WEEK TWELVE - Preview

Tulane (-5) over UAB
Tulane running back Andre Anderson must be licking his chops. UAB allowed Southern Miss to put 70 points on the board the last time they took the field, and that included a big performance by USM on the ground (463 rushing yards, 4 players over 80 rushing yards). Anderson averages a Conference USA best 123.4 rushing yards per game and he’ll look to improve on that number. I like UAB quarterback Joe Webb, but he simply doesn’t have enough help to keep this game close.

Nebraska (-6½) over Kansas State
The Blackshirts are back! As a result, the Big Red defense will play their best game of the season against the lifeless Wildcats.

Stanford (+22½) over USC
USC has been playing great defense lately, allowing a paltry 13 points over the last five games. That doesn’t mean the Trojans have been pounding people though - quite the contrary as a matter of fact. Disregarding the games against Washington and Washington State (who hasn’t beaten up on those two this year?), USC’s margin of victory in Pac-10 play is an underwhelming 15 points per game. Considering Stanford was able to pull the upset last year in the Coliseum, I have a feeling this game will go down to the wire.

Other games I like, but don’t feel good enough about to give them “Lock” status:
Rutgers (+7½) over South Florida
Texas (-13) over Kansas
New Mexico State (+15) over Fresno State
Oklahoma State (-17½) over Colorado
Utah (-28) over San Diego State
North Carolina (-2½) over Maryland
Texas A&M (+8) over Baylor

WEEK TWELVE - Preview

Sure, it’s hard to find games under the national radar in a week where seemingly every game is flying under the radar. There isn’t a single Top 25 matchup on the schedule, but I’ll give you three non-BCS conference games that will have an impact on the bowl season.

East Carolina (6-3) at Southern Miss (4-6)
(Saturday, 2 pm)
With new head coach Larry Fedora, you can expect Southern Miss to be a point scoring machine in a couple years. Fedora has made progress in his first season, and has some impressive weapons at his disposal on offense (RB Damion Fletcher, TE Shawn Nelson, WR DeAndre Brown). East Carolina started off the 2008 season with a bang, upsetting Virginia Tech and West Virginia on consecutive weekends. But since then a couple key injuries and a quarterback rotation derailed the season. ECU has picked up the pace with three straight wins, and Patrick Pinkney appears to have the quarterback job all to himself again. That’s all I need to know to give Skip Holtz’s veteran squad the advantage.
J.Pike’s Pick: East Carolina 24, Southern Miss 17

San Jose State (6-4) at Nevada (5-4)
(Saturday, 3 pm)
Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick is really starting to come into his own. The sophomore kept Fresno State off balance all game long last Thursday night en route to an easy Wolfpack victory. Bruising Vai Taua is also emerging as one of the most productive running backs in the WAC. His impressive season total of 1,159 yards rushing this year includes the 263 yards he went for against Fresno State last week. San Jose State on the other hand is in a slump, losing two of their last three. Spartan quarterback Kyle Reed looked really good early in the season, but like the rest of the team, his play has declined of late. With home field advantage, Nevada will continue their late season surge with another impressive win.
J.Pike’s Pick: Nevada 26, San Jose State 17

Tulsa (8-1) at Houston (5-4)
(Saturday, 7 pm, CBS College Sports)
Neither one of these teams cares much about playing defense (Tulsa allows 388.6 yards per game; Houston gives up 385.2). However both are accomplished offensively, as they combine to score an average of 89.8 points per game, so this one has the look of a shootout. New Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin looks to have the Cougars on the right track, and with home field advantage they are more than capable of handing Tulsa their second loss in as many games. But the Golden Hurrican used their off week to stew over the Arkansas loss and will be ready to play. I expect senior quarterback David Johnson to lead a more complete Tulsa team to a high scoring win over a still-growing Houston team.
J.Pike’s Pick: Tulsa 54, Houston 44

WEEK TWELVE - Midweek Games

#19 Virginia Tech @ Miami

(Thursday, 6:30 pm, ESPN)
Miami’s group of super-frosh encounter yet another hurdle tonight with the 19th ranked Hokies coming to town. Virginia Tech has a freshman phenom of its own in running back Darren Evans. Evans ripped off 253 yards on the ground a week ago in the Thursday night win over Maryland. He’ll need to keep up the production because both Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon are suffering through nagging injuries. In fact, Taylor might have to sit out his second straight game thanks to an injured ankle. In the end it won’t matter which quarterback plays though. Miami’s Sean Spence and Marcus Fortson will be more than enough to slow down Evans and the Hokie offense. Also look for dazzling freshman return man Travis Benjamin to exploit the sub-par Virginia Tech special teams with a big punt return to break the game open at some point.
J.Pike’s Pick: Miami 26, Virginia Tech 13

