NCAA College Football 2008 Week 10 Picks early games

NCAA College Football 2008 Week 10 Picks

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Fearless Rick's 2008 College Football Week 10 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | October 30 - November 2, 2008

All times Eastern - Click here for late games.

Thursday October 30

7:30 pm South Florida (-2 1/2, 51 1/2) at Cincinnati - In the wide-open Big East, this game rates as one to watch. Both Cincy and the Bulls are coming off losses - South Florida at home to arch-rival Louisville and the Bearcats on the road at UConn. The roles are reversed this time as Cincinnati is the host and one has to wonder how well-prepared South Florida will be for this road test where the weather may not be so accommodating. South Florida holds advantages in offensive production and in points and yardage allowed. Both teams have a propensity to stop the run, which works in the Bulls' favor because they are a more balanced offense.

South Florida should get the road win and begin to create a bit of separation in the tight conference struggle.

Prediction: Bulls 24 Bearcats 16

Saturday November 1

12:00 pm West Virginia (-4, N/A) at Connecticut - This game could be significant because by season's end, these two may prove to be the best in the Big East conference. After a tough, 1-2 start, the Mountaineers have reeled off four straight wins and are 2-0 in conference play. Further, they beat Rutgers (who's been on a revenge tour of late) on October 4 and last Thursday took out Auburn in a 34-17 beat-down.

The Huskies are now 6-2, winning last week big over Cincinnati, 40-16, and are at home for the second straight week, a distinct advantage. Both teams feature solid offense and exceptional defense, with the Mountaineers allowing 15 ppg and the Huskies 17.1. The emphasis will be on field position and defense, and, while maybe not an overwhelming choice, those 4 points at home may work out to UConn's advantage in what figures to be a close one.

Prediction: Mountaineers 20 Huskies 18

12:00 pm Wisconsin at Michigan St. (-4 1/2, N/A) - a standing rule is to always take the underdog whenever the line opens at -5 1/2 as this one did. The Badgers have had some tough sledding recently in the Big 10, losing four straight - Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa - before finally rebounding for a 27-17 win over Illinois last week. With no prospects except a minor bowl placing, there's no pressure on the Badgers, while the Spartans are still struggling with their identity, dropping in and out and in again to the Top 25. Neither team impresses on defense, so expect some kind of score in the 30s.

Prediction: Badgers 34 Spartans 30

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2:00 pm Tulsa (-7, N/A) at Arkansas - We should finally get an idea of just how good the Tulsa Golden Hurricane really are via this clash at a low-level SEC team. Should Tulsa bury the Razorbacks in their own back yard, they will surely move up in the standings and challenge for a BCS bowl bid. If it's close or they lose, write them off as just another solid team from a weak conference (Conference-USA). The feeling is that Tulsa is really, really good, and deserving of a big bowl in January. They lead the nation in scoring at a blistering 55.6 ppg. QB David Johnson throws for an average of 332 yards per game, hits at 69% and has tossed 32 TDs to just 9 INTs.

Nobody's come close to besting the Golden Hurricane this season, with the exception of a comeback 37-31 win at SMU three weeks ago. Besides that close call, the average margin of victory is 33 points, including a 77-35 romp over UTEP on October 18. They're 8-0 and looking for competition.

Whether or not they'll find it at Arkansas is questionable. The Razorbacks are just 3-5, though they've lost three times to ranked teams and lost their last two by a total of 3 points (at Kentucky, 21-20, and Miss. 23-21). They are probably better on defense than offense, which actually fits nicely into Tulsa's scheme. If the Tulsa defense has an easy time, that means their offense will be on the field more often, which means a rout is in order.

Prediction: Golden Hurricane 48 Razorbacks 24

2:30 pm Pittsburgh at Notre Dame (-5 1/2, N/A) - a win here against the Panthers could propel the Fighting Irish into a placing in the Top 25 polls even though Pitt was dropped from them just this week after getting hammered by Rutgers, 54-34. Notre Dame had a breezer, winning at Washington last week, 33-7, and they seem to have both the offense and defense playing at a high, sustainable level. Both teams are 5-2 with obvious bowl aspirations, but if it comes down to a coaching battle, even fathead Charlie Weis can out-think Dave Wannstedt, though that's not saying much. Besides, if the Panthers couldn't handle the Scarlet Knight's receivers, they won't match up well against the shifty and speedy wides of the Irish.

Prediction: Fighting Irish 31 Panthers 20

All times Eastern - Click here for late games

Copyright 2008, 2009, Rick Gagliano, Downtown Magazine. All rights reserved. Downtown Magazine is located in the Uinted States of America and is not affiliated with the National Football League or the NCAA. For more information, contact us here. Use of this site is for entertainment purposes only.

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