NCAA Week 6 picks

Almost no games where two Top 25 teams face off against each other, but that doesn't eliminate the possibility of some upsets.

Thurs Oct 5
#23 Louisville Cardinals at NC State Wolf Pack:  Here's an upset possibility.  The Cardinals are a strong team, but NC State has been proving to be a good team, too.  The Cardinals have a better offense, but the Wolf Pack has the better defense, so we have the stronger squads facing each other.  I normally like the defense in those situations, but Louisville can be tricky, and they may come up with some plays to surprise NC State.  LOUISVILLE

Fri Oct 6
Memphis Tigers at UConn Huskies:  This should be a pretty easy victory for Memphis.  MEMPHIS

Boise State Broncos at BYU Cougars:  Neither team has been as strong as usual, but BYU has fallen off considerably.  BOISE STATE

Sat Oct 7
#12 Alabama Crimson Tide at Texas A&M Aggies:  A&M has been pretty impressive, but Alabama has been a juggernaut.  Johnny Manziel engineered an upset of Alabama, but A&M doesn't have anyone of that caliber on their squad right now.  ALABAMA

Wake Forest Demon Deacons at #2 Clemson Tigers:  Wake has a decent team, but they will be crushed by the extremely stiff defense of the Tigers.  CLEMSON

Iowa State Cyclones at #3 Oklahoma Sooners:  Iowa State can be tough, but Oklahoma is just overpowering opponents.  OKLAHOMA

#4 Penn State Nittany Lions at Northwestern Wildcats:  Northwestern can surprise, but Penn State has been the most stable Big Ten team across the entire season.  Somehow I think this team is too solid to be surprised.  PENN STATE

California Golden Bears at #5 Washington Huskies:  I think the Huskies are living on borrowed time, and someone will defeat them, but it won't be the Bears.  Cal has some decent players, but they make too many mistakes to count on them to overcome the massive talent of the Huskies.  WASHINGTON

#6 Wisconsin Badgers at Nebraska Cornhuskers:  Last week was a wake-up to both teams.  Wisconsin say that they cannot rely on their running game to wear down opponents, and they need to attack more.  Nebraska found their missing offense.  Who will expand on the insights from last week?  I give the edge to Wisconsin, because I'm not sure Nebraska has truly solved all of their problems or the young Illini team make it seem that way.  WISCONSIN

Michigan State Spartans at #7 Michigan Wolverines:  Here's the greatest likelihood for an upset in the Big Ten!  Michigan's offense is still sputtering, and now they have switched quarterbacks in the wake of Speight's injury.  Notre Dame proved that Michigan State's defense is not as tough as it has been in recent years, but it should still be good enough to frustrate the Wolverines suffering offense.  The key to this game will be if Michigan can continue to force turnovers on defense.  Given the looseness of the Spartans offense as we've seen it so far, I think so.  However, if the Spartans sharpen their game, they could beat their in-state rivals.  MICHIGAN

#8 Georgia Bulldogs at Vanderbilt Commodores:  The Commodores had a flash of glory earlier in the season, but conference play is proving too much for them.  GEORGIA

West Virginia Mountaineers at #9 TCU Horned Frogs:  This might be the first real test of TCU so far this season.  West Virginia is a good team, and their defense is tough.  TCU's offense has had it fairly easy until now.  Will they pass this tough test posed by the Mountaineers?  I think so, but this game could go the other way.  TCU

Maryland Terrapins at #10 Ohio State Buckeyes:  Maryland found themselves again last week and beat Minnesota.  Are they ready to topple Ohio State?  The Buckeyes seem to have solved the problems they had against Oklahoma.  Their defense is reading opponents better, they are tackling better, and JT Barrett has found his mojo.  All things that spell trouble for the Terps.  OHIO STATE

#11 UCF Golden Knights at Cincinnati Bearcats:  The Bearcats won't be a major problem for the Knights.  They probably won't even be a minor problem.  UCF

#12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at North Carolina Tar Heels:  This should be a nice warm-up for the Irish, who have USC next week.  NOTRE DAME

#16 Washington State Cougars at #24 Oregon Ducks:  Our only contest between ranked teams this week!  The Ducks can be a terror at home, although they haven't been quite as dominating this year.  Washington State has found ways to win, but they haven't always been pretty.  What's the outcome?  Since the Ducks seem to be down a bit this year, I'll credit the Cougars for one more squeaker, but watch out for the home team to upset.  WASHINGTON STATE

#17 Virginia Tech Hokies at Boston College Eagles:  The normally stout Eagles defense has flown, and the offense has its own problems.  The Hokies want to wash out the stink of their embarrassing defeat to Clemson last week.  This seems like a good way to do that.  VIRGINIA TECH

Oregon State Beavers at #18 USC Trojans:  The Trojans got exposed last week.  The Beavers have a history of using such information against their opponents.  Just how much did the Beavers learn, and how they can implement it, remains a mystery.  USC should prevail, but the Beavers may not make it easy.  USC

Kansas State Wildcats at #19 Texas Longhorns:  The key to this game is which Longhorns team will show up?  The one that challenged USC or the one that laid an egg against Maryland?  If its the former, K-State hasn't faced tough enough opponents to prepare for that.  If its the latter, the Wildcats may get the upset.  Texas seems to be improving, so I'll anticipate something approaching the former.  TEXAS

Stanford Cardinal at #20 Utah Utes:  Stanford needs to right themselves, and knocking off the leader in the Pac-12 North might be the best way to do that.  I'm not sure they can, but I certainly think they'll give it their best shot, which should make this game interesting.  UTAH in a tight one

#21 Miami Hurricanes at Florida State Seminoles:  The Seminoles prevented an 0-3 start last week, but now they get their bitter rival.  In rivalry games you can usually throw records out the window, but that 0-2 start just points to too many problems on the Seminoles team.  MIAMI

Air Force Falcons at #22 Navy Midshipmen:  In the first battle of military academies, I think Navy has the edge.  Air Force has been a bit grounded this season, while the ground game of Navy keeps chewing up yardage.  NAVY

#25 San Diego State Aztecs at UNLV Running Rebels:  UNLV is not bad this year, but I don't think they have the power to beat the conference leading Aztecs.  SAN DIEGO STATE

Big Ten
Illinois Fighting Illini at Iowa Hawkeyes:  Last week proved that Lovey Smith still has a ways to go with his young team.  IOWA

Minnesota Golden Gophers at Purdue Boilermakers:  Minnesota is mad that they lost the game in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter last week.  They'll take their frustrations out on the Boilermakers.  MINNESOTA

Other Games of Interest
Pittsburgh Panthers at Syracuse Orange:  These two teams are fairly evenly matched, so this will be an exciting game to watch (at least for those who have the exclusive ACC Network package).  In a game this close, I'll give the edge to the home team. SYRACUSE

LSU Tigers at Florida Gators:  A battle of two underperforming SEC teams, this could come down to which team shows their potential.  Florida's offense has been shaky under their new quarterback, but the more experience he gets, the better he should play.  For that reason, I'll give the slight edge to FLORIDA