#20 Cincinnati @ Louisville
(Friday, 7 pm, ESPN 2)
Don’t ever bet against a Tony Pike-led team. Not even on the road. Cincinnati is finally hitting their stride now that they have a healthy quarterback to stabilize the offense. Pike led the Bearcats to a big win at West Virginia a week ago. Louisville on the other hand has not looked good during its current two game losing streak. The Cardinals got hammered by Pitt last week 41-7, and lost to cellar dwelling Syracuse two weeks ago.
J.Pike’s Pick: Cincinnati 27, Louisville 20

News & Notes

*Minnesota will be without leading receiver Eric Decker for their matchup with rival Wisconsin on Saturday. Decker has a high ankle sprain and should be ready for the season finale against Iowa. The absence of Decker, the Big Ten's leader in receptions, opens the door for speedy freshman Brandon Green to take center stage in trying to get the Golden Gophers season back on track.

*The revolving door at quarterback for California continues. Kevin Riley will get the start against Oregon State on Saturday a week after Nate Longshore drew the starting assignment against USC. Riley won't impress you stats-wise, but he is much more confident in the pocket and less likely to make big mistakes that cost his team wins.

*Miami left tackle Jason Fox is listed as doubtful for the Canes Thursday night matchup with Virginia Tech. Fox sprained his ankle against Virginia and has not been able to practice since. With Jason Worilds and the active Hokie front coming to town, now is not the best time for Miami to have to shake up their offensive line.

NEWS & NOTES - NEBRASKA EDITION

*Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini finally handed out the Blackshirts on Tuesday. The defense's performance against Kansas on Saturday wasn't quite up to the standards set by Blackshirt units of the past, but defensive coordinator Carl Pelini liked the physical play and felt like the time was now. The first eleven Blackshirts of the Pelini era were awarded to Pierre Allen, Larry Asante, Phillip Dillard, Eric Hagg, Armando Murillo, Zach Potter, Ty Steinkuhler, Clayton Sievers, Ndamukong Suh, Anthony West and Tyler Wortman.

*Notably absent from the list of Blackshirt recipients is linebacker Cody Glenn. Glenn was suspended indefinitely on Tuesday for violating team rules. Carl Pelini wouldn't give any further explanation other than to say "there's lots of rules that cause suspension, let's move on to another topic." Glenn was easily one of the most athletic players on the Nebraska defense and his presence in the lineup will be missed.

BP25 Week of 11/10

1 TEXAS TECH IDLE
Clearly the hottest team right now!
2 TEXAS AT KANSAS
This is the best team in the nation right now.
3 ALABAMA VS MISSISSIPPI ST
Beat a LSU team that I think is soft, another cupcake this week
4 UTAH AT SAN DIEGO ST
Utah will be riding high after TCU win, they will smash SD ST.
5 PENN ST VS INDIANA
Didn't penalize Penn St much, but watch out for next week against Michigan St.
6 FLORIDA VS S CAROLINA
Think Spurrier wishes what could have been.
7 BOISE ST AT IDAHO
The Vandals get Vandalized, I know went with the easy one
8 USC AT STANFORD
Vengence in this one, but the PAC-10 sucks
9 OKLAHOMA IDLE
The Engine goes in Idle this week but their season is in the next two games(OSU, Texas Tech)
10 GEORGIA AT AUBURN
The Best Two loss team will demolish the underachieving Tigers
11 OHIO ST AT ILLINOIS
Buckeyes looking good, and which Juice will show up?
12 BALL ST AT MIAMI(OH)
Tuesday night Special-Ball St Rolls but next two weeks are crucial against WMU and CMU.
13 N CAROLINA AT MARYLAND
Tarheels are playing as good as anyone, but for some reason the Terrapin has been ripping teams at home
14 MISSOURI AT IOWA ST
Name the score, poor Gene Chizik
15 MICHIGAN ST IDLE
Spartans prepare for the dagger in the Nittany Lions
16 PITTSBURGH IDLE
Panthers starting to come around.
17 OKLAHOMA ST AT COLORADO
Two big games in the last two weeks is there enough gas to take care of the Buffs.
18 CINCINNATI AT LOUISVILLE
Tony Pike is for real. Go Bearcats!
19 TCU IDLE
Brutal loss for the Frogs, Instead of BCS pie, will have to settle for Ft Worth Bowl
20 FLORIDA ST. VS BOSTON COLLEGE
Seminoles seemed to put it together against Clemson
21 VIRGINIA TECH AT MIAMI
I predicting a Hurricane and finally knocking the Hokies out of the poll for good.
22 BYU AT #25 AIR FORCE
BYU is so soft, Look ahead factor is huge in this one with the Utes up next
23 W MICHIGAN VS TOLEDO
Gotta reward the Broncos with a win over Illinois
24 TULSA AT HOUSTON
Barely hanging on, will they still have a hangover from the Arkansas loss?
25 AIR FORCE VS #22 BYU
Do they belong? We will see in this one.

