Georgia at No. 9 Florida

Does Georgia, a recent loser to Vanderbilt, have much of a shot against a Florida team that demolished LSU its last time in the Gator Bowl? No, but I’ll take the underdog for this reason: If Georgia and South Carolina (against Tennessee) pull upsets this weekend, you’ll have four teams in the SEC East with two losses, including three of them tied for first. Hey, Tommy Tuberville, would that make the BCS picture look a little better for you
Georgia 24, Florida 21

Tom Knauer
senior staff writer

So Florida’s offense is awesome. (Ok, maybe not statistically, but they’re sure fun to watch.) And Georgia’s defense gave up 24 points to Vanderbilt a couple weeks ago – an offense ranked No. 87 in the country. I know an advantage when I see one.
Florida 38, Georgia 24

Ryan Casey
assistant sports editor

After losing to Auburn two weeks ago, the Gators are ready to get back on the field and show they’re championship-worthy. Georgia barely beat a lowly Mississippi State team last week, and the prognosis doesn’t look good for them this week. Chris Leak and Tim Tebow will have a field day on the Georgia defense. Georgia has had only one quarterback finish a game, true freshman Mathew Safford, and the Gators defense will look to knock him out of this game early. Looks like the Bulldogs will have a long day ahead of them.
Florida 35, Georgia 14

Savir Punia
staff writer

No. 3 USC at Oregon State

Let’s see, how will Pete Carroll and the Trojans manage to win a fourth straight game they deserve to lose? By actually getting beat this time! My guess is Carroll will try a fake punt pass on fourth-and-35 for his weekly “”I’m-only-calling-this-because-our-third-string-holder-is-better-than-your-starting-quarterback”” call, and the ball gets run back for the game-clinching score in Tony Romo fashion.
Oregon State 20, USC 19

Tom Knauer
senior staff writer

Does anyone remember the infamous fog game a few years back when OSU almost knocked off the Trojans? (Hey, at least I know Savir does.) Yeah, that was a good memory. Too bad the Beavers won’t even come close this year.
USC 34, Oregon State 13

Ryan Casey
assistant sports editor

Last year, in thick fog, the Beavers nearly pulled an upset against the almighty Trojans. This year that upset should happen. Pete Carroll’s Trojans have lost the edge from last year. Through six games, the Trojans have just nine sacks compared to 38 last season. Yvenson Bernard ran all over the Wildcats’ defense last weekend, and he should help pull the upset if he’s healthy for the game this weekend. It should be a close one up in Corvallis on Saturday, but the Beavers pull the upset, handing the Trojans their first conference loss in 27 games.
Oregon State 20, USC 17

Savir Punia
staff writer

Washington State at UCLA

Where was Jed Collins on our boy Ryan Casey’s fantasy college football team? The seldom-used tight end caught one score and ran for another as Wazzu took down Oregon last weekend in Autzsen Stadium – probably the toughest road test in the Pac-10. Anyway, the conference usually starts to fade around this time of year, especially when UCLA is involved (52-14, Bruins: Suck on that for Halloween), and the Cougars defensive line depth is starting to wane. I’ll go 3-for-3 on the upsets this week.
UCLA 31, Washington State 21

Tom Knauer
senior staff writer

Note to Tom: He wasn’t good enough to make my fantasy team. And UCLA “”upsetting”” Washington State? Try again. UCLA wins this one, but it sure as heck isn’t an upset. I don’t care if the Bruins get into an Arizona-like third-string quarterback situation should former backup and current starter Patrick Cowan go down – actually, I don’t care if they somehow find a way to put former UA quarterback Richard Kovalcheck under center, because they’re not going to lose this one.
UCLA 24, Washington State 14

Ryan Casey
assistant sports editor

UCLA doesn’t look like the team from last year coming into the game against Washington State at 4-3, and the Cougars are coming off a big win against the Oregon Ducks. The Cougars will carry that momentum into this game freshman quarterback Patrick Cowan. He has only thrown for 840 yards this season, and don’t expect him to get to 1000 this weekend. Cougars take this one in Pasadena.
Washington State 17, UCLA 7

Savir Punia
staff writer