DAN FATIGATO – SPORTS EDITOR – OVERALL: 30-12, LAST WEEK: 6-6
(3) West Virginia 37, (5) Louisville 31 – Pat White and Steve Slaton prove to be too much in this classic that could be WVU’s ticket to the title game.
(4) Texas 38, Oklahoma State 10 – The Cinderella Cowboys won’t have as much luck with the Longhorns as they did with Nebraska.
(8) Tennessee 20, (13) LSU 17 – First to 20 points wins this SEC slugfest, and it will be the Vols who get a step closer to that league title.
(22) Wake Forest 27, (16) Boston College 24 – Someone needs to tell the Demon Deacons it’s not basketball season and they’re not supposed to be good. It won’t be BC.
(17) Wisconsin 41. Penn State 20 – The Badgers are quietly putting together a great season while having no chance at a BCS game.
Texas A&M 31, (18) Oklahoma 30 – Aggies have their eyes on a Thanksgiving bout with hated-rival Texas for the Big 12 South crown.
(19) Clemson 34, Maryland 13 – Seething after last week’s whipping in Blacksburg, the Tigers rebound in impressive fashion.
(23) Virginia Tech 23, Miami 17 – The Canes mailed this season in after their opening game loss to Florida State. Goodbye Larry Coker.
Nebraska 28, Mizzou 12 – Without Brian Smith, the Tigers are tamed by an angry Cornhusker group coming off a bad loss to OSU.
Kansas State 30, BUFFS 20 – I was going to pick the Buffs, but last week showed me how dumb that was.
Kansas 19, Iowa State 10 – Todd Reesing, my schoolmate just four years ago in tiny Lake Travis, TX, keeps rolling as the Cyclones stay winless in Big 12.
(10) California 41, UCLA 38 – Why are all Pac-10 games the same?
KYLE MCDANIEL – SPORTS WRITER – OVERALL: 29-13, LAST WEEK: 6-6
(3) West Virginia 28, (5) Louisville 20 – The Mountaineers will improve their winning steak to 15 games.
(4)Texas 28, Oklahoma State 17 – McCoy will have a field day against OSU.
(8) Tennessee 17, (13) LSU 14 – I like Tennessee in this one, even though LSU has a great defense.
(16) Boston College 24, (22) Wake Forest 14 – Boston College is a great team. Wake Forest has an awful losing steak in the month of November also.
(17) Wisconsin 21, Penn State 17 – Wisconsin showed a lot of heart last week against Illinois. They are a great team.
(18) Oklahoma 21, (21) Texas A&M 14 – Oklahoma will win this in a close game.
(19) Clemson 28, Maryland 20 – After last week’s tough loss to Virginia Tech, Clemson should bounce back strong in this one.
(23) Virginia Tech 35, Miami 21 – Virginia Tech showed how underrated they are last week against Clemson. Expect a big win.
Mizzou 21, Nebraska 20 – Last week I said I wouldn’t pick Nebraska again this year. I’m a man of my word. Mizzou wins a close one.
BUFFS 17, Kansas State 13 – I’ve got to stop picking the Buffs. One more week and then I’m done.
Kansas 20, Iowa State 17 – I just realized how bad the Big 12 North is this year. Anyways, KU wins.
(10) California 35, UCLA 24 – Expect a normal high scoring Pac-10 game. I like Cal in this one.
STIRLING WADE – SPORTS WRITER – OVERALL: 23-19, LAST WEEK: 4-8
(3) West Virginia 35, (5) Louisville 31 – A lot of points on the board at Papa John Stadium but West Virginia comes out on top.
(4) Texas 38, Oklahoma State 24 – Texas’s upset scare was last week. They’ll play well at home against an improving Oklahoma State team.
(8) Tennessee 24, (13) LSU 17 – JaMarcus Russell hasn’t played well in big games.
(22) Wake Forest 21, (16) Boston College 20 – Is it basketball season?
