No Separation Saturday This Week

After an amazing week that saw seven games featuring ranked teams and a huge controversy with Oklahoma-Oregon, this week should be fairly mild and sedate.

Only two games feature ranked teams facing each other: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 24 Penn State and No. 21 California versus No. 22 Arizona State.

The Buckeyes look to gain some revenge against one of the teams to beat them last season, the Nittany Lions. Penn State came away with a 17-10 victory at Happy Valley, but now face the daunting task of taking a rebuilt defense out to Columbus to face the explosive offense of Troy Smith and Co.

Here's the Corners predictions for this weeks Top 25 battles:

Penn State (24) at Ohio State (1)
The Nittany Lions need to stay close early and play ball control to have a chance or this could get ugly fast. The Buckeye offense may be the best in college football with Smith, RB Antonio Pittman and wideouts Ted Ginn, Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez. If Penn State can't keep the OSU offense off the field - look out. Winner: Ohio State.

Buffalo at Auburn (2)
This is Buffalo's first game ever against an SEC opponent. They should have scheduled Vanderbilt instead. Winner: Auburn.

USC (3) at Arizona
The Trojans have won four straight against the Wildcats. No wait, make that five straight. Winner: USC.

West Virginia (4) at East Carolina
Dynamic duo of RB Steve Slaton and QB Pat White are too much for the Pirates to handle. Winner: West Virginia.

Kentucky at Florida (5)
Expect another big day from QB Chris Leak as the Wildcats venture down to the swamp. Winner: Florida.

Wisconsin at Michigan (6)
The Wolverines could have a letdown after the Notre Dame game and their big jump in the poll. Badger fans wish Barry Alvarez was still on the sidelines. Winner: Michigan.

Iowa State at Texas (7)
The Cyclones have offensive talent in QB Brett Meyer and RB Stevie Hicks. The Longhorns defense hasn't given up 100 yards rushing in any game this season. Winner: Texas.

Louisville (8) vs. Kansas State
My upset special this week. The Cardinals are riding high after stunning Miami and are primed for the upset. With RB Michael Bush and QB Brian Brohm both out for the season, the offense may sputter at times. The Wildcats are tough to beat at home and their defense is one of the best in the Big 12. Winner: Kansas State.

Colorado at Georgia (9)
Freshman QB Matthew Stafford played well for the Bulldogs last week against UAB. Georgia has had back-to-back shutouts and could make it three in a row playing the offensively challenged Buffs. Winner: Georgia.

Tulane at LSU (10)
The Tigers lost a tough, hard-fought ballgame to SEC rival Auburn and the defense, ranked number one in the country, held Auburn to seven points despite the loss. LSU managed only a field goal against Auburn. No such worries about the offense in this contest though. Winner: LSU.

Cincinnati at Virginia Tech (11)
The Hokies always feast up on an easy schedule early in the season and this year is no exception. Virginia Tech has out-scored opponents 109-10 thus far. Winner: Virginia Tech.

Notre Dame (12) at Michigan State
Charlie Weis should have the Irish and QB Brady Quinn ready to bounce back after a blowout loss to Michigan. It won't be easy however. QB Drew Stanton has looked solid so far for the Spartans and Michigan State has beaten Notre Dame seven of the last nine games. Winner: Notre Dame.

Iowa (14) at Illinois
Drew Tate is back and playing like a true leader. The Illini are definitely not the fighting kind this season. Winner: Iowa.

Marshall at Tennessee (15)
The only way the Thundering Herd would have a chance in this game is if they brought Chad Pennington and Randy Moss back. Winner: Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee at Oklahoma (17)
The Sooners are ticked after last weeks controversial loss to Oregon. The officials won't be given a chance to determine the outcome of this game. The mercy rule should be adopted for this contest. Winner: Oklahoma.

Rice at Florida State (18)
You either have to admire the Owls and new coach Todd Graham or else think they're crazy. Rice finishes up a three-game stretch that saw the Owls take on UCLA, Texas and now the Seminoles. At least they get some nice fat game checks for the school. Winner: Florida State.

North Carolina at Clemson (19)
The Tigers don't win pretty, but they do win. The Tar Heels are a team in flux. Clemson should win another close one. Winner: Clemson.

Boston College (20) at North Carolina State
The Eagles are praying they don't have to play another overtime game this week, while Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato is praying that Mario Williams and Manny Lawson were still in school and not in the NFL. Winner: Boston College.

Arizona State (22) at California (21)
One thing is for sure, this will be a high scoring game between two high-powered offenses. What a surprise. A Pac-10 game with no defense being played. Winner: California.

Troy at Nebraska (23)
The Huskers at home against Troy. This could get ugly in a hurry. Winner: Nebraska.

Hawaii at Boise State (25)
The Broncos have bounced back into the top 25 for the first time this season. They'll still be there next week. Winner: Boise State.

I didn't start previewing the games until last week, but for fun I'm going to keep a running tally the rest of the season to see how I do. Last week I was 15-3.


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