College Football Predictions Week Ten: Who's on Upset Alert?

South Florida is the only team to have a bye this week. The Bulls come off their first win over a team with a winning record (West Virginia 30-19).

South Florida heads to Rutgers in two weeks.

No. 24 Oklahoma is getting back to basics—run and pass the football fluently, and play tough on defense and special teams.

Since losing to Texas in a defensive showdown, the Sooners have put together two dominant wins over Kansas and Kansas State.

This week the Sooners face a Nebraska team that just remembered how to win.

Oklahoma prevails, 24-20.

No. 23 Virginia Tech really needs help getting off the treadmill. They played stellar prior to the Georgia Tech game two weeks ago. But ultimately Georgia Tech was the better team.

VA Tech heads to East Carolina to take on the Pirates. The Hokies are coming off a bad slip-up, losing to the Tar Heels, 20-17.

Virginia Tech saves their season, defeating the Pirates, 34-17.

No. 22 Notre Dame has their “Championship Game” this week against Navy. They’re in the same conference—the independents.

The Fighting Irish had a chance to breathe last week when they demolished Washington State. The Midshipmen have played well this season, but it hasn’t been easy. This will be another not-so-easy week for Navy.

ND secures the win, 27-17.

No. 21 Wisconsin heads to Indiana. Wisconsin hasn’t received any respect this season.

They’re 6-2, with blemishes to Ohio State and Iowa, and both happened to be close games. Last week Purdue was blasted in a 37-0 shutout courtesy of Wisconsin.

This should be a good one. The Hoosiers are very angry coming into Week 10—losing close games to Northwestern and Iowa, both in comebacks.

Wisconsin holds off Indiana, 37-24.

No. 20 California needs to play at their best to hold off Quack Attack’s little brother. Oregon State is 5-3, and they’ve only lost to superior teams—Arizona, Cincinnati, and USC—in highly competitive games.

UPSET ALERT: California.

Oregon State wins a shootout, 38-30.

No. 19 Oklahoma State has played pretty comfortably this season. That’s usually a good thing—you’re more aware of what goes around you.

But when it comes down to crunch time, the Cowboys have been left “dazed and confused.”

The Cyclones come up short, 31-24 Okey State.

No. 18 Arizona was one of the lucky ones in Week Nine—they didn’t have to play.

Arizona is most likely the second best team in the Pac-10, behind Oregon. Washington State has looked dazzled this season—but it’s at their dismal display.

The Wildcats will enjoy this one, 38-17.

No. 17 Miami (FL) has been up and down all season, but they had a very difficult schedule to start the season.

The 3-5 Cavaliers head to Miami with an upset in mind, but Virginia hasn’t played well enough this season to pull the upset.

The ‘Canes have been on their toes a lot lately, and it will be a plus heading into Week 10. Miami (FL) wins comfortably, 35-24.

No. 15 Houston gave us all a scare last week, surviving the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss in a shootout, 50-43.

The Cougars head to Tulsa this week to take on the Golden Hurricane. What makes a Hurricane golden?

Tulsa started the season with a 4-1 record, but that was all quickly forgotten, losing to Boise State, UTEP, and SMU.

Houston comes back to life with a 37-16 victory.

No. 14 Utah is highly overrated. They knocked off a seemingly tough cupcake last week, Wyoming, 22-10. That’s not top 25-worthy.

The Utes have been all about “security” this season. They haven’t won by a 20-point margin yet.

Their only comfortable wins are over Utah State, Louisville, San Jose State, Wyoming, and UNLV. The Utes barely survived Colorado State, won in overtime against Air Force, and lost in Oregon.

But Utah won’t have any trouble this week with the winless New Mexico Lobos. Utah wins, 31-14.

No. 13 Pittsburgh actually deserves to be in the Top 15. They’re 7-1 and only have one blemish to N.C. State. The Pitt Panthers took down an emotional Connecticut, won at Rutgers, and tore South Florida into pieces before having a bye last week.

The Orange of Syracuse has exceeded their standards, but they won’t have much to cheer about this week.

Pitt destroys the Orange, 38-13.

No. 12 USC was embarrassed last week in Oregon, 47-20. It’s inevitable—the era has been put to an end. Quack Attack is back!

The Trojans head to Arizona State to take on the Sun Devils, hoping to get things back to normal. The Trojans defense has been on its heels and needs to play as a team.

The Trojans reunite and make a statement with a 31-18 victory.

No. 11 Penn State takes on the 16th-ranked Buckeyes in the Big Ten Game of the Week. Last week the Nittany Lions put an end to their struggles in the fourth quarter, defeating Northwestern 34-13.

There have been two sides to Ohio State this season. There’s the side that has three shutouts, and there's the side that barely survived Navy, lost to USC, and lost at Purdue in a monumental upset.

The game this week will be a Big Ten defensive slugfest. Both teams come in with a lot of momentum, but the Buckeyes will have too much for the Nittany Lions.

Ohio State wins, 17-13.

No. 10 Georgia Tech has looked very impressive this season.

The Yellow Jackets have had some tough games at home (Clemson, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech) and on the road (Mississippi State, Miami (FL), Florida State, and Vanderbilt) this season.

