College Pick’Em-NCAA Football Week 10 Picks

The LSU Tigers and head coach Les Miles will await Alabama in Tiger Studium in one of the top games of the season. I’m picking against the #1 team in the land based on three things-home, field, advantage. Photo by: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

It’s November which means we’re starting to get a clearer picture of the potential contenders for Conference titles and the National Championship. That doesn’t mean however, that the picks get easier as we head into the final five week of College Pick’Em.

Last week was a down week across the game with some big upsets, but none of that phased JCarr345 who put up 43 points which was over double the average 21. He hit on all of his first four confidence picks and closed the ground on Josh Black M2 who holds our overall lead and gets the chance to pick his Mississippi State Bulldogs in one of the matchups this weekend. My entry was right on the median line last week with 21 keeping me in the top 15 percent overall.

This week’s analysis will have to be quick. Instead of giving you all the information on a matchup, I’m going to highlight the one factor that made me go with the team I’m picking. Here’s my picks and confidence levels for this week:

1 point-LSU over Alabama: I’m going with LSU in this one to knock off the top team in the country. At home on Saturday night, I can’t go against Les Miles. Whichever way this one goes, it’ll be a great physical game worth watching for all College Football fans. LSU has won two of the last three contests in Baton Rouge and seven of the last 10 overall.

2 points-Michigan State over Nebraska: Both teams have disappointed at times this season, but Sparty  got a nice win in Camp Randall last week and should have the momentum as they host Nebraska who beat a Denard-less Michigan team last week after squeaking past Northwestern and getting pummeled by OSU.

John Reed-US PRESSWIRE

3 points-Texas A&M over Mississippi State: Johnny Manziel and the Aggies have the top  offense in the country as they head to Starkville to take on MSU. The Bulldogs were handed their first loss last week as they visited Alabama and were beaten 38-7. Texas A&M’s losses were to Florida in their opener and to LSU two weeks ago. They’re actually undefeated on the road, and I don’t think that the Bulldogs D will be up to the task of stopping Manziel.

4 points-Oklahoma over Iowa State: Iowa State isn’t a pushover as Iowa, TCU, and Baylor learned the hard way. Going into Ames and getting a win isn’t a guarantee for Bob Stoops and the Sooners, but I think they’ll be able to bounce back after losing to a tough Notre Dame team at home last week.  

5 points-Texas Tech over Texas: In a matchup of two 6-2 teams from Texas, I’ll take Tech at home in Lubbock to avoid their fourth straight loss to Texas. Check out the Tech “Lone Star Pride” uniforms as Seth Doege and the Red Raiders run past a Texas defense that will miss LB Jordan Hicks.

6 points-Penn State over Purdue: Penn State lost their first game since week 2 last week to Ohio State and Purdue hasn’t won since September when they beat Marshall. They’ve lost four in a row to Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Minnesota. Penn State will look to extend their misery and should be able to move to 4-1 in their division with a win in West Lafayette.

Oct 27, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Oregon State Beavers quarterback Cody Vaz (14) passes against the Washington Huskies during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE

7 points-Oregon State over Arizona State: The Beavers lost their undefeated season last week at Washington and have QB questions coming into this game. However, Arizona State has dropped their last two games giving up over 40 to Oregon and last week to UCLA. The Devils can score but their offense may be slowed by the weather, and I think OSU gets this win at home.

8 points-Clemson over Duke: Duke isn’t horrible like they have been in the past, but they’ll have a tall task as they try to keep up with the high-powered Tigers offense. Duke is 6-3 but got crushed 48-7 last week by Florida State. They are 0-2 against ranked teams and Clemson’s only loss was at Florida State five games ago.

9 points-Kansas State over Oklahoma State: K-State is rolling along after going to then-#13 WVU and winning 55-14 then coming home and winning 55-24 over then-#14 Texas Tech. They’ll host Oklahoma State who can definitely score points, but have struggled defensively. The Wildcats are at home and beat a similarly constructed Mountaineer team on the road, so I’m pretty confident that K-State stays on track for the Big 12 title and possibly the National Championship.

October 27, 2012; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks mascot entertains against the Colorado Buffaloes at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-US PRESSWIRE

10 points-Oregon over USC: The Ducks head south to face USC in a Saturday night showdown. The Ducks offense is absolutely crazy and remember that USC gave up 39 points last week to Arizona who Oregon crushed 49-0.