Let's try this again

1. Virginia Tech -14.5 at Duke: Virginia Tech's defense is still one of the best in the land and Duke's still one of the worst programs in the land. This just seems too easy, which means I'll likely be wrong.

2. Illinois -5 at Iowa: Illinois won me over last week by beating Wisconsin, and beating the Badgers easily. Iowa's down and even though the Hawkeyes are at home, I don't see them beating the Illini.

3. Texas at Iowa St. +16.5: OK, this pick might look crazy, but Texas has now lost four straight Big 12 games dating back to last year. Yes, the Cyclones are bad right now under new coach Gene Chizik, who's the former Texas defensive coordinator. I have to think ol' Gene will have a pretty good gameplan set up for Colt & Co., which as of this week is minus Limas Sweed after the receiver was declared out for the season.

4. Rice at Houston -22.5: Rice is just, simply put, bad. Houston's always decent by Conference USA standards and shouldn't have any problem in this game.

5. Wisconsin +6.5 at Penn St.: Wisconsin fell last week, and might again in this game, but I see it being a field goal game either way.

6. Boston College -14 at Notre Dame: Boston College is rolling. Notre Dame is awful. Do you need more explanation?

7. LSU at Kentucky Under 54.5: SEC football is always of the smashmouth variety. If this game were at LSU I wouldn't touch it because I think LSU could maybe score 40 points on its own. However, I see this being a close game within 10 points and pretty low scoring.

8. Missouri +12 at Oklahoma: As much as I hate to admit it, this is clearly the game of the week in the Big 12. Chase Daniel could vault himself to the top of the Heisman watch list with a win at Norman. I think 12 points is a ridiculous line in OU's favor. We shall see...

9. Texas A&M at Texas Tech -10: In what is my Big 12 game of the week, I see the Red Raiders winning this game by three touchdowns, somewhere in the 52-31 neighborhood, hence my final pick below...

10. Texas A&M at Texas Tech Over 70