There weren't many upsets this week. Stanford suffered the first, losing by four to Washington. Army perhaps suffered the worst upset, losing to FCS Stony Brook by twenty, and could escape with only a field goal. Georgia Tech also suffered a horrific loss, losing to Sun Belt's Middle Tennessee by three touchdowns.
Thursday, Oct 4
East Carolina Pirates at UCF Golden Knights: Chinks are starting to show in the Golden Knights' armor. They are not as potent as they started the season. On the other end, the Pirates are finding their defensive spark, and that makes them more dangerous. For this pick, I'm ignoring my rankings, and picking the Pirates. EAST CAROLINA by six
#13 USC Trojans at Utah Utes: The Utes moved up to Pac-12 competition at the wrong time, as they lost plenty of talent before last season. They're better this season, but not good enough to get past the Trojans. USC by 20
Friday, Oct 5
Pittsburgh Panthers at Syracuse Orange: Syracuse is once again in the Big East cellar. Pitt isn't great, but they certainly outmatch Syracuse. PITT by eleven
Utah State Aggies at BYU Cougars: This one will be close! Both are strong teams with highly capable offenses and quick defenses. This is an unusual situation for Utah State, who does not frequently have good seasons. They want to make the most of this opportunity. BYU is more used to the pressure, but Utah State is still flying a bit under the radar, so they may not be feeling the heat quite yet. UTAH STATE by four
Top 25
Washington Huskies at #2 Oregon Ducks: The Huskies already upset one Pac-12 opponents, and they're gunning for another. They won't succeed this time. The Ducks offense is simply too tough to stop, and their quick defense makes outscoring them unlikely. OREGON by 20
#5 LSU Tigers at #12 Florida Gators: LSU has not been impressive as late. This could be Florida's chance to engineer an upset. I'll pick the Tigers, but watch out for the Gators, who had an extra week to prepare. LSU by six
#9 West Virginia Mountaineers at #6 Texas Longhorns: Don't expect the Mountaineers to have another 70 point game this week. Texas may not have the best defense in the country, but they might have one of the best in the Big XII. Their offense is good, too, which will allow them to score against the weakened Mountaineers defense. If any team has a chance to score tons of touchdowns, it's Texas. TEXAS by 14
Miami Hurricanes at #7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish: This could be the Irish's year, and they know it. Miami has a good record, but they actually have a negative point margin against FBS opponents. That doesn't help their case here. NOTRE DAME by 17
#8 Florida State Seminoles at NC State Wolf Pack: The Seminoles are clearly the power team of the ACC. NC State is, truthfully, not even in the top half. FLORIDA STATE by 20
#22 Nebraska Cornhuskers at #10 Ohio State Buckeyes: Nebraska spotted Wisconsin 17 points before coming back in the second half. That was fairly easy against the weakened Badgers defense. If they fall behind to the Buckeyes, they won't find it so easy to come back. OHIO STATE by ten
Kansas Jayhawks at #11 Kansas State Wildcats: The Wildcats continue to avoid their toughest conference opponents as they rise in the rankings. That won't last, so they should enjoy this while they can. KANSAS STATE by 17
Oklahoma Sooners at #14 Texas Tech Red Raiders: The Sooners offense is lacking punch this season. Their defense is good, but are they good enough to slow Tech enough to win? I don't think so, although the extra week to prepare might help them. TEXAS TECH by eleven
Iowa State Cyclones at #15 TCU Horned Frogs: The Cyclones can win, but they play close games. TCU is strong enough to make this game too competitive for the Cyclones. TCU by 17
#16 UCLA Bruins at Cal Golden Bears: Cal fights hard, but they can't close games. The Bruins will win this, but it won't be pretty. UCLA by nine
Arizona Wildcats at #17 Stanford Cardinal: After an impressive start to the season, the Wildcats have struggled in conference play. The Cardinal want a win to reverse their fortunes from last week, and this will be an excellent opportunity to do so. STANFORD by 20
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at #18 Clemson Tigers: The Yellow Jackets will want a good game to wipe away the stink of their loss to the Blue Hens last week, so this will be closer than it should be. The Tigers will still win, though. CLEMSON by ten
#20 Mississippi State Bulldogs at Kentucky Wildcats: The Bulldogs are enjoying their best season in years, while the Wildcats flounder near the bottom of the conference. MISS STATE by 18
