Ezekiel Ansah's blazing speed should translate into him being an impact pass rusher in the NFL...

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Game of the Week:

#8 TCU vs #16 BYU

After having their BCS hopes ended by TCU last season, BYU is looking to return the favor and keep TCU from securing a major bowl bid.

TCU comes into this game holding the nation's fourth longest overall winning streak at nine straight victories. They will be trying to snap BYU's conference-record 13-game home winning streak.

The key will be TcU's defense, ranked fourth in the nation in total defense, and how they match up with BYU's potent passing game that is averagin 38.6 points per game, good enough for sixth best in the nation. BYU quarterback Max Hall has been explosive this year passing for 2,069 yards with 16 touchdowns.

TCU's offense hasn't exactly been anemic either as they come into the game averaging 33.8 points per game. However, they have only been able to muster 3.5 points per game in the first quarter. The Horned-Frogs can't afford to get too far behind in this one as it will take them out of their offensive game plan which is to keep the ball on the ground. They currently rank 11th in the nation in rushing, averaging 225-yards per game.

Turnovers could be key in this game however as BYU has been turnover-prone at times this season. They've lost 15 total turnovers compared to TCU's 10, but in big games the Cougars have been more careless with the football. They turned it over five times against Florida State and four times against Oklahoma.

Other Games to Watch:

Tennessee at #2 Alabama
The Vols want to prove themselves as a legit top team and there is no better chance than this one.

Louisville at #5 Cincinnati
On paper this shouldn't be a very good game, but it's homecoming, it's a rivalry and Louisville has upset the Cats before.

Oregon State at #7 USC
The Beavs upset the Trojans last season... Could they do it again?

Upset Pick of the Week: South Florida over Pittsburgh

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The bowl games finally start this weekend. Fellow GetSportsInfo.com writer, Jeremy Fischer, and myself have put together our picks including how confident we are in them. In case you've never done a pick 'em game like this before, here's how it works. In addition to picking who you think will win the game, you assign a number to that pick as to how confident you think that pick is going to be right. There are 34 bowl games this year (way too many in most people's opinion, but that's beside the point), so the max number of confidence points you can give to one game is, yep, you guessed it, 34. The game you are least confident in you assign one point too, and fill in everything in between.

A lot of office pools are done like this and make it much more challenging than simply picking a winner for each game. As J-Fish states when it comes to doing a pick 'em game like this, "I have seen many strategies and I prefer the one that calls for using the higher confidence points on the bigger BCS games." He goes on to give his reasons as to why.

"Right or wrong, the larger conference teams get more coverage. The more information that is out there, the better informed pick you can make. The more informed you are, the more confident you'll be about a particular selection." Makes sense right? So picking the BCS bowl games really isn't as difficult as picking some of the more obscure games like the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl between Southern Mississippi and Troy that provide more difficulty in not only picking who will win, but deciding how confident you are in that pick.

J-Fish goes on to say, "Unless you fancy yourself as the next Jimmy the Greek, don't over analyze. The amount of games will definitely lead to paralysis-by-analysis." In my opinion, when it comes to picking some of the lower level bowl games, its almost more of a gut feeling when making that selection than anything else.

With all that said, let's get to the picks. What you'll find below is the bowl schedule starting with the first game on the docket all the way to the National Championship game on January 8th. With each pick you'll see both J-Fish's pick as well as my own with a little bit of analysis and how many confidence points (#) we have assigned to the pick we've made. Let's get to it with a look at the BCS games.

January 1st
ROSE - Penn State vs. USC
JFISH: USC (34) - Too much defense.
DICO: USC (32) - Too much USC! PSU hasn't seen anything like the Trojans this year. Ask OSU how things worked out for them. Plus this is a "home game" for the Trojans.

FEDEX ORANGE - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
JFISH: Cincinnati (22) - 1st BCS bowl berth will drive the Bearcats.
DICO: Cincinnati (10) - Special teams could be the difference in this game. Mardy Gilyard for the Bearcats is one of the best in the country in the return game. A chance to finish the season in the Top 10 will push the Bearcats to a win.

January 2nd
ALLSTATE SUGAR - Utah vs. Alabama
JFISH: Alabama (32) - Utah hasn't faced a defense like this.
DICO: Alabama (33) - See JFISH's comments...the Utes will have a hard time stopping the 'Bama offense as well.

January 5th
TOSTITOS FIESTA - Ohio State vs. Texas
JFISH: Texas (33) - Too much speed on defense, and the Horns will be playing angry because of the whole BIG XII, BCS screw job.
DICO: Texas (31) - QB Colt McCoy will be too much even for a good Buckeyes' defense. Terrelle Pryor will see what team speed on defense is all about against the Longhorns.

January 8th
FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP - Florida vs. Oklahoma
JFISH: Florida (26) - Tebow/Harvin will find a way.
DICO: Oklahoma (22) - Bradford leads the most potent offense in the country. Even with the loss of DeMarco Murray at RB, the Sooners won't miss a beat. Expect a high scoring affair.

COMPLETE PICKS (ALL 34 GAMES) 

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Two important things occurred this week in the world of college football:  1) The first BCS rankings of the season were released and 2) There wasn't a major tsunami at the top of the rankings.  Speaking of rankings...

