Picks of the Week: No. 5

The 'Eer knew there was a reason he avoided picking ACC games last year. Now he's staving off this schizophrenic conference until it becomes more stable. Let's see what we can find around the rest of the nation for this week's picks. Dude, I need a good week.

Ohio State (-18.0) over Indiana
The Hooisers should have won at Michigan last week. That was more an aberration and Ohio State will remind everyone of that this week. The Buckeyes have pitched consecutive shutouts. I'm not predicting three in a row, but Terrelle Pryor and the OSU offense will score plenty to keep the Buckeyes on top in the Big Ten.
Pick: Ohio State 34, Indiana 10

Cincinnati (-29.0) over Miami, Ohio
This pick scares me a bit because of the 29 points. But the Redhawks won't be able to stop the Tony Pike-Mardy Gilyard tandem in Oxford. So far this year Miami has been outscored on average 41-11 and the Bearcats are the best team it has faced all season (sorry Boise State fans).
Pick: Cincinnati 55, Miami 7

Penn State (-7.0) over Illinois
Did you watch the Illini last week? Inept is a kind evaluation. Penn State didn't look much better in its home loss to Iowa, but JoPa will ... wait a minute ... Tom Bradley will have the Nittany Lions back on track in Champaign.
Pick: Penn State 30, Illinois 17

Washington State (+33.5) over Oregon
The Ducks are on a roll, but following last week's dominating performance against Cal it's time for Oregon to struggle a bit. Wazzu won't pull out the upset, but they'll keep it closer than expected. Why? Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli will turn the ball over enough to thwart at least two Ducks' scoring drives.
Pick: Oregon 38, Washington State 9

Upset of the Week
LSU (+3.0) over Georgia
This one just seems odd. The Tigers are ranked fourth in the nation and are undefeated. Georgia is ranked, but have given up a ton of points and didn't look too impressive in its loss at Oklahoma State. SEC types will tell you how difficult it is to win on the road in the conference ... blah, blah, blah. Mark Richt is about as good at coaching big games as Bob Stoops. LSU may need a little luck like last week, but they'll pull the upset (if you can call it that).
Pick: LSU 33, Georgia 32

Last Week: 2-3
Season Record: 10-10