Buell's Eye: College Football's Week 10 Predictions

A week after taking down the ranked Mountaineers from West Virginia, South Florida gets to rest, again, before traveling to Rutgers on Nov. 12.

The Bulls charge back into the Top 25 after that upset victory with a 6-2 record and dreams of a major bowl game still dancing in their heads.

This game used to mean so much more.

No doubt an entertaining game should come from this matchup between the Sooners and the 'Huskers, but disappointment obviously hit Oklahoma weeks ago with the loss of their offensive star QB, Sam Bradford.

And, after Nebraska's season started off on a high note, making their fans reminisce about their mid-1990s seasons, these two teams aren't fighting for much more than bragging rights this weekend with their eyes already focused out in front of them toward next season.

In the end, the Sooners shuck the Huskers 34-24.

I'm not really happy with Virginia Tech right now.

They delivered me my only loss of last weekend after their lackluster performance against North Carolina last Thursday night.

Let's hope this isn't becoming a trend for the Hokies because I, again, am picking them to emerge victorious this Thursday night.

Virginia Tech travels to East Carolina, robbing the Pirates at home, 30-17.

I'm not too sure how many people are overlooking this one, and I realize Navy knocking off Notre Dame for the first time in 882 years was two seasons ago, but I'm expecting this one to be a scrapper for the Irish against a 6-3 Navy squad.

Notre Dame QB, Jimmy Clausen, leads his team to a momentous touchdown drive to seal the victory, eeking out a marginal victory at home 24-16.

Both Wisconsin and Indiana are two Big Ten schools that have played opponents tough all season without creating much recognition for themselves.

For the Badgers, 6-2 may have exceeded most people's expectations for their 2009 season, but they're pretty far away from having it mean anything.

Indiana's 4-5 record might be misleading considering their impressive shows against Michigan and Iowa this year, but their program building continues and they still wear some of the ugliest uniforms I have ever seen.

Wisconsin takes this one by 10 points 31-21.

Yes, that is indeed an Oregon State Beavers uniform located in the caption to our left.

That only means one thing:

The No. 20 California Golden Bears are on "Upset Alert" in Week 10 against this pesky Beavers team.
I don't know what it is about this California team that makes me want to root for them each and every year, but their inability to step up in big games is becoming epic, and their underachieving certainly owns its own notoriety.

Saturday night's matchup manufactures a similar result, in my opinion, as Oregon State steals a victory on the road in upset fashion over California 27-23.

Speaking of "pesky", we travel to Iowa State on the next stop of our Top 25 countdown.

I won't go into a Casey Kasem introduction, but this Cyclones group is just dangerous when top-ranked programs come to visit.

Yet, the Cowboys pull a Pecos Bill in this one and rope in the Cyclones 33-24.

I'll be honest; I still have no idea what this Arizona team is all about.

I realize they're ranked 18th, but they haven't beat a ranked team yet and there's no telling if they're for real until they finally get into the Oregon's and USC's on their schedule.

In he mean time, though, I don't see a 1-7 Washington State team getting to them.

So, for now, the Wildcats can slide by.

Arizona wins over the Cougars 28-6.

Here's a bold prediction:

Miami will not lose to both college football universities from the state of Virginia this year.
OK, maybe not so bold.

Virginia did lose to Duke last week, after all.
And, yes, I realize that Duke is actually looking to get bowl eligible with one more victory this season, but they're still Duke.

The Hurricanes take the victory over the reeling Cavaliers 38-21.

This is one of those games where I'll probably be kicking myself for not listening to my gut instinct.

I wouldn't be shocked in the least if Tulsa pulled the "upset" against No. 15 Houston at home on Saturday.
However, I'll let Houston make a believer out of me this weekend.

The Cougars find a way to sneak by the Golden Hurricane 44-43.

Utah hasn't done much to impress me yet this season, but there is no worrying for the Utes in this one.

Utah beats up on winless New Mexico 34-10.

