Top 25 NCAA Football Picks for Week Nine

Last Week's Record: 11-11
Season Record: 58-35

There are intriguing matchups all over college football this weekend. Although there are only two games with ranked opponents playing each other, there are several rivalry games, which usually play closer than you would expect.

My game of the week is a tough call, but I'd say that USC at Oregon gets the slight nod over Texas at Oklahoma State. The Ducks are the hottest team in the land right now, blowing out just about everyone they play. USC just rolls along taking care of business as usual.

These two top 10 teams should have an exciting game in one of the toughest stadiums to play in out there in Oregon.

Anyway, enough about my analysis—that's coming up soon enough. I want to jump right into the picks after my worst performance to date last week (11-11).

Let's get started!

North Carolina (4-3) @ No. 13 Virginia Tech (5-2): VaTech -16

Both of these teams suffered heartbreaking defeats last week, albeit in different fashions. The Hokies played well at GaTech and lost a close one, while the Heels completely collapsed in the second half against the 'Noles of Florida State.

I think the Hokies will come into this game hungry and looking to kill, while the Heels have basically packed their things up and are calling it a season. Hokies win this one easily.

The Pick: Virginia Tech -16
Hokies 45 Tarheels 10

No. 21 West Virginia (6-1) @ South Florida (5-2): WVU -3

Noel Devine is emerging as a Heisman Trophy candidate and has been on an all-out tear recently. Last week against the heavy-hearted Huskies he rushed for 178 yards on only 23 carries, including a game-winning 56-yard scamper with just over two minutes left.

This week, he is the reason they win again. Sure, South Florida will try to contain the run and will stuff Devine most of the game, but like Barry Sanders, eventually he'll erupt and break a long one to win the game yet again.

OK, maybe comparing Devine to Barry Sanders is a bit overboard, but the guy certainly has big play ability, agility, and speed. Mountaineers win a close one.

The Pick: WVU -3
Mountaineers 31 Bulls 24

No. 8 Cincinnati (7-0) @ Syracuse (3-4): Cincy -15.5

The Bearcats seemingly made the smooth transition from Heisman hopeful NFL prospect QB to no-name QB without missing a beat.

Zach Collaros definitely is not as great of a passer as Tony Pike, but he has wheels and is a much better runner

Cincy was in the same position last year when they used four different QBs on their way to a Big East title and a BCS berth. Can they repeat that performance this year? Absolutely.

Brian Kelly is proving week in and week out that he is one of the best coaches in college football, and this week he'll do the same. He'll scheme around his strengths and run the football, giving the Bearcats the win.

This strategy will work great, but with slowing it down and controlling the pace it will allow the Cuse to barely cover the spread.

The Pick: Syracuse +15.5
Bearcats 27 Orange 12

New Mexico State (3-5) @ No. 17 Ohio State (6-2): OSU -43.5

Terrelle Pryor looked great last week in what has been a Jekyll & Hyde season for him. It's been a roller coaster ride for the whole Buckeyes team this year.

This week they pretty much have a gimme game and should easily handle the Aggies. I think they score enough to cover, and I doubt they let up more than seven points in this game.

The Pick: OSU -43.5
Buckeyes 48 Aggies 3

Indiana (4-4) @ No. 4 Iowa (8-0): Iowa -17.5

The Hawkeyes had yet another thriller on the road in East Lansing against the Spartans. They scored on the last play of the game for the victory to move to 8-0 and keep their national championship hopes alive.

Pollsters and analysts are down on this team because they don't win big ever and don't make a statement. Well, I'm up on them because they play sound fundamental football and know how to win close games. Their interior play is great, and Kirk Ferentz really knows how to play to the team's strengths.

They are 17.5-point favorites in this situation, and 99 percent of the time I would pick against them with that kind of spread, but this time I won't. Indiana completely collapsed at Northwestern last week, and I don't think they have enough will to overcome that.

Iowa also wants to make a statment to move up in the polls and are determined to make their mark. Ricky Stanzi will have a huge day.

