[NU Sports] PIGSKIN PICKS - Week 10

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

No standings until Friday or Saturday (it's parent-teacher conference week :) ) - but the polls are up on the Web site (360.yahoo.com/sjtruog) and here are the picks ...

PIGSKIN PICKS - WEEK 10
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With the Nits and Bucks taking a well-deserved breather week after last week’s defensive thriller in the Shoe, the Big Ten slate is a bit light this week. Thankfully we have that big cocktail party in Jacksonville and what should be a wild shootout in West Texas. They may not know how to play defense in the SEC and Big XII this year, but they sure are fun to watch. After that, though, it’s slim pickings (unless you think that an Oklahoma-Nebraska game still has meaning).

COLLEGE PICKS
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BIG TEN
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Game  1: Iowa @ Illinois
My pick: ILLINI … classic “offense vs. defense” game, and Iowa will be rested and is getting better each week, but the Illini know they can’t lose this one at home to have any bowl hopes.

Game  2: Central Michigan @ Indiana
My Pick: CHIPPEWAS … Hoosiers put all they had into upsetting NU last week, but they will be caught off guard for their second MAC attack of the year.

Game  3: Michigan @ Purdue
My Pick: WOLVERINES … elimination game for any long-shot bowl hopes here, and the Boilers D keeps trying, but their O packed it in weeks ago. If Big Blue avoids turnovers, they should win.

Game  4: Wisconsin @ Michigan State
My Pick: SPARTANS … tough call here, but I don’t think Sparty’s having a late-season slide this year so they should win this one at home.

NATIONAL
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Game  5: Florida vs. Georgia (@ Jacksonville, FL)
My Pick: BULLDOGS … I know the Gators are on a roll and everyone’s hopping aboard their bandwagon, but despite their struggles this year, the Dawgs are one of the few teams not intimidated by Tebow and the cocky Gators’ swagger. Georgia’s thugs once again pop Urban’s thugs in the mouth.

Game  6: Texas @ Texas Tech
My Pick: RED RAIDERS … sure, it’s become a fashionable pick … almost too easy, but I had this one as a Horns loss months ago (though Texas has impressed me a lot the past two weeks). The home-cooking Horns STILL are not leaving the state of Texas, but Lubbock is worlds away from Austin and at night it just gets plain old crazy out there! It’s gonna be a wild game and with two porous defenses - should be fun to watch.

Game  7: Florida State @ Georgia Tech
My Pick: YELLOW JACKETS … tough call here as whoever’s in the ACC lead seems to lose the following week this year and it’s the Noles turn here. Tech is well coached and at home.

Game  8: Oregon @ California
My Pick: BEARS … not sure either of these teams is better than Arizona or Oregon State, but I’ll stick with Cal at home.

Game  9: Tennessee @ South Carolina
My Pick: GAMECOCKS … it’s time to start admitting that after the top 3, the SEC is vastly overrated this year. Even LSU has just allowed 50+ twice in three weeks. And Kentucky, Vandy, Auburn and SC have faded while the Vols are just awful. Go with Spurrier at home here.

Game 10: Pittsburgh @ Notre Dame
My Pick: IRISH … no idea who will win here after Pitt dashed all my hopes that SOMEONE in the Big Least was for real by laying that colossal egg against Rutgers. Notre Dame wins at home and NBC begins the hype toward the USC game.

And off the board …

Minnesota 45, NORTHWESTERN 24 – I wish I could pick the Cats here, but they lost their focus at IU last week and, worse yet, lost their two offensive leaders in Sutton and Bacher. Meanwhile, the Gophers see a path to an 11-1 miracle season and have a whole new attitude and a whole new crowd of suddenly frenzied Gopher fans to fill that forgettable dome in its final few games for a fairy tale finish.

Picks in by Saturday!
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
-SjT

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!