Buell's Eye: Week Nine's College Football Picks

Only two teams stumbled last week in upset losses.
Others failed to impress against opponents that many anticipated them to dominate, including No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama.

In Week Nine, 20 games await while "Prime Time" is the "right time" as No. 5 USC, No. 10 Oregon, No. 3 Texas, and No. 14 Oklahoma State square off, and No. 22 South Carolina travels to hostile Neyland Stadium to play a hungry Tennessee Volunteers squad.

Last weekend featured a 17-5 record for me, taking the season total to 131-35.

Trick or treat, Week Nine will exhibit four upsets by the end of Halloween night, containing a Top 10 team with National Title aspirations, in its wake.

Week Nine Bye Weeks

They even threw helmets as they ran because No. 2 Alabama could not escape the football field fast enough last weekend as Tennessee did their best to play spoiler.

The Crimson Tide gets to rest this weekend, along with the still rising No. 15 Pittsburgh Panthers, who decimated South Florida, and the No. 20 Arizona Wildcats who nearly doubled up the UCLA Bruins in their rankings debut, last Saturday.

No. 25 Mississippi Rebels (5-2) at Auburn Tigers (5-3)

This one kicks off at 12:21 p.m., (because apparently that made sense to somebody), so let's kick this weekend off with an upset, shall we?

Mississippi climbs back into the rankings this week just in time to travel to an Auburn team that has dropped its last three games after starting the season at a perfect 5-0.

Auburn seeks redemption.

Mississippi searches for that elusive credibility.
And, Auburn takes this one at home, in upset fashion, halting their losing streak 31-20.

No. 24 California Golden Bears (5-2) at Arizona State Sun Devils (4-3)

Welcome back to you, too, California.

I'm sure someone missed you after your usual start-at-the-top-and-lose-two-games-badly-because-you-were-overrated-again stunt that you enjoy pulling each season.

Arizona State hosts the yo-yo Bears in Week Nine and California becomes the unwanted guest that doesn't get invited back by taking this victory 42-28.

No. 23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2) vs Washington State Cougars (1-6)

Now, granted, Jimmy Clausen is playing some good ball as he leads the Irish this year, Golden Tate is exciting and electrifying, and Charlie Weis walks with a limp.

I'll give you all that.

Notre Dame shouldn't struggle against a bad Washington State team this Saturday either, but in the name of mediocrity, the Irish need a blowout win at home, and a climb up the charts fast to start being taken seriously across the country.

Notre Dame beats Washington State 34-17.

No. 22 South Carolina Gamecocks (6-2) at Tennessee Volunteers (3-4)

Unimpressive in Week Eight's four point victory over Vandy, the Gamecocks must travel to one of the toughest, and loudest, stadiums in all of College Football, Neyland Stadium.

Steve Spurrier's squad is up for the challenge, but these dangerous elements point in the favor of putting South Carolina on upset alert.

Tennessee pulls off that upset at home in Week Nine 17-13 over Carolina.

No. 21 West Virginia Mountaineers (6-1) at South Florida Bulls (5-2)

The Mountaineers fended off an emotional Connecticut Huskies team last weekend, and now face an angry Bulls group a week later that has dropped two in a row after starting their season 5-0.

South Florida hosts West Virginia under Friday Night Lights, and look to get their season back on track with an upset victory.

The Bulls trample the Mountaineers 20-10.

No. 19 Miami Hurricanes (5-2) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-4)

In one of the best games of Week Eight, Clemson escaped Miami with a win and sent the Hurricanes packing to Wake Forest this weekend hoping to rebound from that loss, and add to their impressive season.

The Demon Deacons prove to be no match for this Hurricanes team as Miami blows by Wake Forest 34-14.

No. 18 Houston Cougars (6-1) vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles (5-3)

I hope you're ready this time, Houston.

If UTEP can knock you down, Southern Miss will straight run you over.

Both of these teams are fun to watch and this one is destined to come down to the wire.

In a bit of a shootout, the Cougars outlast the Eagles 38-34.

No. 17 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-2) vs New Mexico State Aggies (3-5)

There may be question marks surrounding Jim Tressel's future at Ohio State after more disappointment this season, but there is no question as to who will win their game in Week Nine against New Mexico State.

The Buckeyes destroy the Aggies 34-3.

No. 16 Utah Utes (6-1) vs Wyoming Cowboys (4-3)

Utah reminds me of Switzerland.

They both have mountains, and they're both neutral.

Well, at least that's where the Utes are stuck at currently.

They take on a 4-3 Cowboys team at home this weekend and, in a close one, win by a field goal 20-17.

