College Football Week 8: Thursday night matchup

Thursday, October 18th

1. #3 Oregon @ Arizona State  9:00 PM ET ESPN

- This has the making to be a long night of football , but in the end you will be sitting there trying to catch your breath. The Oregon Ducks are averaging 86.2 plays per game and Arizona State is averaging 77.8 plays per game. I have a feeling this is going to be like the game from the 2010 season. It will be very fast paced and physical game. It will be the Ducks first real challenge of the season. This is going to be a test to see how freshman Marcus Mariota handles the pressure of facing a better defense and playing in a tougher environment. The Ducks also go into Thursday with defensive problems relating to an incident that left defensive tackle Isaac Remington suspended indefinitely. True freshmen defensive lineman Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner will see the field a lot more now and junior Taylor Hart will take Remington's spot on the line. Senior Dion Jordan will also be asked to do a lot more on the defensive side of the ball. The Ducks need to prepare for a Sun Devil air raid offense that is averaging 291.2 passing yards per game. Sun Devil quarterback Taylor Kelly has averaged 266.6 passing yards per game and the offense is averaging 40.5 points per game. The Duck's offense is currently second in the nation in scoring with 52.3 points per game. The Oregon rushing attack, which averages 302.3 yards per game, will play a defense that is giving up just 15.8 points per game. This is going to be a really tight game for the most part. We will see if the Ducks can tire the Sun Devil defense out and pull away in the second half. The Ducks have beaten Pac-12 opponents this season by an average of 35 points and have won the last seven meetings against the Sun Devils. Lastly, I will take The Duck aka Puddles to take down Sparky in a fighting match. Over the past month, both have been running negative campaign ads proving why the other should not be President. 

Pick: Oregon 

sources: teamrankings.com, espn.com, and registerguard.com

College Football Week 7 Recap

My overall Record: 51-19

My Record in Week 7: 8-2

Best Game from Week 7: #9 LSU 23, #3 South Carolina 21

I wasn't sure what type of weekend it was going to be, but it ended up turning into an exciting one. LSU bounced back on Saturday night in a tussle with #3 South Carolina down in the bayou. LSU was a completely different team then they were when they lost at Florida just one week earlier. The offensive line was solid and it appears LSU has found a new running back. Freshman Jeremy Hill, who had just three carries for ten yards against Towson and Florida, rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns. This LSU team looked reenergized and now appears to be back in the hunt for a national title. The Fighting Irish snuck out a close one in South Bend against Stanford to stay undefeated. The image of Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor reaching the ball over the goal line will be talked about for awhile, especially if the Irish continue to win. Oklahoma also appears to be back in the mix as they physically beat Texas up on both sides of the ball. The last time the Sooners beat the Longhorns by more than 40 points was back in 2003.

There were three teams that were on upset alert this past weekend. #6 Kansas State was able to battle off Iowa State in a hard fought game in Ames, the #10 Oregon State Beavers looked impressive at BYU with backup quarterback Cody Vaz, and then there was #5 West Virginia who was blown out by Texas Tech in Lubbock 49-14. I feel a lot of people knew this was a trap game and that West Virginia had a chance to lose, but no one could have predicted the Mountaineers losing by 35 points. The interesting thing about this loss is West Virginia didn't turn the ball over once and quarterback Geno Smith continued his streak of not throwing an interception. Lastly, there was a wild finish between the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and the Texas A&M Aggies. Hopeful BCS buster Louisiana Tech was down 34-7 in the second quarter. Louisiana Tech battled back in the second half and was only down 59-44 with 2:04 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs came down and scored a touchdown with 1:46 remaining to make it 59-51, and then recovered an onside kick. The Bulldogs quickly made their way down the field and scored again with 38 seconds remaing, but failed to convert the two-point conversion and lost 59-57. This ruined Louisiana Tech's chances of being this year's BCS buster. There is still hope for the Ohio Bobcats to be that team though.

What we learned from Week 7:

LSU is on a mission.

- I am honestly very impressed in the way Les Mile's team fought through adversity and beat a tough South Carolina football team. LSU had nothing offensively against the Florida Gators two weeks ago, but came out on Saturday night in Death Valley as determined as ever. The key of winning that game was for the offensive line to protect quarterback Zack Mettenberger. Senior left tackle Josh Dworaczyk was all over potential All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and took him out of the game. The LSU offensive line gave up just one sack to one of the best defenses in the country. Zack Mettenberger played rather well except for the interception thrown in the first quarter, which helped South Carolina set up their first score of the game. One of the biggest surprises to the offense has to be freshman running back Jeremy Hill. Hill had just 13 touches for 71 yards on the season. He finished this past game with 17 carries for 127 yards. He averaged 7.3 yards per carry and had two touchdowns. LSU moved from the nine spot down to the six spot in the new BCS rankings after beating South Carolina 23-21. This is the team I thought LSU would be this season. If they beat Alabama on November 3rd at home they will most likely win the SEC Conference.

The Sooners look better than ever.

- Wow! where was this Sooner team this past month and a half? The Sooners were firing on all cylinders and destroyed the Texas Longhorns in every aspect of the game. I picked Oklahoma to be in the BCS National Championship game and this is the type of team I believed them to be this whole season. The Sooners struggled to beat UTEP on opening weekend and then three weeks later lost at home to a tough Kansas State team. The way in which the Sooners lost to Kansas State was just hard to swallow, because you knew they were not playing up to their potential. Oklahoma looked much improved on defense against Texas Tech and then went off against rival Texas on Saturday. The Oklahoma offense racked up 677 yards on the Texas defense and sophomore quarterback Black Bell "The Belldozer" had four rushing touchdowns in the first half. Starting quarterback Landry Jones played his best game of the season passing for 321 yards and one touchdown. The Sooner rushing attack looked almost unstoppable as they put up 343 yards with 167 yards of it coming from junior Damien Williams. Williams 95 yard touchdown run late in the first quarter sparked the Sooners and was the longest rushing touchdown in Red River Rivalry history. The Sooners are definitely in the BCS discussion again.

