The Dirty Dozen is back with our picks for Saturday’s biggest games. Every week, one of our writers will give a brief preview of each game while all of us will also try to predict the correct score of each game. This week’s slate features a battle of unbeatens in the Red River Rivalry, two Top 25 SEC matchups, and several upset selections along the way. At least we all learned our lesson for picking Ohio State last week. Let’s find out who our staff picks this week…
#3 Oklahoma vs #11 Texas (at Cotton Bowl), 12:00 ET, ABC
Tom Perry: Now this is the way the Red River Rivalry is supposed to happen. Both teams are ranked and unbeaten. Of course, there are still a lot of questions about Texas, but who cares. This has the potential to be another classic game, so who’s bringing the fried Twinkies? The biggest difference between these two is Oklahoma’s experience at key positions, but don’t overlook a Texas team with something to prove.
Oklahoma 23, Texas 20
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: OU 31, Texas 21
Allen Kenney: OU 35, Texas 17
Michael Felder: OU 31, Texas 20
Kevin McGuire: OU 24, Texas 17
Matt Yoder: OU 20, Texas 10
Maryland @ #13 Georgia Tech, 12:00 ET, ESPNU
Aaron Torres: Hmm, if Randy Edsall couldn’t stop the potent attack of Temple, what makes anyone think they’ll stop a team that’s averaging 51 points a game?
Needless to say, the tide is already turning on Edsall at Maryland. Saturday won’t help.
Georgia Tech 38, Maryland 21
Staff Picks
Tom Perry: GT 42, Maryland 14
Allen Kenney: GT 38, Maryland 20
Michael Felder: GT 41, Maryland 17
Kevin McGuire: GT 42, Maryland 23
Matt Yoder: GT 31, Maryland 21
#17 Florida @ #1 LSU, 3:30 ET, CBS
Michael Felder: Florida is coming off a beat down at the hands of Alabama and things do not get easier for the Gators, who are without quarterback John Brantley. Freshman Jeff Driskel goes from the sledgehammer that is the Tide’s defense to the LSU “death by 1,000 knives” defensive approach as he heads into Death Valley. Look for Tyrann Mathieu and his defensive teammates to terrorize Driskel, stop the Gators speedy running backs from hitting the edge and suffocate the Florida downfield passing attack.
On offense LSU will have to hammer out some points against a stout Florida front seven and it will be interesting to see how Jordan Jefferson is used in his second game back for the Bayou Bengals.
LSU 20 Florida 13
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: LSU 24, UF 10
Allen Kenney: LSU 20, UF 7
Tom Perry: LSU 38, UF 13
Kevin McGuire: LSU 38, UF 14
Matt Yoder: LSU 27, UF 17
#22 Arizona State @ Utah, 3:30 ET, FSN
Matt Yoder: My preseason pick in the Pac 12 South hasn’t exactly lived up to its billing. Utah’s maiden voyage in the Pac 12 has hit rough waters so far. They sit at 0-2 in the league after an ugly home loss to Washington last week. Now, they face the Sun Devils without Jordan Wynn. On the other hand, ASU is off to a perfect start in conference, beating SC and Oregon St by an average of 18 points. If Brock Osweiler takes care of the ball, ASU wins going away.
ASU 37, Utah 19
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: ASU 24, Utah 21
Allen Kenney: ASU 20, Utah 18
Michael Felder: ASU 27, Utah 7
Kevin McGuire: ASU 24, Utah 17
Tom Perry: ASU 21, Utah 18
Missouri @ #20 Kansas State, 3:30 ET, ABC/ESPN3
Allen Kenney: In leading Kansas State to a 4-0 start, Bill Snyder has reminded us all again that he’s one of the best, and most under-appreciated, coaches in the history of college football, but the undefeated dream dies Saturday. Mizzou quarterback James Franklin does his best RG3 impersonation, tossing 2 touchdowns and running for another. The Tigers’ defense shuts down the Wildcats’ ground game, throwing KSU off schedule on early downs and forcing them to the air – not their strong suit.
Missouri 31, Kansas State 20
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: Mizzou 34, KSU 31
Tom Perry: Mizzou 28, KSU 24
Michael Felder: Mizzou 45, KSU 38
Kevin McGuire: Mizzou 27, KSU 23
Matt Yoder: Mizzou 34, KSU 31
Air Force @ Notre Dame, 3:30 ET, NBC
Aaron Torres: Hmm, this is a bad spot for Notre Dame. They’re riding a three game win streak, have been on the road the last two weekends, and are only 60 minutes from a bye with rival USC the following Saturday.
Can you say trap game?
