I discussed the upsets in the Top 25 entry, so let's get right to it. There is a Tuesday evening game, but it matches two Sun Belt teams, so it is not as interesting.
Thursday Oct 18
Houston Cougars at SMU Mustangs: Houston has recovered well from a slow start, having gone 2-0 in Conference USA to even their record. SMU also started slowly, but they haven't improved much. HOUSTON by ten
#2 Oregon Ducks at #13 Arizona State Sun Devils: Both teams have powerful offenses. The main difference is the Ducks ability to spread the offense. The Sun Devils rely too much on some of the same players. If the Ducks defense targets them, it'll slow their offense. The Ducks have too many tools for a defense to adequately cover. OREGON by 18
Fri Oct 19: UConn Huskies at Syracuse Orange: Like Houston, Syracuse has had an awakening recently, and have played much tougher ball. Even if they lose, they are giving their opponents a hard time. UConn may have won more games than Syracuse, but they have collapsed in Big East play. I favor the Orange. SYRACUSE by eleven
Top 25
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide at Tennessee Volunteers: This game will basically be over by halftime. 'Bama's second team may get some playing time. ALABAMA by 31
BYU Cougars at #3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Both teams have decent defenses, but the difference is the strong Irish offense. BYU's defense isn't good enough to stop them, so the Irish will go to 7-0 for the first time since the 1990's. NOTRE DAME by 17
Purdue Boilermakers at #4 Ohio State Buckeyes: The Buckeyes are the only unbeaten team in the Big Ten and the only ranked team in the conference, and that will continue. Purdue is winless in the conference, and that, too, should continue. Purdue has a decent defense, but Ohio State's is better (all evidence against Indiana to the contrary). Furthermore, the Buckeyes have an offense that can move the ball against anyone. OHIO STATE by 23
#5 Kansas State Wildcats at West Virginia Mountaineers: The Mountaineers have a weak defense, so the Wildcats will have a scoring jamboree, even more so than they've already enjoyed this season. The Wildcats don't have a great defense, but it's enough to slow the Mountaineers. KANSAS STATE by 17
#8 Florida State Seminoles at Miami Hurricanes: Miami has been fairly successful in ACC games so far this season, but they've played three of the weakest teams: Georgia Tech, NC State, and Boston College. Now their schedule gets more challenging, and Miami will find the going tough. They face their toughest ACC opponent this week. It's a bitter in-state rivalry, so Miami has more incentive to play well, but the Seminoles will still beat them. The Seminoles have a strong offense and a stingy defense, and both squads are better than Miami's respective squads. FLORIDA STATE by 18
#9 LSU Tigers at #17 Texas A&M Aggies: This could be an exciting game, and was my runner-up for Game of the Week. LSU had been playing rather lackluster this season, but stepped up their game last week. If they continue that, they could find themselves competing for the division title against Mississippi State and Alabama. The Aggies have played pretty close games in the SEC, also. I think LSU is better in close games, although the lead in this game will change hands a few times. LSU by six
#10 Texas Tech Red Raiders at #18 TCU Horned Frogs: Another match-up of Top 25 teams, but this one won't be so close. Both teams have potent offenses, but the Tech defense is the difference maker in this game (and trust me, I never thought I'd sing the praises of a DEFENSE in Texas Tech!). TEXAS TECH by ten
#11 Georgia Bulldogs at Kentucky Wildcats: Georgia has stewed for two weeks over their embarrassing loss to South Carolina. They want a chance to shine. Kentucky has struggled this year, so this is an excellent chance for Georgia to shine. GEORGIA by 26
Colorado Buffaloes at #12 USC Trojans: USC sees a chance to regain the top of the Pac-12 South division, after Oregon is likely to beat Arizona State. That motivation will be enough. Given Colorado's struggles, they really don't need the motivation. USC by 28
Virginia Tech Hokies at #14 Clemson Tigers: It's a credit to the history of Virginia Tech that a 2-1 conference record, and 4-3 overall record, would be considered a disappointing year. For the Hokies, it is! I'm afraid that situation will continue. Unlike previous years, the Hokies are slim on surprises this season, and Clemson has had an extra week to analyze the Hokies' game plan. Virginia Tech will likely keep this game closer than it should be, just because they are too tenacious, but Clemson should still emerge victorious. CLEMSON by ten
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at #15 Mississippi State Bulldogs: An SEC Bulldogs team is unbeaten, but it's not the one people expected. Miss State has benefited from an easy early schedule, and Middle Tennessee qualifies as well. The Bulldogs should win this game, but it won't be much of a workout before facing Alabama next week. MISSISSIPPI STATE by 16
Kansas Jayhawks at #16 Oklahoma Sooners: Once again, Kansas is at the bottom of the Big XII; in fact, they are the ONLY Big XII team with a losing record (Forget the SEC. The best conference this season is the Big XII)! Oklahoma should have another blowout game like they served Texas. OKLAHOMA by 38
#19 Cincinnati Bearcats at Toledo Rockets: Cincy has won a couple of big games against decent opponents. Toledo had a big game against Western Michigan, but Cincy clearly has the better "resume". Toledo can be a tough opponent, so this may be a close game, but it'll be Cincy's to win. CINCY by nine
Utah Utes at #20 Oregon State Beavers: Utah has struggled ever since they joined the Pac-12, and their woes will continue. The unbeaten Beavers haven't won big, but they have continued to win. They should win again, and perhaps have their biggest margin of victory of the season. OREGON STATE by 16
#23 Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Temple Owls: Temple is currently unbeaten in Big East play, but that won't last. Temple has beaten two of the worst teams in the conference, and now they face the best team. Rutgers will have a field day. RUTGERS by 18
South Florida Bulls at #24 Louisville Cardinals: Louisville faces a team already beaten by Temple. Looks like another one-sided Big East contest. LOUISVILLE by 24