Notre Dame is looking more and more like a championship contender every week.

- This is one of the best Notre Dame defenses I have seen in years. The Irish defense is giving up just 8.7 points per game (2nd in the country) and have not given up a touchdown in their past four games. Senior linebacker Manti Te'o has to be in the Heisman discussion right now. Te'o is averaging 9.5 tackles per game and made two key stops on the goal line in overtime to keep Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor out of the end zone. The question still lies on who should be the starting quarterback. Everett Golson fumbled four times and three of them were recovered by Stanford. One of the fumbles turned into a touchdown as Golson held onto the ball to long in his own end zone and was hit from behind causing him to fumble the ball and Stanford's Chase Thomas to recover. Golson is questionable for this weekend's game against BYU. Tommy Rees has been clutch whenever he has needed to come into crucial situations for the Irish. Rees had an important touchdown run in a win against Michigan and a key touchdown pass that helped Notre Dame get by Stanford in overtime. I will not be surprised if we see a lot more of Tommy Rees in these next few games. Notre Dame's win over Stanford could be what gets them considered for a BCS At-Large bid. If Notre Dame goes to Norman in two weeks and beats Oklahoma look for the Irish to be a lock for a BCS Bowl game.


Texas A&M's true freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel could be in the Heisman mix.

- Texas A&M is off to their best start since 2007. A big part of the success for the Aggies has been because of the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel. This past Saturday, Manziel had 395 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Manziel is the first SEC player to ever put up 500 total yards in two games. Manziel's statistics for this season include 1,680 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, 676 rushing yards, and ten rushing touchdowns. He appears to be the true leader of this Aggie team and is the spark the Aggies did not have last season. The next three of four games will be tough for the Aggies though, as they host LSU and travel to Mississippi State and Alabama. If Texas A&M finds a way to win two of these games and win all the others, look for Manziel to be in the top 5 of the Heisman race.  

The Longhorn defense has a lot of work to do.

- This is currently one of the worst defenses in Texas Longhorn history. The Longhorn defense is giving up an average of 32.5 points per game, which is 97th in the country, and 449.70 total yards per game. Oklahoma put up 667 total yards on the Longhorn defense this past Saturday. The Oklahoma offensive line physically beat up the Longhorn defensive line and Longhorn defenders struggled to tackle ball carriers. The Sooners averaged 6.7 yards per carry on the Longhorn defense, and also scored a 95 yard rushing touchdown. I can guarantee you Head Coach Mack Brown and his staff are working the defense hard this week at practice. Texas's defense going into this season was supposed to be one of the best in the country consisting of potential All-American defensive ends Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat. This weekend will be a big test for the Longhorn defense as they host a Baylor team that is averaging 47.6 points per game and 398.4 passing yards per game, which is the best in the country. It will be interesting to see how this Longhorn team faces adversity and if they can come back and win at least six of their last seven games.

Last Thought: 

We are half way through the 2012 football season and every conference is up for grabs. The SEC East has turned into a battle between undefeated Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. The SEC West is going to come down to Alabama, LSU, and even Mississippi State and Texas A&M could be in the mix. The Big 12 is going to be the most interesting because there is no longer a conference championship game. Kansas State is the front-runner right now, but Oklahoma appears to be a reenergized team after their win against Texas. West Virginia, Texas Tech, and possibly even TCU and Texas are in the Big 12 race. The Big Ten is a complete mess and it appears Wisconsin will be the champion of the Leaders Division with their win over Purdue this past weekend. The Legends Division though is completely up for grabs. The only team not in the Legends Division race will be Minnesota. The five other teams in this division will beat one another up and I won't be surprised if the team that comes out of this division has two or three conference losses. Lastly, the Pac-12 is going to come down to Oregon, Oregon State, and USC. I guess you could say Arizona State and Stanford are in the race too, but these three teams seem to be the clear leaders of the Pac-12 Conference.

College Football: Week 7 matchups to watch

This weekend does not consist of the best matchups, but a majority of the games are a toss up. There are a lot of even matchups, along with matchups that could potentially lead to an upset of a top ten team. The biggest games of the weekend consist of the good ole' Red River Rivalry game between #15 Texas and #13 Oklahoma, along with a meeting in Death Valley between #3 South Carolina and #9 LSU. Another big game will be between #17 Stanford and #7 Notre Dame, as this game is crucial for the Irish to put themselves in a good position to receive a BCS bowl bid. Wisconsin and Purdue, who are the contenders for the Big Ten Leaders Division, will play an important game that could end up deciding who plays in the Big Ten Championship game. Lastly, #5 West Virginia, #6 Kansas State, and #10 Oregon State will all have road contests this weekend and be on upset alert.

ESPN College GameDay will be live from South Bend, IN (Live at 10:00 AM ET)

matchup: #17 Stanford @ #7 Notre Dame

Saturday, Oct. 13th

1. #15 Texas @ #13 Oklahoma (Dallas)  12:00 PM ET ABC

This will be the most important Texas-OU game since 2009. Both teams are battling for the Big 12 crown and need to win this game to stay in the race. Oklahoma bounced back last weekend against Texas Tech with a strong defensive performance. The Sooners had three interceptions with one going for a touchdown. The Sooner'd defense held Texas Tech to just 89 total rushing yards. Texas comes in  after a tough loss at home against West Virginia. The Longhorn offense is clicking and quarterback David Ash is third in the country with a quarterback rating of 180.1. The Longhorn defense was the main focus coming into the season, but the offense is the real deal this season averaging 46.8 points per game. There is going to be a lot of pressure on the Sooner defense to stop this surprisingly lethal Longhorn offense. It should be a rather intense Red River Rivalry game this year.

