Hey, OSU -- Watch Out for Houston

I don't know if I will do this every week for the next couple of months.

But I'm going to try — at least for awhile.

Here are my picks in this week's games featuring teams that are currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25:

• Troy at #1 Florida, 11:21 a.m. (Central) on the SEC Network — Florida should win by a wide margin.


• #2 Texas at Wyoming, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on Versus — Texas appears likely to win substantially.


• #3 Southern Cal at #7 Ohio State, 7 p.m. (Central) on ESPN — I pick Southern Cal. Ohio State hasn't fared well against ranked opponents in recent years.


• Florida International at #4 Alabama — 'Bama should cruise.


• Syracuse at #5 Penn State, 11 a.m. (Central) on Big Ten Network — I pick Penn State.


• Houston at #6 Oklahoma State, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on FSN — Most observers probably believe Oklahoma State is likely to win, but I think Houston might pull off the upset.


• Vanderbilt at #9 LSU, 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPNU — I'm no fan of LSU, but I don't see how the Tigers can lose.


• Eastern Washington at #10 California — I'll take Cal, simply because I do not know much about Eastern Washington.


• Miami (Ohio) at #11 Boise State — Same is true of this game. I will take Boise State


• #12 Brigham Young at Tulane, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2 — BYU should be favored after its win over Oklahoma.


• Clemson at #13 Georgia Tech tonight at 6:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN — I'll take Tech, but Clemson might pull off a surprise.


• Idaho State at #14 Oklahoma — Even with injuries at quarterback and tight end, OU should be able to handle Idaho State.


• Marshall at #15 Virginia Tech — Virginia Tech lost to a good Alabama team. Tech should be able to dispose of Marshall fairly easily.


• #16 TCU at Virginia, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPNU — I'll take TCU to knock off Virginia.


• #17 Utah at San Jose State, 9:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPNU — San Jose doesn't have the horses to stay with Utah.


• Arkansas State at #18 Nebraska — If ASU upsets Nebraska, the Top 25 will look radically different next week.


• #19 North Carolina at Connecticut, 11 a.m. (Central) on ESPNU — North Carolina should win this one easily.


• #20 Notre Dame at Michigan, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC — This is one of those grudge matches in which records and rankings don't matter. If Notre Dame wins, though, the Irish haters need to prepare themselves for a long season. Better get started.


• South Carolina at #21 Georgia, 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2 — Georgia should be able to bounce back against South Carolina.


• Southeast Missouri State at #23 Cincinnati — Cincinnati has everything going in its favor.


• #24 Oregon State at UNLV — Oregon State should have no trouble with UNLV.


• #25 Kansas at Texas–El Paso — Kansas should handle UTEP.

Eighth–ranked Ole Miss and #22 Miami (Fla.) are off this week.

There are a couple of games that stand out. Clearly, #3 Southern Cal at #7 Ohio State is the marquee matchup. And, simply for the tradition, #20 Notre Dame at Michigan has the potential to be entertaining.

Other than those two games, you've got to figure that the ranked teams will be the favorites this week.

Still, there are questions.

For example, how will Oklahoma respond to not only losing its quarterback for 2–4 weeks but also its tight end for the season? I doubt their absences will be meaningful against Idaho State — but the Sooners have to play the Miami Hurricanes and the Texas Longhorns in a few weeks.