Week 10 College Football Predictions

Tuesday
UAB at SMU (+3.5): With the game at home, SMU improved from a year ago at 4-4, and UAB not looking nearly as solid as they have in previous years, I'm going with the Mustangs.
SMU 24 UAB 17

Wednesday
Fresno State at Boise State (+26): Fresno may be having a down year, but it's hard for me to see them getting blown out by nearly four touchdowns. They are a team whose already played the likes of Nevada, Oregon, Hawaii, and LSU, amongst others. BSU should stay unbeaten, but I doubt they'll cover the spread.
Boise State 42 Fresno State 24

Thursday
West Virginia at Louisville (+2): Without Michael Bush healthy and playing, I'm definitely giving the edge to the Mountaineers. Louisville's once dominant offense has not been as consistent and forceful in recent weeks. No one has shown the ability to slow down the Mountaineers' rushing attack and I can't see the Cards' suspect defense being the first to do so.
West Virginia 38 Louisville 24

Friday
Air Force (+7) at Army: Both academies have been anything but consistent this year. Air Force went from a one-point loss to Tennessee to getting spanked by BYU a week ago. Army went from falling to Texas A&M by four points to getting beat pretty handily by Tulane. Like option football? This will definitely be a game to check out. Even though I'm a bit iffy on this pick, I'm going with the Falcons in a close one.
Air Force 24 Army 21

Saturday
Missouri at Nebraska (+5.5): This could very well be the Big XII North Championship. The winner will most likely get pounded in the Big XII Title Game, but hey, being labeled the Big XII North Champ has to count for something right? Maybe? Ehh, who knows anymore. Both teams looked pathetic last weekend. Mizzou played self-destructively on offense and soft on defense against Oklahoma in their 26-10 loss. Nebraska was outscored 41-7 by Oklahoma State following their 16-0 lead to open the game in their 41-29 loss. The true question is, who wants it more? Who wants it at all? With the game at home, I give a slight edge to Nebraska, but could see this game going either way.
Nebraska 28 Missouri 21

Kansas State at Colorado (+4): I'm sorry, but 1-8 Colorado is a favorite over 5-4 K-State? Is there something I'm missing here? Perhaps they know something I don't know. CU has been playing their opposition tough and in their lone offensive showing of the season, it was a home game against Texas Tech. I can see CU's defense causing problems for K-State's freshman quarterback. Allright, I'll go with the 'Buffs, but to play it safe, I'll pick against the spread.
Colorado 17 Kansas State 14

Kansas (+1) at Iowa State: How hot of a seat is ISU head coach Dan McCarney sitting on now? His Cyclones went bowling a year ago and had high expectations for this season after returning most of their starters on offense. The offense has been dreadful and if they continue to play like they have been, they have no chance to beat the Jayhawks.
Kansas 28 Iowa State 17

Oklahoma (+3) at Texas A&M: Finally, A&M gets beaten. When I look at them on paper, they don't appear to be that great of a team. They've squeaked by a few teams, including Army. OU has to do without star tailback Adrian Peterson, but have faired well since his injury. The defense has stepped up and should continue to at College Station.
Oklahoma 24 Texas A&M 17

Oklahoma State at Texas (+17): OSU isn't getting any love, are they? While they have lost three games this year, those losses were all very close. They're building off a big home win this past weekend against Nebraska. Even though I'm taking the Longhorns at home to win the game, it's not going to be by 17.
Texas 45 Oklahoma State 35

Baylor at Texas Tech (+17): This could be a dangerous game for the Red Raiders. The reason I say that is because of their collapse last week against Texas. They lead 21-0 in the first quarter and found a way to lose the game. It'd be easy for a team to let that carry over into this week's game. I see the Red Raiders pulling this one out, but not by as much as the "experts" think.
Texas Tech 28 Baylor 17

Northwestern at Iowa (+17): I haven't heard word about Drew Tate's return, but with the game in Iowa City, I'd hope that it wouldn't matter. 'Hawks should win this one big.
Iowa 31 Northwestern 10