Pick: Oklahoma

2. #6 Kansas State @ Iowa State  12:00 PM ET FX

- The Kansas State Wildcats have not been ranked this high since the 2003 season. Wildcat quarterback Collin Klein continues to put on solid performances every week and will look to put on another as the Wildcat offense takes on a Iowa State defense that is giving up just 15.8 points per game (19th in the country). The Cyclones are coming off a big win as they upset #15 TCU on the road 37-23. The Cyclones are notorious for upsetting highly ranked teams. Last season, the Cyclones did the unthinkable and knocked off #2 Oklahoma State in double overtime 37-31 at home. The Wildcats may be in for a tough game when they travel to Ames on Saturday. We'll see if the Wildcats can live up to the hype and avoid the big upset.

Pick: Kansas State 

3. Wisconsin @ Purdue  12:00 PM ET Big Ten Network

- Both teams have lost one non-conference game and one conference game. With Ohio State and Penn State ineligible to win the Big Ten Leaders Division, it is up to one these two teams to be the representative in the Big Ten Championship. Wisconsin has had quarterback problems, but it appears freshman Joel Stave has finally gained the starting job. The Badgers have looked better offensively these past three games, even though one of them was a three point loss at Nebraska. Wisconsin has lost both of their games by a combined total of six points. Purdue was blown out at home last weekend 44-13 by Michigan and desperately needs this win to get back on track. Michigan put up 409 total yards on the Boilermaker defense and 235 of the rushing yards were from quarterback Denard Robinson. The Boilermaker defense now must try to defend one of the most physical runners in the country Badger running back Montee Ball. I feel the Badgers pull away in the fourth quarter and get the win on the road.

Pick: Wisconsin

4. #1 Alabama @ Missouri  3:30 PM ET CBS

- Alabama is coming off a bye week and Missouri is looking to get revenge after they were upset at home last weekend against Vanderbilt. The Tiger's offense lost quarterback James Franklin last weekend to another injury and will have to rely on freshman Corbin Berkstresser to take on the best defense in the county. The Alabama defense is ranked first in the country giving up an average of seven points per game. The Tiger defense will also have their hands full with quarterback AJ McCarron, physical running back Eddie Lacy, and wide receiver Amari Cooper. The Tigers won't stay in this game for more than a quarter. Alabama is to talented and physical on both sides of the ball, it is hard to picture the Tigers keeping up in this one.

Pick: Alabama

5. #5 West Virginia @ Texas Tech  3:30 PM ET ABC/ESPN

- The West Virginia Mountaineers beat the Texas Longhorns last weekend 48-45. West Virginia must travel back to Texas again, this time Lubbock. This could be a trap game for the Mountaineers after winning two close games against Baylor and Texas these past two weekends. Texas Tech was manhandled by Oklahoma last weekend at home and will have to rely heavily on their defense on Saturday. If the Red Raiders want to pull off the upset this Saturday, they must stop one of the most explosive offenses in the country. The Mountaineers are averaging 406.8 passing yards per game and 52.0 points per game. The only way Geno Smith and the Mountaineers lose this weekend is if they come out flat after last weekend's big win.

Pick: West Virginia 

6. #17 Stanford @ #7 Notre Dame  3:30 PM ET NBC

- This is an important game for the Fighting Irish. If they win here, the only other tough games they have left is at Oklahoma and at USC. This game could determine their fate of earning a BCS bowl bid. The Notre Dame defense is one of the biggest surprises of the college football season. The defense is only giving up 7.8 points per game, which is second in the country. The Cardinal offense has been up and down these past two weeks. They couldn't get one touchdown against Washington two weeks ago, then put up 54 on Arizona this past weekend. They lack consistency on offense and I don't see quarterback Josh Nunes and running back Stepfan Taylor being able to put up enough points on a tough Irish defense led by Manti Te'o. The Irish will be looking to get their first win against the Cardinal since 2008.

Pick: Notre Dame

7. #10 Oregon State @ BYU  3:30 PM ET ABC 

- Oregon State was a lock to win this game about five days ago, then we found out starting quarterback Sean Mannion had suffered a knee injury. This has now turned into a real challenge for the Beavers. BYU's offense should look a little more stable this game as quarterback Riley Nelson returns after he suffered a back injury against Boise State on September 20th. The Cougars offense looked awful last Friday as they only put up six total points on Utah State. Thankfully, the highly talented Cougar defense held Utah State to just three points to help BYU earn their fourth win of the season. The Beavers offense struggled last weekend against Washington State at home and now they must travel to Provo without their leader. This is going to be a very defensive game and both offenses will not produce a lot of points. This could potentially be a 13-10 outcome.

Pick: BYU

8. #3 South Carolina @ #9 LSU  8:00 PM ET ESPN

-South Carolina moved to number three after blowing out the Georgia Bulldogs at home 35-7. LSU went from four to number nine after losing a hard fought game at Florida. There is going to be tremendous pressure on South Carolina, because they are in uncharted territory. The Gamecocks are not used to being in this type of position. LSU should be fortunate they have this game at home in Death Valley, where they have a huge home field advantage. The Tigers have not lost at home since October of 2009 when they were beat by Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators 13-3. This game will showcase two of the best defenses in the country and it will come down to the offenses putting up points on the scoreboard. South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw was just six of ten for 162 yards last weekend, but still managed to throw two touchdowns and no interceptions. Shaw is going to have to manage the game this weekend and rely on Heisman candidate running back Marcus Lattimore to run through a tough LSU defense. On the other hand, LSU has no big playmakers on their offense this season. LSU's offensive line has to play its best game of the season this weekend. The Offensive line cannot afford to let Gamecock defensive end Jadeveon Clowney get to quarterback Zach Mettenberger, otherwise it is going to be another long night for the Tiger offense. I feel LSU bounces back with a win on Saturday night in a very close and hard hitting game. This game will be a battle in the trenches.

