This week’s picks are as follows:

USC over STANFORD … the Trojans have way too many weapons for the Luck-less Cardinal.

OHIO STATE over CAL … ironically, on the very day Davis High phenom Marc Hicks is inducted into his school’s Hall of Fame, his two collegiate alma maters will be squaring off in the giant Horseshoe. Ohio State is on probation, which means it’s a team on a mission. The Bears are still struggling.

WASHINGTON STATE over UNLV … the Cougars had high hopes when Mike Leach came aboard, but after two lackluster performances, folks in the Palouse are wondering “where’s the offense?” Look for a breakout performance by the Cougs Friday night in the desert.

UCLA over HOUSTON … the Bruins appear to have clear sailing ahead after that brilliant upset of the mighty Cornhuskers.

BRIGHAM YOUNG over UTAH … the Battle of the Beehive State goes to the boys from the Y. The Utes have serious quarterback issues.

ALABAMA over ARKANSAS … if the Hogs can’t beat Louisiana-Monroe, what on earth do they expect to do with the Terrible Tide?

KANSAS STATE over NORTH TEXAS … mark my words, one of the top teams in the country resides in Manhattan this year.

UPSET OF THE WEEK: Notre Dame over Michigan State … for some reason the Irish always have trouble with Michigan State. This year will be no exception, but for the fact Notre Dame will prevail at the end. (Upset record: 1-1).

ROUT OF THE WEEK: LSU over Idaho … seriously? They’re actually going to let them play this game? While the Bayou Bengals march merrily along toward another national title appearance, once-proud Idaho football has slipped to the Division III level. (Rout record: 2-0).

DON’T BET ON IT, BUT: Wisconsin over Utah State … after getting kicked around by lowly Oregon State last weekend in Corvallis, the Badgers won’t be overlooking anyone, not even Utah State. (Don’t bet record: 2-0).

FIVE EASY PICKS: This week’s money-back-guaranteed winners are Oregon (over Tennessee Tech), Washington (over Portland State), Michigan (over Massachusetts), Arizona (over South Carolina State) and West Virginia (over James Madison). (FEP record: 10-0).

AGGIES over SOUTH DAKOTA STATE … last week’s debacle at San Jose State is just a blip on the radar. As always, the Aggies recover in fine fashion in the 17th annual Cereal Bowl. The name of the game indicates Cap’n Crunch may be making an appearance at linebacker. Take the Ags by 1.

OTHER GAMES: Florida State over Wake Forest, Virginia Tech over Pittsburgh, TCU over Kansas, Nebraska over Arkansas State, Oklahoma State over Louisiana-Lafayette, Illinois over Charleston Southern, Miami (Fla.) over Bethune-Cookman, Purdue over Eastern Michigan, Auburn over Louisiana-Monroe, Vanderbilt over Presbyterian, Clemson over Furman, Georgia Tech over Virginia, Texas A&M over SMU, Boise State over Miami (Ohio), Syracuse over Stony Brook, North Carolina State over South Alabama, South Carolina over UAB, Duke over North Carolina Central, Tulsa over Nicholls State, Cincinnati over Delaware State, Louisiana Tech over Rice, Texas Tech over New Mexico, Mississippi State over Troy, Baylor over Sam Houston State, Georgia over Florida Atlantic, Iowa State over Western Illinois, UTEP over New Mexico State, Texas over Mississippi, Arizona over South Carolina State, Wyoming over Cal Poly, Nevada over Northwestern State, and San Diego State over North Dakota.

Last week: 34-9, season: 79-14, percentage: .849.

— Reach Bob Dunning at [email protected]

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