I'm working furiously to get this out before the huge Thursday game.  It's time for one of the Big East teams to do down.  Easily the biggest game ever in the new Big East, and certinaly the most important for Louisville's young Papa John's Stadium.  This game will have more offensive power than any other game this whole season (even without Michael Bush). I would also suggest that the winner of this game has the best chance of meeting the winner of the Ohio State/Michigan game in the BCS National Championship.  That is a lot on the line for an early November game.

Biggest Game: Keep an eye on #3 West Virginia's Steve Slaton and Pat White, as well as #5 Louisville's Brian Brohm as the major factors in this game.  Brohm is coming off an injury and will be hyped up for this one.  The unmeasurable factor in this game are the two defenses.  Both can have an impact: Louisville's defense has speed unlike any other defense WVU has faced.  WVU's defense tackles as hard as Miami's and covers well too.  However, Louisville has seen tough defense this year and crushed it whereas WVU has yet to really see a punishing defense.  That edge goes to Louisville, but the lack of a real superstar runner (while WVU has two) will ultimately win the game for WVU I think.  One last factor to take into account:  Miami weren't the greatest team when they came to Papa John, but they were still ranked and very skilled individually.  They stomped all over the Cardinal logo before the game and got completely pulverized by a pumped Louisville team egged on by their fanbase.  The fans at Papa John are influential and it could rattle the sophomore connection of White and Slaton.

#13 LSU's defense is one of the toughest in the nation.  Erik Ainge and #8 Tennessee had trouble with Alabama at home and even had a little trouble away at South Carolina.  Those two defenses were cuddly compared to LSU.  Gamebreaker here is JaMarcus Russell in Knoxville, he must have a mistake-free game (unlike the ones against Auburn and Florida) in order to win this game.  The Tennessee defense has 5 turnovers against top-10 teams this year, not bad. 

Penn State is riding two consecutive hard-earned wins entering Camp Randall to play #17 Wisconsin.  PJ Hill has been undergoing tests to see if he plays this weekend, and if he does the 'Linebacker U' crew will have their hands full.  Watch for play-action (if Wisconsin are trying to protect PJ a little bit) and for John Stocco to pick apart the weaker Penn State secondary.  Meanwhile, Anthony Morelli has been going through somewhat of a nightmare first year with only one more TD than Ints.  He really needs to stay calm in the frenzied Camp Randall atmopshere in order for Penn State to go anywhere, and Tony Hunt needs to pick up big yards so Morelli can actually throw.

Keep an eye out for second-year phenom Chase Daniel to start returning Missouri back to their early season form in a huge Big XII North matchup with Nebraska that could determine who plays in the Big XII Championship.  Nebraska has Zac Taylor, with 18 TDs and only 3 Ints.  He's turning into the sleeper QB of the season.

So what's keeping the Deamon Deacon Bandwagon rolling?  #22 Wake Forest entertain #16 BC and will depend on a plethora of players, especially their defense, to make the right plays to win in typical Wake Forest fashion: too close.  Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner has actually be very clean with handling the ball (he's had over 50% completion for 5 straight games now, with only 1 Int in that time), but he only has 200+ yards passing against two teams: Liberty and Duke.  For Wake Forest, the equation includes clock management, smart passes, opportunistic defense (8 Ints in 5 games), and running the ball.  Skinner needs to stay smart with that ball.  BC's Matt Ryan is less consistent than Skinner, but he has better skill players around him and two good WRs in Kevin Challenger and Tony Gonzalez.

#18 Oklahoma v #21 Texas A&M is considered a big saturday game, but I think that dissapointing.  I watched Texas A&M play Army, and they looked awful.  They have squeaked through too many games and will hit a red wall this weekend in Oklahoma.  A&M has a huge RB in Jorvorskie Lane, who also has 17 TDs this year, but he has no speed and really can't go anywhere but straight.  The Sooners will use superior line control to stop him.  Oklahoma beat Missouri last week with Allen Patrick leading the charge, he'll do the same this week and give Paul Thompson time and space to make the right plays.

Washington has completely fallen apart since their close loss to USC, and is now on a 4 game losing streak.  Ty Willingham knows they need to come into Eugene and leave with a win against #24 Oregon if they want a prayer at being bowl-eligible.  All the pressure is on their very skilled QB Isaiah Stanback, a good passer and also a good runner.  If he has to win a game on his own, this is the one to win.  Oregon know they need to roll into USC on a high and this game sets that situation up perfectly.  Dennis Dixon passes (1700 yds) and runs (280 yds) very well, so he'll most likely pick apart the front lines of Washington and open up that secondary by moving out of the pocket.  It's the battle of two mobile QBs.

NC State have been somewhat of a surprise this season, winning games they weren't supposed to and losing games they should have won.  Daniel Evans has been a revelation (until recently) there but he really needs to pull NCST away from their 3 game losing streak.  He hasn't had a multiple TD game since playing #17 FSU.  Now he has #20 GT, same stage as the FSU game, this could be an upset special.  Not unless Calvin Johnson has a say, his ability alone give GT a chance in any game.

#12 Arkansas and Darren McFadden arrive at W-B Stadium to play South Carolina fresh off a tough loss to Tennessee.  Spurrier has surely corrected some of the mistakes from the previous game, and Arkansas are more predictable than the Vols so it should be an easier game (one would think) for the SC defense.  The Razorbacks run McFadden a lot, but when the ball is in Mitch Mustain's hands, he seems to put the ball in a safe spot (only 2 Ints in last 4 games) and any guy that can come into Auburn and win as a freshman QB has a shot at anything.  Gamecocks' QB Syvelle Newton will need to use his feet as much as his brain because Arkansas will pressure often and hard.  He needs to use Sidney Rice as often as possible.

#23 VT plays Da Thugs of Da U at Da OB, and I'm sure everyone remembers you don't go into the OB without gettin' your butt whooped on.  Branden Ore and VT got pounded at home last year by Miami.  This year, Ore will run all over the Hurricane defense and feel vindicated.

Finally, last game on my slate is UCLA and #10 California.  This one shouldn't be close, but if Cal wants a shot at USC for the PAC-10 championship then Marshawn Lynch and Nate Longshore will be on their game.  

-Questions? Complaints? Personal Attacks? e-mail Huckel39@gmail.com

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