The Pick: Iowa -17.5
Hawkeyes 41 Hoosiers 10

No. 25 Mississippi (5-2) @ Auburn (5-3) - Miss -4.5

The Rebels look to be following the same formula as they did last year. Get off to a horrible start in conference play, and then dominate the rest of their games. They've won the last two weeks convincingly and their offense finally appears to be catching up to their defense. They played well enough to score 30 on Arkansas last week and Jevan Snead actually looked like the pro-prospect many people labeled him as before the season.
This week I think they continue to play well and get better as the season progresses. They head down to Auburn and beat the Tigers in a fairly close game.

The Pick: Ole Miss -4.5
Rebels 31 Tigers 24

Southern Miss (5-3) @ No. 18 Houston (6-1) - Houston -7

Case Keenum broke a string of 5 consecutive 350=plus yard passing games last week against SMU, but he still averages near 400 yards a game passing on the season. Well, he'll get back on track this week and get those 350 yards, but the reason being because they'll be playing from behind. This will be a very, very close game and I think the Cougars are on UPSET ALERT, but...they'll win on a last minute drive put together by Keenum, who will get an invite to NY for the Heisman presentation later this year.

The Pick: Southern Miss +7
Cougars 40 Golden Eagles 35

San Jose State (1-5) @ No. 7 Boise State (7-0) - Boise St. -36.5

This game seems pretty easy to figure out. One awful team, one BCS contender. The one area that really stands out is the Broncos running game. They average 192 yards a game on the ground and the Spartans allow 260 yards a game against the run. I think that says enough. Blow out city.

The Pick: Boise St -36.5
Broncos 52 Spartans 7

No. 19 Miami (5-2) @ Wake Forest (4-4) - Miami -7

The Hurricanes come off a heart breaking defeat to the Clemson Tigers on Saturday and look to take it out on Wake Forest. The Wake offense has been terrible over the last few weeks after starting off the season strong. They scored a combined 13 points against Navy and Clemson. This week the Deacons will put points on the board against a forgiving Miami defense, but the Canes will still score enough to win by a couple of scores. Javarris James is out for the U, but that won't matter because they have a lot of depth in the backfield and the combination of Craig Cooper and Damian Berry will fill in just fine.

The Pick: Miami -7
Hurricanes 38 Deamon Deacons 27

No. 24 California (5-2) @ Arizona State (5-3) - Cal -7

Jahvid Best is all but a Heisman afterthought at this point, but he's still putting up great numbers on the year. He seems to not show up in big games, but play unbelievably against lesser opponents. Well, although the Sun Devils aren't the cream of the crop, they feature a fairly good defense.
The Devils allow only 83 yards a game on the ground and they will certainly force the Bears to pass the ball. This game should be a very close one and Dennis Ericcson's squad will pull out a victory. Upset special here.

The Pick: ASU +7
Sun Devils 30 Golden Bears 27

Georgia (5-3) @ No. 1 Florida (7-0) - Florida -14.5

Let's just say Mark Richt and Urban Meyer aren't exactly best friends. They've had arguments and words fly back and forth between them ever since Meyer took over as coach of the Gators. This rivalry usually leads up to a great game, but I don't think it does this time. Sure, Florida and Tebow have struggled on offense since his return from a concussion, but this week they'll prove why they're the team to beat. Florida puts up over 40 points on their way to an easy win.

The Pick: Florida -16.5
Gators 45 Bulldogs 17

UNLV (3-5) @ No. 6 TCU (7-0) - TCU -35

TCU comes off a blowout win in Provo against BYU. They are hitting on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. They're home against an awful UNLV team. All signs point to domination. Or do they? To me this looks like a typical let down game. Hey, I'm not saying the Rebels stand a chance of winning, I'm just saying they keep it within 35 points. That's a lot of points, and TCU's offense will take a little while to get going.

The Pick: UNLV +35
Horned Frogs 31 Rebels 7

No. 12 Penn State (7-1) @ Northwestern (5-3) - Penn State -17

The Nittany Lions haven't played a close game since their loss to the Hawkeyes, yet they've barely moved up in the polls. The Wildcats come off a huge come from behind win against Indiana last week and look like they're on their way to becoming a bowl eligible team. Northwestern doesn't do anything great, but they don't do anything poorly either. They're among average in the nation in almost every category. Well, this average team is good enough to hold close with Penn State for a game, but not good enough to win.

