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These are the games I think we ought to pick this week. (This is actually kind of a slow week. Not as many good matchups. I did include one pillow fight between 0-4 FIU and 0-4 MTSU, just to mix things up a bit. )

Southern Miss at Boise State *
#5 West Virginia at #18 South Florida *
#13 Clemson at Georgia Tech
#22 Alabama at Florida State *
Michigan State at #9 Wisconsin *
Maryland at #10 Rutgers
#6 California at #11 Oregon *
Mississippi State at #16 South Carolina
Pittsburgh at Virginia *
Florida International at Middle Tennessee *

And here are some alternates I found as well. None of them really stand out to me as opposed to the ones up top, but only about half of those actually stand out to me either, so I'd be willing to mix things around if anyone wants. (The ones that are starred are the ones that I really like.)

Akron at Connecticut
#1 USC at Washington
Indiana at Iowa
Kansas State at #7 Texas
#3 Oklahoma at Colorado
Auburn at #4 Florida

Let me know.

I'm fine with your selections KP though I think Akron at UConn would be fun The Zips have played pretty tough this year (beat Army and held Ohio State to 20 points at Columbus) but I don't see any game on that list that I would trade out for it.

I would suggest highlighting the Southern Miss at Boise State game as well as the West Virginia at South Florida since they are Thursday night & Friday night games respectively. Don't want Blockade Boy to miss that again and get another freebie

Boise State
#18 South Florida(duh)
#13 Clemson(I like both teams...argh)
Florida State(i hate them but hey it's been a wacky season)
#9 Wisconsin
#10 Rutgers
#6 California
#16 South Carolina
Virginia
Florida International(FLvsTN???)

Connecticut (i'll jump on Cobie's bandwagon)
#1 USC
Iowa
#7 Texas
#3 Oklahoma
#4 Florida

Okay, here is the list of the 10 games we will be picking this week:

Southern Miss at Boise State (THURSDAY)
#5 West Virginia at #18 South Florida (FRIDAY)
#13 Clemson at Georgia Tech
#22 Alabama at Florida State
Michigan State at #9 Wisconsin
Maryland at #10 Rutgers
#6 California at #11 Oregon
Mississippi State at #16 South Carolina
Pittsburgh at Virginia
Florida International at Middle Tennessee

Obviously, everyone try and get your picks in before the Thursday and Friday games.

My picks for this week are...

Southern Miss at Boise State (THURSDAY) ~ Neither team has beaten a top tier opponent although Boise played a tough game against Washington. With Boise playing at home, I have to give them the home field advantage. Vee's pick ~ Boise State

#5 West Virginia at #18 South Florida (FRIDAY) ~ WVA comes into this game ranked #5 overall and could climb into the top 3-4 with an impressive win against South Florida. They are 4-0 so far this season, however, they really have not been challenged by the calibre of opponents they have faced. The've beaten Western Michigan & East Carolina at home and Marshall & Maryland on the road. The Bulls on the other hand are 3-0 and ranked 18th in the nation. They've defeated Elon & North Carolina on the road and a #17 ranked Auburn on the road. The Mountaineers are 7 point favorites to win but this game will be played on South Florida's home field. I'm going out on a limb on this one and hope that it doesn't get sawed off behind me! Vee's pick ~ South Florida

#13 Clemson at Georgia Tech ~ I picked Georgia Tech to win their division and face off against BC for the ACC crown, but since then they've lost to BC & Virginia in conference play in the past two weeks. Clemson on the other hand has been slowly and quietly climbing up the polls and are currently 4-0 and ranked 13th. They've defeated Florida State & NC State in conference play as well as Furman and LA Monroe. While I picked GT to win the Coastal division in my "pre-season prognostications" I did say that Clemson would be their toughest challengers for that title. This game is at Georgia Tech which should give them the advantage but I'm really torn about the outcome. Vee's pick ~ Georgia Tech because I still believe they are the better team

#22 Alabama at Florida State ~ The game's in Tallahassee which is a very tough place to visit but the Seminoles didn't shine against Colorado, managing only 16 points. Their defense is almost there but their offense is still woeful and I don't think they can handle a very tough, battle tested Alabama team which has played two amazing games against much better teams than FSU seems to be this year. Vee's pick ~ Alabama

Michigan State at #9 Wisconsin ~ Wisconsin will be at home defending their #9 ranking, earned by defeating powerhouses such as Washington State, UNLV, The Citadel and Iowa While the Spartan's 4-0 record doesn't shine that brightly either, from what I've seen this season, they have the tougher defense and they're coming off a nice win this past Saturday. Vee's pick ~ Michigan State

