#5 Ohio State at Michigan
Normally, this is a game that you would see on the top of my list come this weekend in November. Yet as i pointed out disappointingly the other day, the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is caught in a kind of stalemate right now. One team is significantly better than the other on both sides of the ball, that being the Buckeyes of course. They are on their way to the Rose Bowl come New Years' Day and would love nothing better than to go into Michigan and just pound on their most hated rival. I don't see this game being close at all, unless of course Michigan comes out and plays with a little pride and heart. But even then, I still don't see them upsetting the champions of the Big Ten. The key to the game will be for Tate Forcier to limit his mistakes and try to be consistent throwing the football against a very talented but very young Ohio State defense. And that is a lot to ask from the freshman sensation. I do expect Terrelle Pryor to have a decent game in Ann Arbor, possibly throwing and running the ball into the end zone about 3 or 4 times. And in the end, it will be Ohio State overpowering Michigan 31-9
#4 Penn State at Michigan State
The last time Joe Paterno rolled into East Lansing with his group of Nittany Lions, Penn State ended up losing the game 35-31. Paterno seemingly got his revenge last year by absolutely destroying a Michigan State team that was ranked 15th in the nation by a score of 49-18. But I'm sure that in the back of his 78-year old mind Paterno remembers that crushing defeat two years ago at the hands of the Spartans, and he would love nothing better than to go back to East Lansing and get a big win, thereby ending the regular season with a 10-2 record and a possible BCS At-Large bid. However, as much as Paterno remembers losing that game two years ago, so too do the Spartans remember getting manhandled last year in Happy Valley. And Michigan State has been playing well lately, scoring 30 points in each of their last three games (albeit against Minnesota, Western Michigan, and Purdue) and almost upsetting a very good Iowa team. They just became bowl-eligible last week with their comeback win over Purdue so a victory over Penn State would do a lot to impress bowl committee members. The key for Michigan State will be for quarterback Kirk Cousins to keep his team in the game, which he has done so by not turning the ball over lately (only 1 INT in his last 5 starts). And the Michigan State defense has to find a way to contain QB Daryll Clark and RB Evan Royster. If they are able to do that and limit Penn State offensively, then they will have a good shot to win. Will they win? Absolutely not. Penn State wins 34-17
#3 LSU at Ole Miss
This is a game that Ole Miss is surprisingly favored in but not by much, only 3 points. And I like to think this is one of those games where home-field advantage plays a lot into the spread. As people around me know, I am a firm believer in the power of home-field advantage and I really do think it can have the ability to decide a crucial game where everything is on the line and teams are fighting for their very lives. You could say that Ole Miss is fighting for a little respect in the very deep, very talented SEC conference. And what a better way to get it than to upset #8 LSU at home before a capacity crowd. If Ole Miss is gonna win this game, they are going to have to rely on Jevon Snead to be very accurate with the football and to not make many mistakes against a defense that can get pressure on the quarterback with all that speed. However, I think what will ultimately decide the outcome of this game will be whether or not Dexter McCluster can have another outstanding game like the one he had against Tennessee. If he can find lanes, make cutbacks, and control the pace of the game by running the ball against the LSU defense, then Ole Miss will walk away victorious on Saturday. Will they do it though? I don't think so. LSU wins 34-24
#2 California at Stanford
Everybody remembers the famous 1982 game between Cal and Stanford. For those of you who don't, basically Stanford was about to win the game over Cal and of course the band was out on the field just yearning to celebrate a terrific victory. Cal's Kevin Moen started out with the ball, and after a series of laterals and lobs, ended with the football in the end zone and the win for the Golden Bears. Will this Saturday's showdown between Cal and Stanford live up to the wildness and the controversy surrounding that 1982 game? Probably not, but we still should see a very entertaining game featuring a Cal team looking for some respect within the Pac-10 and a newly revamped, very talented Stanford team. Every time it seems like Cal is about to make its move in the conference, they always shoot themselves in the foot. This year has featured times where their offense disappeared in showdowns against Oregon and USC. And after a three-game winning streak when it seemed like Cal was about ready to seize control of their own destiny, they fumble themselves against Oregon State. Yet once again we see the same picture as they came back the following week and upset 17th-ranked Arizona at home. And now they travel to Stanford, a team that has soundly defeated both Oregon and USC in the past two weeks with spectacular offense and very few mistakes. If Cal is going to make a statement in the Pac-10, its gonna have to be now. Finishing their season with wins over Stanford and Washington will give them a 9-3 record, a possible New Years' Day bowl game, and an outside chance at a BCS At-Large. But don't count on it. Stanford's offense has been unstoppable over the last two weeks. Coach Jim Harbaugh has this team right where he wants them to be. And if they hadn't lost to Arizona earlier in the season, we would be talking about a possible Rose Bowl showdown against Ohio State with this team. Still, staring a possible 9-3 season in the face with winnable games against Cal and Notre Dame (both of which are at home) means an incredible season for the Cardinal and a program well on its way to returning to national prominence. In case you couldn't tell, Stanford wins this weekend 38-21.
#1. Oregon at Arizona
Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that this matchup between Oregon and Arizona would be the most important game of Week 12 NCAA Football? Probably not you and definitely not me. It is strange to see USC completely fall apart here in the end of the season. But I think its awesome because for the first time in a long time we are able to see a different Pac-10 team in the Rose Bowl Game. And I don't know about you, but that is a big relief because I'm tired of seeing USC dominate every Big Ten team they face in the Rose Bowl every year. It's good to know that Ohio State will at least get a competitive game from one of these two squads. Basically, if Oregon wins this game on Saturday, they all but clinch their trip to Pasadena and a showdown with the Buckeyes. However, if Arizona finds a way to win at home and win out, then they will be the ones booking passage to Pasadena. To me, that is a very tall order for an Arizona team that has been very decent throughout the year but quite frankly, has not been tested on a very consistent basis. Their only big win so far this season has come against Stanford, a victory that is looking more and more impressive as the weeks progress. Their only other major opponent this year was Iowa, a game that was very competitive from start to finish but also a game that was mainly controlled by the Iowa defense. And in each of their three losses this year, Arizona has been unable to control the opponent's running game on defense, allowing over 100 yards rushing in their three losing efforts. It will be a tough task for Arizona to contain Oregon running back LaMichael James, who has rushed for over 1,100 yards this season and has been a vital part to Oregon's success. Not to mention trying to stop QB Jeremiah Masoli who has been an absolute playmaker in nearly every game this year. The odds are stacked against the Wildcats? Can they pull through in the final stages of the season? Can they survive showdowns with Oregon and USC? I don't think they can...Oregon wins 45-24
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