2010 College Football Picks: Week 14
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- By Sunday evening we'll know who will play for the BCS college football championship.
It's No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Oregon's spots to lose provided they get past their final hurdles this weekend. Should they slip up, No. 3 TCU and No. 4 Stanford, which have completed their seasons, are lying in wait.
The Rose Bowl is shaping up as TCU vs. No. 5 Wisconsin, with the Sugar Bowl looking like an attractive Big 10-SEC matcup -- No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Arkansas. The Orange Bowl will feature the ACC champ and either the Big East champ or likely Stanford. And the Fiesta Bowl will be the Big 12 winner vs. either the Big East winner or an at-large.
If you think about it, the statistical dominoes that go into choosing these bowl lineups, are, well, annoying. ESPN will reveal the matchups at 8:15 p.m. ET Sunday. Let's get a playoff. Anyway, let's look at the big games this weekend.
Nick Fairley, Auburn
No. 1 Auburn (12-0) vs. No. 19 South Carolina (9-3), SEC Championship, Atlanta, 4 p.m. ET (CBS)
: Does the old ball coach have it in him to win his biggest game ever at South Carolina? The teams met on Sept. 25, and Auburn needed two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to secure a 35-27 win. Coach Steve Spurrier is facing an explosive Auburn team lead by Cam Newton that gets it done when the pressure is on. The Tigers have given up some points, but defensive lineman Nick Fairley can disrupt an offense on his own. Auburn is fast, physical, and once again, has Cam Newton.
South Carolina is a balanced team, and did handle Alabama just as well as Auburn did, if not better.
Interesting quarerback stat here. The Gamecocks' Stephen Garcia has passed for 2,646 yards, 400 more than Newton. But Newton has
rushed
for more than 1,300 yards. South Carolina will need to hold onto the ball with the rugged rushing of Marcus Lattimore.
Corner's choice: Auburn 28, South Carolina 20
Casey Matthews, Oregon
No. 2 Oregon (11-0) at Oregon State (5-6), 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
: Winning "The Civil War" is Oregon's last hurdle before a trip to the BCS title game in Glendale, Ariz. These two teams have a history of spoiling each other's seasons in the past 10 years. But Oregon seems exceptionally focused this year and comes in a 17-point favorite.
The Beavers can look for inspiration to Oregon's 15-13 victory over Cal on Nov. 13, the only game this year in which the Ducks didn't score at least 42 points.
Corner's choice: Oregon 44, Oregon State 24
DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma
No. 9 Oklahoma (10-2) vs. No. 13 Nebraska (10-2), Arlington, Texas,8 p.m. ET (ABC)
: The Cornhuskers haven't won a Big 12 title since 1999, and this is their last year in the league before they head the Big Ten. Before that, these two teams staged some classic battles in the old Big 8. Remember Johnny Rodgers and Greg Pruitt? These two teams met in a classic
.
The two most explosive players on the field are nursing injuries. Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray has a knee injury, and Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez missed the Colorado game with an ankle injury.
Corner's choice: Oklahoma 27, Nebraska 20
Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech
No. 15 Virginia Tech (10-2) vs. No. 21 Florida State (9-3), ACC Championship, Charlotte, N.C., 7:45 p.m. ET (ESPN)
: Florida State turned it up a notch with a trouncing of Sunshine State heavyweight Florida last week, the third win in a row for the 'Noles.
Virginia Tech has reeled off 12 straight wins after starting 0-2 with losses to Boise State and James Madison. Two outstanding quarterbacks -- Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor and Florida State's Christian Ponder -- will go a long way in determining the outcome of this one.
Veteran Hokie Head Coach Frank Beamer praised both quarterbacks at a press conference Friday: "Both of them are smart kids, and both of them are heady kids, and I think you see that in how they play. I think they're very similar in that regard. I think this league is just very balanced, a lot of good coaches, everyone seems to be getting better. Certainly having Florida State back, that name rings a bell when you hear Florida State. When you think of the past and so forth, Florida State is a very prominent program. So yeah, I think it's good for the ACC, but I think you're going to see a lot of teams battling to be in this game and be in this game as the years go by."
Corner's choice: Florida State 24, Virginia Tech 21
Connecticut's Jordan Todman (23) celebrates a touchdown.
Big East's Big Day
: Three teams have a chance at the Big East title and its corresponding BCS bowl on the last day of the regular season, with
Connecticut
(7-4) in the best position. If the Huskies win at
South Florida
(7-4), they win the title and the BCS bid. If they lose and No. 24
West Virginia
(8-3) beats
Rutgers
(4-7), the Mountaineers are champs. If
Pitt
(6-5) beats
Cincinnati
(4-7), and UConn and West Virginia both lose, then the Panthers are champs. Connecticut could have the toughest road, and will look for Jordan Todman to break out. ... Miami of Ohio, a team that finished 1-11 last season, stunned No. 25 Northern Illinois to win the MAC championship Friday night.