To heck with it, I’m making some college gridiron picks. No spread, just straight up baby. I’ll pretty much stick to action involving the top 25.

#1 Miami vs. Boston College

These Hurricanes are leaving a trail of dust, buzzing past opponents at a 49-18 average, and that includes Florida. BC comes in having edged out Connecticut (24-16) and Stanford (34-27). Keep on buzzing: Miami 48, Boston College 14

#2 Texas vs. Houston

The Longhorns don’t have a real game until they host Oklahoma. They’ll be 5-0 for that one. Houston lost 34-13 to Tulane for crying out loud: Texas 41, Houston 13

#4 Tennessee vs. #10 Florida

The marquee game of the week, and likely it will decide the SEC East title. The Vols still have national title hope dreams with Miami on the schedule. Florida will be hoping to get a January 1 bowl bid if they lose this one. Throwing out UF’s blowout loss to Miami, these teams have combined to win by an average to 37-4 over scrubs. I think UF having played a non scrub will help, but not enough: Tennessee 24, Florida 21

#5 Florida State vs. Duke

This is one of those games where the Seminole fans get to live it up over the Blue Devils, who in turn have to sulk until basketball season. Duke has no chance to even keep this close: Florida State 52, Duke 10

#6 Ohio State @ Cincinnati

The Buckeyes earned their stripes with a win over Washington State last week. Now they face a team that has put points up (68 in 2 games) but against less than stellar opposition in the form of West Virginia and TCU. The road does strange things, but no way does OSU blow the game, and after all they are still in their home state: Ohio State 27, Cincinnati 17

#7 Virginia Tech @ #21 Texas A&M

Here’s your offense (Va Tech) vs. defense (A&M) match-up. The Hokies have put up 45 points a contest and the Aggies have allowed just 19 points in 2 games, all of them in the 4th quarter while the game was well in hand. I’m not buying into Texas A&M, they are always overrated. Well, so is Virginia Tech, but they did decimate a ranked Marshall team 47-21 so I’m going with them: Virginia Tech 20, Texas A&M 16

#8 Georgia vs. Northwestern State

This is a game where you get to see the difference between a good Division I team and a good Division I-AA team. Northwestern State comes in at #10 among DIAA teams, sporting a 3-0 record and has reached 30 points in every game. Until now: Georgia 35, Northwestern State 6

#9 Oregon vs. Portland State

Well, there will be a pair of games that show DI’s dominance over DIAA. Portland State hasn’t even blown out competition at their own level: Oregon 51, Portland State 13

#11 USC @ #23 Kansas State

The Trojans continue their Big XII trek, coming off a 40-3 thrashing at Colorado. Meanwhile, the hometown Wildcats have beaten up on just awful competition by an average of 60-5 in three games. It will hurt them: USC 28, Kansas State 23

#12 Notre Dame @ Michigan State

The Irish finally scored a touchdown on offense, knocking off then #6 Michigan 25-23 last week to move to 3-0. At the same time, the Spartans were getting manhandled 46-22 by a team that went 1-10 last year. No way this momentum swings that much: Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 19

#13 Washington vs. Wyoming

The Huskies don’t lose at home, even to good teams. Wyoming lost 47-7 in Tennessee, a team slightly better than this week’s opponent: Washington 42, Wyoming 7

#14 Michigan vs. Utah

The Utes beat down the Big-10’s Indiana 40-13 earlier in the year, a great win for them. But this Wolverines team is smarting after a loss, and is at home. That is way too much to overcome. After a slow start, the home team rolls: Michigan 31, Utah 13

#15 Penn State vs. Louisiana Tech

Clearly La Tech can put up points, and yards, but not against this Nittany Lions defense. If they can hold Nebraska to 7, they can do the same here: Penn State 38, Louisiana Tech 7

#16 N.C. State @ Texas Tech

All N.C. State has shown me is that they can score against weak opponents, with a 41-11 margin of victory during their 4-0 start. The Red Raiders were outmuscled 45-21 at Ohio State, but came back to beat SMU and Mississippi. I think I smell an upset, so I’m calling it: Texas Tech 27, N.C. State 22

#17 Wisconsin vs. Arizona

The Badgers have gotten to 4-0, but it has been very ugly. They have a 2 point win over Fresno State, and most recently a 3 point win over Northern Illinois in a game they were badly outplayed. Their time is coming, but not against Arizona at home: Wisconsin 30, Arizona 17

#18 Washington State vs. Montana State

A third Division I-AA opponent for a ranked team, and with the visitors having lost 30-13 to Stephen F. Austin I think it is pretty clear that this is no contest. The Cougars will take out their frustration following a big loss at Ohio State: Washington State 42, Montana State 9

#22 UCLA vs. Colorado

The Buffaloes have been exposed by one LA Pac-10 school, and now they have to go on the road against another. No reason to believe the result will be much different: UCLA 31, Colorado 13

#24 Iowa State vs. Troy State

Well, Troy State stayed with Nebraska on the road before falling 31-16 in their season opener. That result looked a lot better prior to the Huskers blowout loss to Penn State last week. Scare is about all they will do against the Cyclones who have put up an average of 43 points during a 3-1 start that included a tough 38-31 loss to Florida State: Iowa State 37, Troy State 24

California vs. Air Force

They are not ranked by the Coaches, which is poll I used, but they are #23 in the AP thanks to a 3-0 start and 50 point average. Not known for their defense, Air Force has averaged 45 points themselves during a 2-0 start. The scoreboard operator might get tired in this one: California 42, Air Force 35