Bob's Picks - Who will prevail in the Game of the Century in our own backyard?

Montana State-Aggie showdown headlines a busy weekend

I've been in a number of major college football stadiums on game day over the years, mostly for games with sold-out crowds.

Autzen Stadium in Eugene, home of the Oregon Ducks.

Notre Dame Stadium.

The Los Angeles Coliseum.

The Rose Bowl.

Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

And yet, I've never witnessed more deafening crowd noise than I did last Saturday night at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, where 26,012 rabid fans made it extremely tough for UC Davis to call signals on offense.

The Aggies fought all this noise and came away with an impressive victory, but you have to wave your cap to the folks in Missoula. They really have it going when it comes to packing their stadium.

The crowd, the stadium, the weather, the giant "M" on the hill, having to cross the Clark Fork River to access the stadium. The whole scene is so impressive.

While UC Davis Health Stadium's capacity is half that of Washington-Grizzly, this Saturday presents a chance for UCD fans to create a "hostile" environment when Montana State comes to town for what many consider to be the biggest game in UCD's 106-year football history.

If you've never been to an Aggie football game before, make this the one. You will not be disappointed. Tickets are still available for the 5 p.m. game.

This week's picks are as follows:

(All of last week’s picks are available here)

CAL over SYRACUSE ... The Golden Bears have found their footing in the last few weeks and are eyeing a decent bowl bid in their first season in the ACC.

LOUISVILLE over STANFORD ... Things are so bad on The Farm that the weary Cardinal would have trouble winning an intrasquad game.

OREGON over WISCONSIN ... The Mighty Ducks continue their run through the Big Ten, which is decidedly weaker than usual this year.

USC over NEBRASKA ... Two traditional powers who are struggling once again. (See "Weaker Big Ten" above.)

WASHINGTON over UCLA ... (See "Weaker Big Ten" above.)

BRIGHAM YOUNG over KANSAS ... Can anyone stop the "Y"?

NOTRE DAME over VIRGINIA ... The Irish don't have the horses - or the Four Horsemen - to compete for the national title, but they will get a playoff bid nevertheless.

TEXAS over ARKANSAS ... Horns over Hogs.

COLORADO over UTAH ... The Utes apparently don't think that defensive holding should ever be called against them.

BOISE STATE over SAN JOSE STATE ... No one can stop the Broncos.

UPSET OF THE WEEK: Tennessee over Georgia ... Are the Dawgs on the brink of elimination from the playoffs? (Upset record: 4-7).

ROUT OF THE WEEK: Alabama over Mercer ... Mercy, Mercer. (Rout record: 11-0).

DON'T BET ON IT, BUT: Oregon State over Air Force ... Two teams heading south in a hurry. The good news is that one of them has to win this game. Those are the rules. (Don't bet record: 5-6).

FIVE EASY PICKS: This week's money-back guaranteed winners are Ohio State (over Northwestern), Penn State (over Purdue), Texas A&M (over New Mexico State), Washington State (over New Mexico) and Auburn (over Louisiana-Monroe). (FEP record: 53-2).

AGGIES over MONTANA STATE ... The Donnybrook in Davis. The Aggie Avalanche. The Bobcat Bash. Call it what you want, this one potentially has it all. The Game of the Century in our own backyard? Seemingly so. Take the Ags by 4.

OTHER GAMES: Arizona State over Kansas State, Clemson over Pittsburgh, Liberty over Massachusetts, Kentucky over Murray State, Jacksonville State over Florida International, Western Kentucky over Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston over Kennesaw, Iowa State over Cincinnati, SMU over Boston College, LSU over Florida, James Madison over Old Dominion, Texas State over Southern Mississippi, Memphis over UAB, Montana over Portland State, Northern Arizona over Northern Colorado, North Dakota State over Missouri State, South Dakota State over Southern Illinois, and Sacramento State over Cal Poly.

Last week: 25-7, season: 373-78, percentage: .827.

Reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com