(17) Wisconsin 28, Penn State 14 – Whatever happened to Paul Pozlusny?
(18) Oklahoma 23, (21) Texas A&M 17 – Oklahoma has really impressed me the last few weeks.
(19) Clemson 31, Maryland 21 – Clemson will bounce back to keep its ACC title hopes alive.
(23) Virginia Tech 21, Miami 10 – Great rivalry but VT is hot.
Nebraska 28, Missouri 27 – These teams are evenly matched but Nebraska has the home crowd on its side.
Kansas State 17, BUFFS 14 – The Dan Hawkins quote of the week is back. Hawkins, on his team’s offensive struggles at Kansas: “It’s the World Series and we’re playing baseball on offense.”
Kansas 28, Iowa State 17 – Wasn’t Iowa State supposed to contend for something this year besides the cellar of the Big 12?
(10) California 31, UCLA 21 – Jeff Tedford can flat out coach offense.
SCOTT LASHER – FOOTBALL BEAT WRITER – OVERALL: 24-18, LAST WEEK: 5-7
(3) West Virginia 104, (5) Louisville 100 – In an amazing turn of events, officials at the game decide that because so many touchdowns will be scored and the point total will get too high, each one will only count for two points, like a jump shot in basketball. Surprisingly, the Mountaineers score 52 touchdowns and Louisville scores 50.
(4) Texas 30, Oklahoma State 21 – Colt McCoy has to have silenced any doubters with his performance last week. He is the real deal.
(8) Tennessee 20, (13) LSU 13 – The Cardiac Volunteers continue their trend of pulling a victory out of the hat in a close one with the Tigers.
(22) Wake Forest 24, (16) Boston College 20 – The Deacons have been a surprise force in the ACC this year. They should win this one at home.
(17) Wisconsin 34, Penn State 7 – Barry Alvarez convinces JoePa how much fun it is to retire and sit behind a desk. After all, the bathroom is much closer.
(21) Texas A&M 30, (18) Oklahoma 27 – The Aggies at home are as tough to beat as any team in college football, and Oklahoma has to hiccup sometime.
(19) Clemson 35, Maryland 0 – Ralph Friedgen takes offense to a fan’s comment about his weight and leaves the field to immediately pursue the Subway diet. Without their head coach, the Terps get toasted.
(23) Virginia Tech 21, Miami 15 – This one is a just a hunch, but something tells me Miami won’t see the Top 25 again for many moons.
Nebraska 23, Mizzou 14 – Looks like the Tigers played us all for fools. They are not as good as a lot of folks thought.
Kansas State 24, BUFFS 2 – In an effort to get the weirdest point totals of the season, the Buffs decide to not play offense the entire game, which might be just as well since they aren’t so hot at it.
Kansas 20, Iowa State 15 – The Cyclones can’t seem to get on track in the Big 12 and Kansas may have found their diamond in the rough in Todd Reesing.
KATIE HEARSUM – SPORTS WRITER – OVERALL: 18-14, LAST WEEK: 6-6
(3) West Virginia 21, (5) Louisville 17 – One of these teams will leave the field with their first blemish, and the other will leave with a good chance of sneaking into the BCS championship game.
(4) Texas 38, Oklahoma State 21 – Texas will continue to roll on its way to the Big 12 Championship game.
(13) LSU 17, (8) Tennessee 10 – The Vols need QB Erik Ainge in top condition to pull this one off, and that’s not going to happen with his recent ankle injury.
(16) Boston College 22, (22) Wake Forest 10 – There’s only room for one at the top of the ACC, and the Deacons’ luck will run out before they get there.
(17) Wisconsin 31, Penn State 13 – After last year’s blowout in Happy Valley, Wisconsin will return the favor at Camp Randall.
(18) Oklahoma 21, (21) Texas A&M 20 – The Sooners’ defense will outlast the Aggies high-scoring offense.
(19) Clemson 31, Maryland 28 – The Tigers hope to keep their chances of reaching the ACC championship game alive with a win versus the Terps.