Baylor Bears at #25 Texas Longhorns: Texas was embarrassed last week in front of a home state crowd in Dallas, so you know they want to beat up on their next opponent. Baylor has a shockingly strong offense, but their defense needs work. That will be the point Texas will exploit. After being held in check by the Oklahoma defense, Texas will look to light up the scoreboard this week. Fortunately for their fans, their defense is good enough to slow Baylor enough to maintain a lead, although it will not be the blowout Longhorn fans will likely be looking for. TEXAS by nine
Big Ten
Michigan State Spartans at Michigan Wolverines: The Spartans stumbled last week, and you can be sure that the Michigan staff will be watching that tape carefully. Michigan has consistently been improving since an opening loss to Alabama, and their destruction of Illinois last week showed just how far they have come. MICHIGAN by 13
Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wisconsin Badgers: The Gophers had a good non-conference season, but they can't keep pace with Big Ten teams this season. Considering how down many of them are, that says much about the deficiencies of the Gophers. WISCONSIN by ten
Nebraska Cornhuskers at Northwestern Wildcats: This could be a close game. Northwestern has been playing well, but Nebraska has faced tougher opponents, and has had good performances. Nebraska has actually scored better than Northwestern, and their defenses are not too far apart. I'll give a slight advantage to Northwestern, but Nebraska could easily win this one. NORTHWESTERN by three
Indiana Hoosiers at Navy Midshipmen: Indiana generated more offense last week against Ohio State than they had in any other game this season. Was that a fluke, or the start of a trend? I'm going to pick it as a fluke until I see otherwise. Navy has struggled this season, and their normally reliable running game has been less than reliable. Indiana's defense is poor, though, so Navy should have a better result this game. NAVY by eight
Penn State Nittany Lions at Iowa Hawkeyes: Both teams come into this game unbeaten in conference play and 4-2 overall. Something has to give. Penn State had a bye last week, and they've been steadily improving since their opening loss to unbeaten Ohio. Iowa QB James Vandenberg showed great improvement last week, but I have to favor the Nittany Lions in their continued improvement. PENN STATE by ten
Other Games of Interest
Iowa State Cyclones at Oklahoma State Cowboys: This will be a close game. Iowa State has been playing nearly everyone tough this season. The Cowboys have been more constrained than before, but they still have the talent to succeed. I think the Cowboys can win this one, but Iowa State is dangerous enough to come from behind late. OKLAHOMA STATE by four
Northern Illinois Huskies at Akron Zips: The Huskies should blow out the 1-6 Zips. NORTHERN ILLINOIS by 26
Stanford Cardinal at Cal Golden Bears: Stanford wants a win after their tough overtime loss last week, but Cal may make that hard. Cal has been a pernicious opponent this season, despite their 3-4 losing record. Cal will make things tough for Stanford, but I think they'll learn some things from last week and snag a win, but they may have to come from behind to do it. STANFORD by four
New Mexico State Aggies at Utah State Aggies: Utah State continues their impressive march to the postseason. Not only will they become bowl eligible with this win, but they will be on track to compete for the WAC title, an honor they have never been able to obtain. UTAH STATE by 20
UNLV Running Rebels at Boise State Broncos: UNLV has won only one game while Boise has lost only one game. The winner of this game is not in doubt, the question is how much the Broncos win by. They have had strong games and weaker games, but I think this one will be a strong victory. BOISE STATE by 24
Rice Owls at Tulsa Golden Hurricane: Tulsa leads the Conference USA West division and will continue that lead after this game. Rice has had a couple of good games this season, but basically they are overmatched here. TULSA by 14
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: The Hilltoppers lead the Sun Belt Conference, but only because they faced easier non-conference opponents. The Warhawks have shocked BCS opponents this season, and will start knocking down the stronger Sun Belt opponents as well. LOUISIANA-MONROE by twelve
North Carolina Tar Heels at Duke Blue Devils: This may not be as close a game as you might expect. Duke is actually having a great season, currently tied with North Carolina for second place in the ACC Coastal division. The winner of this game could take the lead if Miami falls to Florida State. While North Carolina is on probation, they have such a powerful offense that I cannot doubt they will push Duke to limit in order to win this game. NORTH CAROLINA by sixteen
Idaho Vandals at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: Tech lost their first game of the season last week, but they are still the favorite to win the WAC. They now enter WAC play, and play the two weakest teams in the conference in the next two weeks. Their points margins will continue to grow. LOUISIANA TECH by 21
UCF Golden Knights at Memphis Tigers: Just how easy does UCF have it to win Conference USA? How about the fact that there are only THREE teams with winning records in the conference right now? Memphis most definitely is not one of them. UCF by 20
San Diego State Aztecs at Nevada Wolf Pack: Nevada leads the Mountain West, but San Diego State is not far behind. A win here gives Nevada a nice edge, and leaves Boise State their main competition. NEVADA by 14
FCS Game of the Week: Southern Illinois Salukis at Youngstown State Penguins: The Salukis are having a great year, especially in Missouri Valley play. They are actually higher in the conference than Youngstown State. However, one thing I know about the Penguins -- you never count them out. YOUNGSTOWN STATE by four
GAME OF THE WEEK: #7 South Carolina Gamecocks at #6 Florida Gators The Gamecocks got clobbered last week, so we know Steve Spurrier will change the game plan a bit. That may put Florida is a bind, as this Gators team doesn't adapt as well as they did when Urban Meyer ran them. While Florida might have the power to beat South Carolina, and Spurrier has frequently lost when he returns to Gainesville, I give a slight edge to the Gamecocks. SOUTH CAROLINA by four
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