We have a Wednesday game this week, but the teams are not interesting. Let's fast forward to Friday.
Fri Oct 6
Kansas State Wildcats at Oklahoma State Cowboys : Both teams had a bye week last week, so they had an extra week to prepare. I'm not sure that will make a difference for the Cowboys. Kansas State, though, gets a chance to fix some flaws in their execution. KANSAS STATE by four
Nebraska Cornhuskers at Illinois Fighting Illini : Okay, I accept it -- the Illini are the dregs of the conference this year. NEBRASKA by 15
Sat Oct 7
Top 25
#1 Michigan Wolverines at Minnesota Golden Gophers : The Gophers are good, but not good enough to keep pace with the Wolverines. MICHIGAN by 23
#2 Oklahoma Sooners at #6 Texas Longhorns : Well, the Big XII will have one less unbeaten team after this game. The Sooners offense is potent, perhaps too potent for the Longhorns defense. OKLAHOMA by nine
Arizona Wildcats at #4 USC Trojans : Arizona doesn't have the explosive offense that the Colorado does, so USC should escape embarrassment this week. USC by 20
#20 Maryland Terrapins at #5 Ohio State Buckeyes : Another machup of unbeatens, this one should also end with the higher-ranked team emerging victorious. If the Notre Dame proved anything, this Buckeyes team may not be overly dominant, but they are tenacious and never give up. OHIO STATE by eight
Virginia Tech Hokies at #7 Florida State Seminoles : Florida State didn't really need a bye week to prepare for this game. FLORIDA STATE by 20
#14 Kentucky Wildcats at #9 Georgia Bulldogs : The Big XII and Big Ten have games featuring two unbeatens, and this is SEC's. Georgia escaped with a scare last week, and that's not a good thing for Kentucky. They need a strong performance to impress the committee next week, and this is it. GEORGIA by 13
#10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at #24 Louisville Cardinals : Duke gave the Irish everything they could handle. What we did learn was a glaring weakness of the Irish defense - goal line defense. That final Buckeye drive was not a fluke, and Duke almost exploited the same flaw. If Louisville can push drives to the line, they might be able to exploit it, too, but I'm not sure they're that good at ball control. NOTRE DAME by eight
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at #12 Miami Hurricanes : Miami takes a bye week and then faces a team trying to erase the stink of a MAC upset. Tech will be playing above themselves, which might make them careless enough for the Hurricanes turnover causers to take control. MIAMI by 18
#13 Washington State Cougars at #18 UCLA Bruins : Another matchup of two teams who had bye weeks, Washington State seems to have things more together on their team. Unless the Bruins sharpened their scheme during bye week, this should be a victory for the visiting team. WASHINGTON STATE by ten
Syracuse Orange at #16 North Carolina Tar Heels : The Tar Heels had a bye last week. The Orange wish they had. That loss seemed to have taken the wind out of their sails. NORTH CAROLINA by 15
#19 Alabama Crimson Tide at #23 Texas A&M Aggies : Bama has a history of beating A&M, although the Aggies have beaten them. Alabama is not the strong team that they have been, but A&M isn't either. ALABAMA by 11
#22 Oregon State Beavers at Cal Golden Bears : The Beavers upset Utah to stay in the Top 25, adn this win should keep them there. OREGON STATE by 24
Big Ten
Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Wisconsin Badgers : Rutgers has a strong offense, but the Badgers had an extra week to prepare, and they are masters at ball control. WISCONSIN by ten
Howard at Northwestern Wildcats : The Wildcats will get a nice easy game before they enter the toughest part of their conference schedule. NORTHWESTERN by lots
Purdue Boilermakers at Iowa Hawkeyes : Iowa's offense continues to struggle, although they found some footing at the end of the game last week. Purdue's offense works, but they keep committing costly penalties and turnovers. The Hawkeyes defense will take advantage of those errors. IOWA by nine
MAC
Western Michigan Broncos at Mississippi State Bulldogs : Bowling Green may have pulled off a Power Five upset last week, but I don't see Western Michigan repeating that. MISSISSIPPI STATE by 18
Toledo Rockets at UMass Minutemen : Easy win for the Roclets. TOLEDO by 26
Central Michigan Chippewas at Buffalo Bulls : Buffalo found their first win last week, but they won't make it two in a row. CENTRAL MICHIGAN by 24
Ball State Cardinals at Eastern Michigan Eagles : Neither team is doing well, but Ball State is really struggling. EASTERN MICHIGAN by 14
Bowling Green Falcons at Miami Ohio Redhawks : After what they did last week, I'd love to pick the Falcons. However, the Redhawks are one of the top teams in the conference, and they know how to handle teams like Bowling Green. MIAMI OHIO by 13
Northern Illinois Huskies at Akron Zips : Akron couldn't get past Buffalo and the Huskies nearly won last week. I think they have found their rhythm, and that will extend into this week. NORTHERN ILLINOIS by eight
Other Games of Interest
LSU Tigers at Missouri Tigers : LSU is a bit inconsistent this season, while Missouri is showing some strength. I think this battle of Tigers goes to the home team. MISSOURI by nine
Fresno State Bulldogs at Wyoming Cowboys : The Bulldogs are the power of the Mountain West this season. FRESNO STATE by 20
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