Ball State at Michigan (+33): With their sloppy performance last week against Northwestern, I'd think and hope the 2nd ranked Wolverines would come out with some extra fire in this one. UM wins it big.
Michigan 45 Ball State 10

Purdue at Michigan State (+2): After starting the year 3-0 and going 1-5 since that time, it's tough for me to pick the Spartans. Purdue is a very average club playing average ball, but that beats an average club playing atrocious ball.
Purdue 31 Michigan State 24

Ohio State (+27) at Illinois: The Illini played Wis-CON-sin tough last week and played Penn State tough the week before, but Ohio State is a completely separate entity. They should handle Zook's club with ease, just as they've handled everyone else.
Ohio State 42 Illinois 10

Penn State at Wisconsin (+7.5): Wisconsin did not impress me last week against Illinois. PSU, meanwhile, has played well on defense and played Ohio State the toughest of anybody thus far. I'm going with JoPa in the upset at Camp Randall.
Penn State 24 Wisconsin 21

Bowling Green at Akron (+9.5): Whew. Bowling Green is now in the books as the team who snapped Temple's 20 game losing streak. Akron also played poorly last week, falling to then 2-6 Toledo. This is a matchup between two disappointing MAC clubs. I'm going to go with the home Zips, but not by the indicated spread.
Akron 28 Bowling Green 24

Mississippi State at Alabama (+14): Croom's Bulldogs have played stingy at times this year but only have two wins to show for it. It'll be very difficult for their bunch to come out of Tuscaloosa with a third victory.
Alabama 24 Mississippi State 10

Arkansas (+2) at South Carolina: This is a rather large game in the SEC. South Carolina's three losses come by a combined 32 points at the hands of Georgia (6-3), Auburn (8-1), and Tennessee (7-1). Since their opening week drubbing at the hands of USC, Arkansas has gone undefeated, including a 27-10 victory over then unbeaten Auburn. With the game at home, coming off a tough loss to the 'Vols, I'm giving the edge to Spurrier.
South Carolina 28 Arkansas 24

Arkansas State at Auburn (+31): Auburn has tended to play down to their competition this year, so even though I'm confident that the Tigers will win, I'm not so sure if they will cover the large spread. Since Arkansas State is coming off a 29-0 loss to Florida Atlantic, I'll take the Tigers to cover.
Auburn 45 Arkansas State 10

Boston College (+4.5) at Wake Forest: I'd be very surprised to see BC lose this game. I think that Wake Forest is by far and away the worst one-loss team left in Division I-A. They almost fell to one-win North Carolina last week. BC should continue their good run this week with another W.
Boston College 31 Wake Forest 21

BYU (+14) at Colorado State: These two teams are going in completely opposite directions. BYU is one of the hottest clubs in all of football (definitely of the MWC) and Colorado State has to be one of the coldest teams in all of football (definitely of the MWC). CSU got shutout two weeks ago by Wyoming 24-0 and found a way to lose this past weekend to New Mexico 20-19. The Cougars should have no problems in Fort Collins to improve to 7-2.
BYU 42 Colorado State 14

Central Michigan (+17.5) at Temple: Congrats to the Owls who snapped their 20-game losing streak last week with a 28-14 win over Bowling Green. They'll party all week and in no way be prepared for this upcoming game with the Chippewas. It takes a lot out of a club to win one out of twenty-one.
Central Michigan 31 Temple 14

UCLA at Cal (+17): UCLA had their hangover week against Washington State following their blown lead to Notre Dame. Cal had a bye week, so they may be a little rusty in the early going. UCLA's defense should keep things rather close, but Marshawn Lynch will be too much for the Bruins in the end.
Cal 28 UCLA 14

Maryland at Clemson (+16): Allright, I should stop doubting the Turtles. No matter how ugly they win, they just seem to win. Clemson is looking to rebound following their awful showing against Virginia Tech last Thursday. While I'm going to go with the home team, I don't believe the spread will be covered.
Clemson 31 Maryland 17

East Carolina (+7) at Central Florida: How 'bout them Pirates? Allright, they're not quite as good as they had been 5-10 years ago, but following some down years, ECU appears to be back on the upswing. They should get over the .500 mark with a win over the ever-struggling Golden Knights.
East Carolina 31 Central Florida 17