(23) Virginia Tech 13, Miami 10 – Miami’s disappointing season won’t stop here.
Nebraska 24, Mizzou 21 – Both of these teams need a win badly; Nebraska will outlast Mizzou in this close battle.
BUFFS 20, Kansas State 13 – Here’s hoping.
Kansas 20, Iowa State 10 – Which of these Big 12 games is more meaningless? Kansas should come away with this one.
(10) California 31, UCLA 13 – Cal has been impressive since their early season loss to Tennessee. They should continue to roll this weekend.
DORIAN LAWSON – SPORTS WRITER – OVERALL: 13-9, LAST WEEK: 5-6
(3) West Virginia 24, (5) Louisville 17 – The powerful run game of West Virginia is more than enough to take the wind out of the home team in this one.
(4) Texas 30, Oklahoma State 10 – The Longhorns have showed a lot of character this year, they’ll easily win.
(8) Tennessee 27, (13) LSU 21 – LSU has had it rough in the SEC this year, and its woes continue in Tennessee’s gigantic stadium.
(22) Wake Forest 17, (16) Boston College 14 – Surprise freshman QB Skinner stays smart with the football and they win.
(17) Wisconsin 33, Penn State 14 – Wisconsin’s only loss was to Michigan and they have crushed just about everyone else, so they won’t drop this home game.
(21) Texas A&M 21, (18) Oklahoma 20 – Oklahoma will have trouble forcing turnovers in this one, A&M’s big back will get it done.
(19) Clemson 30, Maryland 3 – Clemson rebounds after a bad loss.
(23) Virginia Tech 23, Miami 10 – The Hokies have to be riding high and Miami isn’t a team to worry about.
Mizzou 24, Nebraska 14 – I trusted Nebraska last week, but now it’s hard to tell what this team is about.
BUFFS 14, Kansas State 10 – We’re dying for that sweetness of victory again, desperation wins it.
Iowa State 13, Kansas 7 – They’re just both so bad, I’ll give Iowa State its first and maybe only win in the Big 12.
(10) California 35, UCLA 17 – Coming off the bye and taking the top from USC for a while pushes Cal to a win.
BRIAN BEER – SPORTS WRITER – OVERALL: 20-10, LAST WEEK: 7-5
(5) Louisville 23, (3) West Virginia 21 – Home field advantage for the Cardinals is all that seperates these Big East powerhouses.
(4) Texas 36, Oklahoma State 20 – OSU won’t have opportunity to get as close as Texas Tech was last week as Texas wins its 21st-consecutive Big 12 game.
(8) Tennessee 21, (13) LSU 16 – LSU’s road woes continues as Tennessee squeaks out pivotal SEC win.
(22) Wake Forest 21, (16) Boston College 20 – Surprising Wake Forest continues improbable run with upset over BC in defensive stalemate.
(17) Wisconsin 31, Penn State 20 – Badgers avenge last year’s blowout to PSU to continue impressive season for first year coach Bret Bielema.
(18) Oklahoma 27, (21) Texas A&M 21 – Sooners’ run defense will shut down potent Aggies ground game.
(19) Clemson 34, Maryland 16 – Clemson rebounds from upset at VT to come away with victory in critical ACC showdown.
(23) Virginia Tech 28, Miami 13 – Virginia Tech shuts down Miami’s tepid offense in matchup of dissapointing teams.
Nebraska 31, Mizzou 23 – Nebraska bounces back after OSU loss and helps further Mizzou’s freefall.
BUFFS 16, Kansas State 10 – My instincts tell me to never pick the Buffs again for the rest of my life, but my heart is telling me that we could get that elusive second win.
Kansas 20, Iowa State 14 – Kansas gets second straight win in matchup of Big 12 teams going nowhere.
(10) California 38, UCLA 27 – Cal remains unbeaten in Pac-10 in another high-scoring conference matchup.