College Football 2011 Week 5

College Football is heating up as October is here, and there will be a lot of exciting games this weekend.


BIG GAMES OF THE WEEK:
# 3 Alabama Crimson Tide at # 12 Florida Gators (both 4-0)
Pick: Alabama 37, Florida 20

# 7 Wisconsin Badgers at # 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers (both 4-0)
Welcome to the Big Ten, Nebraska. Taylor Martinez and the Huskers will be tested out the gate, when Red Hot Wisconsin comes to town, for a taste of what we can expect on Dec. 3 at Lucas Oil Stadium, in a game with big BCS Implications.
Pick: Nebraska 31, Wisconsin 28

UPSET PICK OF THE WEEK:
Michigan State Spartans at Ohio State Buckeyes (both 3-1)
"Let's beat 'em in the Shoe like we did in '98!"- Anon
1998. The Ohio State Buckeyes were ranked # 1 in the Nation, and were on the verge of going to the inaugural BCS National Championship game. And then, the unthinkable happened. Ahead 24-9, the Buckeyes surrendered a two-touchdown lead and collapsed, losing 28-24 to Michigan State, in one of the biggest upsets of not only the 1990s, or of college football, but of all-time. Tomorrow, the Spartans look to win in Columbus for the first time since that big upset, as Spartans Head Coach Mark Dantonio looks to beat his old team for the very first time. What is interesting is that 24 Spartans players are from Ohio, including seven from the Columbus area, who include LeVeon Bell (Groveport) and senior receiver B.J. Cunningham (Westerville). Those seven Spartans would love to win in front of their hometown crowd, and with Luke Fickell still on the rookie learning curve, the Spartans might beat the Buckeyes in Columbus just like they did in 1998.
Pick: Michigan State 30, Ohio State 27

OHIO ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL:
Mount Union Purple Raiders (3-0, 2-0) at Ohio Northern Polar Bears (2-1, 1-1)
Baldwin-Wallace Yellowjackets (2-1, 1-1) at Marietta Pioneers (1-2, 0-2)
Capital Crusaders (2-1, 2-0) at Heidelberg Student Princes (2-1, 1-1)
Otterbein Cardinals (1-2, 0-2) at John Carroll Blue Streaks (1-2, 1-1)
Muskingum Muskies (3-0, 2-0) at Wilmington Quakers (0-3, 0-2)

Picks This Week: Mount Union, Baldwin-Wallace, Heidelberg, John Carroll, and Muskingum


RIVALRY GAMES THIS WEEK:
The Little Brown Jug:
# 19 Michigan Wolverines (4-0) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-3)
The Wolverines are 4-0 for the third straight year, and it looks like that there is no stopping the Big Blue Machine anytime soon, as the Little Brown Jug (after a three-year hiatus) will remain in Ann Arbor, as Michigan has won 36 of the last 39 in this lopsided series.
Pick: Michigan 41, Minnesota 10

The Land of Lincoln Trophy:
# 24 Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0) at Northwestern Wildcats (2-1)
The Illini are 4-0 for the first time in 60 years as they face Northwestern for the bragging rights in The Land of Lincoln. The Wildcats will have an old face back for the first time since tearing his achilles last season.
Pick: Illinois 20, Northwestern 13

Redemption:
# 4 Boise State Broncos (3-0) at Nevada Wolf Pack (1-2)
Last November, the Wolf Pack, behind QB Colin Kaepernick did the unthinkable by derailing the BCS Title hopes for Boise State in a wild overtime upset thriller. Kaepernick is long gone, and Nevada has a two-headed quarterback system.
Pick: Boise State 35, Nevada 17

Indiana Rivals:
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-2) at Purdue Boilermakers (2-1)
Pick: Notre Dame 30, Purdue 20

OTHER BIG I-FBS TOP 25 GAMES THIS WEEK:
# 14 Texas A&M Aggies (2-1) at # 18 Arkansas Razorbacks (3-1)
This could be a preview of next year, as the Aggies are officially joining the SEC in 2012.
Pick: Arkansas 31, Texas A&M 24

# 1 LSU Tigers (4-0) at Kentucky Wildcats (2-2)
Pick: LSU 41, Kentucky 0

# 21 Georgia Tech Yellowjackets (4-0) at North Carolina State Wolfpack (2-2)
Georgia Tech is 4-0 since winning the National Championship 21 years ago, are the Jackets back?
Pick: Georgia Tech 31, NC State 13

# 22 West Virginia Mountaineers at Bowling Green Falcons (both 3-1)
Pick: West Virginia 34, Bowling Green 16

# 10 South Carolina Gamecocks (4-0) at Auburn Tigers (3-1)
Pick: South Carolina 20, Auburn 10

# 20 TCU Horned Frogs at SMU Mustangs (both 3-1)
Pick: TCU 34, SMU 30

# 11 Virginia Tech Hokies at # 13 Clemson Tigers (both 4-0)
Pick: Clemson 35, Virginia Tech 32

# 17 Texas Longhorns at Iowa State Cyclones (both 3-0)
Pick: Texas 33, Iowa State 15

# 6 Stanford Cardinal (3-0) at UCLA Bruins (2-2)
Pick: Stanford 34, UCLA 3

OTHER DIVISION I GAMES OF NOTE:
Arizona Wildcats (1-3) at USC Trojans (3-1)
Pick: USC 21, Arizona 19

Columbia Lions at Princeton Tigers (both 0-2)
Pick: Princeton 20, Columbia 6

OTHER CENTRAL OHIO SCHOOLS OF NOTE:
Oberlin Yeomen at Wittenberg Tigers
Denison Big Red at Wooster Fighting Scots
Chicago Big Red at Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops
Michigan Tech at Ohio Dominican Panthers