No. 13 Virginia Tech Hokies vs North Carolina Tar Heels (4-3)

The Tar Heels stellar defense completely shut down Florida State in the first half a week ago, and they still lost by three.

This week, they will have to play amazing on D in both halves to stop an explosive Virginia Tech offense.

The Hokies run away with it at the end over the Heels 30-14.

No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions at Northwestern Wildcats (5-3)

Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions are going to have to start blowing some teams out if they want their one loss record to start making some noise in 2009.

Taking on Northwestern wouldn't be a bad place to accomplish that, but taking a trip to the Wildcats den could stimie some points.

Penn State wins the catfight over N'Western 28-13.

No. 11 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7-1) at Vanderbilt Commodores (2-6)

Georgia Tech is still looking into the lens of this National Title picture before its actually developed, and winning the remainder of their games still may not be enough after their lone loss to Miami earlier in the season.

One more obstacle down, however, takes place in Vanderbilt this weekend for the Yellow Jackets.
Tech wins against Vandy 38-24.

No. 9 LSU Tigers (6-1) vs Tulane Green Wave (2-5)

Born on the Bayou are beads, crawfish, and determination.
Les Miles' and LSU's consistency at the University is a thing of beauty that most programs do not possess.
The Tigers are 10 points away from another perfect season at the teeth of the No. 1 Gators, and riding the Green Wave for a 35-13 win this Saturday keeps LSU creeping towards the top.

No. 8 Cincinnati Bearcats (7-0) at Syracuse Orangemen (3-4)

Maybe not the computers, but I was impressed with Cincinnati's 31-point domination of Louisville last week without their starting QB, Tony Pike.

The Bearcats fell three spots to No. 8 in the BCS Standings, however, and now get to travel to New York to play Syracuse and take out their anger on Greg Paulus.
Cincinnati: 31 Greg Paulus: 14

No. 7 Boise State Broncos (6-0) vs San Jose State Spartans (1-5)

Ugly game last week. Ugly game this week.

Boise State wins big and also moves down three spots in the BCS.

All that these BCS Busters can do is keep winning and pray for a miscalculation somewhere to land them in the BCS Championship game.

In the mean time, the Broncos' field is still blue, they're still undefeated, and they buck the Spartans 56-3 in Week Nine.

No. 6 Texas Christian Horned Frogs (7-0) vs UNLV Rebels (3-5)

TCU knows what direction to go in and after Week Eight's trounching of BYU, they are definitely headed there.

Up to No. 6 this week, the Horned Frogs welcome in the Rebels from UNLV and are surprised to learn that they came to play.

Some people call this a trap game, others call it looking ahead, and the rest call it a let down.

I call it a 24-21 narrow victory by the Horned Frogs over the Rebels.

No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes (8-0) vs Indiana Hoosiers (4-4)

I finally believed in the Hawkeyes, and they thanked me by pulling out a victory at Michigan State as time expired.

Thanks for the excitment Iowa, congratulations on your No. 4 ranking this week and for moving to 9-0 on the season after Saturday's early afternoon win over the overmatched Indiana Hoosiers.

Iowa takes this one 28-10.

No. 1 Florida Gators (7-0) vs Georgia Bulldogs (4-3)

After three consecutive weeks of showing vulnerability, Florida travels east from Gainesville to Jacksonville to take on a regrouping Georgia Bulldogs team in one of the best rivalries of the season that could mirror last year's blowout.

Although the score is closer, Georgia fights to stay in this one against the No. 1 team in the land. The nation's longest winning streak continues for another week and Florida wins 37-20.

Game of the Week No. 1: No. 3 Texas Longhorns (7-0) at No. 14 Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-1)

The good news for Oklahoma State in the first Game of the Week against Texas is that they are playing at home.

The bad news is that Texas may have found their swagger last Saturday night against Missouri in their dominating win over the Tigers.

Prime Time football greets the Cowboys in a shootout, but the Longhorns prevail 42-31.

Game of the Week No. 2: No. 5 USC Trojans (6-1) at No. 10 Oregon Ducks (6-1)

Chip Kelly is actually taking his Ducks team to their lofty expectations that faced them before kickoff began this season.

No one forgets their putrid performance against Boise State in the opening game but there's no denying the hot streak Oregon has been on ever since.

The Ducks crack the Top 10 in the second release of the BCS Standings, setting up an epic Pac-10 match-up in the second Game of the Week at Prime Time on
Saturday night.

Two explosive offenses normally hint for 100 points between the two teams but both programs will fight hard for this one as they bruise and punish each other along the way.

After it's all said and done, USC suffers a slight upset loss, their second of the season, and Oregon takes the stand as, arguably, the best one loss team in the country.