The Wiz of Odds

Week 10

A full week ahead in college football, with games Tuesday through Saturday.

Tuesday night's game features Middle Tennessee State traveling to Jonesboro to play Arkansas State in a Sun Belt Conference game. The game opened as a pick.

On a sidenote, there is only one team with a winning overall record in the Sun Belt. Name that team (answer at bottom). The photo at left offers a hint.

On Wednesday, Rutgers travels to South Florida in a Big East Conference matchup. The Bulls opened as 9.5-point favorites.

There are two games Thursday, with the featured event taking place in Blacksburg, home of the Virginia Tech Hokies. The hometown team opened as a 15-point favorite over Georgia Tech. In a Mid-American Conference game, Buffalo is at Ohio (-14).

Two games Friday. Western Michigan is at Central Michigan (-4) and Central Florida (-3) visits Houston.

Saturday's games of note: Air Force (-7) at Army; Maryland at Miami (-4); Louisville at Syracuse (-4.5); Illinois at Michigan (-1.5); Baylor at Oklahoma State (-6.5); Arkansas at South Carolina (-3); Hawaii at Boise State (-27); Washington at Oregon (-28.5); Nebraska (-17) at Iowa State; Texas (-6) at Kansas State; Arizona at Stanford (-7.5); Texas Christian (-4.5) at Utah and Alabama (-6) at Louisiana State.

For the latest numbers on all games, click here. For the Week 10 broadcast schedule, visit Matt Sarzyniak's site.

Answer to pop quiz: Troy, which is 4-3.

Snapshots of Week 9

A look at the week that was. Thanks to 30fps. Click an image to enlarge.

Columnists Corner

Dave Sittler, Tulsa World: Who would have dared to dream six weeks ago that Tulsa, after a 37-point loss to Oklahoma State, would bounce back to beat college football's most storied program in its tradition-rich stadium. Well, believe it. The impossible dream came true: Tulsa 28, Notre Dame 27.

Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune: It's about holding together a recruiting class teeming with answers to inherited problems. It's about standing up to perhaps the ugliest and scariest scrutiny of his life, both for the state of the program and for his decision to take his team outside Wednesday to practice on a blustery, and ultimately, fateful day. Yes, Brian Kelly has entered a stretch that likely will define his career.

Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Alas, Georgia's coaching is no longer championship caliber.

Scott Anderson, Anderson Independent Mail: Clemson's Dabo Swinney is a glass half-full kinda guy, but this glass has a crack that is becoming much more noticeable.

T.J. Simers, Los Angeles Times: For UCLA, an eight-point loss is as good as it gets when not playing a Pac-10 team other than Washington State.

Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times: It was USC's title game, and Oregon kicked the BCS out of the Trojans.

David Teel, Newport News Daily Press: Virginia hadn't won an ACC game in 378 days and that helped make Saturday's 24-19 conquest of Miami the program's most unlikely upset since a 2005 beating of Florida State.

There's No Stopping the Thundering Herd

It was homecoming at Marshall, where the Thundering Herd played host to Texas El Paso in a Conference USA game, and Wiz correspondent Greg Laughlin was in attendance to take in all the festivities. Tron Martinez's one-yard scoring run with 1:47 remaining gave Marshall a 16-12 victory and dealt a blow to the Miners' hopes of becoming eligible for a bowl.

Texas El Paso is 5-4 and must beat either Southern Methodist, Arkansas or Tulsa to reach the magic sixth victory currently needed to play in a bowl. The Miners have lost three in a row in what could be Mike Price's final season as coach.

To view Greg's complete gallery, click here

BCS Guru: Oregon, Auburn Pull Away From the Pack

The BCS Guru says it will be close, but he projects Oregon will move past Auburn and into the top spot when the Bowl Championship Series standings are released Sunday.

Oregon and Auburn will have a sizable lead over No. 3 Boise State and the rest of the pack, which includes No. 4 Texas Christian and No. 5 Utah.

The top five teams are undefeated, but that number will be cut by at least one next Saturday because the Horned Frogs and Utes play in Salt Lake City.

The second five: No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. Wisconsin, 9. Nebraska and No. 10 Louisiana State.

Alabama plays at LSU next Saturday in another matchup of projected top-10 BCS teams.

The big losers on Saturday were Missouri and Michigan State. The Tigers are projected to fall to No. 12 and the Spartans to No. 14.

Armenian Demon Has a Warning for USC

The Armenian Demon owns L.A. The rest of you just live there. Prepare to witness the massacre Saturday night at the Coliseum.