It's Halloween weekend, and in honor of the only time a year when women can dress like this and not be branded a slut (injustice anyone?), The Señior is handing out his five tricks and treats for Week 10.Trick: Texas Tech's shot at legitimacy will blow up in its face. Red Raiders coach Mike Leach is big on pirates, so let's explain this in a way he'll fully understand: Texas Tech is a fast, slick speedboat that just pulled up alongside an old ship full of some of the most established buccaneers on the seven seas, who just happen to be flying a '05 national championship flag. Leach and his first mate Graham Harrell climb aboard and stake their claim at being the biggest, baddest ship on the seas, despite the fact that before this encounter, the Raiders' biggest altercation was with a fleet of docked tugboats. Captain Mack Brown quickly calls for Leach and Harrell to walk the plank and they sink into the sea like a couple of rocks. That's exactly how it will go down, except for the plank, ship and all that. Texas Tech's offensive line alignment, with three yards between each man, makes it difficult for teams to pressure Harrell, who has been sacked three times all year, but considering the way coordinator Will Muschamp brought the heat against Oklahoma, a team Texas sacked three times, expect the Longhorns to figure out a way to bring the heat and take Texas Tech off its game.
Treat: Florida will solidify itself as the SEC East frontrunner and get a little payback in the process. A week ago, the Gators and Georgia delivered huge statement wins heading into their annual clash in Jacksonville, and while you can argue that what the Bulldogs did to LSU was far more impressive than what Florida did against a lackluster Kentucky team, UGA should be worried. Urban Meyer may be staying mum on the subject, but that little dance Georgia did has been a subject of motivation for this Florida team since last season and all it did in waxing the Wildcats was serve notice that the Gators are ready to exact revenge.
Trick: Indiana will make it two losses to MAC teams this season. If you're a Big Ten program, there's nothing more embarrassing than losing to a team from the Mid-American Conference, the league in the Big Ten's backyard that gets all the players that the big brother schools didn't think were good enough to suit up in the BCS conference. The Hoosiers have already suffered such an embarrassment this season at the hands of Ball State and now it will happen again against Dan LeFevour and Central Michigan. It's being argued that this game means more to the Hoosiers, who at 3-5 need to beat the Chippewas to keep alive a sliver of hope that they'll qualify for a bowl game, but wouldn't CMU, which lost to Georgia and Purdue, get a boost in confidence before their upcoming MAC West showdown with Ball State if they could knock off a BCS conference team? CMU wants to make a statement and IU happens to be the right team at the right time.
Treat: Now we'll start finding out what Virginia is made of. The Cavaliers have rattled off four straight wins to climb back into the ACC chase, but it's these next four games that will decide whether this is a team that can actually hope of landing in Tampa to play for the conference crown. First up: Miami, which is riding a three-game win streak into Charlottesville, including a 16-10 win over Wake Forest that, considering the current state of the ACC, is a benchmark victory. The Hurricanes gave up 195 rushing yards against the Demon Deacons and considering the tear Cedric Peerman has been on, averaging 111 yards during the win streak, Al Groh's team should get a little more respect after this victory.
Trick: Washington will beat USC. If you're a Trojans fan, the only thing worse would be knocking on someone's front door for Trick or Treat and getting a nickle. OK, I can't even make myself seriously type this. USC by 80.
Now, on to this week's picks:
No. 2 Alabama vs. Arkansas State: Crimson Tide
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. Nebraska: Sooners
No. 5 Florida vs. No. 8 Georgia at Jacksonville, Fla.: Gators
No. 7 Southern Cal vs. Washington: Trojans
No. 9 Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State: Cowboys
No. 10 Utah at New Mexico: Utes
No. 11 Boise State at New Mexico State: Broncos
No. 12 TCU at UNLV: Horned Frogs
No. 14 Missouri at Baylor: Tigers
No. 15 LSU vs. Tulane: Tigers
No. 16 Florida State at Georgia Tech: Yellow Jackets
No. 17 BYU at Colorado State: Cougars
No. 19 Tulsa at Arkansas: Golden Hurricanes
No. 20 Minnesota vs. Northwestern: Wildcats
No. 22 Michigan State vs. Wisconsin: Badgers
No. 23 Oregon at California: Golden Bears
Last Week: 14-6
Overall: 131-38
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