The Pick: Northwestern +17
Nittany Lions 31 Wildcats 20

Washington State (1-6) @ No. 23 Notre Dame (5-2) - Notre Dame -27.5

The Fighting Irish and Notre Dame finally have a game that's not decided in the final minutes here. They've had six straight one-score games and that streak easily comes to an end here. Jimmy Claussen hooks up with Golden Tate early and often and the Irish win big in front of the home crowd.

The Pick: Notre Dame -27.5
Fighting Irish 49 Cougars 17

No. 11 Goergia Tech (7-1) @ Vanderbilt (2-5) - GaTech -12

Georgia Tech is, in my opinion, the most underrated team in the country. They've won five straight games, and are now sitting atop the ACC. Their ground game is near unstoppable, and they have one of the best deep play threats in the country at WR in Demaryius Johnson. He looks like he's going to follow in Calvin Johnson's footsteps as the next great Jacket wide receiver. Paul Johnson is on his way into turning this program into a national powerhouse year in and year out. Oh, by the way, they win easily this week

The Pick: GaTech -12
Yellow Jackets 42 Commodores 14

No. 22 South Carolina (6-2) @ Tennessee (3-4) - Tennessee -6

This game looks fishy with the Cocks getting 6.5 on the road. Speaking of fishy, i just used Cocks in a sentence and it was not perverse at all. I digress. South Carolina goes into Tennessee to play an under .500 Volunteer team and they're nearly a touchdown underdog. Well, Lane Kiffin has the Vols playing much better as of late, and I think they may even win this game, but I don't see them covering a 6.5 point spread. They maybe win by a FG.

The Pick: USC +6.5
Volunteers 20 Gamecocks 17

Wyoming (4-3) @ No. 16 Utah (6-1) - Utah -18

The Utes haven't had many blowouts this year after a year filled with them last year. Their biggest win of the season so far is by a mere 20 points over UNLV two weeks ago. They had to finish off Air Force in overtime last week to get a victory. Well, this week it's their first no doubter. They roll.

The Pick: Utah -16
Utes 42 Cowboys 10

No. 5 USC (6-1) @ No. 10 Oregon (6-1) - USC -3

The Ducks lost their opening game and have been lights out since. The Trojans lost a game they should have easily won (as usual) and then won the rest of their games. Coach Chip Kelly has the Ducks offense rolling, and since scoring only eight points at Boise in September they are averaging over 38 points a game. Matt Barkley has been great for the Trojans but forget about their games at Notre Dame, Ohio State, Washington, and Cal; this is the toughest environment he'll play in this year. The stadium will be raucous on Saturday night and I think the Ducks win this one by ten. Mark it down. Ducks Win.

The Pick: Oregon +3
Ducks 34 Trojans 24

No. 3 Texas (7-0) @ No. 14 Oklahoma State (6-1) - Texas -9.5

The picture you're looking at. That's the picture of the winning QB, Zac Robinson. That's right, without Dez Bryant the Cowboys still beat the Texas Longhorns and Colt McCoy. These teams look to both have solid defenses and great offenses so this game comes down to special teams and the home crowd. If Jordan Shipley doesn't break one in the return game then the Cowboys win. That's a big if, but I think they'll be able to contain him and win with Zac Robinson picking apart the Longhorn D.

The Pick: Oklahoma St. +9.5
Cowboys 31 Longhorns 28

Tulane (2-5) @ No. 9 LSU (6-1) - LSU -36

I know Tulane has been bad, but what has Jordan Jefferson and the LSU offense done to make this game a 36 point spread? LSU hasn't put up 36 or more in any game this year, let alone beat a single team by that much. Hey, maybe this is the week their offense breaks out against and awful Tulane defense that allows over 400 yards a game. Yea, well I think they do break out, but Tulane will score SOME points. Maybe not a lot, but enough to cover. Plus this is an in-state game, which usually tend to be closer, even with unmatched teams.

The Pick: Tulane +36
Tigers 38 Green Wave 17

That's a Wrap

Well, that's it for this week. Check back next week to see how I did, and to see my picks for the big LSU-'Bama game along with all the rest. Good Luck!

That's a Wrap

Well, that's it for this week. Check back next week to see how I did, and to see my picks for the big LSU-'Bama game along with all the rest. Good Luck!

That's a Wrap

Well, that's it for this week. Check back next week to see how I did, and to see my picks for the big LSU-'Bama game along with all the rest. Good Luck!