Aaron Torres is a journalist whose work has been published by Sports Illustrated and syndicated by USA Today, AOL.com, and Slam Online. To read all of his work, as well as the rest of his Week 13 picks and his thoughts on Florida-Florida State, LSU-Arkansas and Texas-Texas A&M please  click here   or visit him at   www.aarontorres-sports.com ).

Alabama (-10) over Auburn: Friday, 2:30 p.m.

Coming into this one, both teams are saying all the right things.

For Alabama, “this is the most important game on our schedule,” and “we’ll worry about Florida after this game,”

And, for Auburn, “we’re going to end Alabama’s undefeated run,” and “Mark Ingram isn’t winning the Heisman on us.” (Really guys, with the 89th-ranked run defense in college football? Really?)

And, while all the chatter is cute, here’s what we know: If Chris Todd is under center for Auburn, the Tigers have no chance. (Honestly, I’m surprised at this point an overzealous Auburn booster hasn’t kidnapped Todd, driven him into the woods and left him for dead like an old dog or something).

Auburn is going to throw everything they have at Alabama in the first few series and might even lead after the first quarter. But, in a rivalry game where there won’t be a letdown, talent wins out. It always does.

Alabama 24, Auburn 10.

 

Nevada (+14) Over Boise State: Friday, 10:00 p.m.

As hard as it might be to believe, this is the game I’m most looking forward to this weekend, and it’s not even close. Wait, what’s that? No, I didn’t have two cocktails with my lunch.  Ok…maybe I did, but still, just hear me out.

Here’s what you’ve got in this game:

  • Two of the top four scoring offenses in college football (Boise State’s No. 1, Nevada No. 4).
  • Two teams that have combined to score 50 or more points 10 times, 60 or more points five times, with Nevada throwing up 70 on Idaho earlier this year for good measure.
  • The quarterback with the highest passer rating and second most touchdowns in all of college football (Boise’s Kellen Moore, with 33 TD and just three interceptions) on one sideline, and the first team in NCAA history to have three 1,000 yard rushers in the same year on the other sideline.
  • Two teams that have combined to win their last 19 games.

In other words, this game is going to be a weird mix of a super high-scoring Madden game, a NASCAR race, and one of those movies where a guy takes too many mushrooms, wanders into the desert and starts seeing things.

After awhile you’ll start thinking your seeing things, too.

Nope this is just some good old fashioned WAC football. Save the defense for the SEC.

 

Clemson (-3) over South Carolina: Saturday, 12:00 p.m.

So, the last time we saw Stephen Garcia, he had a collapsed lung and was bleeding internally after getting thrown around like one of Ike Turner’s girlfriends by Florida’s defense.

Even with a week off, South Carolina still doesn’t having a running game, and they’re still not winning this one. Also C.J. Spiller is my favorite Heisman candidate that has no chance of actually winning the award.

 

Georgia Tech (-7 ½) at Georgia: Saturday, 8:00 p.m.

These two teams are like the bizzaro versions of each other.

Tech chews up the clock (No. 1 ranked team in time of possession), doesn’t make mistakes, and wears you out with smarts more than skill. Georgia commits dumb penalties, misses tackles, shoots themselves in the foot at inopportune times and always seems to find new and creative ways to lose games. (Did you see their last drive against Kentucky? I rest my case).

The only thing that concerns me about picking against Georgia is that they always seem to play best when no one has any expectations of them. And, of course, that they’re playing for the memory of UGA VII. (Honestly, I don’t even know how they took the field last week. Just emotional, emotional stuff).

Even after that though, I’m sticking with Tech. Eleven games is a pretty good sample size, and I’ve seen nothing that indicates to me that Georgia is going to win this game. Or that it’ll even be close.

 

Stanford (-10) over Notre Dame: Saturday, 8:00 p.m.

And the uncomfortable, sexually suggestive quote of the week goes to…Toby Gerhart’s girlfriend, for calling the Stanford running back “One big muscle ,” in an interview last week. (On a side note, I think I’m just going to keep my comments to myself on this one. I’m terrified that anything I say will end with the Palo Alto Gay and Lesbian Alliance picketing on my front lawn. Maybe we should just move on).

I said in my column Monday, and I’ll say it again here, Stanford is really good, they were just due for a letdown last weekend. They’d won too many big games, gotten too many pats on the back in biochemistry class, and had too many girls swinging by the dorms late at night to “celebrate.” We’ve seen it happen a million times before, and we’ll see it a million times again.

The Cardinal will come back and be just fine this week against Notre Dame. Stanford by two touchdowns.

And, oh yeah, one more thing: Thanks for reading, and everybody have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!


(To read the remainder of this article, including Aaron's thoughts on Florida-Florida State, LSU-Arkansas and Texas-Texas A&M, please visit him at www.aarontorres-sports.com)