8:00 PM ET, Saturday
On Saturday these two west coast powerhouses will be engaged in an all out battle for Pac-10 supremacy. The Trojans have been on the winning side of this rivalry recently, going (4- 1 during the past 5 meetings). USC comes in as the slight favorites, despite playing on the road and actually trailing the Ducks in the conference standings. USC will be looking to continue their winning ways and capture their eighth consecutive league title. However, the Ducks are a formidable opponent and are riding a six game winning streak. Oregon’s biggest strength is the rush attack, led by LaMichael James, who has stepped up big since LeGarrette Blount’s untimely and embarrassing suspension. James has rushed for 657 yards and six touchdowns in his last five games and he will be the key to Oregon’s explosive offense. Coming into the season, the Trojans defense was touted as one of the best of all-time, and early on they played like it, holding opposing offenses to 8.6 ppg and 238.6 yards through the first 5 games. But the Trojans have been on a slide lately, allowing 367 yards of offense to the Fighting Irish, and 482 yards to the Beavers. Quite simply this may be the best Pac-10 showdown in a long time, eclipsing even the epic field goal fest between USC/Cal in 2003. A lot has been made of the Oregon Ducks explosive spread offense, in particular, that USC has traditionally had trouble defending the spread. But with all that said, I just can’t pick against the Trojans, Matt Barkley, Taylor Mays, or Pete Carroll in this one, because USC always seems to find a way to win the big games.
# 3 Texas at # 14 Oklahoma State
8:00 PM ET, Saturday
On Saturday the lone remaining teams with perfect Big 12 records meet with first place in the South Division on the line. Mack Brown and the Longhorns have won the past 11 games against Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys have had their chances, blowing big leads on multiple occasions. Texas leads the all- time series 21-2. The Texas defense is ranked second in the nation, and three of the last four Texas opponents have managed fewer than 175 yards of offense. Oklahoma State has been a great surprise this season, but will be without two of their best offensive players. RB Kendall Hunter, the leagues leading rusher last season, has missed the last five games with a sprained ankle and is expected to have a very limited role in this one. Hunter had 161 yards on 18 carries last season against Texas, and of course stud wide out Dez Bryant has been suspended for the rest of the season for lying about his relationship with Deion “primetime” Sanders. On Saturday, Oklahoma State’s luck will run out, and I see no way that Texas losses this one. Go ahead and chalk up the Longhorns 12th straight victory right now.
Georgia at # 1 Florida
3:30 PM ET, Saturday
It’s publicly known that these two SEC powerhouses hate each other passionately and on Saturday we will all witness a physical grudge match with huge BCS implications. Florida has won 17 straight games, and 16 of the last 19 against Georgia. The Bulldogs have been very stagnant on offense this season and are last in the SEC in rushing yards per game at 108. Georgia is really missing 1st round draft picks, Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. Going into this one, the big story has got to be former Heisman winner Tim Tebow. Tim has six rushing touchdowns this season and 49 for his career, one shy of breaking former Georgia stud Herschel Walker’s SEC record. Superman suffered a concussion a few weeks back and has yet to fully rebound, but I have a hunch that he will get back on track and have a huge game. With all of that said, it should come as no surprise that I am taking the Gators to pull out the win.
AP top 5-
Florida
Alabama
Texas
USC
Cincinnati
BCS top 5-
Florida
Alabama
Texas
Iowa
USC
Be sure to check in next week for more of our NCAA and NFL predictions.
By: Morgan Spokny