Virginia at Florida State (+11): Bobby's 'Noles are 4-4. I heard some pre-season chatter that they may be National Title contenders this year. Virginia has begun to play better of late to improve to 4-5 on the year. I'm half tempted to go with the upset, but with the game in Tallahassee, I don't see it happening. UVA's defense should keep it somewhat close, though. Florida State 24 Virginia 14

Florida (+14.5) at Vanderbilt: The spread is tricky on this one. If the game was at The Swamp, I'd have no problem taking the Gators to cover. Even though I'm not too confident with the pick, I'm going to say that UF will have found a extra spark of motivation with their most recent #4 ranking in the BCS.
Florida 31 Vanderbilt 14

Georgia Tech (+6) at NC State: I'm rather surprised by the lack of a spread in this game. NC State has been struggling lately and that's being nice. Tech got hammered by Clemson not long ago, but rebounded nicely with a win last week against Miami. NC State's offense racked up only seven points against Virginia last week. I can't see them posing much more on the Yellow Jacket defense.
Georgia Tech 21 NC State 7

Georgia (+6) at Kentucky: I could've seen UGA losing to a seemingly always pesky Vandy squad, but Kentucky? I'm not seeing that transpire.
Georgia 28 Kentucky 14

Hawaii (+27) at Utah State: If one likes to see points scored in the bunches, they'll love Hawaii football. They've put up 68 points two times in the past three games, including last week in their 68-10 blowout of Idaho. Expect similar results against the hapless Aggies.
Hawaii 70 Utah State 10

Kent State (+14.5) at Buffalo: Kent State is coming off a tough 17-7 loss to Ohio and Buffalo appears to be getting worse by the week. Gotta go with the Golden Flashes to rebound.
Kent State 31 Buffalo 10

Louisiana-Lafayette (+2) at Troy: With the game at home, I look for the pesky Trojans to pull even at .500.
Troy 24 Louisiana-Lafayette 21

LSU (+2) at Tennessee: There's at least one great SEC matchup every week, isn't there? This should be no different. The 'Vols have been sluggish of late, just squeaking by Alabama and South Carolina in their past two games. I look for LSU's staunch defense to limit the 'Vols potency on offense and for JaMarcus Russell to have a solid day through the air.
LSU 21 Tennessee 14

Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee State (+14): MTSU is coming off an impressive victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, but Howard Schnellenberger's Florida Atlantic squad is performing better of late. I like MTSU to win, but not by much.
Middle Tennessee State 28 Florida Atlantic 21

Tulane at Marshall (+5.5): Expect a lot of points to be scored in this one. Just last week, Tulane scored 42 on Army and Marshall put up 41 on Memphis. While neither team has been very impressive this year, I do believe Tulane has shown me more up to this point. I look for the Green Wave to get a road win here.
Tulane 42 Marshall 31

Indiana at Minnesota (+4.5): Minnesota's what? 3-6? They're favored over the 5-4 Hoosiers? Fahgeddaboutit. Indiana becomes bowl eligible with this win!
Indiana 31 Minnesota 21

North Carolina at Notre Dame (+29): The Irish should win and win handily, but I don't know if they'll cover the spread. Carolina actually played decently in their loss last week to Wake Forest. Notre Dame 38 North Carolina 10

Louisiana Tech at North Texas (+2.5): I'm just going to keep on picking the Bulldogs. Both teams have stunk it up this year, but I'm going to go back on the fact that Louisiana Tech has played the tougher schedule. It may not matter anymore, considering they got blown out last week by San Jose State, but, between these two clubs, what else do I have to go on?
Louisiana Tech 24 North Texas 21

Navy (+11) at Duke: Even Temple found a way to win a game. Duke has yet to do that and playing against the option attack of the Midshipmen won't help matters any. Chalk up another L for the Blue Devils.
Navy 28 Duke 14

Nevada (+12.5) at Idaho: The Vandals are coming off a 68-10 loss to Hawaii while Nevada is playing their best ball of the season. I'd be shocked to see the Wolfpack lose this one with the way they've been playing.
Nevada 38 Idaho 17

