There’s The Big Game being played at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday. And there is a slew of other big games going on all over the country this weekend that’ve been pushed out of the spotlight by the Ohio State-Southern California mega-matchup.
South Florida hosts Kansas, playing not only for its own aspirations but for Big East dignity. Georgia starts its Southeastern Conference season at South Carolina, where Steve Spurrier is playing musical quarterbacks again. Texas and Arkansas renew a classic rivalry with a new twist: Welcome, Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino. Oregon and Purdue offer a potential Big Ten-Pac-10 shootout.
Also, two potential BCS busters try to stay undefeated at home against teams from the Big Six conferences: BYU hosts UCLA from the Pac-10 and Fresno State gets a visit from Wisconsin out of the Big Ten.
Lots to like.
The picks:
Friday
No. 13 Kansas (plus 3 1/2) at No. 19 South Florida
Intriguing matchup between programs on upswing … SOUTH FLORIDA 31-24.
Saturday
Southern California
Big game, if you haven’t heard … USC 28-20.
No. 2 Georgia (minus 7) at South Carolina
Bulldogs have won three straight in Columbia, but usually it’s close … GEORGIA 27-17.
No. 3 Oklahoma (plus 20) at Washington
Won’t be much to celebrate for Huskies this week … OKLAHOMA 47-21.
Nevada (plus 26 1/2) at No. 6 Missouri
Second straight ranked Big 12 team for Wolf Pack … MISSOURI 50-21.
North Texas (plus 41 1/2) at No. 7 LSU
Tigers can get by no matter where they play … LSU 55-7.
Arkansas (plus 24) at No. 8 Texas
Razorbacks have won three of last four meetings … TEXAS 35-17.
No. 9 Auburn (minus 10 1/2) at Mississippi State
Bulldogs snapped six-game losing streak to Tigers last season … AUBURN 23-10.
No. 10 Wisconsin (minus 1 1/2) at No. 21 Fresno State
BCS talk would ramp up if Bulldogs can beat Badgers … WISCONSIN 28-24.
Western Kentucky (plus 28) at No. 11 Alabama
Last warm-up for Tide before consecutive SEC road games … ALABAMA 40-10.
SMU (plus 36 1/2) at No. 12 Texas Tech
With all those passes, this could take a while … TEXAS TECH 68-24.
No. 14 East Carolina (minus 13) at Tulane
Now Pirates are favorites … EAST CAROLINA 28-13.
UNLV (plus 22 1/2) at No. 15 Arizona State
ARIZONA STATE 44-14.
No. 16 Oregon (minus 8) at Purdue
Chance for Boilermakers QB Curtis Painter to grab some attention … OREGON 41-27.
No. 17 Penn State (minus 27) at Syracuse
Have not played since 1990, back when Syracuse could compete … PENN STATE 41-10.
UCLA (plus 8 1/2) at No. 18 BYU
Split two games last season, with Cougars winning Vegas Bowl … BYU 24-17.
No. 22 Utah (minus 24) at Utah State
Rivalry in name only; Utes have won 10 straight … UTAH 38-10.
No. 23 California (minus 14 1/2) at Maryland
Bears back in rankings and averaging 52 points … CALIFORNIA 36-20.
Louisiana-Lafayette (plus 24 1/2) at No. 24 Illinois
Illini outscored Sun Belt teams 183-36 in four previous games, all wins … ILLINOIS 51-14.
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Last week: 18-3 (straight); 12-7 (vs. points).
Season: 37-6 (straight); 21-10 (vs. points).
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