College Football - Week 9 Predictions

Well, I'm a little behind this week - traveling down to Hinesville, Georgia for work seriously hampered my time updating the Total System Failure blog, so I'm doing a mad dash to get my predictions in before the first game here on Saturday morning. There have already been so great games this week - Virginia Tech dominating #10 Clemson and Tulsa rallying from 14 points down to knock off UTEP. Will we see any other upsets similar to the one the Hokies pulled off on Thursday night? We'll know over the next few hours...so, here are this week's predictions:

Minnesota at #1 Ohio State - there is really not much to say about this one. Minnesota struggled to defeat another "State" school, and unfortunately, for the Gophers, it was NORTH DAKOTA STATE! A 10-9 victory over a Division 1-AA program doesn't generate a lot of momentum going into Columbus, Ohio to play the Buckeyes. Maybe the Gophers were looking head - yeah, I don't think so....Ohio State 56 Minnesota 10

Northwestern at #2 Michigan - Yet another strong Big 10 matchup! Have I recently mentioned how much of a joke Big 10 football is? The powerful Wolverines welcome a Northwestern team to the Big House that blew a 35 point lead to Michigan State last week. The "Mildcats" have lost 5 in a row and 4 of those 5 losses were blowout. Oh, did I mention that New Hampshire beat Northwestern? This game is going to be yet another blowout for Northwestern...Michigan 48 Northwestern 6

#3 USC at Oregon State - There was a time not too long ago when Oregon State might have been capable of knocking off the Trojans. However, Dennis Erickson is no longer on the sidelines in Corvallis, and Steven Jackson and TJ Houshmanzadeh are now in the NFL. The Trojans have had a week off to regroup, refocus, and work out some of their kinks on offense. To further compound matters for the Beavers, RB Yvenson Bernard has a sprained ankle, and moreover, there won't be an inclimate weather to slow down the Trojans...USC 38 Oregon State 14

#5 Texas at Texas Tech - Texas Tech has 5 wins this season, and those five wins have come against the likes of SE Louisiana, SMU, UTEP, Iowa State, and Texas A&M (on a last second touchdown pass). The real indictment against the Red Raiders is a 30-6 loss to Colorado! Can you really expect a team that lost to Colorado to knock off the #5 team in the country? Colt McCoy proved last week that he is ready to take the Longhorns on the road in the Big 12 and win tough games. Fortunately, for Mack Brown, this one won't be a tough road game....Texas 56 Texas Tech 10

#7 Auburn at Ole Miss - This could be an interesting game, and as an Auburn fan, it frightens me. I remember watching the undefeated 2004 Auburn team struggle to win in Oxford, Mississippi, but that was a night game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and today, kickoff is set for 12:30pm EST. Ole Miss is coming off a whipping at the hands of Arkansas last week, while on the other hand, Ole Miss gave Alabama and Georgia all they wanted. So what will happen today? Auburn has struggled against teams with elusive quarterbacks and strong running backs, and Ole Miss has QB Brent Schaeffer and RB BenJarvis Green-Ellis. Both Schaeffer and Green-Ellis are the types of players that Auburn has trouble containing. Ole Miss has had some distractions this week with several players being dismissed from the team. If this game were at night, I'd pick an upset, but with the early kickoff, Auburn will squeak out a win with a strong running game behind Kenny Irons, Brad Lester, and Ben Tate....Auburn 16 Ole Miss 10

#8 Tennessee at South Carolina - I suppose if there was a 'game of the week' this week it would be this game, especially since the annoying GameDay road show has traveled to Columbia to hype the game. Of course, all the talk is about how Steve Spurrier is battling his old whipping boy Phil Fulmer, but the real story should be about how South Carolina is a new team with Syvelle Newton at quarterback. The Gamecocks should have defeated Auburn a few weeks ago, and they have looked impressive in back-to-back road wins against Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Tennessee looked ordinary against Alabama last week, and without RB LaMarcus Coker, more of the offensive workload will fall on QB Erik Ainge. This is a trendy upset pick, but I just see the Vols defense frustrating the Gamecocks and Ainge will do just enough to win a tough road game...Tennessee 20 South Carolina 10

Georgia vs. #9 Florida - No matter what the universities want to call this game, it will ALWAYS be the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. I drove too and from Hinesville, Georgia over the past two days, and let me tell you - the Dawg nation is traveling in force down I-75 to this game! The Dawgs may be struggling, but the fans are still behind them. Georgia could seriously shake up the SEC East race with a win, and the Gators could just about wrap up a trip to Atlanta with a win. Since defeating UAB 34-0 in Week 3, Georgia has struggled mightily, and it appears that Richt has finally made the decision to with Matthew Stafford at quarterback (which, in my opinion, is the right move for the future). Losing RB Thomas Brown really hurts Georgia's offense, even though Lumpkin and Ware are capable backs. The Gators have had a week off to think about the lose to Auburn, and some reports have even said that Chris Leak was in Athens last Saturday to scout the Bulldogs. The real key to this game will be Georgia's ability to slow down the Florida passing attack. Georgia should be able to stiffle the Florida running game, but after giving over 240 passing yards to Mississippi State last week, I don't think the Dawgs have enough in their secondary to slow down Florida WRs Dallas Baker and Andre Caldwell. Mark Richt's misery in Jacksonville will continue....Florida 31 Georgia 14

And now predictions for other games this week...

#11 Notre Dame 38 Navy 7
#13 Arkansas 49 LA-Monroe 7
#17 Wisconsin 42 Illinois 13
#18 Boston College 45 Buffalo 14
#19 Oklahoma 17 #23 Missouri 14
#20 Nebraska 28 Oklahoma State 17
#21 Georgia Tech 20 Miami(FL) 14
#22 Texas A&M 31 Baylor 21
#24 Wake Forest 28 North Carolina 10
#25 Oregon 49 Portland State 0
Vanderbilt 21 Duke 10
Florida State 17 Maryland 6
Mississippi State 20 Kentucky 17
Alabama 63 Florida International 0
Washington State 28 UCLA 24
Arizona State 38 Washigton 17
Houston 21 Central Florida 7
Texas Christian 24 Wyoming 14
Brigham Young 31 Air Force 17
Cincinnati 14 Syracuse 13
Hawaii 42 Idaho 24

Note: Through one week of making predictions, season record is: 22-5.