Week 8

Oklahoma State @ Missouri (10/22 at 12:00 pm ET, on FX)

Okie State continues to roll after their handy victory against Texas and is now up in rank to #4 in the country.  Mizzou holds a 3-3 record, but all three losses have been close games against great teams.  And this game is at home for the Tigers, which means a great deal considering all three of their losses were on the road.  But either way, get ready for a high-scoring affair, and if you're a fan of big-time offenses, then this is you game of the week.

Prediction: Upset special of the week: Missouri stuns Okie State by 2.

Auburn @ LSU (10/22 at 3:30 pm ET, on CBS)

Auburn continues to have offensive woes, but is winning regardless.  As they showed against Florida last week, they certainly can wins games with their defense.  Their defense better show up again, because they're going to have to have their best outing of the year if they want to stick with the #1 ranked LSU Tigers.  Working in their favor is multiple suspensions LSU has to work through, including one to their big-time defensive play-maker Mathieu.  Either way, Gus Malzahn and his Auburn offense have their work cut out for them.  This is your SEC game of the week.

Prediction: LSU is way too much even with suspensions; they take this game by 16.

USC @ Notre Dame (10/22 at 7:30 pm ET, on NBC)

Ok, this rivalry doesn't really have the appeal it did several years ago.  Neither team is back in the national title picture, but at least both are somewhat on the same level.  Regardless of how they're doing, this is one of the fiercest rivalries in the land.  You know both teams are going to put it all on the line, and that alone makes this game a must-watch.  I expect to see some scoring in this one, with the winner getting at least 35.  So if you're up for a high-scoring rivalry, here you go.

Prediction: USC continues to move in the right direction by taking one in South Bend by 8.

Washington @ Stanford (10/22 at 8:00 pm ET, on ABC and ESPN3)

This one is intriguing.  Stanford is one of the few remaining unbeatens, and yet they're only ranked #8 in the country, so they're certainly not getting the respect of the other teams with the same record.  Looking at their schedule though, you can see that they haven't exactly faced an elite opponent yet, and they've actually started out fairly slow in most of their games.  Washington only has one blemish so far, a thirteen point loss to Nebraska.  They're a solid team, but give up some points.  This one is so interesting because we're looking at yet another shoot-out.  Andrew Luck should have his way with the Huskie D, while Stanford's D gives up points early on and might dig their team a hole.  If so, we're going to see one hell of a firefight.

Prediction: Stanford is at home and squeaks past the Huskies by 9.

Wisconsin @ Michigan State (10/22 at 8:00 pm ET, on ESPN/ESPN3) - Game of the Week

Another heavyweight Big Ten match-up between two smash-mouth programs.  Wisconsin will come in as the clear favorites, but the game being in East Lansing will even it up a bit.  Both teams are big and tough as nails, and both defenses know they'll have to lay the wood if they want to give their side a chance, and both will be up to the challenge.  You won't see points flying up on the board in this one, but it's hard not to appreciate hard hits and players getting laid out on every down.  State will have to contain Russell Wilson if they want a shot, so get ready to see a huge amount of pressure every time the Badgers take a snap.  This is the Big Ten game of the year.

Prediction: Wisconsin is one of the only true threats to Bama and LSU.  They win by 14.