Games of the Week, Week 6

Let's take a look at each "Game of the Week" in each BCS conference, and the best mid major game, and see how this national championship picture will continue to shape itself.

ACC
Florida State (+2) at Miami: Remember when this was the game of the year, with all sorts of NC implications on the line? Now it's just a battle of two teams hoping to get back in the wide open ACC race. Miami has shown flashes on offense behind QB Robert Marve, but not near enough consistency. FSU should be 4-0 as the defense has been fantastic and downright dominant at times. A 7 turnover performance against Wake is all holding the Noles back at this point. I'll take the better D in a game with so many QB questions. FSU 17 Miami 10

Big XII
#7 Texas Tech (-7) at Kansas State: Conference opener week in the Big XII, and strange things can happen. Especially with the big week in Big XII play coming up next week. Will teams be looking ahead? TTech has played absolutely nobody and while KSU isn't exactly the example of elite OOC scheduling, they did manage to squeeze in a BCS foe (38-29 loss to LVille). But at least TTech stopped some people, as KSU couldn't even do that against cupcake city. Still, TTech just tends to play poorly in these types of games, in North venues. Expect an upset and a ton of points. KSU 43 TTech 38

Big East
The best game the BE had to offer already happened, as Pitt upset South Florida at home. But since I didn't get anything up early enough Thursday Rutgers at West Virginia (-13.5) seems to be what's left. Both teams have struggled after losing key players from last year's teams, and in the case of WVU a coach to boot. The Rutgers pass offense has been way too interception prone, and the run game is simply not good enough to take the pressure off. WVU is at home and they have Pat White. Expect WVU to be ready to roll for the conference opener. WVU 35 Rutgers 20

Big Ten
#14 Ohio State (-1) at #18 Wisconsin: After blowing a 19 point lead in Ann Arbor last week, the Badgers have to be feeling a bit disappointed. The Wolverine D turned up the heat in the second half and held PJ Hill to 70 yards rushing, and the Wisconsin passing game couldn't step up. Ohio State on the other hand appears to be finding it's groove behind freshman QB Terrell Pryor and the return of RB Beanie Wells. I expect the OSU D to keep Hill and the Wisconsin O in check much like Michigan was able to (for a half anyway), and get the victory in Camp Randall. OSU 28 Wisconsin 17

Pac 10
#23 Oregon (+16) at #8 USC: Despite being down to 4th string QB Justin Roper, the Ducks have been explosive on offense managing 47 points and 532 yards per game. The Trojans are reeling after being dominated at the line of scrimmage (on both sides of the ball) by Oregon State just 8 days ago, and the run game looks inconsistent. The Trojan defense in still capable of stopping anybody, but has been susceptible to good spread offenses in recent years. Of note, USC is 10-5 in their last 15 Pac 10 games. It appears the fear factor may be wearing off in Southern California. I don't expect the Ducks to win, but they'll make in interesting. USC 31 UO 27

SEC
#13 Auburn (-4) at #19 Vanderbilt: Yep you read that right, the best game in the SEC this week involves Lionel Richie's former band. Vandy sits atop the SEC East with a 2-0 record, and a playmaking QB in Chris Nickson. But don't be fooled, Vandy has been outgained in 3 of the 4 games they have played. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, I guess. As for Auburn, where to begin. My pre-season #3 team is lost on "O" and still unsettled at QB after 4 games. But they can pretty much get a stop whenever, which doesn't spell good news for a young vandy O-Line. Auburn 23 Vandy 9

Mid Major
Rice at Tulsa (-15.5): A Conference USA battle against two of the highest scoring teams in the country. Lost in all the BYU and Utah hype is a Tulsa team that is quietly 4-0 and can score on anybody. This Tulsa team just may be the last mid major standing when the BCS bids are passed out. Quarterback David Johnson has already accounted for 20 TDs and leads the nation in passer rating. Rice has a deadly QB-WR combo themselves, with QB Chase Clement tossing the rock to WR Jarrett Dillard. Dillard has caught 10 of Clements' 14 TD passes this season. Expect a real barn burner in this one with Tulsa staying on the BCS path. Tulsa 52 Rice 44

Upset Alert
#3 Mizzou (-10.5) at Nebraska: You may want to keep your eye on this one. Mizzou hasn't won at NU in over 30 years, and the Huskers are coming off a home loss to VaTech. So expect NU to be pretty pumped up to make a statement after blowing a chance to do so last week. Mizzou hasn't seen anything resembling a defense all year, and while NU isn't the 1985 Bears they have better athletes than anything Mizzou has faced and a coach in Bo Pelini that has stopped a few people in his day. It's been a loooong time since Mizzou played a team with a pulse (Illinois where they gave up 42 points), and they're coming off a bye so expect some dulness from the Tigers. This just looks like the perfect storm for another top 25 team to drop. NU 41 MU 31