Week 5 Picks: Where are the good games?

Standings
1. Schweinfurth    12-4   (3-1 upset)
2. Draper              10-6   (1-3 upset)
3. Hoying              9-7    (2-2 upset)
4. Auer                  6-6     (0-3 upset)

Baylor Bears @ West Virginia Mountaineers
Draper: Baylor has taken a dose of reality after RGIII and most of their receiver talent headed to the greener pastures of the NFL.  Baylor's a nice little team and WVU is a little flaky with insane head coach Holgerson, but Geno Smith is solid.  The Mountaineers high powered offense will simply out score the Bears in their first visit to the backwoods.  BU: 20--WVU: 45
Auer: Not sure this is a real game... but the Morgantown faithful will help the Mountaineers earn their first ever home Big 12 win... relatively easily. BU: 10--WVU: 46
Hoying: There is one reason Baylor snuck into the rankings, and you might have seen him losing to the Bengals last Sunday.  Give credit to the Bears for not pulling an Arkansas against ULM last Saturday, but the lack of defense is troubling.  Meanwhile, West Virginia's Geno Smith may be this year's RGIII, racking up 12 TD's in 12 quarters this year.  This game looks like bad news Bears for Baylor.  BU: 24--WVU: 48
Schweinfurth: The West Virginia offense is humming along against very inferior opponents so far this year.  Baylor is another inferior opponent.  This isn't the RGIII Baylor Bears from last year.  That missing element and the first home Big 12 game for WVU equals a blowout with some points piling up.  BU: 31--WVU: 56
 
Oregon State Beavers @ Arizona Wildcats

Draper:  Rich Rod's offense looked good in weeks 1-3...then they played a real team in Oregon and got shut out.  I'm shocked.  The Beavers are a solid team but not flashy at all.  Oregon State will hope for a boring low scoring game while the Cats want high scoring and flash.  This should be a very good game that flies under the radar.  I think the home field advantage makes the difference.  Zona couldn't get in the endzone on any possessions last week, but I think a few big plays will beat the grind that the Beavers want.  OSU: 17--Zona: 20
Auer: After an ugly loss for the Wildcats last week (getting shutout 49-0 at Oregon), RichRod's troops will be looking to make a statement against the upset specialist of the 2012 season. OSU is 11-2 in their series with Arizona, and have won 5 straight in Tuscon. Arizona is going to put up a great fight, but the Beaver train keeps on rolling OSU: 24--Zona: 21
Hoying: Few teams have a win over a ranked opponent in this young season.  Oregon State has two.  In two games.  Of course, this was before we knew Wisconsin was horrible, but the Beavers were the first to show that the world-beating Montee Ball running game could be stopped.  Shutting down a hot UCLA offense was even more impressive.  Now the famed DickRod offense steps up to the plate after getting horribly embarrassed by the Pac-12 fashion models.  We all remember how DickRod squads perform in these games, right?  Right?  OSU: 21--Ariz: 20
Schweinfurth: The Beaver defense has been sneaky good this year.  The Beaver's D held Wisconsin's (albeit Jim Bollman-esque anemic) offense in check and looked impressive doing so.  The Wildcat's offense is a different animal than UCLA or Wisky.  I don't know much about the players that Arizona is running out there, but I still do not trust in a Rich Rod offense without White and Slaton (see Michigan). Arizona struggles with another team from Oregon. OSU:24--Ariz: 10 