Pick: LSU

9. Tennessee @ #19 Mississippi State  9:00 PM ET ESPN2

Mississippi State is off to their best start since 1999 and Tennessee is trying to win their first SEC road game since the end of the 2010 season. This will be the Bulldogs first real test of the season. The best opponent the Bulldogs have faced is an Auburn team that is currently 1-4. The Bulldogs have a great defense that is giving up only 13.4 points per game, which is the 11th best in the country. The Bulldogs offense has also been consistent this season and Junior quarterback Tyler Russell has lived up to the hype so far. Russell has thrown ten touchdown passes and just one interception. The Bulldog offense is going to have to put up their average this season of 34.2 points if they want to move to 6-0. Tennessee has an explosive offense consisting of quarterback Tyler Bray, running back Rajion Neal, and wide receiver Justin Hunter. The Volunteers are 3-2, but they have lost two very close games to tough Florida and Georgia teams. The Bulldog's defense has to be able to contain the Volunteer offense. If the Volunteers start putting points on the board, it is going to be hard for the Bulldog's offense to keep up. The Bulldog defense is key to winning this game.

Pick: Mississippi State

10. #22 Texas A&M @ #23 Louisiana Tech  9:00 PM ET ESPNU

- This game was originally scheduled for opening weekend, but was cancelled due to Hurricane Isaac. Louisiana Tech may have had an advantage in Week 1 because Texas A&M was inexperienced at the quarterback position. Here we are though, both teams are ranked and off to a good start this season. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are currently on a 12-game regular season winning streak. If the Bulldogs win this game, they could very well be in the hunt for a BCS At-Large bid. The Texas A&M Aggies have looked solid so far this season and are ranked in the top 15 in the country in points for and in points against. The Bulldog defense, which ranks 109th in the country in points against, must contain dual threat Aggie quarterback Johnny Manziel. Manziel has thrown 11 touchdown passes and rushed for seven. This game could turn into a shootout with Louisiana Tech averaging 53.2 points per game and Texas A&M averaging 44.6 points per game .

Pick: Texas A&M

College Football Week 6 Recap

My Overall Record: 43-17
My Record in Week 6: 8-2

Best Game from Week 6: Penn State 39, #24 Northwestern 28

"Separation Saturday" turned out to be a pretty good one. There were a lot of games that lived up to the hype and there were some that simply didn't. Two games that lived up to expectations were the LSU-Florida and West Virginia-Texas game. It took until the last minute of each game for a winner to be decided. Two other surprisingly great games included NC State coming from behind to upset #3 Florida State 17-16 and Penn State scoring 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to upset #24 Northwestern. Games that were supposed to be close, but turned into bloodbaths included Georgia-South Carolina and Nebraska-Ohio State. #6 South Carolina manhandled #5 Georgia at home 35-7 and the Ohio State offense exposed the Nebraska defense by winning 63-38. Lastly, teams in the top ten consisting of Oregon, Kansas State, Notre Dame, and Oregon State took care of business against their opponents.

What we learned from Week 6:

Florida State is still Florida State.

- Florida State did it again! The nation thought this was the year that Jimbo Fisher and his Noles would finally get over that hump and not have any bad losses. The Noles were up 16-0 after the first half, but failed to score in the second half. NC State came down and scored with 16 seconds left to win the game 17-16. The Noles have lose three of their last four meetings against NC State in Raleigh. The Noles will try to bounce back this upcoming weekend as they host a struggling Boston College team.

TCU is in big trouble without Casey Pachall.

- Casey Pachall let the TCU fan base down again. Pachall, of course, failed a drug test prior to the season starting, but was allowed to play. Last week, Pachall was arrested for a DWI and was suspended indefinitely. Pachall ran this offense and had the Horned Frogs undefeated and ranked fifteenth in the country. This past weekend though, the country found out just how much he will be missed as Iowa State came into Fort Worth and knocked off the Horned Frogs 37-23. This upcoming weekend will be very tough for TCU as well. TCU must travel to play a Baylor team that is averaging 54.3 points per game.

Geno Smith and the Mountaineers proved they are a legit contender.

- No one can doubt West Virginia and Geno Smith anymore. The Mountaineers went into Austin and won their first Big 12 road contest against Texas 48-45. Geno Smith threw for 268 passing yards and four touchdowns. Smith has yet to throw an interception this season. The Mountaineers must travel back to the state of Texas this upcoming weekend to battle Texas Tech. This could be a trap game for the Mountaineers after coming off a huge victory against the Longhorns.

The SEC East may come down to the Florida-South Carolina game.

- The Florida Gators and South Carolina Gamecocks had huge wins this past weekend. Florida fought off a tough LSU defense to win and South Carolina blew out Georgia. Florida and South Carolina have looked great defensively and the play of Gator quarterback Jeff Driskel and Gamecock quarterback Connor Shaw have progressed greatly since the first week of the season. Both teams are now ranked in the top five. #3 South Carolina will travel to play at #9 LSU this upcoming in a very important game. #4 Florida travels to Vanderbilt in what should be an easy win.

Penn State is officially an improved team.

