Despite the last two weeks, I am picking all of the MAC games, as I pick all FBS games. Keeping my fingers crossed that this conference doesn't get as crazy as it has the past two weeks.
Wed Oct 20
#8 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Appalachian State Mountaineers : The Mountaineers aren't as tough as they have been, and the Chanticleers are just demolishing all of their opposition. Could there be an argument for TWO Group of Five teams in the playoff picture? COASTAL CAROLINA by 16
Thurs Oct 21
Tulane Green Wave at #18 SMU Mustangs : The Mustangs are unbeaten and having a fabulous year. For Tulane, it's a typical down year. SMU by 23
Louisiana Ragin Cajuns at Arkansas State Red Wolves : The Cajuns are rolling, and are already poised to win their division. Unfortunately, that comes with a championship game against Coastal Carolina. LOUISIANA by 13
Fri Oct 22
Colorado State Rams at Utah State Aggies : The Rams have caught fire after a terrible non-conference series. They currently lead the Mountain division. Utah State was an early favorite to win the division, and a win here puts them in the driver's seat. This will be a hard-fought battle that could go either way, but I favor the surprise factor of the Rams. COLORADO STATE by six
Sat Oct 23
Top 25
#2 Cincinnati Bearcats at Navy Midshipmen : Navy is not having a great year, so this won't be a challenging game for the Bearcats. CINCY by 26
Illinois Fighting Illini at #3 Penn State Nittany Lions : After sitting a week to iron out their difficulties from their loss to Iowa, the Lions will be ready for a killer performance. PENN STATE by 23
Northwestern Wildcats at #4 Michigan Wolverines : The Wildcats defense is starting to improve, but they won't be able to halt the dynamic Michigan offense. MICHIGAN by 20
#5 Ohio State Buckeyes at Indiana Hoosiers : The Buckeyes took an extra week to prepare, as the Hoosiers have surprised them in the past. I don't see that happening here, as the Buckeyes have improved greatly since their loss to Oregon. OHIO STATE by 23
Tennessee Volunteers at #6 Alabama Crimson Tide : The Tide continues to roll as they want a chance to regain a position in the playoff race. ALABAMA by 20
#9 Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas Jayhawks : Well, ANYBODY can look good when they play Kansas. OKLAHOMA by 30
#10 Oregon Ducks at UCLA Bruins : The Ducks have to be cautious, as the Bruins are a good team and could engineer an upset. If the Ducks don't get careless with the ball, they should win, but the Bruins will make it interesting. OREGON by eight
USC Trojans at #13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish : The Trojans are having a tough year, but they always battle Notre Dame hard, and I don't see this year as an exception to that. NOTRE DAME by nine
#14 Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Army Black Knights : Can Army bounce back from the thrashing experienced at the hands of Wisconsin? They took some casualties, which will add to their difficulties. Wake, however, is fresh off a bye week. WAKE FOREST by eleven
#15 Oklahoma State Cowboys at Iowa State Cyclones : The Cyclones were early favorites to compete for the conference title. That doesn't seem likely, but will they play spoiler and defeat previously undefeated Oklahoma State? They certainly have the offense to do it, and their defense is potent as well. If the Cowboys aren't careful, they will end up with their first loss of the season. OKLAHOMA STATE by three
LSU Tigers at #16 Ole Miss Rebels : LSU just doesn't have the might they have had in previous years. OLE MISS by 13
#19 NC State Wolfpack at Miami Hurricanes : Let's face it, Miami is having a tough year, and they have to face one of the stingiest defenses in the conference. A shutout could be possible. NC STATE by 20
South Carolina Gamecocks at #20 Texas A&M Aggies : That Aggie defense is a tough one; too tough for the Gamecocks. TEXAS A&M
#24 UTSA Roadrunners at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs : The Roadrunners will run all over the struggling Bulldogs. UTSA by 23
East Carolina Pirates at #25 Houston Cougars : The usually staunch defense of the Pirates is somewhat lacking this year. In fact, Houston has the better defense. They have the better offense, too. HOUSTON by 20
Big Ten
Wisconsin Badgers at Purdue Boilermakers : Beating Iowa last week put Purdue into the national rankings, but that was not appropriate. Yes, they beat Iowa, and they beat Oregon State to start the season. However, they fell to Minnesota and nearly lost to struggling Illinois. Wisconsin's three defeats? Against Top Ten ranked Penn State and Michigan, and also to ranked Notre Dame. Wisconsin played Notre Dame closer than Purdue did, and Wisconsin shut out Illinois. Not really much question who should win this game. WISCONSIN by nine
Maryland Terrapins at Minnesota Golden Gophers : Despite an impressive non-conference performance, the Terrapins have struggled in conference play. The Gophers have done much better; their lone conference loss to Ohio State to start the season. I like the Gophers defense to frustrate Maryland all game long. MINNESOTA by 13
Other Games of Interest
Clemson Tigers at Pitt Panthers : The Clemson offense continues to sputter, a fact the Panthers defense will clearly exploit. Pitt is not used to this situation -- favored against Clemson. If they don't get cocky, they will win this game. PITT by 16
San Diego State Aztecs at Air Force Falcons : A battle between two teams on the verge of the Top 25! Both teams have been very impressive this season. Air Force has the stronger offense while the Aztecs have the defense. Defense usually wins in these showdowns, but I was very impressed with the Falcons performance last weekend, and I believe they have turned a page. The Aztecs have played mostly easy opponents so far, and haven't been stretched. This game will stretch them, and I think they will be stretched just a bit too far. AIR FORCE by eight
Utah Utes at Oregon State Beavers : The Utes lead the South division, but the Beavers can be tough to face at home. The Utes don't have a great road record this season, and their offense is inconsistent. A couple of bad mistakes will take them out of the game. OREGON STATE by 14
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