Texas Longhorns @ Oklahoma State Cowboys
Draper: Texas is undefeated and no one is talking about them (see what happens when you take a year off and aren't in the SEC?).  David Ash has played extremely well.  Look for a big performance on the road vs. a weak Cowboy defense.  Wes Hunt, the true freshman QB for the Pokes, will not be prepared for the big home stage and the Longhorns will take the shootout.  UT: 45--OSU: 38
Auer: After countless comeback wins by the Longhorns over the Pokes, the Fightin' T. Boone Pickens' have a battle on their hands. OSU is coming off a bye and waiting to head on another, while Texas is waiting to face-off against West Virginia and Oklahoma. The deciding factor could be that OSU is breaking in a new QB, JW Walsh in lieu of injured Wes Lunt, but the extra prep time could make the difference. Going for the OSU winning trifecta. UT: 31--OSU: 34
Hoying: The Cowboys have put up ridiculous numbers against the poor, poor defenses they've played so far, but DickRod's Destroyers managed to fight back and hang 59 on them in Tucson two weeks ago.  Will the Texas offense have similar success?  QB David Ash seems to be getting comfortable handling the Texas attack, directing the Longhorns to a great victory over Ole Miss of the mighty SEC, and he should continue to improve in this matchup.  Oklahoma State has had Texas's number lately, but a total lack of defense will be their downfall.  UT: 41--OSU: 35
Schweinfurth: Mike Gundy is known for his offense, and has had the perfect storm the last few years with Weeden and Blackmon running the offense.  This year is a major offensive rebuild for the Cowboys.  This Texas team is very under the radar this year.  The Longhorns are quietly undefeated and are not getting the press like the flashy teams (FSU, Alabama, LSU) are.  I expect lots of points and Texas pulls away late.  UT: 45--OSU: 35

THE Ohio State Buckeyes @ Michigan State Spartans
Draper: After watching the atrocity in the Shoe this weekend, I feared that this was the first time I'd have to pick against the Bucks...then I went home and watched the MSU game.  Woof.  The B1G is so bad that we honestly could win all of our games....and that's sad.  Le'Veon Bell is an absolute beast but the one-dimensional nature of the Green and White will fail to exploit the Buckeye's weak secondary.  Bell will get his, but the safeties and corners will be able to cheat up and limit his effectiveness.  On the other side, Braxton needs to be Braxton.  We've seen what can happen, now we just need to make that the norm.  Good news is the tough running Hyde should be back to balance the offensive threats.  I like the Bucks to steal a close one on the road by limiting the Spartan attack.  OSU: 24--MSU: 20
Auer: Well, we realized our team isn't quite what they are. The defense is average at best (not a surprise when you hire a defensive coordinator because you want to be nice), and Urban doesn't want to set Braxton loose like he should. This game is setting up perfectly for a defensive struggle, but the first meeting between Meyer and Dantonio should bring out the best in both coaches. This game has to be about making statements on both sides, both for the remainder of the season and for the ensuing recruiting battles into the future. Urban gets the wake-up call and turns Braxton loose and relaunches his Heisman campaign. OSU: 35--MSU: 20
Hoying: Buckeye Nation is collectively vomiting after another poor showing against a hapless opponent.  But lost in all the postgame doom and gloom was the equally poor showing Michigan State put on against...Eastern Michigan.  The Spartans, despite the outstanding effort of Le'Veon Bell, have no offense, which is good news for our Silver Slugs (the slimy kind, not the bullet kind).  Braxton is more than enough to counter Bell all by himself.  It's simple: if Braxton carries the ball and doesn't die, the Buckeyes win.  Next question.  OSU: 20--MSU: 17
Schweinfurth: Everyone is talking about the match up between OSU offense and the MSU defense (I'll get to that in a sec).  The real match up is OSU's D and MSU's offense.  If the Buckeyes can stuff Le'Veon Bell and force Andrew Maxwell to throw the ball, the Bucks will be in this game until the end.  The corners need to get in the receiver's faces and give the pass rush some time to get to Maxwell.  On the other side of the ball, the Spartan defensive front seven is very, very good.  The secondary can be beat deep and Devin Smith can stretch the field.  If the OSU coaches stop scripting the first however many plays and take the running "handcuffs" off Miller, this offense can be explosive.  I don't expect the 10-7, defensive slugfest we saw last year but this won't be a barn burner either.  The OSUMB will be there and, as Woody said, they are good for three points on the road.  OSU: 24--MSU: 21

Upset Special
Draper: Washington over Stanford
Auer: Wisconsin over Nebraska
Hoying: Tennessee over Georgia
Schweinfurth: South Florida over Florida State