ESPN College Football

I had a solid week, going three over .500 against the line, which put me at 11 over for the season. The recap of last week's picks: the good -- picking Va. Tech to beat Maryland; the bad -- picking TCU to beat Utah; the ugly -- picking Northwestern to keep it close against Ohio State. This week's guesses:

Miami 24, Va. Tech 21: Darren Evans had a breakout game last Thursday night. The Canes' run defense is decent, but they're facing a very seasoned O-line, and the Wild Turkey attack with TE/QB Greg Boone will give them some trouble. But don't be surprised if Miami's young receivers break a few plays and exploit a Hokies special-teams unit that suddenly is a big headache for Frank Beamer.

Cincy 24, L'ville 13: The Cardinals are reeling. Cincy's D is one of the more physical groups in the Big East and will be too tough for the UL offense, which has struggled getting out of its way -- a lot -- of late.

Penn State 38, Indiana 7: After such an emotional hit in the loss to Iowa, expect Penn State to bounce back big against a terrible Hoosiers defense. It also doesn't help IU coach Bill Lynch's cause that his Hoosiers are pretty beaten up by now.

Ohio State 31, Illinois 17: This is a Buckeyes road game. That's good news for Beanie Wells, who has run wild away from home. In OSU's past three road games, he's averaging almost 150 rushing yards, which is twice as much as he has done in his past three home games. The Illini, meanwhile, are pretty average against the run, and right now they don't seem to be playing with much confidence.

Alabama 28, Miss. State 7: Whether it's Mark Ingram, Glen Coffee or Terry Grant, Bama's running game will be too physical for MSU this time around. The Bama O-line is as good a run-blocking unit as there is, and its physical defense will wear the Bulldogs down by the second quarter.

Texas 52, Kansas 24: Todd Reesing has been shaky over the past month, throwing seven picks against just eight TDs. Worse still, KU's pass protection isn't good (79th in the country in sacks allowed at 2.2 per game), and UT has a host of outstanding pass rushers. Don't be surprised if the Horns hit a few big kick returns. They're very dangerous, and KU has been horrible covering kicks this season.

Georgia 27, Auburn 13: The Tigers might be more injury-ravaged than even the Bulldogs. UGA's O-line is very banged up too, but the Dawgs have such a big edge in QB play and skill talent that they should cruise here.

Florida 28, South Carolina 10: Steve Spurrier probably hasn't coached a team that has been this big an underdog since his days at Duke. His defense is solid, but UF is too explosive and playing with a ton of confidence. Carolina could stay in this for a while if Stephen Garcia can keep his mistakes down and the Carolina O-line doesn't regress to old form.

Maryland 17, UNC 13: The enigmatic Terps are facing a ranked team. That's a good sign for Ralph Friedgen, since his squad is 3-0 against ranked opponents this year. Best of all, Maryland is 5-0 at home. UNC has a powerful running game, but the Terps should get an inspired effort from their reshuffled D-line.

BYU 24, AFA 21: The Falcons are a quick team that will give defenses fits. Air Force will challenge the BYU O-line, which got carved up at TCU. The Falcons have some talent up front and are 23rd in the country in sacks (2.6 per game). But the experience of Max Hall will win the game for the Cougars in the fourth quarter.

Wake Forest 20, NC State 13: Getting Josh Adams back will give Wake's offense a much-needed boost, but look for the Demon Deacons to work downfield more. State's secondary is very suspect (85th in the country in pass-efficiency D). On the bright side, the Pack does have a very solid young QB in Russell Wilson (10 TDs, 1 INT), and he should keep them in the game.

Boise State 51, Idaho 10: The Vandals have beaten one FBS team all season, and Boise has way too many weapons for them to cope with. The Broncos' D-line has been terrific, and only once has the Boise defense allowed more than 16 points -- and that was at Oregon.

Mizzou 55, Iowa State 17: Chase Daniel has drifted off the Heisman radar in the past month, but he'll have a big game against one of the country's worst defenses. With the young Cyclones coming off a heartbreaking loss last week against Colorado, it'll be tough once Mizzou jumps on them early.

USC 31, Stanford 7: The Trojans are out for revenge against an improved Stanford team. USC's defense has been the most dominant group in the country, and safety Taylor Mays has been playing the best football of his life in the past month. Expect Mark Sanchez to have a big game against the suspect Cardinal secondary.

Utah 24, SD State 14: Chuck Long's team has been a mess this season. They're near the bottom in the country in almost every relevant stat there is, except for passing offense (49th at 224 ypg). However, this is a sandwich game for the Utes, having just beaten TCU and setting up for next week's rivalry game with BYU. State will find a way to keep it close.

FSU 13, BC 7: The Eagles' hefty D-line will cause a lot of problems for FSU's inexperienced offensive front. Still, the Noles have too much speed on defense for BC and should force a few turnovers to win the game.

LSU 24, Troy 14: The Tigers have been backsliding the past month. Jarrett Lee's inexperience has really shown, and Troy has a D-line with talent that could start for a bunch of SEC teams. Led by New Orleans native Dion Gales, the Trojans are fifth in the country in sacks (29). Troy also does a nice job of protecting its QB; however, I think the Tigers' running backs will win this game in the second half.

Houston 45, Tulsa 42: This one should be a lot of fun, as two of the nation's top four offenses meet. They combine to average over 1,100 yards per game. Look for UH QB Case Keenum to outshine David Johnson as the Cougars attack the country's 111th-rated pass defense (270 ypg).

Oklahoma State 31, CU 28: The Buffs' QB combination will dent the OSU defense. History isn't on OSU's side: The Cowboys are 2-11 against CU over the past 13 meetings. CU, which has been terrible on the road, is 5-1 at home with QB Cody Hawkins (11-3 TD-INT ratio at home). That said, the Cowboys' balanced offense will be a little too much for the young CU team.

Bruce Feldman is a senior writer with ESPN The Magazine. His new book, "Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting," is on sale now.