- The Bill O'Brien era started off to an 0-2 start. The Nittany lions have won their past four games and have been exciting to watch. This past weekend's game against undefeated Northwestern was for sure the game that got Penn State back on the map. Nittany Lion quarterback Matt McGloin is proving that he is a gamer and a true leader of this team. McGloin has 12 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns this season. McGloin has thrown just two interceptions. The Nittany Lion rushing attack looked tough against Northwestern as Zach Zwink and Michael Zordich both rushing for one touchdown. Receiver Allen Robinson had 85 yards with two touchdown receptions. Penn State;s performance was gutsy as they were five of six on fourth down conversions. One conversion was a touchdown pass and another one led the Nittany Lions winning touchdown. Bill O'Brien should be proud of his team and I feel myself pulling extremely hard for this team.

Last thought: 

- No team as this point can be trusted. Just when you are set on one team they are upset that weekend. #7 Notre Dame gets #17 Stanford this upcoming weekend and I believe the Irish will get the job done as the defense continues to look great week in and week out. The offense appears to be clicking as they put up 41 points on the Miami Hurricanes. Florida and Alabama have very winnable games at Vanderbilt and Missouri. Ohio State will most likely trounce Indiana in Bloomington. Five of the other top ten teams playing this week have challenging games. The South Carolina-LSU game will be big because they are both top ten teams, but Kansas State and West Virginia will be tested in road games at Iowa State and Texas Tech. The Oregon State Beavers are for sure on upset alert now at BYU, as starting quarterback Sean Mannion is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

College Football: Week 6 matchups to watch

We could be in for the best Saturday of the season! This weekend is crucial for teams who want to stay in the national spotlight and be BCS title contenders. The two big games of the weekend consist of teams from the SEC Conference. #5 Georgia will play at #6 South Carolina in a game that could decide who wins the SEC East Division. The other game will be a struggling #4 LSU Tiger team traveling to "The Swamp" to take on the #10 Florida Gators. The Big 12 will have their own showdown as well. Big 12 newcomer #8 West Virginia and Geno Smith will head down to Austin for their first road game of the season to battle #11 Texas. This will be a real test for the Mountaineers and could be crucial in them capturing the Big 12 title. The important Big Ten game this weekend will be in Columbus as #21 Nebraska takes on #12 Ohio State. The Pac-12 also has a rivalry game in #23 Washington and #2 Oregon. Lastly, a few matchups that could surprise us this weekend could be Miami (FL) vs #9 Notre Dame in Chicago, Michigan at Purdue, and #17 Oklahoma at Texas Tech.

This Saturday night, I will again be at Autzen Stadium in Eugene to watch #23 Washington take on #2 Oregon. Washington and Oregon both come off big victories that took place at Seattle's CenturyLink Field. Washington, of course, upset #8 Stanford 17-13 last Thursday night. This should be an interesting game and we will see how Washington's offense does against the Duck defense. Washington has not beaten rival Oregon since 2003. 

#23 Washington @ #2 Oregon  10:30 PM ET ESPN

ESPN College GameDay will be live from Columbia, SC (Live at 10:00 AM ET) 

matchup: #5 Georgia @ #6 South Carolina

Saturday, Oct. 6th

1. #24 Northwestern @ Penn State  12:00 PM ET ESPN

- The Fighting Fitzgerald's of Northwestern are 5-0 and the only Big Ten team that is eligible to fight for a National Championship. Penn State has been solid since their 2nd week heartbreaking loss at Virginia. The Nittany Lion offense has improved tremendously since their 0-2 start, and this would be a huge win for Bill O'Brien and his squad. The Nittany Lion defense will need to be able to contain Wildcat quarterback Kain Colter, who can pass, run, and even receive. The Wildcats have not won in Happy Valley since 2004.

Pick: Penn State 

2. Virginia Tech @ North Carolina  12:30 PM ET ESPN3/GAMEPLAN

- The Virginia Tech Hokies have coughed up two non-conference games to Big East teams. The games matter now for the Hokies as they get into ACC Conference play. Hokie quarterback Logan Thomas will be relied on heavily to control the game and make big plays. The North Carolina Tar Heels have lost two games this season by a combined five points. The Tar Heel defense is ranked in the top 20 and the offense is averaging 43.2 points per game. You can bet this will be a very close game.

Pick: Virginia Tech

3. #4 LSU @ #10 Florida  3:30 PM ET CBS

- This will be nothing like last year's blowout as the Tigers trounced the Gators 41-11 at home. Both teams are a lot more even this season and rely on their tough defenses to win ball games. LSU has not looked good their past two games against Auburn and Towson. A main reason is because of the production of the offense and their problem of turning the ball over five times in two games. The Gators started off the season slow, but head coach Will Muschamp has his squad ready to take on a tough and physical LSU team. One advantage the Gators have right now is that quarterback Jeff Driskel is looking better and better each game he plays. Driskel is able to rely on big playmakers RB Mike Gillislee, RB Trey Burton, and WR Frankie Hammond. It is going to get heated in "The Swamp" on Saturday afternoon and this game will come down to which team makes that one clutch play late in the fourth quarter.

Pick: Florida

 4. #17 Oklahoma @ Texas Tech  3:30 PM ET ABC/ESPN2

- The Sooners come off a bye week after being upset at home against Kansas State two weeks ago 24-19. The Sooners were upset at home last season to Texas Tech in Norman 41-38. The Sooners now go into Lubbock where they have been upset the last three times they have played there. A lot of pressure will be on senior quarterback Landry Jones and the offense to put up points in this game. The Red Raider defense is only giving up an average of 167.5 yards per game, which is first in the country. The Red Raiders are also fifth in the country by only giving up an average of 10.8 points per game. Red Raider quarterback Seth Doege has been solid this year too, as the Red Raiders are seventh in the country with 358.8 passing yards per game. Everything points to Texas Tech winning, but I think the Sooners sneak it out and come up with a crucial win in Lubbock.