Notre Dame 28, Air Force 24
Staff Picks
Tom Perry: ND 26, AF 9
Allen Kenney: ND 34, AF 23
Michael Felder: ND 35, AF 27
Kevin McGuire: ND 24, AF 20
Matt Yoder: AF 28, ND 27
Iowa @ Penn State, 3:30 ET, ABC/ESPN
Matt Yoder: Don’t let the 7-2 records of these two teams fool you, these teams both have issues. PSU has the ugliest quarterback situation east of Columbus and Iowa lost to rivals Iowa State and needed a huge comeback to beat Pitt at home. A little spice was added thanks to PSU LB Glenn Carson calling Iowa a “wrestling school.” Someone should first introduce him to his awful quarterbacks and how they’ve sat back his “football school”… and then tell him PSU has lost 8 of 9 to the Hawkeyes. Motivation, recent history, and a huge gap in the passing game lead to an emphatic Iowa victory.
Iowa 27, PSU 7
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: Iowa 20, PSU 10
Allen Kenney: PSU 21, Iowa 20
Michael Felder: Iowa 17, PSU 6
Kevin McGuire: Iowa 17, PSU 13
Tom Perry: Iowa 30, PSU 6
Miami (FL) @ #21 VIrginia Tech, 3:30 ET, ABC/ESPN
Michael Felder: The Hokies got smoked by the Clemson Tigers and need to get a win, for the first time this season, against an actual legitimate opponent. Miami is a big ball of unknown; suspended players altered the Maryland game, then they beat Ohio State except Ohio State has looked awful, then the Canes lose to Kansas State which is bad, except K-State just beat Baylor and then Miami struggles in defeating Bethune-Cookman.
See? Unknown. So I’m going to go with the same gut that failed me a week ago and pick Virginia Tech. The Canes have not had much success against the Hokies and this Virginia Tech squad knows they need to get a rebound.
Virginia Tech 24 Miami 20
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: Miami 24, VT 17
Allen Kenney: VT 27, Miami 16
Tom Perry: VT 28, Miami 7
Kevin McGuire: VT 28, Miami 17
Matt Yoder: VT 24, Miami 13
#15 Auburn @ #10 Arkansas, 7:00 ET, ESPN
Tom Perry: Either Auburn’s defense did a complete 180 last week against South Carolina, or Stephen Garcia was just that bad. I’m going with the latter and Arkansas’ explosive offense should have a field day with the Tigers and remind us all how close Auburn was to losing to Utah State in the opener.
Arkansas 34, Auburn 20
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: Arkansas 34, Auburn 21
Allen Kenney: Arkansas 33, Auburn 20
Michael Felder: Arkansas 49, Auburn 31
Kevin McGuire: Auburn 38, Arkansas 32
Matt Yoder: Arkansas 39, Auburn 31
#12 Michigan @ Northwestern, 7:00 ET, BTN
Kevin McGuire: Michigan plays their first game away from home this weekend when they take on Dan Persa and the Northwestern Wildcats. Persa’s health is a concern after tweaking his Achilles last weekend against Illinois, and if he is bothered at all this could be a long night for Pat Fitzgerald’s squad. Michigan is playing solid defense early on (something we have previously touched on and debated) and as long as Denard Robinson is on the field, watch out. Michigan may still have to prove something to some naysayers, and maybe they won’t do that in this game, but they should be able to go home with a solid victory in this one.
Michigan 31, Northwestern 17
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: Michigan 24, Northwestern 21
Allen Kenney: Northwestern 42, Michigan 40
Michael Felder: Michigan 45, Northwestern 38
Tom Perry: Michigan 36, Northwestern 24
Matt Yoder: Northwestern 41, Michigan 36
#24 Texas A&M @ Texas Tech, 7:00 ET, FX
Kevin McGuire: I took the liberty of putting Texas A&M on upset alert for this game, and why not? The Aggies have blown big leads each of the past two weeks and have been the subject of some ridicule in the college football world because of it. Now they go on the road to take on an undefeated Texas Tech team that can pass the ball with the best of them. Can the Red Raiders find a way to jump on the Aggies early and often? If so, this could be a long game for Mike Sherman and Texas A&M. Absolutely. That said, I’m not sure Texas A&M drops a third straight game.
Texas A&M 34, Texas Tech 32
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: A&M 31, Tech 27
Allen Kenney: A&M 34, Tech 31
Michael Felder: A&M 27, Tech 20
Tom Perry: Tech 31, A&M 29
Matt Yoder: Tech 41, A&M 37
Ohio State @ #14 Nebraska, 8:00 ET, ABC
Allen Kenney: Traveling to Lincoln for the Cornhuskers’ first home game in the Big Ten, OSU’s defense fights the good fight. Nebraska’s salty defense throws some gas on the Buckeyes’ grease fire of offense, though, in a game that only seems close because it’s so ugly.
Nebraska 12, Ohio State 3
Staff Picks
Aaron Torres: Nebraska 31, OSU 10
Tom Perry: Nebraska 7, OSU 3
Michael Felder: Nebraska 24, OSU 10
Kevin McGuire: Nebraska 20, OSU 10
Matt Yoder: Nebraska 27, OSU 6
