Brown's Picks - College Football Week 10

Last week was a decent week for me. I went 5-3 but it could have been a lot worse; a number of teams just did cover the spread. Week 10 has a number if big games and has the potential to be a bad week for me. Let’s get to it.

Connecticut @ Cincinnati (-17)

This will be the third game that the Bearcats are unsure about the status of starting QB Tony Pike. Sophomore signal caller Zach Collaros has done a fine job under center this year, throwing for 9 TDs and 1 interception. The Huskies have had an emotional year following the death of cornerback Jasper Howard. This trip to the Queen City won’t do much to alleviate the pain for Connecticut. Cincinnati looks destined for a third straight 10 win season under Brian Kelly and I don’t see UCONN getting in the way. 17 points is a lot but I think Cincinnati will have an easy time with the visiting Huskies.

Pick: CINCINNATI

LSU @ Alabama (-7.5)

This is a huge game in the SEC, one with obvious National Championship implications. These two teams come into this game atop the SEC’s West Division with aspirations of playing in the Conference Championship. LSU comes into this game with a 7-1 (4-1) record, with their only loss at the hands of #1 Florida. Alabama looked pretty unimpressive two weeks ago against Tennessee, but they’ve had an extra week to prepare for this game. I can see this game going either way, but I don’t see The Crimson Tide covering.

Pick: LSU

Florida St. @ Clemson (-8.5)

This game doesn’t quite live up to the preseason hype, but I’m going to the game so I’m still excited for it. It’s no secret that the Seminoles have struggled this year, coming into Death Valley with a 4-4 (2-3) record. Despite some early struggles, the Clemson Tigers are right in the hunt for an ACC Atlantic Division title. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Florida St. program, first about Coach Bobby Bowden’s future in Tallahassee, and now with the pending retirement of Defensive Coordinator Mickey Andrews. This game is on ESPN so the nation will get a chance to see CJ Spiller, who I think is going to have a big game. Watch out for an aggressive Clemson Defense to harass FSU Quarterback Christian Ponder all night.

Pick: CLEMSON

Eastern Kentucky @ Kentucky

The Battle of the Bluegrass. Since Eastern and Western no longer play, this series has the potential to be the biggest in-state rivalry for the Colonels. Kentucky needs this one; the loss last week the Mississippi St. set the Wildcats back in their pursuit for a bowl game this year. Again, there’s no line in this game because the Colonels are an FCS team, but I don’t think it would have made much of a difference in my pick. While I am a proud EKU alumnus, I don’t have much hope for them against UK. The disparity of talent between the two teams is too far in UK’s favor for the Colonels to overcome. Kentucky wins this one fairly easily.

Pick: KENTUCKY

Ohio St. @ Penn St. (-5)

Both teams come in tied at 4-1 in the conference, looking up to undefeated Iowa. If either team wants a shot at a BCS bowl game they need to win on Saturday. Ohio St. seems to always disappoint in big games and Penn St. is much better than the Buckeyes’ last two opponents, Minnesota and New Mexico St. I still don’t trust Terrelle Pryor at quarterback for the Buckeyes; he needs to come up big on Saturday in order for Ohio St. to have a chance. I think Penn State’s Defense steps up and gets a big win at home.

Pick: PENN ST.

South Carolina @ Arkansas (-7)

This is a very intriguing game to me. On one hand, you have the Gamecocks who have been in the Top 25 most of the year but coming off a big loss to Tennessee. On the other side, you have Arkansas who is scoring almost 36 points a game, but are 1-4 in the SEC. If you look at the Razorbacks’ schedule, it hasn’t been an easy one. Arkansas has the potential to be very explosive on offense, and the Gamecock defense will have their hands full with Ryan Mallett, but I still like the Stephen Garcia/Alshon Jeffery connection for South Carolina. I went with them last week and they let me down, hopefully the Gamecocks will come through for me this week.

Pick: SOUTH CAROLINA

Wake Forest @ Georgia Tech (-14.5)

This is actually a pretty big game in the ACC. Wake Forest comes into this game holding onto a slim chance of winning the ACC Atlantic, while GA Tech holds a 1.5 game lead on Duke (yes Duke) in the Coastal division. The Demon Deacons got some good news Friday when they learned their starting QB Riley Skinner was cleared to play after suffering a concussion last week’s lost to Miami. Georgia Tech’s last meaningful game was on Oct 17 when they beat then No. 4 Virginia Tech 28-23. I think Wake Forest is going to have a tough time stopping the option attack of Paul Johnson and the Yellow Jackets. This one could get out of hand.

Pick: GA TECH

Oklahoma (-4.5) @ Nebraska

Both teams are hanging around in the Big 12 race, but Nebraska needs this one more than Oklahoma. This will be a tough road test for the Sooners who are relying on Landry Jones to come up big again in place of last year’s Heisman winner Sam Bradford. Oklahoma has won 4 straight games in this series and I don’t see any reason why the ’09 match-up will be different. The spread is only 4.5, but I see the Sooners winning by double digits.

Pick: OKLAHOMA

Enjoy the Football this weekend, and make sure to look for me Saturday night on ESPN in Death Valley.

GO TIGERS!