Maryland at #10 Rutgers ~ Maryland has a disappointing record of 2-2 so far but one of the two loses came against West Virginia. The other was a heartbreaker in OT against a surprising Wake Forest team. Rutgers will be fully rested after a bye week and will have the home field advantage. This is Rutgers year to shine. They've been building a strong team over the past few years and it's all come together for them in '07. Vee's pick ~ Rutgers

#6 California at #11 Oregon ~ This should be a terrific game. Cal is trying to establish itself as "the other" great team from California and Oregon is a very strong, talented team that's faced some very tough competiton this year and come out on top. Both are 4-0 (1-0 in the Pac 10) and seem to be evenly matched. I think home field is the deciding factor in this one but it could go either way Vee's pick ~ Oregon

Mississippi State at #16 South Carolina ~ Miss State went into Auburn and beat them 2 weeks ago but they have not faced as talented a team as the Gamecocks this year. South Carolina had a tough loss at LSU last week in which they lost their star linebacker, Jasper Brinkley, for the season but they have plenty of other defenders and a very potent offense. Vee's pick ~ South Carolina

Pittsburgh at Virginia ~ The Cavaliers have been the surprise team in the ACC. They have a 3-0 conference record, earned by beating Duke, North Carolina and Georgia Tech. The Panthers on the other hand have been disappointing with losses to Michigan State and UConn. While their defense is passable, their offense is the pits. Vee's pick ~ Virginia

Florida International at Middle Tennessee ~ Tough game to call. Both teams are 0-4 coming into this game. The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders have faced some tough competition this year losing to LSU, Louisville, Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic. The Golden Panthers of FIU have had similar results against the likes of Penn State, Kansas, Miami, & Maryland. This is an important Sun Belt Conference match up for both teams so expect a hard fought game. I'll give FIU the edge here based on team speed even though the game is in Tennessee Vee's pick ~ FIU

Southern Miss at Boise State: Thing is, Idaho sure is a long ways away!!! But seriously, Southern Miss has shown a lot less thus far than I had expected this year.

Winner - Boise State

#5 West Virginia at #18 South Florida: A three point win against Auburn isn't enough to convince me that USF has what it takes to stop Steve Slaton and Pat White. Yes, I know that USF won this one last year. Just makes the Mountaineers all the more hungry, in my opinion.

Winner - West Virginia

#13 Clemson at Georgia Tech: You know, I think I'm actually convinced that Clemson's not gonna choke this year like they always do. Added to the fact that GT is sputtering offensively, and I think I'm going to give Clemson the chance to impress me for once... all the while crossing my fingers.

Winner - Clemson

#22 Alabama at Florida State: Man, am I biting my nails over this one. However, I have to believe that John Parker Wilson will get his nerves straightened out and start passing the whole game the way he does in clutch situations. If we can get our passing game straightened out, we have a very potent and balanced offense. We're playing another tough defensive team in FSU, but thankfully, they've been just lousy on offense, with very little chance of getting better, since they've been this way for... oh, about 14 months now. Of course, we underestimated Georgia's offense already. Hope we don't do the same against FSU and get burned. Still biting nails furiously.

Winner - ALABAMA

Michigan State at #9 Wisconsin: This is going to be a smash-up in-your-face defensive runfest, with two heavily defensive and run-heavy teams. And two very young head coaches. Normally, the advantage would go to the home team, but with close wins over the likes of the Citadel and UNLV, I'm thinking Wisconsin just doesn't have much desire this year. And Michigan State has momentum.

Winner - Michigan State

Maryland at #10 Rutgers: No contest.

Winner - Rutgers

#6 California at #11 Oregon: Since the Oregon Duck got suspended for a week for his bruising sideline devilry against the Houston Buffalo (seriously, look it up on YouTube. It's great.) I am tempted to give it to the Golden Bears by default because of the mascot no-show. However, I am fairly confident that Oregon will find it in them to get past the loss of their beloved haymaker for this week. However, a word to the Trojan, the Sun Devil, the Bruin, and the Husky. You guys better watch out in the upcoming weeks. That Duck means business and he will kick your ass. Wow.

Interestingly enough, I hear the YouTube video of the Duck Throwdown is setting record numbers in Japan. Huh.

Winner - Oregon

Mississippi State at #16 South Carolina: I'm tempted to predict a wacky upset here. However, history has shown that While Mississippi State can pull it off about once a year, asking them to do it twice in one season is just plain futile.

