NCAA Week 10 picks

The MAC starts their streak of early week games, and some of those impact the divisional races.

Tues Oct 31
Miami Ohio Redhawks at Ohio Bobcats:  The Bobcats are hoping to avoid a Halloween scare as a win keeps pace in the MAC East.  The Redhawks shouldn't give them that much of a struggle, as they have not been a good road team this year.  OHIO

Wed Nov 1
Central Michigan Chippewas at Western Michigan Broncos:  If the Broncos wish to live up to the expectations that last season's amazing season created, they need to win out.  Central Michigan is a good start.  The Chippewas can be tricky, but they won't be able to keep pace with the powerful Broncos offense.  WESTERN MICHIGAN

Thurs Nov 2
Northern Illinois Huskies at #24 Toledo Rockets:  Perhaps the most important game to determine the winner of the MAC West.  It's Toledo's high-powered offense against the stingy defense of the Huskies.  Defenses often win in those bouts, but I'll give a slight edge to Toledo because they play more mistake-free football, and should prevent the kind of devastating turnovers and penalties the Huskies are used to causing in their opponents.  TOLEDO

Idaho Vandals at Troy Trojans:  Troy keeps marching for their own divisional contention as they face road-struggling Idaho.  TROY

Fri Nov 3
#25 Memphis Tigers at Tulsa Golden Hurricane:  Memphis will maintain their lead in the American Athletic West division by demolishing Tulsa, the current conference doormat.  MEMPHIS

Marshall Thundering Herd at Florida Atlantic Owls:  The Owls find themselves in an unusual place - leading their division.  They haven't faced the toughest opposition, though; that begins now.  Marshall has chewed up many of their opponents, and I don't see that slowing down.  MARSHALL

UCLA Bruins at Utah Utes: Josh Rosen continues his backslide as the Utes defense keep him hustling.  UTAH

Sat Nov 4
LSU Tigers at #1 Alabama Crimson Tide: The Tigers don't deserve the ranking given them by the national pollsters, as they have not been impressive in key games.  No game is more key than this one, and it will be a slaughter.  ALABAMA

South Carolina Gamecocks at #2 Georgia Bulldogs:  It's tough to beat the Bulldogs at home, and this game is even more crucial.  The Bulldogs could win the SEC East with a victory here, and that should keep them motivated.  South Carolina can be tricky, but they'll just be overwhelmed by Georgia's offense.  GEORGIA

#3 Ohio State Buckeyes at Iowa Hawkeyes:  I don't foresee a letdown after the comeback upset against Penn State.  Iowa may score first, but this game will be well in the Buckeyes' hands by halftime.  OHIO STATE

#4 Wisconsin Badgers at Indiana Hoosiers:  The Hoosiers offense will test the Badgers defense.  Indiana may gain an early lead, but Wisconsin will wear away at that.  If Indiana leads by more than ten points at halftime, an upset may be possible, but I don't think it'll end that way.  WISCONSIN

#5 Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan State Spartans:  The Nittany Lions want a strong game to erase their stinging loss to Ohio State.  They face the toughest defense in the conference.  Michigan State also wants a win after falling to Northwestern last week.  I think Penn State has more tools, and should win this game, but the Spartans defense and special teams squads could make this game interesting.  PENN STATE in a close win

#6 Clemson Tigers at NC State Wolfpack:  The Tigers had an extra week to prepare for this game, and Notre Dame showed their defense how to stuff the Wolfpack.  The Tigers have the talent to duplicate that, and even escalate it, so NC State will once again find the end zone a difficult target.  CLEMSON

Wake Forest Demon Deacons at #7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  After the performance shown by the Irish last week, can Wake imagine they have a chance?  Perhaps, but that should fade by the end of the first quarter.  NOTRE DAME

#8 UCF Golden Knights at SMU Mustangs:  UCF gets some tough competition this week.  Both teams have strong offenses, but the defense of UCF will be the decider.  UCF

