Week 10 College Football Preview

We are in the final full month of the season and each game for the teams in conference and national title contention become that much more important.

Recap of last week: East Carolina had little trouble with Memphis. North Carolina made their statement at Virginia Tech's expense and knocked off the Hokies with a late field goal. Virginia Tech now will have to fight just to play for the ACC title. And on Sunday night, UCF had an awesome fourth quarter to come back and win over Marshall. Indiana gave Iowa a scare before Iowa turned on a switch and went to town on the Hoosiers to blow them out and stay perfect. Kansas and Texas Tech played neck and neck for three quarters before Texas Tech ran away (literally) with the game in the fourth quarter. They must have taken Coach Mike Leach's comments to heart. TCU continued their dominance by shutting out UNLV in a blowout win. Oklahoma was given a good challenge by Kansas State before they were able to take the game over with the ground game.

In terms of my top 5 matchups picks, I went 3-2 this past week and after nine weeks I'm 33-12 on the year. Tennessee came out focused and their game against South Carolina never seemed in doubt. They were able to jump on the Gamecocks early and held onto to the lead in the fourth quarter. After coming close to beat other top SEC teams, they finally broke through. South Carolina is still having a good year, but this was a letdown loss. Just when it looked like South Florida was about to go on their downward spiral to end a season, they came out strong against a tough West Virginia team. The loss by the Mountaineers hurts them greatly in the Big East race and puts South Florida about even with them. These two will look to finish strong, but most likely will fight for third place in the Big East if Cincinnati and Pittsburgh keep playing strong. After a few weeks of struggling to win, Florida was able to break out in a crucial rivalry game. LB Brandon Spikes has had to deal with his foul play during the game, but even that couldn't stop the Gators. In the win, Tim Tebow was to set the rushing touchdown record for the SEC.

Surprisingly, the top two matchups of the week turned into blowouts. Texas got to Oklahoma State early and this game was basically over at halftime. It truly was a team effort by all sides of the ball for the Longhorns. I hated to say it, but this game was definitely a rout. However, not a lot of people expected Oregon to win and win the way they did over USC. This is hands down the worst loss for Pete Carroll and all but ends their national title hopes. Oregon on the other hand has come on very strong after their opening loss and the whole drama with the post game melee. It was a close game up to halftime, but the second half was dominated by Oregon and they made USC look anything but what we expect from them.

Now turning to this week's slate of games that might be worth watching/feature a team or teams with something on the line:

Tuesday Night:
Bowling Green at Buffalo: This one is that great Tuesday matchup for the football fan. Expect a fair amounts of points to be scored. Should be close.

Thursday Night:
No. 23 Virginia Tech at East Carolina: This game is crucial to Virginia Tech as they still have a glimmer of hope of playing for the ACC title. They need to break their defensive dominance, but shouldn't have too much trouble. However, this is the same team that upset the Hokies a year ago.

Miami (OH) at Temple: Temple has been coming on strong and can keep it going against a weak MAC opponent.

Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois: Eastern Michigan has yet to win. Northern Illinois is a pretty good team and should blow out Eastern Michigan.

Friday Night:
No. 7 Boise State at Louisiana Tech: An interesting road challenge for Boise State. They should be able to get past this challenge and keep their hopes alive for an undefeated season.

Sunday Night:
Nevada at San Jose State: These two are fairly even and give football fans some more Sunday night football.

UCF at No. 2 Texas: Texas shouldn't have too much trouble with UCF. They will continue on course.

Northwestern at No. 4 Iowa: Iowa has been flirting with a loss the last couple weeks. They best be on guard and bring their best for Northwestern if they want to stay undefeated.

No. 8 Oregon at Stanford: Oregon has dominated since their opening loss. Can they keep that going against Standford.

Wake Forest at No. 10 Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech has slowly but surely climbed the polls and looks like a formidable top team. Wake Forest gave Miami (FL) a bit of scare and can do the same this week.

No. 6 TCU at San Diego State: TCU should not have too much trouble with San Diego State. They look focused and are blowing opponents out.

New Mexico at No. 14 Utah: Utah has one loss and has an outside chance to get into the BCS if they win out.

Vanderbilt at No. 1 Florida: Florida will be out LB Brandon Spikes, but they shouldn't be too worried. Vanderbilt is a team that Florida matches up very well against.

No. 15 Houston at Tulsa: Houston has only one loss and if they can run the table, they have a possible shot in the BCS picture. A blowout win will definitely help.

Connecticut at No. 5 Cincinnati: Connecticut has suffered the loss of a player and two close losses. Cincinnati has dominated for the most part and will only add to Connecticut's sorrows.

Now my top 5 matchups for Week 10:

5) Florida State at Clemson: This isn't a big marquee matchup, but is important for both teams. Florida State is looking to continue to show that they are still a credible team after some early struggles. Clemson is looking to finish strong after a slow start. These two have had some classic matchups when both schools were coached by a member of the Bowden family. This one could be close or Clemson could use CJ Spiller and pull away. Pick: Clemson

4) No. 12 USC at Arizona State: Not too much on the line for Arizona State besides a statement win. While USC needs to win if they hope to avoid a 3 loss season; something they aren't used to. They got embarrassed by Oregon last week and I expect them to showcase all their ability in a Pac-10 showdown. Pick: USC

3) No. 24 Oklahoma at Nebraska: These two are premier programs in the Big 12. Both aren't having great years as expected. A win for either would be big and help validate their season. Oklahoma is taking steps each week to move on with QB Sam Bradford and they look to be about as strong as ever. Nebraska has let some games get away from them. I like both of their defenses in this one. Pick: Oklahoma

2) No. 16 Ohio State at No. 11 Penn State: Iowa for now has the Big Ten title in their hands, but one stumble and it becomes up for grabs. The hands it will fall into would be the winner of this matchup. Ohio State was dominating this series for part of the decade, but Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions have closed the gap. This is going to be a big time game in Happy Valley. Both quarterbacks have been playing better the last couple weeks and these teams are very even. This one could turn into either a low scoring defensive game or a shoot out. Pick: Penn State

1) No. 9 LSU at No. 3 Alabama: Without a question, this is the game everyone should be watching this week. Alabama is undefeated. LSU has one loss at the hands of Florida. The winner will claim the SEC West and be Florida's opponent in the SEC title game. LSU wins and beats Florida; they can easily be in the national title game. This game will be a typical physical SEC clash. They should be close going deep into the fourth quarter and it could come down to a field goal. Don't be surprised if they go to overtime. This is going to be good. Both quarterbacks need to play very well and Alabama HB Mark Engram can make a Heisman statement. Pick: Alabama

Another important weekend has we start to move through November's big games.