Winner - South Carolina

Pittsburgh at Virginia: I have to think the Cavs are in that "I gotta believe!" mode after last week's then-upset. They have to be thinking that they have a good chance of being this year's Wake Forest. Heck, why not? Pittsburgh isn't showing much that is special at this point anyway.

Winner - Virginia

Florida International at Middle Tennessee: Did I really pick this one out? Geez. Well, FIU brings in the biggest losing streak in the country, while the 0-4 MTSU Blue Raiders look equally as bad. Both have no running game, and while FIU may be a tiny bit better defensively, it doesn't matter if they can't score a point.

Winner - MTSU

Awright, I gotta rally!

Southern Miss at Boise State (BS)
#5 West Virginia at #18 South Florida (SF)
#13 Clemson at Georgia Tech (Clemson--come ON, baby!)
#22 Alabama at Florida State (Bama)
Michigan State at #9 Wisconsin (Wisc)
Maryland at #10 Rutgers (Rutgers)
#6 California at #11 Oregon (Oregon)
Mississippi State at #16 South Carolina (SC)
Pittsburgh at Virginia (VA)
Florida International at Middle Tennessee (Mid Tenn)

Traveling all week, but logging on specifically for this

Sorry for the brief round-up but I've only got like five minutes to post (though I've had all week of boring travel time to read up on this weeks matches).

Boise State - these are my boys after last year, gotta stick with them.

West Virginia - Up until Vee's comments on South Florida this year and last, I didn't really know much about them. But despite impressing me, I don't think they can beat WV, especially with how good WV has been playing. However, this will be a close one and WV's toughest game to date.

Georgia Tech - I'm with Vee on this one. Georgia Tech is a far better team than what you see on paper. They've had some tough games, while I feel Clemson hasn't. I'm looking for the upset here, folks.

Alabama - Kippers made me a Bama fan for life probably, especially after the last two games (which I was able to watch both of). Gotta support the Tide, but I also think they've got this one on talent alone.

Michigan State - Any real ND fan knows that Michigan State is the king of pulling off upsets when they shouldn't, and always is a better team in fact over on paper. I've been bragging about Michigan State for weeks on end and won't stop now. I've them in an upset over Wisconsin (who I failed to even rank last week ).

Rutgers - C'mon baby, I'm tri-stater that's drank the kool-aid! Let's see it happen!

Oregon - This should be a damn good game to watch, but in the end, I've got to go Oregon. Cali seems to be weaker than the press makes them out to be IMO, while Oregon is just the opposite as they've proven so far.

South Carolina - SC is coming out of a hella-tough LSU game ready for a solid win. After playing competition that tough they'll have the momentum to do it.

Virginia - I've got no love for the Big East rival to UCONN and wouldn't mind seeing Virginia trounce 'em. Plus, I think Virginia is simply just a better team.

Florida International - man, I have been gone for a few days. When did this game get picked? I LOVE IT. I'm going FIU because this is a toss up. I know just about nothing in regards to either school but love a good dog fight when both teams are in the mud.

Man, I love this thread . So glad its returned to the prominence it had in its first version! Let's get rolling!

I'll support the Tide this year. They have Major Applewhite as the OC. I will always be a Major fan.

Hookem!

Boise State
South Florida
Clemson
Alabama
Wisconsin
Rutgers
Oregon
South Carolina
Pittsburgh
Middle Tennessee

Boise State and their crazy blue turf... anyway, they're winning.

Man, Mike Gundy gets more spectacular every time I watch him on YouTube.

West Virginia - USF halftime: what a disaster for WV. This is some pretty disgustingly bad football.

This is some pretty disgustingly bad good football!

Smash mouth, hard hitting, fun game!

10 turnovers, though. It's kind of ridiculous.

Edit: South Florida played an awesome game, and... wow. I can't believe how bad WV looked tonight. They were dreadful. But definitely, USF did a spectacular job.

My hat's off to the USF defense. I knew they were good but they looked spectacular tonight.

I hope Jorge got to go to this game. This is a game that USF will be talking about for years to come and every Bull alum will wish they had been there in person for it.

<span style="font-size: 40px;">Go Bulls!!! </span>

Wow, talk about an Wild Weekend.

#3 Oklahoma loses to Colorado
#5 West Virginia loses to South Florida
#7 Texas loses to Kansas State
#9 Oregon loses to #6 California
#10 Rutgers loses to Maryland
#13 Clemson loses to Georgia Tech
#21 Penn State loses to Illinois

Roll Tide.