#12 Oklahoma Sooners at #9 Oklahoma State Cowboys:  Bedlam has been moved from Thanksgiving weekend, and the importance is clear.  The winner practically loses a chance at the conference title, and an Oklahoma win helps their playoff stock.  Honestly, I like the Cowboys chances here.  They have been playing stronger offense this season, and Jake Rudolph can work miracles.  Not taking anything away from Baker Mayfield, but Rudolph just adds a touch of disbelief -- just when a defense thinks they've stopped him, he pulls another surprise out of his hands.  This one will chance leads often, and likely rarely see a lead larger than 10 points, but in the end I think the Cowboys will prevail, practically guaranteeing no Big XII representative in the playoffs.  OKLAHOMA STATE

Oregon Ducks at #10 Washington Huskies:  The Ducks have been abysmal away from Eugene, and the Huskies will make this trip even worse.  WASHINGTON

#11 Virginia Tech Hokies at #15 Miami Hurricanes:  The Hurricanes are unbeaten, but they have not been overly impressive in any game.  Now their slowly-developing offense faces the tough defense of the Hokies.  This is a defensive advantage I like. VIRGINIA TECH

Texas Longhorns at #13 TCU Horned Frogs:  Watch out here!  In past seasons, when TCU loses after a long streak of wins, they collapse, and lose the next game or two.  Texas has its strengths, they just haven't been consistent.  They could surprise here and knock out TCU, but I'll award it as an upset if so.  TCU in a tight contest

#14 Auburn Tigers at Texas A&M Aggies:  Although Auburn had an extra week to prepare, they haven't been great on the road, so this might end up a trap game.  I think the extra week will help them, but this game may be closer than Tigers fans would like.  AUBURN

#16 Iowa State Cyclones at West Virginia Mountaineers:  The Cyclones have only been getting better.  West Virginia is a good team, so the Cyclones should not get over-confident, but they should have the tools to churn up yardage on the ground and wear down the Mountaineers defense.  IOWA STATE

#17 Stanford Cardinal at #22 Washington State Cougars:  Another close dogfight.  The Cardinals have an excellent team, but so do the Cougars.  Stanford has been improving since their last loss, and we're not sure how the Cougars will respond to last week's loss.  Stanford just might be too much for them to take right now.  STANFORD

UMass Minutemen at #18 Mississippi State Bulldogs:  A nice easy non-conference win for the Bulldogs.  MISSISSIPPI STATE

#19 Arizona Wildcats at #21 USC Trojans:  Can the Trojans pull off another fourth quarter miracle?  They may be too far behind to do so, as the Wildcats offense has been stellar in the past three weeks.  I think they will just overwhelm the Trojans, who will run out of tricks to try to get past the Wildcats.  ARIZONA

#20 South Florida Bulls at UConn Huskies:  Well, the Bulls get an easy game after their first loss of the season.  SOUTH FLORIDA

Minnesota Golden Gophers at #23 Michigan Wolverines:  The defense of the Wolverines will get them out of jam again, as new QB Brandon Peters will need a bit more time to get comfortable.  MICHIGAN

Big Ten
Illinois Fighting Illini at Purdue Boilermakers:  Three weeks ago I would have picked the Illini.  Not anymore.  PURDUE

Northwestern Wildcats at Nebraska Cornhuskers:  This will be a contest.  The loser is out of contention for the division, while the winner has barely any hope, unless Indiana pulls off the amazing upset.  The Wildcats have been looking good, while the Cornhuskers have been too inconsistent, and penalty-prone, to consider them a contender.  NORTHWESTERN

Other Games of Interest
East Carolina Pirates at Houston Cougars:  Houston needs to win to have any chance at the division title.  They should.  HOUSTON

Nevada Wolf Pack at Boise State Broncos:  Boise State hasn't been as dominant than in years past, but they have the strength to upend the Wolf Pack and remain atop the Mountain West Mountain division.