The only problem with starting off the College Football season under the radar is by the time you reach a 7-1 record, like the No. 13 Pittsburgh Panthers have this season, you've got other programs still in front of you that don't necessarily deserve to be there.(Please see the USC Trojans on your Internet Explorer's browser for further details.)

Either way, Pitt has turned my head so far this season, and an impressive win against Syracuse on Saturday only adds to increased attention for their 2009 campaign.

The Panthers squeeze the Orangemen 36-13.

With the blowout against Oregon last weekend, is this a rebuilding year for the Trojans, after all?

USC hasn't lost more than two games in a year since the 2001 season, and with games against Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA, and Arizona still on the schedule, along with a top-tier bowl game most likely slated to conclude their 2009 season, a third loss is a real possibility.

However, USC finds its path back to victory this weekend, at least, with a 45-20 win over Arizona State.

Ohio State wants revenge for last year's loss against Penn State that brought their National Title hunt to an official stop.

They get their shot on Saturday afternoon as they go for an upset victory in Happy Valley over the Nittany Lions.

In a tight one, a classic Big Ten match-up, the Buckeyes pull off the upset 24-20.

Georgia Tech struggled against Vanderbilt last weekend and could very well do the same against Wake Forest this Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets get by the Demon Deacons, however, keeping their long-shot National Title dreams alive for another week by the score of 37-23.

Impressed yet?

The No. 8 Oregon Ducks travel to Stanford this week, and although I am picking a close outcome, there just isn't much stopping this Ducks team when they're hitting on all cylinders like they are right now.

Coming off their impressive dismantling of the USC Trojans a week ago, Oregon wins again 30-21 at Stanford on Saturday afternoon.

Sadly, this is one of the better remaining chances Boise State has to losing a game this season.

Their habitual weak schedule may be the only Achilles' heel again this season for the Broncos, but hopefully they're not overlooking an across the country matchup in Louisiana against Louisana Tech on Friday evening.
I'm betting that they're not and Boise State shuts down the Bulldogs 46-24.

TCU is sitting directly in the driver's seat at No. 6 as they remain undefeated and as their win against Clemson earlier on in the season looks better and better with Clemson's season improving the way that it has recently.

The Horned Frogs' travel to San Diego State doesn't pose much of a threat this weekend and TCU rolls 44-20.

For me, this is one of the most intriguing games of the weekend.

Connecticut has a real shot at knocking Cincinnati from the list of the unbeatens on Saturday night, and will show up for all four quarters.

The Huskies come up just short as time expires, however, and Cincinnati improves to 9-0 on the season with a 31-28 victory at home.

Yes, I wanted to pick Iowa to lose in this one, too.

The Hawkeyes may be the rockiest 9-0 school I have seen during my short-lived career of judging and predicting from my position on the couch, but they are still untarnished and inside the Top Five.
With all of that being said, I foresee another scary close one in their immediate future as Northwestern comes to visit this weekend.

Iowa escapes again, improving their season record to 10-0, with a 27-17 victory.

With that impressive domination of Oklahoma State last week, Texas jumps Alabama in the BCS Standings to a comfortable No. 2 position behind the No. 1 Florida Gators.

Yet, with Texas playing UCF this weekend, and if Alabama can survive against LSU in their SEC Showdown Saturday afternoon, they could be right back to No. 3 all over again with a mediocre win.
Texas wins big, though, 40-14 over the Knights.

Ugly season for Vanderbilt.

An even more hideous game awaits its viewers in this one as the Gators welcome the Commodores into their Swamp this weekend.

Florida extends their winning streak with a 45-10 romp of Vanderbilt.

An even more important factor in this one than Alabama playing at home is the fact that Nick Saban is going against his old employer.

With National Title implications, aspirations, and hard hits laced all over the field, this SEC Showdown can knock out an undefeated program, set up a Conference Championship, end National Title dreams, and move a program up in the BCS Standings, considerably.

In a low-scoring 17-13 final, Alabama remains undefeated with a win over LSU this weekend.