A look at a few competitive college football games this week

I put the word "competitive" in the headline for a reason. Many will argue that the two biggest games of this upcoming weekend are Tennessee at Florida and/or Texas Tech at Texas. The problem with those games are that neither is going to be competitive. Florida will spank Tennessee by at least four touchdowns, possibly by as many as six, and Texas is going to walk all over Tech, exacting revenge for last year's meltdown.

That leaves me with three games that have a chance to be interesting and competitive and the results of which could have lasting impact on the rest of this season.

Nebraska at Virginia Tech. The Cornhuskers are getting better, make no mistake about that, but they haven't arrived at the level where they can beat the Hokies in Blacksburg. If this game was being played in Lincoln, I would pick Nebraska, but this time around I'm going with Tech's defense to control Nebraska's high-octane offense.

Michigan State at Notre Dame. I picked the Irish to beat Michigan last week and maybe I just haven't learned my lesson because I'm going with them again this week. Notre Dame actually put themselves in a position to win that game last weekend and I don't think they'll squander those opportunities two weeks in a row. Besides, Notre Dame's offense is really, really good. And I still think the Big 10 is overrated.

Florida State at BYU. Some say this game will let the world know just how good the Cougars are and what their chances are of being this year's BCS busters. I, on the other hand, think Florida State has an awful football team this year -- awful as defined by losing to Jacksonville State at home. There's absolutely no way I can pick Bowden's Bunch to win in Lavell Edwards Stadium.