College Picks, Week 5

Week 5 is here in the world of college football. Though the conference season is getting into full gear, this week’s matchups leave a little to be desired.

Last week: 10-9
Overall: 56-24

This blog had to search long and hard to find 20 games worth picking. But, there are 20 big ones to pick, so here are this week’s picks:

Oklahoma at Colorado: The Sooners rolled through four non-conference foes, scoring an average of 61 points per game and winning the four games by almost 40 points per outing. Colorado experienced a flash of past glory last week, pounding Miami (Ohio) 41-0. The Sooners won’t hang 60 on the Buffs, but they’ll win. Pick: OU

Kansas State at Texas: When these teams last met, K-State pulled a shocking upset of the Horns as Texas QB Colt McCoy was injured. McCoy is back, and so are the Longhorns. Pick: Texas

Baylor at Texas A&M: The battle of Highway 6 finds the Aggies stumbling home after being pasted by The U. Baylor has three wins over suspect competition: Rice, Texas State, and Buffalo. A&M’s not great, but they’re a lot better than those three creampuffs. This will be close, but something freaky will happen for the Aggies. Pick: A&M

Iowa State at Nebraska: The Huskers were nearly shocked last week by Ball State. Iowa State let one get away at Toledo. Come to think of it, there’s not much difference between the Big 12 North and the MAC. Nebraska doesn’t have much of a run defense, but they’ll have enough to win this week. Pick: Nebraska

Northwestern State (La.) at Texas Tech: The Red Raiders gave up 100 yards rushing to three different OSU Cowboys last week as Tech lost to OSU, 49-45. The Raiders were a dropped touchdown pass away from winning the game. Since then, the Raiders have fired their defensive coordinator in search of some toughness on defense. Tech will score some points this week, and will outscore the visitors from Natchitoches. Pick: Tech

Sam Houston State at Oklahoma State: The Orange Bowl. Not quite. Rhett Bomar returns to the state of Oklahoma, this time as quarterback of the Sam Houston State Bearkats. SHSU shares the color orange and the city of Huntsville with a more well-known institution: the Texas Department of Corrections. Perhaps SHSU should take the nickname of Executioners. OSU had a big win last week over Tech, and their coach had a big tantrum over a newspaper article. OSU ought to be able to win this one. Pick: OSU

West Virginia at South Florida (Friday): The high-flying Mountaineers go to Tampa to take on the undefeated Bulls. USF won last year’s meeting in Morgantown. Both teams are for real. I like West Virginia’s offense a lot, but South Florida is better than most people think. I’m drinking the Kool-Aid. Pick: USF

Florida State vs. Alabama at Jacksonville: Before he retires, Bobby Bowden wanted to play a game against the school he once attended and idolized. He gets that opportunity this week. The Noles are still finding an identity. The Tide has played two nailbiters in a row, defeating Arkansas while losing last week to Georgia in overtime. These are two great college football traditions with simply above-average teams. Actually, the way FSU has played the last couple of years, they'd love to get back to above-average. Give me the Sabanites. Pick: Alabama

Notre Dame at Purdue: One of these teams is undefeated. The other one is winless. Guess which one is which? The futility continues for the Fighting Irish. Heh, heh, heh. Pick: Purdue

California at Oregon: Unless one of the teams wears their all-white uniform, there are guaranteed to be some ugly uniforms in this game. Both teams have the same supplier: the Swoosh. Both teams are good, as well, and are fighting to challenge USC in the Pac 10. The Ducks are at home. Quack, Quack. Pick: Oregon

Clemson at Georgia Tech: This is always a fun, exciting, and close game. Clemson takes their unbeaten record to Historic Grant Field at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Georgia Tech is reeling after two consecutive losses. Things are going the Tigers’ way this year. Pick: Clemson

UCLA at Oregon State: UCLA returned to the college football atmosphere last week, following up an unexplainable loss to Utah with an impressive win over Washington. Oregon State is pretty unpredictable in their own right. When in doubt, pick the home team. Pick: Oregon State

Auburn at Florida: War Eagle is young and is struggling. The last thing they need is a trip to the Swamp, but that’s what they get this week. The Gators roll. Pick: Florida

Colorado State at TCU: Frogs are trying to find their way. They got off to a good start on that last week by taking the Iron Skillet back from SMU. Rams make their second trip to Texas in two weeks, after losing last week at Houston. Pick: TCU

Penn State at Illinois: The guys in the generic white uniforms can’t get anything to go right for them when they play Michigan, and that didn’t change last week. Now, the Nittany Lions are 0-1 in the Big Ten, and they face the Juice. Not O.J., but Illinois QB Juice Williams. The Illini have some young guys that can play, as Ron Zook has recruited well. I smell upset here. Pick: Illinois

UNLV at Nevada: The Casino Bowl. UNLV has improved this season, and no longer fills their role of Mountain West patsy. This is a big rivalry game, so records should be thrown out the window. My gut says Reno, but my brain says Vegas. Viva Las Vegas. Pick: UNLV

Air Force at Navy: Air Force has been a pleasant surprise this season, while Navy has been unpredictable. Navy had to come back from a large deficit to beat Duke. Air Force is coming off a 31-6 shellacking by BYU. Winner gets the inside track to the Commander-In-Chief Trophy. The Zoomies are back. Pick: Air Force

USC at Washington: Trojans take their show back on the road to visit Seattle and the Huskies. Washington started strong, but has fallen off in two losses to Ohio State and UCLA. USC is just too good for them. Pick: USC

Akron at Connecticut: The Zips are coming off a 27-20 win over archrival Kent State, and will give any team fits. UConn is undefeated, having won at Pittsburgh last week. East Hartford will be rocking on Saturday. Pick: UConn

Charleston Southern at North Greenville: The Baptist Bowl. Charleston Southern has jet lag, as they played last week at Hawaii. They were outmanned and spanked by the Warriors, but got to see the islands. I didn’t know North Greenville had a football team until I saw the schedule today. CSU has a Division I-AA (Football Championship Subdivision) program. They should be able to handle North Greenville. Pick: Charleston Southern