College football picks: Ohio State-USC not only big game on tap

By Ralph D. Russo | The Associated Press • Published September 10, 2008

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There’s The Big Game being played at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday. And there is a slew of other big games going on all over the country this weekend that’ve been pushed out of the spotlight by the Ohio State-Southern California mega-matchup.

South Florida hosts Kansas, playing not only for its own aspirations but for Big East dignity. Georgia starts its Southeastern Conference season at South Carolina, where Steve Spurrier is playing musical quarterbacks again. Texas and Arkansas renew a classic rivalry with a new twist: Welcome, Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino. Oregon and Purdue offer a potential Big Ten-Pac-10 shootout.

Also, two potential BCS busters try to stay undefeated at home against teams from the Big Six conferences: BYU hosts UCLA from the Pac-10 and Fresno State gets a visit from Wisconsin out of the Big Ten.

Lots to like.

The picks:

Friday

No. 13 Kansas (plus 3½) at No. 19 South Florida

Intriguing matchup between programs on upswing ... SOUTH FLORIDA 31-24.

Saturday

No. 5 Ohio State (plus 10½) at No. 1 Southern California

Big game, if you haven’t heard ... USC 28-20.

No. 2 Georgia (minus 7) at South Carolina

Bulldogs have won three straight in Columbia, but usually it’s close ... GEORGIA 27-17.

No. 3 Oklahoma (plus 20) at Washington

Won’t be much to celebrate for Huskies this week ... OKLAHOMA 47-21.

Nevada (plus 26½) at No. 6 Missouri

Second straight ranked Big 12 team for Wolf Pack ... MISSOURI 50-21.

North Texas (plus 41½) at No. 7 LSU

Tigers can get by no matter where they play ... LSU 55-7.

Arkansas (plus 24) at No. 8 Texas

Razorbacks have won three of last four meetings ... TEXAS 35-17.

No. 9 Auburn (minus 10½) at Mississippi State

Bulldogs snapped six-game losing streak to Tigers last season ... AUBURN 23-10.

No. 10 Wisconsin (minus 1½) at No. 21 Fresno State

BCS talk would ramp up if Bulldogs can beat Badgers ... WISCONSIN 28-24.

Western Kentucky (plus 28) at No. 11 Alabama

Last warm-up for Tide before consecutive SEC road games ... ALABAMA 40-10.

SMU (plus 36½) at No. 12 Texas Tech

With all those passes, this could take a while ... TEXAS TECH 68-24.

No. 14 East Carolina (minus 13) at Tulane

Now Pirates are favorites ... EAST CAROLINA 28-13.

UNLV (plus 22½) at No. 15 Arizona State

Rebels are 3-9 vs. Pac-10 teams ... ARIZONA STATE 44-14.

No. 16 Oregon (minus 8) at Purdue

Chance for Boilermakers QB Curtis Painter to grab some attention ... OREGON 41-27.

No. 17 Penn State (minus 27) at Syracuse

Have not played since 1990, back when Syracuse could compete ... PENN STATE 41-10.

UCLA (plus 8½) at No. 18 BYU

Split two games last season, with Cougars winning Vegas Bowl ... BYU 24-17.

No. 22 Utah (minus 24) at Utah State

Rivalry in name only; Utes have won 10 straight ... UTAH 38-10.

No. 23 California (minus 14½) at Maryland

Bears back in rankings and averaging 52 points ... CALIFORNIA 36-20.

Louisiana-Lafayette (plus 24½) at No. 24 Illinois

Illini outscored Sun Belt teams 183-36 in four previous games, all wins ... ILLINOIS 51-14.

Last week: 18-3 (straight); 12-7 (vs. points).

Season: 37-6 (straight); 21-10 (vs. points).