Georgia Tech was involved in a "trap game" last week with Vanderbilt, but they survived in the second half (just as I predicted).

This week GA Tech takes on a very disappointed Wake Forest team that lost by a point to Miami (FL) last week. Georgia Tech prevails, 38-27.

Everything points in the direction of a BCS title game for Oregon. The Ducks would love nothing more than to have that Boise State game back.

This week Oregon has a tough one in Stanford. The only reason Stanford has a chance in this game is because the Cardinal have played very well at home, and they’re coming off a bye. Stanford is 5-3 and undefeated at home.

UPSET ALERT: Oregon.

This is indeed a trap game—but Oregon escapes, 42-33.

Will the Denver Broncos of college football remain undefeated?

If Boise State does get handed its first loss of the season, it will most likely happen on the road. That being said, they won’t have anything to worry about with Louisiana Tech.

Boise State dominates, 49-17.

No. 6 TCU heads to San Diego State, hoping to keep up their winning ways. The Aztecs are on a two-game winning streak, but that won’t be enough to knock off the top BCS Buster.

TCU blows out the Aztecs, 42-10.

Most were marveled at how Cincinnati played in Week One. But I haven’t doubted them for a second this season—until now.

UConn is 4-4, and they’ve lost their last two games 28-24 (to West Virginia and Rutgers). They were very emotional games, and to come so close but lose puts even more of a damper on the team.

UPSET ALERT: Cincinnati. For the eighth time this season, a top five team gets the boot.

Granted, I’m going out on a limb here, but I think Connecticut will pull it off. Connecticut storms the field in upset fashion, 26-23.

No. 4 Iowa had the refs by their side last week against Indinana, stealing the win from the Hoosiers, 42-24. The Hawkeyes have been on their toes many times this season. Look at the road ahead—there’s a dead end sign.

UPSET ALERT: Iowa. “Stanzi Time” doesn’t make it in time. Northwestern pulls the upset, 20-17.

No. 2 Texas will be chanting “Hook ‘em Horns!” all weekend as they host UCF. The Longhorns have only allowed 13.6 points a game.

The Knights have three blemishes this season, to East Carolina, Miami (FL), and Southern Miss.

Texas showed us why they belong last week, and the era continues in a 45-17 victory.

One way or another, Florida has managed to win every game this season.

They struggled against Tennessee, escaped Arkansas (due to officiating), knocked off the Bayou Bengals, and escaped the Bulldogs of Mississippi State (in a call that was once again pulled in Florida’s favor).

But the Gators defeated Georgia last week with conviction and hope to do the same to Vanderbilt.

The 2-7 Commodores gave the Gamecocks a scare two weeks ago and had Georgia Tech in their trap until the second half.

UPSET ALERT: Florida.

This is the type of game that no one sees coming because of what the team did in the week before. In addition, Florida's linebacker Brandon Spikes has been suspended for the first half against Vandy.

But Florida escapes late in the third quarter, 34-23.

No. 3 Alabama takes on No. 9 LSU in the Game of the Week. This is a classic SEC matchup with everything on the line. The winner will most likely face Florida in the SEC Championship.

The Crimson Tide comes off a bye week, ready to get back into the title discussion. LSU is back to their winning ways and looks to give the Tide too much to handle.

I will most likely be in attendance of the Game of the Week, celebrating my birthday this Saturday, in a game with huge implications.

The Game of the Week will meet its status, as the Tide gets the win, 24-18.

Last Week: 4-2

Overall: 7-6

Central Michigan and Connecticut fell short last week, but I nailed a few with Wisconsin showing up and Mississippi State coming through with the win over Kentucky.

Here are the picks:

Duke (5-3) at North Carolina (5-3)

The Blue Devils haven’t seen a winning record in a while (when it comes to football). NC’s impressive win over Virginia Tech makes this game even more worth wile.

Interestingly enough, the Blue Devils lost their first game of the season to Richmond. Needless to say, NC takes the win (26-17).

007’s Loser: Duke

Kansas (5-3) at Kansas State (5-4)

BTW, Kansas handed Duke their second loss. The Jayhawks have looked a lot like the N.Y. Giants lately. Their uniforms are identical, and they both started the season 5-0 but have been shoved with a 3-game losing streak.

Kansas State has a winning record, but that’s about the only positive thing anyone can say about the Wildcats.

007’s Loser: Kansas State (close)

South Carolina (6-3) at Arkansas (4-4)

The Gamecocks didn’t know what hit them last week, losing in an upset to Tennessee, 31-13. As for Arkansas, they took care of their cupcake game.

This should be a very good matchup that’s “one for the ages.” I’ll let you decide on the score.

007’s Loser: South Carolina (close)

Purdue (3-6) at Michigan (5-4)

Purdue is the best team in college football with six losses. The Boilermakers have played tough all season, which is why they were able to beat the Buckeyes. But the five interceptions thrown by Terrell Pryor did contribute significantly to the Buckeye defeat.

What in the world has happened to Michigan? Losing in a brutal defeat to Penn State was bad enough, but they lost a week later in Illinois, 35-13.

007’s Loser: It’s a toss-up—Purdue