NCAA College Football 2008 Week 5 Picks early games

NCAA College Football 2008 Week 5 Picks

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Fearless Rick's 2008 College Football Week 5 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | September 25-27, 2008

All times Eastern - Click here for late games.

Thursday, September 25

9:00 pm USC (-24, N/A) at Oregon State - Hey, the Trojans aren't number #1 in every national poll for nothing. They've only played twice thus far, but both wins - at Virginia and vs. Ohio State - have been by wide margins (52-7 and 35-3). How do the Beavers think they're going to stand up here? They've already been hammered by Stanford and Penn State, so good luck. Nice that this is a Thursday game because it will be singled at most bookmakers.

Prediction: Trojans 44 Beavers 13

Friday, September 26

8:00 pm Connecticut at Louisville (-3 1/2, 49) - The Huskies just barely survived a close call over Baylor last week, pulling out a 31-28 win, but now must travel to Kentucky to face the Cardinals who are 2-1 and looking to recover from last season's 6-6 disaster. UConn won their last matchup, 21-17, last season at home, so the Cardinals would like to reverse that score. The Husky defense, however, should be up to the task here and squelch the Louisville offense for much of the game.

Prediction: Huskies 24 Cardinals 17

Saturday, September 27

12:00 pm Maryland at Clemson (-11 1/2, 48 1/2) - This is the first ACC action for both squads, and each has had a share of frustration already. Clemson was clobbered by Alabama on opening weekend and the Terps suffered an unexpected loss at the hands of Middle Tennessee State. That game was on the road and Maryland QB Chris Turner threw three interceptions, plus, the Blue Raiders have an exceptional gun of their own in QB Joe Craddock.

Since then, the Terrapins upset Cal and hammered Eastern Michigan and the offense seems to be clicking, but defensively, Maryland is going to have a tough time stopping the Clemson offense, which hung 54 on South Carolina St. last week in a shutout. The Tiger defense is also beginning to roar, which spells trouble for Maryland on the road.

Prediction: Tigers 34 Terrapins 17

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3:30 pm Tennessee at Auburn (-6 1/2, 40 1/2) - OK, so Auburn is probably not going to win the national championship after their late-game 26-21 loss at LSU last weekend. But maybe they can still reach the SEC championship if LSU stumbles along the way. This game, however, is one which they are unlikely to lose. Tennessee is coming off a horrible, 30-6, home loss to Florida and the offense simply doesn't have enough talent or experience to get the job done. It's going to be a long season in Rocky Top, and Auburn is going to win this defensive struggle handily.

Prediction: Tigers 24 Volunteers 10

3:30 pm Colorado at Florida State (-6, 40 1/2) - With the Buffaloes knocking off highly-regarded (but probably overrated) West Virginia last week, the herd takes to the road and winds up in Bobby Bowden's back yard. This is not going to be a pleasant cattle drive, but more of a stampede as Colorado senses a return to prominence in the tough Big 12.

Florida State may have one of the best defenses in the country (they've allowed just 19 points in 3 games), but the offense, led by a pair of sophomore QBs, was only able to produce a lonely field goal at home in their 12-3 loss to Wake Forest. Colorado's defense should shut them down again, and the offense is good enough to get into the end zone at least a couple of times. This one should be close for a half, but may turn into a defensive rout down the stretch. Even if the Buffs get beat, those 6 points look very much like a gift.

Prediction: Buffaloes 30 Seminoles 13

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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