UConn Huskies at #24 Rutgers Scarlet Knights: The Scarlet Knights hope to use Louisville's bye week to leap over them in the rankings. Facing mediocre UConn is a good way to do that. RUTGERS by twelve
#25 Michigan State Spartans at Indiana Hoosiers: The Spartans defense will make things difficult for the Hoosiers. Spartans QB Andrew Maxwell will get some good practice. MICHIGAN STATE by 20
Big Ten
Northwestern Wildcats at Penn State Nittany Lions: Penn State is improving, and I like their chances in this game. However, this may be close, and Northwestern likes the close games. I'll pick the Wildcats for the upset, but Penn State may pull this one out. NORTHWESTERN by six
Illinois Fighting Illini at Wisconsin Badgers: The Badgers offense worked for two quarters against Nebraska, but then faltered. Injuries have wracked Illinois' defense enough that I don't think the Badgers need to worry about that this week. WISCONSIN by eight
Michigan Wolverines at Purdue Boilermakers: The Wolverines had some momentum going into their bye week. If they can come out firing as well as they were two weeks ago, Purdue won't stand a chance. If they've gone cold, it may take them too long to re-establish their rhythm. I'll pick Michigan to win, but we'll have to see how they do coming out of their bye. MICHIGAN by six
Other Games of Interest
Boise State Broncos at Southern Miss Golden Eagles: Boise State hasn't been as dominant as they were in previous years, but they won't have to be against a winless Southern Miss team. BOISE STATE by 21
Buffalo Bulls at Ohio Bobcats: Ohio is the only unbeaten team in the MAC, and that should continue. OHIO by 26
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders: The Warhawks have fought teams hard this season, but only have a 2-2 record. Middle Tennessee has fought hard and won. This game may be close, but the Blue Raiders will maintain pace in the highly-competitive Sun Belt Conference. MIDDLE TENNESSEE by six
Washington State Cougars at Oregon State Beavers: The Cougars are yet to win a Pac-12 game. That situation won't change, as the Beavers have shown that they some power. Oregon State doesn't win big, but they do win. This game, they could win big. OREGON STATE by 13
Texas A&M Aggies at Ole Miss Rebels: The Aggies have shown more talent in their victories, but Ole Miss is sneaky and tenacious. The Aggies may come into this game expecting an easy win, and discover that Ole Miss won't roll over. The Rebels may even lead at the half, but the Aggies will come back to win. TEXAS A&M by six
Miami Ohio Redhawks at Cincinnati Bearcats: The Redhawks are unbeaten in the MAC, but haven't played well outside the conference. Cincy is battling Louisville and Rutgers for the Big East title, and they need every strong win they can accumulate. This game may help. CINCY by ten
UNLV Running Rebels at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: LSU is not the shining star of Louisiana FBS teams this season. The LA-Monroe Warhawks have played close games, even those they lose. The LA-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns lead the Sun Belt conference, and the LA Tech Bulldogs are unbeaten and running over opponents with a powerful offense. UNLV hasn't beaten a non-Mountain West opponent this season, and I don't see that changing. LOUISIANA TECH by 24
Wyoming Cowboys at Nevada Wolf Pack: The good news for Wyoming is that they are not the worst team in the Mountain West. They're close, but they're not the worst. Unfortunately for them, they play the best Mountain West team this week. That won't help them. NEVADA by 18
FCS Game of the Week: Youngstown State Penguins at North Dakota State Bison: This should be a great game! Both teams are unbeaten and battling for the Missouri Valley title. Youngstown State is used to this position, having played in several FCS Championships. North Dakota State has been building to this point, and they have one of the stingiest defenses in the Subdivision. Since they are also the home team, I like their chances to win this one. NORTH DAKOTA STATE by eight
GAME OF THE WEEK: #3 Georgia Bulldogs at #4 South Carolina Gamecocks: Two 5-0 SEC powerhouses butt heads this week, and it's likely to be a real knuckler. Both teams have solid offenses and quick defenses, and both focus on ball control. Georgia has been a tad more productive so far this season, but few teams have the tenacity, and the ability to adjust at halftime, like South Carolina. I think Georgia will have a slight lead at halftime, but South Carolina will eradicate that by the fourth quarter. A late drive by Georgia will fall just short, as they will need a touchdown to win. SOUTH CAROLINA by four
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