Ohio (+7) at Eastern Michigan: Eastern Michigan may only have one win to their credit, but they have been a tough team to dispose of in games. Just ask 6-2 Western Michigan who upended Eastern Michigan 18-15. Look for Ohio to win this one, but it won't be easy.
Ohio 24 Eastern Michigan 14

Arizona State at Oregon State (+3): Both teams enter the game at 5-3 and winners of two straight. ASU is slowly improving and OSU is coming off a huge home win against USC. I have a feeling that this weekend calls for a letdown by the Beavers following their huge win over the Trojans. A game against the Sundevils is not the weekend to have a hangover.
Arizona State 31 Oregon State 28

Washington at Oregon (+14): Ty Willingham's Huskies have lost some tight ones this year. Their last two games were lost by a combined 10 points, both in overtime, to the likes of Cal and Arizona State. It won't get any easier at Autzen and I look for a similar loss for UW.
Oregon 28 Washington 24

Pitt (+5) at South Florida: This is a dangerous game for the Panthers. South Florida has played much better at home this year than away. Both teams are coming off a bye week. I'm giving the slight edge to Pitt, but USF isn't a team to take lightly.
Pitt 28 South Florida 21

San Jose State (+7) at New Mexico State: This should be a high-flying matchup. NMSU's defense has been porous, to be nice. They make the Colts' run defense look like the Steel Curtain.
San Jose State 38 New Mexico State 31

TCU (+21) at UNLV: TCU's coming off an impressive 26-3 victory over Wyoming and UNLV's basketball team could probably beat their football team for sixty minutes. Horned Frogs win this one big.
TCU 31 UNLV 3

Tulsa (+4.5) at Houston: Houston has won a couple straight since their cold spell. Tulsa has one loss on the season and even in their sub-par performances such as the one last week against UTEP, they seem to find ways to win. Houston should put up some points, but not enough to stop the Golden Hurricane.
Tulsa 35 Houston 31

USC (+28.5) at Stanford: USC is coming off a very disappointing loss to Oregon State and have shown no signs of pulling it together in conference. This is a blessing for the underachieving Trojans, to face off against the winless Cardinal. USC wins, but won't cover the spread.
USC 31 Stanford 10

Rice at UTEP (+8.5): The option offense vs. Mike Price and Jordan Palmer. UTEP is coming off a disappointing loss to Tulsa where they lead 20-6 in the second half only to allow Tulsa to score 24 unanswered. They'll come back at home to win this one fairly handily.
UTEP 31 Rice 17

Virginia Tech (+2.5) at Miami (Florida): This looks to be a game of matchups. While the teams appear to be heading in different directions following Tech's big win over Clemson and Miami's loss to Georgia Tech, I believe that Miami's stingy front seven matches up well against Tech's running game and Miami's vertical threats in throwing matches up well against the Hokies' secondary. Miami wins a tough game at home.
Miami (Florida) 24 Virginia Tech 17

Miami (Ohio) at Western Michigan (+12): The only question I have here deals with the spread. Western Michigan only beat Eastern Michigan by 3 points last week. Like Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) has one win on the season. With the game being at home, I'm going to go with the Broncos covering the spread.
Western Michigan 31 Miami (Ohio) 17

Arizona at Washington State (+14.5): The Cougars in Pullman are playing better on a weekly basis and should have no problem beating U of A and solidifying themselves in the top 25.
Washington State 31 Arizona 10

San Diego State at Wyoming (+16): SDSU pulled off an upset win over Air Force two weeks ago only to lose to Division I-AA Cal Poly 16-14 this past weekend. While Wyoming were embarrassed by TCU this past weekend, they have been playing better of late and should have no problems in this one.
Wyoming 28 San Diego State 10

Sunday
Southern Miss (+8) at Memphis: The perfect recipe for Southern Miss to bring their losing skid to a halt is to face off against Memphis. If Southern Miss finds a way to lose this game, then Jeff Bower and company are in trouble in Hattiesberg.
Southern Miss 31 Memphis 10