Ten to Win: Ole Miss will take its shot at a hobbled LSU

Dexter McCluster has been running wild lately for the Ole Miss Rebels. (Photo from Ole Miss Athletic Department)

By Ben Cook, Lindyssports.com

“Ten to Win” finished with a record of 7-3 last week to bring the season record to 74-36, a .672 winning percentage. It is not a strong weekend of big games and I am tempted to throw in a Florida-Florida International or Alabama-Chattanooga matchup just to pad the record, but I will resist that temptation. If you look around the country, there are still enough interesting games on the slate.

LSU at Ole Miss: The Dexter McCluster Show has been unleashed in Oxford and it has Rebel fans wondering why it took so long. I guess it took awhile for Houston Nutt to realize Jevan Snead just wasn’t going to get it done with it all on his shoulders. In his last three games McCluster is averaging 262 al-purpose yards and the Rebels have been rolling. With LSU hobbled by injuries, the Rebels could pull the upset here. Oh wait; Ole Miss is actually favored in this one. That makes me nervous, but …

Ole Miss 24, LSU 21

Ohio State at Michigan: The only thing that makes this game mildly interesting is to see if Michigan is actually going to miss going to a bowl game for a second consecutive season. Unless the Wolverines upset the Buckeyes, that is exactly what is going to happen. Ohio State has the Rose Bowl locked up and Michigan is hoping that might lull the Buckeyes into a false sense of security and be caught napping. Don’t bet on it happening. There is a greater chance the Wolverines fans will be hanging Rich Rodriguez in effigy after this one.

Ohio State 38, Michigan 14

Cal at Stanford: It is a sign of the times that the biggest games of the week are in the Pac-10. After years of being just USC and the boys, the league has grown muscles throughout and now can hold its head up high as one of the elite leagues in college football. After a midseason swoon, Cal has gotten back on track but Stanford is on a roll. The chances are the Andrew Luck and Toby Gerhart duo that shot down USC last week will do the same to the Golden Bears.

Stanford 41, Cal 28

Oregon at Arizona: The winner of this game still can reach the Rose Bowl by winning out. Arizona has had a good season, but quarterback Nick Foles has struggled lately. Oregon, on the other hand, has shown not signs of slowing down. The Ducks’ LaMichael James has posted 100-plus yards rushing in his last five games and they still have LeGarrette Blount on the sidelines if things should get tight. The Oregon defense will make sure that doesn’t happen.

Oregon 35, Arizona 31

Wisconsin at Northwestern: Wisconsin brings a strong running game into this game against Northwester. John Clay has been the best back in the Big Ten this season and will give the Wildcats trouble. Northwestern, on the other hand, can’t match the Badgers’ offensively. Wisconsin has won three in a row and will make it four in a close game.

Wisconsin 17, Northwestern 16

Penn State at Michigan State: Penn State could be in trouble here. The Nittany Lions’ Rose Bowl hopes are gone, but they still have a shot at landing a BCS bid with a 10-2 finish. To do that they will have to win at a place where they have trouble winning—at East Lansing. Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins has been on a roll with 10 touchdown passes in his past five games, but the Spartans have been inconsistent this season. If Cousins has a big game, Michigan State has a chance, but it will also help if the Lions don’t come in mentally prepared for a fight. I’m guessing they will.

Penn State 24, Michigan State 17

Air Force at BYU: Here’s another game that could be a battle. BYU struggled last week in beating winless New Mexico 24-19. That should have been a wake-up call for the Cougars that they need to bring their “A” game regardless of the opponent. They will certainly need it this Saturday. Air Force has lost four game all by seven points or less and two of them came in overtime. All four losses have been to very good teams, including a three-point loss to TCU, the team that destroyed BYU by 31 points. I know comparing scores is not a totally accurate measure of a team, but this one scares me. Even though it is at BYU, I’m going to go for the upset special here.

Air Force 24, BYU 21

Kansas State at Nebraska: The Big 12 North championship is on the line here, which is remarkable when you consider that Kansas State is bringing a 6-5 record into the game. This is a game that should feature defense. Nebraska will be the one primarily doing the featuring. The Cornhuskers have given up only 39 points in their past four games, and have won three in a row coming in. If Zac Lee and the offense just hold on to the football and allow Ndamukong Suh and his mates to control the game, Nebraska wins the chance to knock off Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Nebraska 20, Kansas State 7

Oklahoma at Texas Tech: It’s hard to imagine that these two offensive giants come into the game with identical 6-4 records, but that’s the case. The Sooners season went south after losing to Texas and losing Sam Bradford for good in that game. Landry Jones has been adequate, but Bradford was the heart and soul of that team they have a mid-level to minor bowl game waiting on them. That doesn’t excite the Sooners. Texas Tech has also gone through quarterbacks this season and the Red Raiders were inexplicably held to just 17 points last week in losing to Oklahoma State. This one is tough to call. The Red Raiders burned me last week, so I and hesitant to ride that horse again. Oklahoma does still have a wicked defense. Maybe that will be enough.

Oklahoma 24, Texas Tech 23

Vanderbilt at Tennessee: This is Tennessee’s best shot at picking up that sixth win and becoming bowl eligible. The Commodores have lost seven consecutive games and they’ve lost their starting quarterback for the season with an injury. This seems like the perfect set-up for the Vols, who were embarrassed by Ole Miss last week. Tennessee was playing good football until the drubbing in Oxford, but look for Jonathan Crompton to get the offense back on track and the Vols defense to rise to the challenge. Tennessee wants to go bowling in Lane Kiffin’s first year and this is the game to clinch that bowl trip.

Tennessee 28, Vanderbilt 10