NCAA 2011 Week 8 picks

This was a fairly easy week to pick, as there are few matchups between Top 25 teams or teams of similar strength.

Tuesday, Oct 18
Florida International Golden Panthers at Arkansas State Red Wolves:  The Golden Panthers were the early favorite, but they have faded.  The Red Wolves are a strong team, and they want revenge for their loss to FIU last year.  ARKANSAS STATE

Thursday, Oct 20
UCLA Bruins at Arizona Wildcats:  The Bruins don't have much of a chance to play for the conference title, but they are strong enough to be a nuisance.  Against struggling Arizona, they'll be more than that.  UCLA

Friday, Oct 21
#17 West Virginia Mountaineers at Syracuse Orange:  Syracuse could play spoiler, but I like the strength of the Mountaineers.  WEST VIRGINIA

Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Louisville Cardinals:  Rutgers continues their run through the Big East.  RUTGERS

Top 25
#24 Washington Huskies at #1 Stanford Cardinal:  The Huskies should enjoy their first week in the Top 25, because it looks like it won't last.  STANFORD

Tennessee Volunteers at #2 Alabama Crimson Tide:  The Vols can be tough, but the rigid Alabama defense will shut them down while the 'Bama offense rolls.  ALABAMA

Texas Tech Red Raiders at #4 Oklahoma Sooners:  Tech has the potential to upset, as their offense can run.  Their defense isn't hot, though, so any stop by the Sooners puts them behind.  OKLAHOMA

#5 Oklahoma State Cowboys at Missouri Tigers:  The Cowboys will wrangle the struggling Tigers, who are playing like cubs.  OKLAHOMA STATE

Auburn Tigers at #6 LSU Tigers:  The Tiger face-off in the SEC is always one of the most exciting and bruising games of the season.  Here, a preseason favorite to win the BCS Championship plays the current BCS Champ.  Up until the past two weeks, LSU has played lackluster.  They won't this game, but Auburn will also have incentive to fight hard.  This game will be close, closer than LSU would like.  LSU

Air Force Falcons at #7 Boise State Broncos:  The Broncos will roll as the Falcons continue to struggle to find an offensive identity.  BOISE STATE

North Carolina Tar Heels at #8 Clemson Tigers:  North Carolina has struggled in the ACC, and this game will be no exception.  The Tigers continue their march through the ACC to the title game.  CLEMSON

Marshall Thundering Herd at #9 Houston Cougars:  Easy win for Houston against a struggling Marshall squad.  HOUSTON

#10 Oregon Ducks at Colorado Buffaloes:  Perhaps even an easier victory for the Ducks, as Colorado stinks.  OREGON

#12 Arkansas Razorbacks at Ole Miss Rebels:  Arkansas is yet to face the tougher SEC opponents, so they should enjoy games like this for as long as they can.  ARKANSAS

#13 Kansas State Wildcats at Kansas Jayhawks:  Kansas actually played Oklahoma tough in the first half, but couldn't sustain it.  Against rival State, they may play them tough for most of the game, but I don't think it'll be enough to win.  They may play the Wildcats really close, though.  KANSAS STATE

#16 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Miami Hurricanes:  Miami may play Tech tough, but the Jackets won't allow themselves to lose two in a row.  They may not win by much, though.  GEORGIA TECH

Boston College Eagles at #18 Virginia Tech Hokies:  The Eagles are basically a non-entity in the ACC this season.  VIRGINIA TECH

#19 Cincinnati Bearcats at South Florida Bulls:  The Bulls may make things tough for Cincy, but without the stiff defense the Bulls have had in previous seasons, the Bearcats will be able to score.  CINCY

#20 Texas A&M Aggies at Iowa State Cyclones:  Iowa State has yet to win a conference game.  That streak continues.  A&M

#21 Nebraska Cornhuskers at Minnesota Golden Gophers:  Despite some impressive non-conference performances, it has been a poor year for Minnesota.  Nebraska will finally get a winning conference record with this victory; that's something Ohio State doesn't have.  NEBRASKA

#22 Penn State Nittany Lions at Northwestern Wildcats:  Northwestern looked good until conference play began.  Since then, they haven't been able to win.  That streak will continue, as Penn State looks to maintain their half-game lead over Wisconsin in the Legends division.  PENN STATE

#25 USC Trojans at Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  The Irish had an extra week to prepare for this game, and that makes this interesting.  It's more interesting when you realize that USC has not been as dominant as they have been in previous years, and their defense has some holes.  I'm going with my first upset pick here.  NOTRE DAME

Big Ten
Illinois Fighting Illini at Purdue Boilermakers:  Purdue's defense gave Penn State some fits, and they found ways to score.  Illinois has a more solid defense, though, and they keep finding more ways to move the ball.  Purdue's secondary isn't fast enough to counter AJ Jenkins, so Nathan Scheelhaase will have more completions this week.  Illinois regains their winning ways, and becomes bowl eligible with this victory.  ILLINOIS

Indiana Hoosiers at Iowa Hawkeyes:  Northwestern confirmed what Iowa State demonstrated - that Iowa's defense has some holes.  I don't think Indiana will be able to exploit those holes, though.  IOWA

GAME OF THE WEEK:  #3 Wisconsin Badgers at #15 Michigan State Spartans:  The Big Ten gains their first Game of the Week in a matchup of Top 25 teams.  Michigan State comes off an emotional win over their instate rival, while Wisconsin's offense has been rolling over everyone.  The Spartans slowed the Michigan offense, but Wisconsin has too many tools to be slowed.  WISCONSIN

The rest
Temple Owls at Bowling Green Falcons:  Temple is the best team in the MAC, and they continue to prove it every week.  TEMPLE

SMU Mustangs at Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles:  This is a close game, a rarity this week.  Either team is capable of winning this game, and establishing a solid second place behind Houston.  I give a slight edge to the home team, both for the friendly fans and for their stronger performances, but this game truly could go either way.  SOUTHERN MISS