Pick: Oklahoma 

5. Michigan @ Purdue  4:00 PM ET Big Ten Network

- The Wolverines are off to a disappointing 2-2 start. Quarterback Denard Robinson has thrown eight interceptions and just six touchdown passes in four games. This is a very important game for the Wolverines and their offense. The Boilermakers are an improved team this season and the offense is averaging 42.5 points per game. This game will simply come down to defense. If the Boilermaker defense contains Denard Robinson and the running game they have a good shot at knocking off Michigan at home.

Pick: Michigan 

6. #5 Georgia @ #6 South Carolina  7:00 PM ET ESPN

- This will be the most intriguing match-up of the weekend. Both teams could be competing for the SEC East Division title. The Big match-up will be quarterback Aaron Murray and his offense vs defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and his Gamecock defense. The last seven of ten meetings have been decided by seven points or less. I believe this game will look a lot like last year's game as 87 combined points were scored. This will be a very high scoring affair and it will come down to which defense can come up big late in the fourth quarter.

Pick: Georgia 

7. #8 West Virginia @ #11 Texas  7:00 PM ET FX

- West Virginia will officially get a warm welcome to the Big 12 on Saturday. This game is very important for both teams in battling for the Big 12 conference, as well as staying in the National Title hunt. I don't think scoring points will be a problem for any team in this game. Texas is ninth in the country averaging 47.3 points per game and West Virginia is third averaging 53.0 points per game. All eyes will be on West Virginia Heisman front-runner quarterback Geno Smith, as he will have his first real test of the season against defensive end Alex Okafor and the Longhorn defense. The Mountaineer defense looks weak and Texas should be able to put points on the board. It just depends if the Longhorn defense can get enough defensive stops to win the game.

Pick: West Virginia 

8. Miami (FL) vs #9 Notre Dame (Chicago)  7:30 PM ET NBC

- The Hurricanes were blown out in Week 2 at Kansas State 52-13, but are now rolling after winning three straight games. The Hurricanes are learning who they are as a team and the offense has looked explosive by averaging 41.3 points these past three games. The Fighting Irish are coming off a bye week and will continue to rely on their defense to win ball games. The question for the Fighting Irish will be who their quarterback will be? Tommy Rees came up big against Michigan, but there is no way of knowing if it will be him or Everett Golson. The key to this game will be Notre Dame being able to  shutdown their opponent's offense. The Hurricanes will be finished if they can't move the football.

Pick: Notre Dame

9. #21 Nebraska @ #12 Ohio State  8:00 PM ET ABC

- Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini returns to his old stomping grounds of Ohio State. Both the Huskers and Buckeyes are coming off two close conference wins against Wisconsin and Michigan State. This game will really test the Huskers if they are for real and can contend in the Big Ten this season. Taylor Martinez and the offense did what they did against Wisconsin last weekend like they did against Ohio State last season. The Huskers struggled and fumbled the football in the first half, then showed up in the second half and played lights out. The Huskers cannot do this in a hostile Ohio Stadium environment against a Buckeye defense giving up an average of 17.0 points per game. Another challenge for the Huskers will be their defense trying to contain dual-threat quarterback Braxton Miller. This will be a very close game and I see the Buckeyes escaping by a field goal.

Pick: Ohio State 

10. #23 Washington @ #2 Oregon  10:30 PM ET ESPN

- The Washington Huskies are coming off a huge upset win over Stanford 17-13. The high flying Oregon Ducks appeared to struggle in the first half against Washington State, but went crazy after the third quarter began. Husky quarterback Keith Price is going to need to be consistent Saturday night and be able to move the ball down the field on the Oregon defense. The Husky offense has struggled this whole season to put points up on the board. You have to be able to put points up if you want to have a shot at upsetting the Ducks. I think the first half is close, but as usual Marcus Mariota and the offense consisting of Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas put up big numbers in the second half. The Huskies have not beaten the Ducks since 2003 and have not won in Autzen Stadium since 2002.

Pick: Oregon

College Football Week 5 Recap

My Overall Record: 35-15
My Record in Week 5: 10-0

Best Game from Week 5: Miami (FL) 44, NC State 37

Students rush the field as Washington upset Stanford 17-13 

I can finally say I went 10-0 in picks after this past weekend. My big pick of the week was Washington upsetting #8 Stanford at home on Thursday night 17-13. The Huskies hung in there the whole game and eventually got the best of the Cardinal, who missed key tackles that could have prevented the upset.  Saturday was full of games that came down to the last few minutes. Miami (FL) played in another crazy game for the second week in a row and found a way to win it with 19 seconds remaining. West Virginia and Baylor went on a bigger scoring spree then anyone could have ever imagined, and Michigan State and Ohio State battled it out until the very end in East Lansing. The Tennessee Volunteers almost pulled off the upset in a surprisingly high scoring game with the Georgia Bulldogs, but turned the ball over twice in the remaining minutes of the game. Wisconsin was beating Nebraska 27-10 early in the 3rd Quarter, but Taylor Martinez got his team back into the game with a 38 yard touchdown run and a 10 yard touchdown pass. Wisconsin tried to comeback with a minute remaining in the game, but Montee Ball fumbled the ball and the Huskers escaped with a 30-27 win. Lastly, ranked Texas and Oregon State had to score last minute touchdowns to beat Oklahoma State and Arizona.

What we learned from Week 5:

 West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith is the clear Heisman front-runner. 