And, um, this is the kind of Saturday when I wish I was a little more stereotypically gay and didn't care a bit about college football. I am utterly drained and upset. But that's this sport for you.

Of course Auburn would pick the week we lose to FSU to beat Florida. Damn it. More on this weekend later, if I have the heart to provide recaps this week. The way I feel right now, it's doubtful.

I need a drink.

So what you're telling me Kippers is that you would rather freak out to the point of hyperventilation at Tom Ford leaving Gucci than have a Saturday of watching football at the edge of your seat?

One should be careful what they wish for?

Legion World College GameWeek - Sunday Morning Recap

College football weekends like this one remind us why this game is so exciting. On any given game day anything is possible. That's why I love this game so much.

Southern Miss at Boise State (THURSDAY) ~ This game was never really in doubt. The Broncos built a 28-3 lead early. Southern Miss scored a touchdown just before halftime to close the gap to 28-10 and then scored again early in the third. But Boise responded immediately, taking the kick off and marching 79 yards back up the field in a 7 play drive that added another 7 points. When GoldenEagles QB Johnson suffered an ankle injury & had to leave the game soon thereafter, his team seemed to fall apart and Boise State was able to easily control the rest of the game.

#5 West Virginia at #18 South Florida (FRIDAY) ~ The Bulls are for real. Friday night's victory over #5 West Virginia should silence any of the remaining doubters about the program that Leavitt built. While not a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination (there were a combined 10 turnovers in the first half alone), South Florida was in control of the game from the start and their defense never let the Mountaineers get into their game. They held WV star running back Steve Slaton to just 54 yards rushing and kept QB White off balance or on his back the entire time he was in the game.

#13 Clemson at Georgia Tech ~ This was a game that showed just how critical the kicking game is in college football, not that Hurricane fans need any proof of this but the rest of the public needs occasional reminders! Clemson lost to GT 13-3 while missing 4 field goals during the game (2 wide right, 2 wide left) and having a punt blocked which lead to a touchdown by the Yellowjackets a few plays later. GT also recovered a fumbled kick off and parlayed that into another field goal. Although the Georgia Tech offense still seemed a bit lackluster, their defense was sizzling and kept Clemson from successfully mounting any sort of challenge. Clemson's QB Cullen Harper was sacked 6 times and was held to 39 passing yards. He was also picked off for his first interception of the season. The GT defense also manhandled Clemson's tandem of explosive runners (which averages 330+ yards per game) holding Davis to 60 yards and Spiller to just 2 yards on 9 carries!

#22 Alabama at Florida State ~ Another week another nailbiter for the Crimson Tide. Unfortunately, this week didn't pan out for Alabama. After a defense dominated scoreless first half for both teams, FSU's Bobby Bowden benched QB Wheaterford and replaced him with back up Xavier Lee late in the second quarter. Lee proved to be the spark that the Seminoles needed as he lead them to a 21-14 victory. It wasn't until the 4th quarter that Alabama finally started to roll and by then it was just a little too late. FSU was up 14-0 with 9 minutes left to play in the game when John Parker Wilson hit DJ Hall in the end zone to cut the lead to 14-7 and then added a second TD with about 1 minute left to make the score 21-14 but the Seminoles were able to handle the ensuing kick off and run out the clock, giving Bowden a victory against the team on which he started his football career almost 60 years ago.

Michigan State at #9 Wisconsin ~ Other than the fact that they have the longest winning streak in the country (14), I still fail to see what qualifies Wisconsin as a top 10 team. And Lord knows, after this crazy weekend they'll probably end up in the top 5! The Badgers have no defense to speak of, giving up 564 yards to Michigan State but managed to hold off the Spartans in a wild seesawing game between these two Big 10 rivals.

Maryland at #10 Rutgers ~ Apparently Rutgers has a Top 10 jinx. Just like last year, the Scarlet Knights lost a game they should have won after climbing into the Top 10. Last year it was Cincy, and this year it was a surprisingly tough Maryland team. Rutgers seemed out of sorts for much of this game and one has to wonder if they let the rankings go to their heads or if they were looking ahead to next week's game against Cincy. A win yesterday would have propelled them further up the rankings, perhaps into the Top 5 and solidified their preeminence in the Big East before they even started their conference schedule. The loss to the Terps however will likely mean that they will stay below Big East rivals West Virginia and may get passed by the rising South Florida Bulls with Cincy nipping at their heels for attention. The Knights will have to get their heads straightened out if they hope to climb back into the BCS picture.

