Ten (eight) questions I can’t wait to be answered this weekend

Despite last weekend’s upsets and #10 South Florida going down on Thursday night, expect a pretty scripted Saturday today. There are a couple teams on alert but most of the top ten has overcooked macaroni noodles for opponents (Kraft Mac-n-cheese noodles that cook way too long, you know what I’m talking about).

1.) Can Vanderbilt keep their SEC Cinderella story alive? Not bloody likely. Vandy’s been doing it with smoke & mirrors this year, plus a decent defense. The offense is not pretty, ranking 112th in total offense. The fact that they’re #1 in the nation in turnover margin is why they’re undefeated. Auburn rolls into town with a slightly better offense (not much) but a markedly better defense. I like Auburn to win but it’s going to be close.

2.) Will USC lose their second game in a row? Nope. This is not Dennis Dixon’s Oregon team coming into south L.A. Oregon is 4-1 but has wins over Washington State, Utah, Purdue, and Washington State, plus the loss to Boise State. Oregon will try to take advantage of the Trojan’s weakness by running right at them, but expect the Trojans win by at least 10.

3.) Will Penn State keep rolling? Purdue proved last week against Notre Dame that their defense is nothing to be feared. In fact, Purdue ranks dead last in defense in the Big Ten. That’s not a good match up for a Penn State team that looks just about unbeatable. The game’s at Purdue so that might keep the margin of loss within three touchdowns.

4.) Does Bo Pelini have Nebraska ready for a big time win? Missouri has lost to Nebraska 15 straight times in Lincoln. Nebraska was playing well until their loss to Virginia Tech last week. This Missouri team is exponentially better than anything Nebraska has seen this year so will be interesting as a measuring stick. Nebraska lost 41-6 last year at Missouri.

5.) Can OSU Freshman QB Terrelle Pryor get his first conference road win? 8pm kick in Madison means lots of noise, lots of drunken co-eds, and lots of projectiles being hurled from the stands. Wisconsin is coming off their Jeckell & Hyde loss to Michigan last week and will be happy to return to Camp Randall. Wisconsin has won 27 of the last 28 at home and Ohio State has not fared well in Madison over the last ten years. Ohio State’s front seven on defense has been surprisingly average at times this year, but will need to be dominant in order to stop the Wisconsin running game and force Wiscy QB Allan Evridge to win the game (he can’t). Wisconsin got gashed by the zone read last week at Michigan- they better do a lot better this week against Pryor.

6.) Can Alabama handle being ranked # 2? ‘Bama’s back home after beating down UGA last week. A 4-0 Kentucky team comes in that’s largely untested but has the #1 scoring defense in the country. The spread is 15.5 which is way too generous here, and Kentucky may even be able to pull off the upset win.

7.) Can Kansas State upset Texas Tech? Both offenses are high scoring and neither team has played anybody of consequence. Texas Tech is going to lose games this year, just not this one.

8.) Will Michigan beat Illinois? They will not. The comeback against Wisconsin last week was a nice story and a good step for Rich Rod, but they don’t have the athletes to hang with Illinois.