- Geno Smith has been sensational so far this season. This past weekend Smith was 45/51 for 656 yards with eight touchdowns. Not saying Baylor has the best defense, but those numbers are unreal. Smith's total quarterback passing statistics for the season include being 141/169 for 1728 yards with 20 touchdowns. He also has a completion percentage of 83.4 and no interceptions. A big reason for the success of Smith is his two explosive targets Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. We will see just how good Smith is when his Mountaineers travel to play Texas this Saturday.

LSU may not be as good as we thought they were.

- LSU looked shaky these past two weekends against Auburn and Towson. This has caused the Tigers to drop from two to four in the AP Poll. The problem has come down to LSU fumbling and turning the football over. In these past two games, the Tigers have turned the ball over five times. If the Tigers want to be successful in the SEC, they cannot afford to do this every game.

Virginia Tech is overrated.

- What else is there to say about the Hokies? They came in looking to be a force in the ACC again this season. The Hokies have lost two of their last three games to subpar Big East teams. Virginia Tech got throttled in Week 2 by Pittsburgh 35-17, and then lost with 13 seconds left in the game against Cincinnati this past weekend by a score of 27-24. Hokie Quarterback Logan Thomas has not been the player everyone thought he would be by passing for just eight touchdowns and throwing six interceptions. Frank Beamer is notorious for losing early season games and winning the rest. We will see if his Hokies can turn it around this weekend as they travel to Chapel Hill to take on a scrappy North Carolina team.

 Oregon State's offense is potentially dangerous.

- The Beavers pulled out another Pac-12 road game. The nation now knows that it isn't just the Beaver defense that is giving opposing offenses nightmares. The Beaver offense may be incredibly lethal this season. Quarterback Sean Mannion looked great this past weekend against Arizona as he passed for 433 yards and three touchdowns. Mannion is averaging 362.6 passing yards per game and has wide receivers Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks to thank. Wheaton has averaged 158 receiving yards these past two games with three touchdown receptions. Speedster Brandon Cooks has averaged 162 yards these past two games with one touchdown reception. The new explosive member of the Beaver offense is freshman running back Storm Woods. Woods had 29 carries for 161 yards with one touchdown run against Arizona. The Beavers will look to continue their three game winning streak as they host Washington State this Saturday.

Last Thought:

We are less than half way through the 2012 season, but the Pac-12 has looked surprisingly good thus far. At the moment, the Pac-12 has six teams in the AP Top 25 Poll. Please let me know the last time that actually happened. I'm not completely sold on the conference as a whole yet. Each team has only had two conference games and there have already been two huge upsets. #21 Stanford upset #2 USC and Washington upset #8 Stanford two weeks later. The real question will be is if the Pac-12 consists of good teams beating good teams or mediocre teams beating mediocre teams? It's hard to tell if teams like Oregon State, UCLA, or Arizona State are for real right now. These next few weeks we will begin to figure out which teams are the contenders and who are the pretenders. 

Oregon vs Washington State at CenturyLink Field 

College Football: Week 5 matchups to watch

Not a big slate of games this weekend, but you just never know who will pull the big upset this weekend. The big games of the weekend happen to be in the Big Ten. The more important Big Ten game happens to be #14 Ohio State at #20 Michigan State. The Ohio State Buckeyes are looking to get revenge on the road after losing last year at home 10-7. The other Big Ten game is Wisconsin traveling to Lincoln to take on #22 Nebraska. Other games include a Thursday night showdown between #8 Stanford and Washington and one of only two top 25 matchups this weekend between #25 Baylor and #9 West Virginia.

This week of College Football will be a real treat for me. I will be up in Seattle to see two games in three days at CenturyLink Field. On Thursday night, I will watch #8 Stanford take on Washington. This game could be very interesting. The Cardinal are coming off a bye week after their big win over USC. Washington is also coming off a bye week. We will see if the Huskies can pull off the upset. On Saturday night, it will be my #2 Oregon Ducks taking on Mike Leach and his Washington State Cougars. The Ducks are coming off a big home win over Arizona 49-0. Washington State comes in limping after being upset in the last few seconds of the game to Colorado. The Ducks look explosive as ever right now, and this game could get brutal for the Cougars.

#8 Stanford @ Washington  9:00 PM ET ESPN

#2 Oregon @ Washington State  10:30 PM ET ESPN2  

ESPN College GameDay will be live from East Lansing, MI (Live at 10:00 AM ET)

matchup: #14 Ohio State @ #20 Michigan State  

Thursday, Sept. 27th

1. #8 Stanford @ Washington  9:00 PM ET ESPN

- Stanford has had time to rest with a bye week after upsetting the Trojans two weeks ago 21-14. Washington is also coming off a bye week and looks to knock off the Cardinal for the first since 2007. Husky quarterback Keith Price has been consistent this season. He hasn't been flashy with 186.6 yards passing per game, four touchdowns, and one interception, but will improve as the season continues. Stanford's defense will play tough, but it is going to be interesting seeing Stanford quarterback Josh Nunes in his first road game as a starter. I'm not sold on running back Stepfan Taylor and the Cardinal offense yet. I think this is going to be closer than most people think and I feel Washington plays Stanford really tough. I smell upset on Thursday night in Seattle.

Pick: Washington 

Saturday, Sept. 29th

2. #25 Baylor @ #9 West Virginia  12:00 PM ET FX

- West Virginia is coming off a surprisingly tough 31-21 win over Maryland. Baylor beat the new Cinderella team of this season Louisiana-Monroe 47-42. This game is going to be a shootout. The mountaineers are currently third in the nation in passing yards per game and tenth in points per game. Quarterback Geno Smith has looked phenomenal along with his receiving core consisting of Tavon Austin, who had 13 receptions for 179 yards and three touchdowns against Maryland. The Bears on the other hand, rank fifth in passing yards per game and in points per game. Bear quarterback Nick Florence has played well this season after replacing Robert Griffin III. Florence has passed for about 335 passing yards per game and has thrown 11 touchdown passes. Expect a good game in Morgantown this Saturday.

