John Tamanaha

SATURDAY
No. 15 Clemson at South Carolina
Noon ET, ESPN

Gamecock sophomore QB Stephen Garcia is in for a long afternoon. Already sacked 32 times this season, he figures to experience a few more takedowns courtesy of Clemson’s pass rush, which ranks first in the ACC and 11th nationally in sacks.

South Carolina, which conversely ranks 109th in sacks allowed, has won only one game since mid-October. And that was against Vanderbilt, so it barely counts.

In their last outing, a 24-14 loss to Florida on Nov. 14, the Gamecocks allowed Garcia to get sacked six times.

Opening point spread: Clemson by 2 1/2

Pick: Clemson 24-17.

No. 11 Oklahoma State at Oklahoma
12:30 p.m. ET, FSN

With so much star power on both teams sidelined or hampered by injuries, this latest edition of Bedlam isn’t nearly what we thought it would look like when the season started.

But some things never change and the Sooners once again opened as a double-digit favorite at home, even though the Cowboys are the only team still ranked and alive for BCS consideration.

Aside from defensive superiority, much of that opinion has to do with Oklahoma freshman QB Landry Jones’ preference for playing in Norman, where he’s thrown only four of his 13 interceptions this season. We tend to agree and don’t envision the Sooners’ 29-game home winning streak coming to an end.

Opening point spread: Oklahoma by 10

Pick: Oklahoma 34-31.

Florida State at No. 1 Florida
3:30 p.m. ET, CBS

How can anyone expect FSU redshirt freshman QB E.J. Manuel to manufacture enough offense against the Gators to keep pace with all the damage Tim Tebow will inflict on the Seminoles’ pillowy soft defense?

If not for the top-ranked team being involved, this game was a good candidate to get scratched from the “Predictions 101” slate due to the Thanksgiving weekend reduction to 15 games. We don’t often stick with non-conference games that feature a three-touchdown point-spread.

Opening point spread: Florida by 21

Pick: Florida 42-13.

No. 19 Miami (Fla.) at South Florida
3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

As we saw back in September when the Bulls raided Tallahassee, this sort of rivalry-in-the-making type of in-state game means much more to South Florida.

We’re not sure that it’s enough to run with the Bulls, but we’ll take a stab at it anyway, pointing to the fact that the Hurricanes haven’t won a game against stiff competition since its impressive run in the first four games of the season.

Opening point spread: OFF

Pick: South Florida 26-24.

Arizona at Arizona State
3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Down in the dumps after dropping out of Rose Bowl contention with back-to-back losses, the Wildcats will take out their frustrations on the Sun Devils.

With inexperienced sophomore QB Samson Szakacsy at the controls, ASU will have a tough time matching the effectiveness of Arizona playmaker Nick Foles, who has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes this season and thrown for 17 touchdowns with only seven interceptions.

Opening point spread: Arizona by 2

Pick: Arizona 27-20.

Missouri vs. Kansas (at Kansas City)
3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Let’s just hope we aren’t subjected to yet another “let’s link arms with the embattled coach and walk out on the field together” moment.

But no matter what happens from now until kickoff, when the “Border War” gets started up, we should be treated to a good ballgame. There’s more than enough talent and pride on both sides to break through the muck and make that happen.

The Tigers obviously have fewer distractions and more momentum, but we’re going to opt for a mild upset and call for the Jayhawks to break their six-game losing streak and finally qualify for a bowl game . . . even though they probably just want the season to mercifully end right here.

Opening point spread: Missouri by 3

Pick: Kansas 31-30.

No. 22 Utah at No. 18 Brigham Young
5 p.m. ET, CBS CSN

In terms of the quarterbacks, you've got true freshman Jordan Wynn, who will be starting only his fourth game for the Utes, going up against Cougars senior Max Hall, who has a school-record 30 victories under his belt.

That appears to be a mismatch, but Hall was actually Utah's secret weapon in last year's "Holy War," throwing five interceptions and fumbling once as the Utes clinched the Mountain West Conference title and BCS berth with a 48-24 victory in Salt Lake City.

Hall won't lay an egg this year in Provo, especially with the assistance of RB Harvey Unga, BYU's all-time leading rusher who has had at least 116 yards on the ground in each of his last two games against the Utes.

Opening point spread: BYU by 7

Pick: BYU 27-24

Georgia at No. 7 Georgia Tech
8 p.m. ET, ABC

To side with the Bulldogs, you’d have to be quite confident that they’ve sorted out the defensive issues that allowed the Yellow Jackets to rush for 409 yards (7.3 per carry) and claim a 45-42 victory last year in Athens.

Even if Georgia wasn’t held scoreless in the last 23 minutes of its 34-27 loss at home to Kentucky last week, we’d still ride with the Ramblin’ Wreck.

Opening point spread: Georgia Tech by 7 1/2

Pick: Georgia Tech 34-30.

Notre Dame at Stanford
8 p.m. ET, ABC

The Fighting Irish defense, which hasn't shown a lot of toughness or sure-handed tackling ability this season, is in for long day on The Farm against hard-charging Cardinal RB Toby Gerhart, who is averaging 139.2 yards per game on the ground.

At home against UConn last week, Notre Dame allowed the Huskies to rush for 4.8 yards per carry. In the two games before that, Navy and Pittsburgh got more than six yards per pop.

Fueled by the frustration of last week's 34-28 loss to arch-rival California, Gerhart and the rest of the Cardinal will show no mercy to Charlie Weis, handing him a fourth consecutive loss in his last game with the Fighting Irish.

Opening point spread: Stanford by 5 1/2

Pick: Stanford 38-24

UCLA at No. 24 USC
10 p.m. ET, FSN

With home-field advantage never really meaning much in this “Battle for Los Angeles” and the Trojans struggling in every phase of the game, all signs point to a Bruin victory.

While UCLA spent last weekend getting bowl eligible with a 23-13 victory over Arizona State, Pete Carroll and his crew had an extra week to prepare.

That’s not enough time to cure all that ails USC, but it’s extremely helpful in adjusting the egos and getting prepped for the Bruins, who don’t have the type of running game that would give the Trojans problems.

Opening point spread: USC by 10 1/2

Pick: USC 23-19.

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