The Big E College Football Picks: Week 10

We need USC to win. LSU winning at home would help too.

Most of all, we need Notre Dame to take care of business against Pitt.

Let's get to the picks.

AP rankings used where appropriate.

No. 14 Oklahoma (-11.5) at Iowa State

12:00 PM ET

Pick: Oklahoma

This spread isn't big enough. Oklahoma owns Iowa State about as bad as possible. The Sooners haven't lost to the Cyclones on the road since the 50's. They beat Iowa State more than 90% of the time.

I'm also factoring in that OU is going to be pissed off about the loss to Notre Dame as well. The Cyclones have been feisty this year but I like the historical trends in this matchup.

No. 16 Texas A&M (-6.5) at No. 17 Mississippi State

12:00 PM ET

Pick: Texas A&M

My gut reaction is to take the home underdog but I like what I've seen out of the Aggies this season. They're 6-2 with close losses to Florida and LSU, while Miss State has cruised through a patty cake schedule before being crushed by Alabama last week.

Plus, it looks like we have a real winner in Johnny Football for Texas A&M. Dual-threat quarterbacks can absolutely own a game and he's the kind of guy I like to hitch my wagon to here. He'll have his hands full next week against the Tide, but this week Manziel is going to get it done.

Texas (+6.5) at No. 20 Texas Tech

3:30 PM ET

Pick: Texas Tech

I have absolutely zero faith in the Texas defense. Although I don't really think Tech is all that good, they shouldn't have much trouble moving the ball and getting 30 points.

After watching Texas last week it's astonishing how poor they are on both sides of the ball. It's not like they are a team like West Virginia that has a strong offense and poor defense. Texas really struggled on both sides of the ball---no way they keep Tech under wraps for 4 quarters.

Pittsburgh (+16.5) at No. 4 Notre Dame

3:30 PM ET

Pick: Notre Dame

See article, OFD Game Day Countdown: Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh

No. 10 Clemson (-12.5) at Duke

7:00 PM ET

Pick: Clemson

Duke's been a great story this season, but as often happens these bad teams play more good teams and everything falls apart. We know how average the Stanford offense is this year and they put up 50 points on Duke.

I'm pretty sure Clemson can win by at least a couple touchdowns.

No. 2 Oregon (-8.5) at No. 18 USC

7:00 PM ET

Pick: Oregon

I want USC to win. I need USC to win. It's tempting to pick them since they went into Eugene and won last year. That was only the Ducks 2nd home loss since 2008, and that's a pretty amazing stat.

However, this Oregon team is in beast mode. They seem to be getting better, bigger, faster, and stronger under Chip Kelly. This is his best defense and I think the Ducks might win this handily.

Oklahoma State (+8.5) at No. 3 Kansas State

8:00 PM ET

Pick: Kansas State

I really have no idea what to make of Oklahoma State this season. They haven't been in the spotlight much this season and they don't really have any good wins this year. I mean, unless you want to count TCU last week?

The Cowboys haven't proven enough to me to pick them to win on the road against Optimus Klein & Co.

No. 1 Alabama (-8.5) at No. 5 LSU

8:00 PM ET

Pick: LSU

I'm going for it---picking the "big" upset.

I'm hanging my hat on the Hat and the magic potion of Death Valley. I don't know how and I don't know why. Somehow this Alabama dominance has to stop and LSU rarely ever loses night games at home.

Geaux Tigers!

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