Another great week of college football is by the wayside this year. Week four proved to be an exciting week with some very big conference games. LSU’s come-from-behind victory at Auburn proved that ...

By JON CACCHIONE

Another great week of college football is by the wayside this year. Week four proved to be an exciting week with some very big conference games. LSU’s come-from-behind victory at Auburn proved that they are a national contender again. Florida’s domination of SEC rival Tennessee in Knoxville once again let everyone know that these Gators could very easily play for the title in Miami in January. Georgia’s trip to the desert to play PAC-10 Arizona St. vividly displayed how much better the SEC is from top to bottom than the PAC-10. West Virginia’s loss at Colorado last Thursday night should have Big East fans very concerned. The Mountaineers, the pick by most to win the Big East, look very fair at best. With losses at Colorado and East Carolina, their only hope may be the the Big East is as bad as most think. South Florida, who appears to be the best team in the “Little East” right now, beat the “highly touted” Florida International Golden Panthers by 8. (17-9) The “Little East,” this year anyway, appears to be weaker than Conference U.S.A and the Mountain West Conference at the top. BYU, Utah, and TCU from MWC, and Tulsa and East Carolina from the C-USA all appear to be better teams than WVU, USF, and UCONN. The Big East has not impressed me at all. Pitt, WVU, Rutgers, and Louisville are not very good football teams, right now. We’ll see what happens down the road. Without a doubt, the SEC and Big 12 look head and shoulders above the rest of the BCS conferences. The PAC 10, Big 10, and ACC are fair. And I know, that USC is very, very good. But the rest, I am not so sure there is another top ten team in that conference. As far as the Big 10, Wisconsin and Penn State are intriguing right now, but definitely have work to do to make me a believer in them as national contenders. Ohio State is decent, but very overrated. I think 5 different teams could win that conference: Penn St., Wisconsin, Ohio St., Michigan St., or Illinois. The ACC is down, too. Clemson and Wake Forest seem to be the best two teams on paper, but there are several teams that could win that thing. In the Atlantic Division, Clemson, Wake, Maryland, or Fla. St. could win it. And none of them have been very impressive with the exception of Wake. In the Coastal Division, no one has impressed. Miami is my pick, and they are better, but not great. Va. Tech and UNC are very fair.

All in all, these are good times to be fans in the SEC and Big 12. Without a doubt, they are the best conferences in the country, again. With that, let’s look at this week’s Top Ten.

Top Ten: Week #5

#1 USC (2-0) The Trojans were off last week. They play Thursday night on the road for the first time at Oregon St. They are a 25 1/2 point favorite, and they should cover. I look for a shutout tonight, and a score right around 42-0.
My Pick: USC -25 1/2

#2 Oklahoma (3-0) The Sooners were off last week, too. I think they will have their first test this week when the TCU Horned Frogs come to Norman. TCU is a solid team that laid one on SMU last week. They will certainly compete for the Mountain West Conference with Utah and BYU. The line has the Sooners an 18 point favorite. The ‘Frogs upset them in Norman in 2005, and have recorded a 6-4 record against them. I like TCU and the points.
My Pick: TCU +18

#3 Missouri (4-0) Well, the Tigers continue to roll. Remember, they have the easiest schedule, by far, of the top teams in the country. Last week, the didn’t cover, however, they still handled Buffalo. (42-21) Mizzou is off this week and will use the extra time to prepare for their big showdown next week in the Big 12 North at Lincoln, Nebraska.
OFF

#4 Florida (3-0) Look out, everyone. The Gators looked a lot like the 2006 Gators last week in Knoxville. They are playing well in all phases of the game. This week, they get Ole Miss to visit Gainesville. Last year, the Rebels gave the Gators trouble, losing 30-24. This year, Florida will handle Mississippi, even though historically, Ole Miss has played them tough. The line is Florida by 22 1/2. My Pick: Florida -22 1/2

#5 Georgia (4-0) I was impressed by the Bulldogs tough road victory in Tempe, Arizona. They beat who many thought was a PAC 10 contender in Arizona St., on the road. The Bulldogs proved to be too athletic and deep for the Sun Devils. This week, they get another tough one, but this one is at home. Alabama (4-0) invades Athens as a 7 point underdog. This game, in my opinion, is the game of the week. UGA has beaten ‘Bama three times in a row, however, two of those games were won by 3-points or less. I like ‘Bama and the points.
My Pick: Alabama +7

#6 LSU (3-0) Yes folks, these Tigers are for real. They went into Auburn last week and scored 26 points against a defense who many thought was the best in the country. (26-21) The Tigers appear to be the team to beat, again, in the SEC west. This week, they have another SEC contest vs. Mississippi St. LSU is home, and they are a 24 point favorite. I think they know who their QB is now, and I think they will put a whippin’ on the MSU Bulldogs.
My Pick: LSU -24

#7 Wisconsin (3-0) The Badgers were off last week. They survived a tough game the week before at Fresno St. This week they travel to the “Big House” to play the 1-2 Wolverines. Michigan looked bad two weeks ago in South Bend. They will have to play their very best to stay with this Badger team. The only hope for UM is that they get a Wisconsin team that is looking ahead to their huge Big 10 game next week vs. Ohio St. I like Wisconsin.
My Pick: Wisconsin -6 1/2

#8 Texas (3-0) Each week, I become more and more impressed with the Longhorns. They bombed Rice last week, (52-10) and the Owls had been playing pretty good ball before that. Texas is off this week, and will travel to Colorado next week for an important Big 12 match-up.
OFF

#9 Alabama (4-0) The ‘Tide enters the Big 10 this week after their lopsided win vs. Arkansas last week. (49-14) They have a huge one this week at Georgia. Is ‘Bama for real? We will find out Saturday night in Athens. I like them with the 7 points, and maybe, just maybe outright. My Pick: Alabama +7

#10 Auburn (3-1) The Tigers lost a heart breaker at home to a good LSU team, 26-21. They were ahead for a good part of the game, but couldn’t stop LSU late. They must put that one behind them because here comes the Tennessee Vols this week. UT has looked awful at times this year. They were dominated by Florida last week, 30-6. In week one, they were beat badly in the 2nd 1/2 against a rebuilding UCLA team. I look for the Tigers to get back on track in a big way this week against the hapless Vols. They are a 6 1/2 point favorite, and I like them to cover that, easy. My Pick: Auburn -6 1/2

Dropped Out: South Florida (After their weak effort in a win at lowly Fla. Intl., 17-9)

Other games:

Tulane –18 vs. SMU (Take Tulane and give the points.
Louisville – 3 1/2 vs. UConn (I like UConn and the points)
Michigan St. -8 @ Indiana (I like Mich. St. -8)
Miami -7 1/2 vs. UNC (I like the Hurricanes –7 1/2)
Iowa –8 1/2 vs. NW (I like the Hawkeyes –8 1/2)
Notre Dame –1 vs. Purdue (Take ND and give the point)
Ohio St. -17 1/2 vs. Minnesota (Take the Bucks and give the points)
Nebraska -7 1/2 vs. Virginia Tech (Tough one, but I will take the Hokies and the points)
Clemson -11 vs. Maryland (I like the Tigers –11)
Penn St. -14 1/2 vs. Illinois (I will take Illinois and the points)
Oklahoma St. -16 1/2 vs. Troy (I like Troy +16 1/2)

RECORD LAST WEEK WITH THE SPREAD: 10 – 6 – 1

RECORD TO DATE WITH THE SPREAD: 28 – 23 - 4