Saturday Slate: November 14

#1 Florida at South Carolina
Would love to see the Gamecocks pull the upset, complete with a Steve Spurrier smug grin as he shakes Urban Meyer's hand afterwards. Don't see South Carolina putting together enough offense though.
The pick: Florida 23, South Carolina 13

Notre Dame at #8 Pitt
Naturally the Charlie Weis Watch has begun, but watching that loss to Navy, it's tough to pin that one on him. One thing you can question: why Golden Tate gets only 1 touch in the 1st half. And while it was nice to have Michael Floyd back, it's also a fact that he dropped a couple passes including a TD and a bomb before the clinching safety, didn't know the play call that resulted in an INT that bounced off his back, and probably took some looks away from Tate. Remember this though: the Irish are desperate, and Dave Wannstedt is on the other sideline. If the Irish pull it out, we look forward to Lou Holtz gloating in the face of the insufferable Mark May.
The pick: Notre Dame 34, Pitt 30

#10 Iowa at #11 Ohio State
Losing last week, coupled with an injury to their QB, and this one is becomes the least intriguing game between two highly ranked teams maybe ever. The Rose Bowl committee rooting hard for Ohio State to avoid an Iowa-Oregon matchup.
The pick: Ohio St. 20, Iowa 6

#16 Utah at #4 TCU
Pulling hard for TCU to make as much of a mess for the BCS Commies as possible. The Horned Frogs should be fine here, because it's usually a random late-night game at a school like San Jose St. that derails their perfect season.
The pick: TCU 38, Utah 27

Stanford at #9 USC
Don't think it'll be tough to get up for USC after a huge win over Oregon, especially with a guy like Jim Harbaugh leading the crew. But can they play well for 2 weeks in a row? If you're watching this game, be prepared for plenty of references to the iconic Cardinal upset from a couple years ago. And speaking of Harbaugh, does a win here guarantee him the Michigan job after they fire Rich Rodriguez next month?
The pick: USC 29, Stanford 13

Michigan at Wisconsin
Does the aforementioned Rodriguez have a chance to save his job? If so, he needs a win here and then over Ohio St. He won't get it.
The pick: Wisconsin 23, Michigan 16

Auburn at Georgia
Have we figured out why only Georgia home games are described as being played "between the hedges" when like 5 SEC stadiums have the hedges?
The Pick: Georgia 31, Auburn 30

Penn at Harvard
With both undefeated, this one's for the Ivy title. What's amusing is that YES is airing the Yale-Princeton game and will probably label it the Ivy Game of the Week. Does recent bad Philly karma extend to the Quakers?
The pick: Penn 15, Harvard 9

Amherst at Williams
Gameday decided to pass this year, but NESN (Doug Flutie doing color commentary!) will be there as always for The Biggest Little Game In America, Vol. 124. The hated Lord Jeffs come to Williamstown at 7-0 and looking for their first outright NESCAC title ever. But Amherst hasn't won at Weston Field since 1985, and the last time they showed up at 7-0, the Ephs beat 'em 23-20 in OT back in 2001. (Quick anecdote: yours truly was carrying a clipboard in that one as like the 6th string QB. When we scored the winning TD in overtime, we all rushed the field, only I got tripped up and got pancaked by my buddy, who was checking in at about 3 and a quarter spins at the time. Smooth.) Williams has the high-powered offense, Amherst the stingy defense. But there's a reason the Jeffs have never managed to win a conference title: as The Blade would say, they're a bunch of gaggers. Go Ephs.
The Pick: Williams 17, Amherst 16