On the Radar
WAKE FOREST AT NC ST
CALIFORNIA AT OREGON ST
C MICHIGAN AT N ILLINOIS
GEORGIA TECH IDLE
NAVY VS NOTRE DAME
MIAMI VS #21 VIRGINIA TECH
LSU VS TROY
OREGON ST VS CALIFORNIA
W VIRGINIA IDLE
UCONN AT SYRACUSE

JP25 Update

I'm about to do something I never thought I would ever have to do: vote for a Mike Leach Texas Tech team number one in the nation. What changed in the world for me to come to this decision?

Well, for one thing, Mike Leach is actually mixing in the run quite nicely for a change. Running backs Baron Batch and Shannon Woods have combined for 1,255 rushing yards this year - way more than I ever though I'd see from a Leach offense.

Then there's the defense. Who among us ever thought they'd read the following sentence on Pikes Picks: Entering the big matchup with Oklahoma, Texas Tech has the advantage because their defense is playing better than Oklahoma's. Whoa!!

But it's true. Leach is learning that if you run the ball a little to keep the clock moving and the defense off the field, and that if you don't put your defense in a bad position two or three times a game because you want to go for it on fourth down - you can actually win some big games here and there. Texas Tech has done just that.

I ended up ranking Texas Tech #1 and Alabama #2 because I think Texas Tech is flat out the better team. I love 'Bama's physical style of play - they kind of remind me of Nebraska back in the day when you knew exactly what they were going to do but you still couldn't stop them because they were just better than you. But Alabama almost lost to and LSU team on Saturday that had absolutely zero contribution from their quarterback. I can't imagine the Crimson Tide keeping Michael Crabtree out of the end zone, and at the end of the day, I don't think Alabama could keep up with Tech.

Wow, I can't believe I just wrote that.

Top 25 (last week, record)
1. Texas Tech (3, 10-0)
2. Alabama (2, 10-0)
3. Texas (4, 9-1)
4. Florida (7, 8-1)
5. Oklahoma (6, 9-1)
6. Penn State (1, 9-1)
7. USC (5, 8-1)
8. Georgia (9, 8-2)
9. Ohio State (10, 8-2)
10. Utah (11, 10-0)
11. Oklahoma State (8, 8-2)
12. Boise State (14, 9-0)
13. LSU (15, 6-3)
14. Missouri (12, 8-2)
15. North Carolina (20, 7-2)
16. California (17, 6-3)
17. TCU (13, 9-2)
18. Michigan State (18, 9-2)
19. Georgia Tech (19, 7-3)
20. Florida State (22, 7-2)
21. Virginia Tech (25, 6-3)
22. Pittsburgh (23, 7-2)
23. Boston College (NR, 6-3)
24. Oregon (21, 7-3)
25. Cincinnati (NR, 7-2)

Dropped Out: Maryland (16), Kansas (24)

Just Missed the Cut: South Carolina (7-3), Oregon State (6-3), Maryland (6-3), Kentucky (6-4), West Virginia (6-3), Northwestern (7-3), BYU (9-1), Ball State (9-0), Iowa (6-4)

Tony Pike Update

Tony Pike led Cincinnati into Morgantown and beat Big East leader West Virginia in overtime Saturday night. The win propelled the Bearcats into a tie for first place in the conference and proved Pike has the moxie to lead his team through thick and thin. Despite allowing 13 points in the final 1:11 of regulation, Pike maintained his poise and found Kazeem Alli in the end zone for the game winning touchdown in overtime. Pike also ran for a touchdown late in the second quarter. His left arm is getting better every day, but so is Dustin Grutza's broken leg. Will Pike remain the starter when Grutza returns? Stay tuned.

The Tony Pike Stat Line
Passing: 16/30 (53.3%) for 178 yards, 1 td, 0 int
Rushing: 7 attempts for -9 yards, 1 td

See sidebar for season stats