National college football writer J. Brady McCollough makes his picks for 10 potentially competitive matchups on this weekend's schedule:
Penn State at Maryland: Maryland 35-31
Maryland, a dynamite home team, uses a night crowd's energy to clip the Nittany Lions.
Arizona State at California: California 27-16
Golden Bears hold serve at home to set up huge Pac-12 North game at Oregon.
Wake Forest at Boston College: Wake Forest 31-24
Demon Deacons, who may be the ACC's second-best team, improve to 5-0.
USC at Washington: Washington 34-21
Turnovers will bite Matt Fink in first start, and banged-up USC defense is overmatched.
Iowa State at Baylor: Baylor 23-20
In a matchup of intriguing quarterbacks, Baylor's Charlie Brewer outlasts Iowa State's Brock Purdy.
Kansas State at Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State 38-28
Cowboys bounce back from a tough loss at Texas and stay in the Big 12 race.
Stanford at Oregon State: Stanford 33-31
Has David Shaw's program fallen far enough to lose in Corvallis? Possibly, but not probably.
North Carolina State at Florida State: Florida State 27-19
If Florida State coach Willie Taggart loses this one, look out below in Tallahassee.
Washington State at Utah: Utah 41-35
A revved-up Rice-Eccles Stadium crowd should help put the Utes on top.
UCLA at Arizona: Arizona 38-34
Bruins play inspired again, but it's hard to be magical two weeks in a row.
Last week: 6-4; Season: 26-14