#6 California at #11 Oregon ~ This game was everything the prognosticators claimed it would be. And it easily could have gone into overtime had that fumbled ball in the endzone by Oregon's Colvin been ruled a TD with only 22 seconds to go in the game. Instead, it was ruled a touchback and the Golden Bears were able to run out the clock and take home their first victory at Oregon's Autzen Field since 1987. California is now in position (or should be when the polls come out) to challenge USC for the top spot in the rankings and in the Pac 10.

Mississippi State at #16 South Carolina Mississippi State put on a valiant effort but the Gamecocks proved too much for them, taking control of the game in late in the third quarter with a blocked punt which led to a Gamecock's TD on the next play and never looking back. New SC starting QB Smeeley (how would you like to grow up with that name!) showed great potential and could well become Spurrier's next big name QB in his reknowned "Fun-n-Gun" offense.

Pittsburgh at Virginia~ The Cavaliers continued to impress and the Panthers continued to depress in this one sided game. Virginia scored enough points in just the first quarter (27-0) to bring home the victory and then coasted the rest of the way to notch it's 4th victory in a row after their opening day loss to Wyoming. They are now 4-1 and 3-0 in conference play and end September at the top of the ACC Coastal division. With games coming up against UConn, Maryland and Wake Forest, all surprisningly tough teams, before a season ending one-two punch from Miami and Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers don't figure to stay there for long but stranger things have happened (just look at yesterdays results across the board)

Florida International at Middle Tennessee ~ Ouch! The less said about this one, the better. Middle Tennessee took control of this game from the start and rolled over the Golden Panthers, posting 47 points before half time. FIU didn't help their own cause at all turning the ball over repeatedly and managing only 145 total yards versus 405 for the Blue Raiders. This loss extends the FIU losing streak to 17, the longest in Division 1A and leaves Coach Mario Cristobal wondering what he needs to do to turn things around. I fear he doesn't have much longer to figure things out if he hopes to remain as Head Coach FIU has only been in Division 1A for 2 years but the recent successes at USF, UCF, and FAU (in particular) has added to the pressure for Cristobal to win. Fortunately, the second half of their schedule is a bit easier than the first, having already faced Penn State, Maryland, Miami, and Kansas before playing the Blue Raiders. Somewhere in October or early November, the Panthers will have to pull one out in order to buy Cristobal the time to finish building the program he is striving for.

After yesterday's madness, one has to wonder how the polls will shake out. There's no question that they won't look at all like the did coming into this week. Not only did 9 of the Top 25 teams lose (most to lower ranked or unranked teams) but LSU struggled against Tulane in the first half & USC barely squeaked by Washington 27-24.

Stay tuned...the polls should be released shortly and then we'll find out what the new College Football landscape looks like.

Week 6 polls are out...

AP Top 25
1. LSU (33)
2. USC (32)
3. California
4. Ohio State
5. Wisconsin
6. South Florida
7. Boston College
8. Kentucky
9. Florida
10. Oklahoma
11. South Carolina
12. Georgia
13. West Virginia
14. Oregon
15. Virginia Tech
16. Hawaii
17. Missouri
18. Arizona State
19. Texas
20. Cincinnati
21. Rutgers
22. Clemson
23. Purdue
24. Kansas State
25. Nebraska


USA Today
1. USC (45)
2. LSU (14)
3. California
4. Ohio State (1)
5. Wisconsin
6. Boston College
7. Florida
8. Kentucky
9. South Florida
10. Oklahoma
11. Georgia
12. West Virginia
13. Oregon
14. Virginia Tech
15. Hawaii
16. Texas
17. Missouri
18. South Carolina
19. Arizona State
20. Purdue
21. Rutgers
22. Clemson
23. Nebraska
24. Cincinnati
25. UCLA

I have to really question why some of these teams seem to get treated differently when they lose games in comparison to others. For example, West Virginia lost to a 16th ranked team and dropped 7 slots (from #5 to #12) Oklahoma lost to an unranked Colorado and fell the same number of slots while Texas fell about 12 slots & Rutgers fell about 11. Even worse, Oregon lost a cliffhanger to a higher ranked team and fell 3 slots in the AP poll, yet Florida lost to an unranked team and only fell 4 slots in USA Today.

Vee, i agree. FL was a close game though I wonder if the point spreads make a bigger difference than I thought.