Top 25 picks: Buckeyes better look out
It had been 11 years since Nos. 1 and 2 lost on the same day before LSU and California pulled the trick last week.
In this unpredictable college football season, would it be all that surprising to see the top two teams in the AP poll and the BCS standings go down in the same weekend again?
Top-ranked Ohio State faces an unranked opponent and No. 2 South Florida lost to another one, Rutgers, Thursday night. So 11 teams with top-10 rankings have already lost to unranked opponents, so what’s one more?
The Buckeyes’ (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) first game this season as No. 1 will be at home against Michigan State and former Ohio State defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio, who in his first season as head coach has the Spartans (5-2, 1-2) well positioned for their first winning season since 2003.
Dantonio has the Spartans getting after the quarterback. They’re second in the nation in sacks with 29, and running the ball well (243 yards per game).
Ohio State’s rise from No. 11 to start the season includes one victory over a team that’s been ranked this season.
The picks:
| Matchup | Time | TV |
| Michigan St. (plus 17) at No. 1 Ohio St. | ||
| The pick: Ohio State 28-10 | 12:30 p.m. | |
| No. 4 Oklahoma (minus 29) at Iowa State | ||
| The pick: Oklahoma 48-14 | 9:30 a.m. | FSN |
| No. 18 Auburn (plus 11) at No. 5 LSU | ||
| The pick: LSU 21-13 | 6 p.m. | ESPN |
| Vanderbilt (plus 13) at No. 6 S. Carolina | ||
| The pick: S. Carolina 34-17 | 9:30 a.m. | |
| No. 7 Oregon (minus 11) at Washington | ||
| The pick: Oregon 35-21 | 4:30 p.m. | FSN |
| No. 14 Fla. (minus 7) at No. 8 Kentucky | ||
| The pick: Florida 34-28 | 12:30 | CBS |
| Miss. St. (plus 23 1/2 ) at No. 9 W.Va. | ||
| The pick: W.Va. 41-17 | 12:30 | |
| No. 10 California (no line) at UCLA | ||
| The pick: UCLA 28-24 | 12:30 | ABC |
| No. 13 USC (minus 18) at Notre Dame | ||
| The pick: USC 34-14 | 12:30 | NBC |
| No. 15 Kansas (minus 4) at Colorado | ||
| The pick: Kansas 29-17 | 2:30 | ESPN |
No. 22 Texas Tech (plus 3 1/2 ) at No. 15 Missouri | ||
| The pick: Missouri 54-43 | 12:30 | |
| No. 19 Texas (minus 24 1/2 ) at Baylor | ||
| The pick: Texas 50-17 | 9:30 a.m. | Versus |
| No. 20 Tennessee (plus 1) at Alabama | ||
| The pick: Alabama 31-28 | 9:30 a.m. | |
| No. 23 Cincinnati (plus 9 1/2 ) at Pittsburgh | ||
| The pick: Cincinnati 33-21 | 9 a.m. | |
| No. 24 Michigan (minus 2 1/2 ) at Illinois | ||
| The pick: Illinois 28-24 | 5 p.m. | ABC |
| No. 25 Kansas St. (plus 3) at Okla. St. | ||
| The pick: Kansas St. 34-30 | 4:30 p.m. | |
Last week’s record: 15-6 (straight); 13-7-1 (vs. points)
Season: 123-25 (straight); 67-62-2 (vs. points)