POWER RANKINGS

1.  Texas:  Even I, a proud Texas graduate (I'm sure you've heard that before), didn't think we would pound Missouri that badly.  2 down, 2 to go in the gantlet.

2.  Penn State:  I don't care what the BCS, or the other polls say, the Nittany Lions are better than Alabama.  They'll prove it against the Buckeyes this weekend.

3.  Alabama:  Last weekend was the second straight game they jumped out to an early lead, then almost let it get away from them.  Not good.

4.  Oklahoma:  This team still scares me come BCS Championship.  I could easily see a scenario where the Sooners don't make the Big XII Championship game, because of their loss to the 'Horns, but still have the second best BCS rankings.  I'm just saying.

5.  Oklahoma State:  Again, I'm departing from the other rankings.  I'm giving the Cowboys the nod over USC and Florida because of the undefeated record.  But we'll see how good the Cowboys are this weekend in Austin.

6.  Georgia:  The Bulldog pups have bounced back nicely from the drubbing they took at the hands of the Crimson Tide.  But the next two weeks will go a long way in proving if they're ready to take that next step.  LSU this week, and Florida the following week.

7.  USC:  I think their rankings in the other polls this week were largely inflated, due to the tremedously one-sided pounding they put on Wazzou (69-0).  I still have my questions about this team.  The biggest concern being how long can Mark Sanchez stay healthy.

8.  Florida:  Bye week this past Saturday.  Tebow will continue his "Mission To Redemption" against Kentucky this weekend.

9.  Ohio State:  The Buckeyes have looked good since Beanie has returned.  Pryor is slowing beginning to come into his own at QB.  And they have the Nittany Lions in the 'Shoe this weekend.  All that, and I still think that Buckeye fans will go home crying.

10.  Utah:  The way they beat-down the Cougars last Thursday was impressive.  Far more impressive than my call about BYU being the BCS Buster lock for 2008.

DORM NOTES

--Any way I can get 1/2 credit for my BCS Buster pick?  I got the conference right; it's just going to be Utah, not BYU.  That's all.

--I'm still looking forward to the Nov. 22 tilt of BYU vs. Utah, in case you were wondering.

--When a game is as lopsided as USC vs. Washington State, shouldn't it just be stopped at some point.  Like a boxing match where one boxer is beating the crap out of another, and the ref steps in and stops it for the health of the other boxer.  The health of the Washington State football program sure could've used a rule like that on Saturday.

--I'm still not putting Texas Tech into my Top 10 because of their weak schedule.  I will consider it after seeing how they perform this weekend against Kansas

Until next weekend...

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We finally have some rivalry games played (Tennessee/Florida), and there will be more to come as the season kicks into high gear.   Let the National Championship shape begin!

POWER RANKINGS
1.  USC:  DNP.  It's no wonder the Trojans start off every season so strong.  They begin each year with play a cupcake, get a week off, play a tough opponent, get a week off.  Who else in the nation gets 2 bye weeks in the first month?

2.  Oklahoma: DNP

3.  Missouri:  The Tigers destroyed Buffalo.  Ho-hum.  Now the good stuff begins.  They have Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas in the next 3 weeks, with 2 of those games on the road.

4. Georgia:  Good game against a tough opponent in Arizona State.  But this week they have the game of the week.  The Dawgs and the Crimson Tide are must see TV ( to "borrow" a phrase from NBC, assuming they don't sue me for intellectual property).

5. Florida:  They own Tennessee.  Period.  End of story.

6. Texas:  A drubbing of Rice doesn't impress much.  But seeing how the secondary handles Petrino's Arkansas team next week should prove interesting.

7. Alabama:  This is a crucial week for the Tide.  Can they run with the big "dawgs", or will they have to get off the porch?

8. LSU: I know this is a big drop, considering they beat Auburn, as I expected.  However, I didn't expect the Tigers to have such sketchy quarterback play.  I think Jarrett Lee might have put that to rest in the seond half, but I'm not confident.

9. Wisconsin:  A tough win over #21 Fresno State was impressive; however, I can't put them up too far in the rankings just yet.  Why?  Because they have #14 Ohio State, #12 Penn State and #22 Illinois in the next five weeks.  We'll see how real this team is as they progress through that gauntlet.

10. BYU:  These guys will be your BCS Busters this year.  They are just pounding teams mercilessly.  Another drubbing this week, as they posted a 44-0 destruction over Wyoming.  They have #24 TCU in three weeks.  If they get by that, it should be clear sailing until the final game of the season on November 22nd when they face #17 Utah for all the marbles.

DORM NOTES
--Mississippi State is the most unbalanced team I have ever seen.  They have an unbelievable defense, and an inept offense.  They also managed the worst punt snap I've ever seen in my life.  Go to youtube and see if you can find it.  Hilarious.

--Penn State has put up 45pts. or more in all four of their games.  They have gone to the spread offense.  JoePa seems to have gotten with the times.  And they have Illinois this weekend.  Very interesting, under-the-radar matchup going on.

--Florida vs. Tennessee isn't a rivalry anymore.  Not until UT figures out how to become competitive.

--Florida State's defacto decision to have offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher take over whenever Bobby Bowden retires is looking to be a terrible decision.  Shouldn't he have been able to recruit a decent quarterback by now?  The Seminole QB's have been terrrible for about five years running now.

--Did I mention that you should watch Alabama v. Georgia this weekend?  I know that I'll be watching.

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