Pick: West Virginia 

3. Minnesota @ Iowa  12:00 PM ET ESPN2

I can't believe I'm even saying this...the Golden Gophers are 4-0! The Minnesota Golden Gophers are off to their best start since 2008. If they can take down a weak Iowa Hawkeye team this weekend, it will be the first time they have won their first five games of the season since 2004. Minnesota will most likely still not have their star quarterback MarQueis Gray back for this game, which could hurt their chances of winning. The Hawkeyes have been struggling this whole season to win ball games and the offense has looked atrocious. The loss this past weekend to Central Michigan put Head Coach Kirk Ferentz and his Hawkeyes in complete panic mode. Iowa desperately needs to win this game.

Pick: Iowa 

4. NC State @ Miami (FL)  12:00 PM ET ESPNU

- The U had a huge come from behind victory last weekend against Georgia Tech. NC State was challenged by a subpar UConn team in Week 2, and have played FCS teams these past two weeks. NC State quarterback Mike Glennon has looked solid since the Tennessee game in Week 1 and the defense has been only giving up 15.8 points per game. Miami has found new weapons on their offense, especially running back Mike James, who had four touchdowns against Georgia Tech. The explosiveness of running back Duke Johnson and wide receivers Phillip Dorsett and Davon Johnson will give the Wolfpack defense problems.

Pick: Miami (FL) 

5. Tennessee @ #5 Georgia  3:30 PM ET CBS

- Georgia looked tough last weekend beating Vanderbilt 48-3. Tennessee had a tough loss against the Florida Gators two weeks ago and struggled against MAC foe Akron until scoring a touchdown with 9:02 left in the fourth quarter. The Volunteers ended up winning the game 47-26. This is going to be an uphill battle for the Volunteers, as the Bulldog's offense and defense have been clicking on all cylinders since their big win at Missouri in Week 2. Tennessee's defense will need to play tough the whole game and not give up big plays like they did against Florida and Akron. Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray will need to be collected in the pocket and need to be able make good decisions when throwing the football. The Volunteers absolutely cannot make mistakes and turn the ball over to this tough Bulldog team.

Pick: Georgia

6. #14 Ohio State @ #20 Michigan State  3:30 PM ET ABC

- The Spartans went into Columbus last season and shutout out the Buckeyes until they scored a touchdown with ten seconds remaining in the game. The Spartans won 10-7. It will be a lot different this season with head coach Urban Meyer at the helm. The Buckeyes and Spartans both struggled this past weekend with Eastern Michigan and UAB, but eventually pulled away late in the fourth quarter. Both defenses have played well for the most part this season, and it will come down to the offenses in this game. The Spartans running game is good with physical runner Le'Veon Bell, but I give Ohio State the advantage on offense because of quarterback Braxton Miller. I can see this being a close game and the Buckeyes winning by six points.

Pick: Ohio State 

7. #12 Texas @ Oklahoma State  7:50 PM ET FOX

- Let's see if Texas becomes the next highly ranked team to be upset on FOX. The Longhorns have not looked this good in three years. The Longhorns rank 13th in the nation in rushing yards and seventh in points per game. Longhorn quarterback David Ash has established himself as the starter by passing for seven touchdowns and no interceptions. The Longhorn defense has only given up an average of 16 points per game. The Cowboys were upset by Arizona in Week 2 59-38, but they bounced back against Louisiana-Lafayette 65-24. The Cowboys are ranked in the top six in passing yards, rushing yards, and points per game. We'll see how explosive the Cowboys offense can be as they play one of the best defenses in the Big 12.

Pick: Texas 

8. Wisconsin @ #22 Nebraska  8:00 PM ET ABC

- Last season, Wisconsin obliterated Nebraska in Madison 48-17. This season, the Cornhuskers have the upper hand with an improved quarterback in Taylor Martinez and a solid running back in Rex Burkhead. Burkhead returned from his injury against Idaho State and had eight carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns. The Husker defense is not as talented this season, but they should be just fine against a Badger offense that has looked bad in all four of their games. Wisconsin running back Montee Ball's status is unknown. The Badgers will also have inexperienced freshman quarterback Joel Stave starting in a hostile Memorial Stadium. The Huskers are going to take control of the game in the second half and win convincingly.

Pick: Nebraska

9. #18 Oregon State @ Arizona  10:00 PM ET Pac-12 Network

- The Beavers are 2-0 and both were big wins for the program. The Wildcats were dismantled this past weekend against Oregon 49-0. The Beaver's defense has been good and have shutdown two of the elite running backs in the country Montee Ball and Johnathan Franklin. The Beaver offense has speed and this is going to cause problems for a thin Arizona defense. We'll also see if Wildcat quarterback Matt Scott can bounce back after throwing three interceptions against Oregon. This will be a close call in the desert on Saturday night.

Pick: Oregon State

10. #2 Oregon @ Washington State (Seattle, WA) 10:30 PM ET ESPN2

- Washington State lost to a bad Colorado team this past weekend in the remaining seconds of the game. Oregon is coming off a big 49-0 victory over Arizona. The Ducks are so much faster and physically stronger than the Cougars. If the Cougars want a chance to even stay in this game they must prevent big Oregon plays. Trying to contain QB Marcus Mariota, RB Kenjon Barner, WR De'Anthony Thomas, and TE/RB Colt Lyerla is going to be a big task for a defense this has given up an average of 28 points per game this season. The Ducks win big in this one.

Pick: Oregon