College Football Week 5 - Important Matchups

3 Alabama @ Kentucky
Favorite: Alabama, -15.5
With the two teams ahead of them in the polls off this week, as well as most of the always powerful Big XII conference, Alabama needs to prove themselves here. Coming off their 41-7 loss to Florida last week, Kentucky looks like a team 'Bama can breeze through. And they'll need to. 'Bama has put up some strong numbers this year, but so has Kentucky in their two wins. 'Bama will have to duplicate what Florida's defense did last week, or suffer an ugly upset.
Pick: Alabama 42 - Kentucky 13

4 LSU @ 18 Georgia
Favorite: Georgia, -3
With LSU undefeated but not putting up the numbers you would normally expect, Georgia comes in as the small favorite. Playing at home probably has something to do with that. But Georgia hasn't exactly been a powerhouse this year, either. Two of their wins have been by 4 points or less, and their third was by only 11. If LSU can put together some offense, they can have an easy win on the road.
Pick: LSU 35 - Georgia 21

7 USC @ 24 Cal
Favorite: USC, -5
Both teams have suffered upset losses the last two weeks, and both teams looked terrible in them. USC had their bounce-back win last week, and Cal needs one now. Though Cal looked worse in their loss than USC did, only managing 3 points, Cal still looks to have the batter offense. This week will be a return to putting up big numbers.
Pick: Cal 42 - USC 24


8 Oklahoma @ 17 Miami(FL)
Favorite: Oklahoma, -7.5
Though injured QB Sam Bradford wanted to be back for this game, he'll sit on the sidelines as Landry Jones continues to play for Oklahoma. While Jones's huge performances have been the story this year, its the Oklahoma defense that deserves a lot of credit. In the last two games, they've blanked their opponents, outscoring them 109-0. Including their loss to BYU, its still 122-14. But those shut-outs were against Idaho State and Tulsa, two teams no one expected to put up much of a fight. Miami, however, come in with something to prove. After suffering their first loss of the season last week, they are now 2-1 against ranked opponents. They need a win both as a bounce-back and to cement their right to a ranking as they go into the easy part of their schedule. To do that, Jacory Harris needs to play like he did against FSU and Georgia Tech, and forget about Va Tech last week.
Pick: Miami 38 - Oklahoma 35