I think the Sooners can pull it out.  OKLAHOMA

Washington Huskies at #20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  Washington couldn't maintain their high level of emotional play after the USC win.  They don't have as much incentive to beat the Irish, while the Irish still have something to prove.  NOTRE DAME

#21 Virgina Tech Hokies at Duke Blue Devils:  This isn't basketball; the Blue Devils don't stand much of a chance.  VIRGINA TECH

#23 Houston Cougars at UTEP Miners:  Houston is a strong team.  UTEP still needs a couple of pieces in order to be a complete team.  HOUSTON

#24 Ole Miss Rebels at Vanderbilt Commodores:  The Commodores can surprise, but Ole Miss wants to erase the bad taste from last week's defeat.  OLE MISS

South Carolina State at #25 South Carolina Gamecocks:  SC State may be one of the top teams in the FCS right now, but that won't prevent them from losing to the Gamecocks.  They should score some points, though.  SOUTH CAROLINA

Big Ten
Northwestern Wildcats at Purdue Boilermakers:  These two seem fairly evenly matched, so the game could swing either way.  I usually prefer the home team in such match-ups.  PURDUE

Wisconsin Badgers at Minnesota Golden Gophers:  Minnesota's staple, the running game, has faltered this season, and they don't quite know how to design a consistent passing game.  WISCONSIN

Other Games of Interest
South Florida Bulls at Syracuse Orangemen:  South Florida gets to continue their climb up the Big East standings.  SOUTH FLORIDA

SMU Mustangs at TCU Horned Frogs:  The battle of the acronyms will end with TCU triumphant and knocking on the door of the Top 25.

Game of the Week -- Florida State Seminoles at Boston College Eagles:  I don't care that neither of these two teams are ranked right now, this should be a tremendous showdown.  The ACC have been having some interesting games this season, and both of these teams are capable of breakout games.  If they choose to, they can turn this into a great game.  I like BC in these close matches.  BOSTON COLLEGE