CFB Top 25 Weekend Preview and Picks

God, I missed this weekly ritual.

Most games are your typical Week 1 mismatch to get a team's feet wet. Mizzou-Illinois is a rare exception... If they even play the game with the bad weather, I think defending 1-AA champ App State pulls a "don't-call-it-an-upset-this-time" over defending 1-A champ LSU in Baton Rouge. (Yes, really...) I'll watch Alabama-Clemson just because it's a great barometer game for both teams (Clemson, a BCS title-game contender, especially)... I am totally intrigued by Utah at Michigan; it's RichRod's debut with a new offense and Utah is a tough non-BCS draw, even at the Big House (which is why I'm picking the Utes)... And, yes, I will be at The Swamp for Florida-Hawaii... Complete picks follow... Use the Comments to add in your own picks for Game of the Weekend, Upset Special and Storylines to Watch.

(1) Georgia over Georgia Southern
(2) Ohio St over Youngstown St
(3) USC over at Virginia
(4) Oklahoma over Chattanooga
(5) Florida over Hawaii - ATTENDING IN PERSON
(6) Missouri over (20) Illinois – GAME OF THE DAY 1A
Appalachian St over (7) LSU – UPSET SPECIAL!
(8) West Virginia over Villanova
(9) Clemson over (24) Alabama - GAME OF THE DAY 1B
(10) Auburn over LA-Monroe
(11) Texas over Florida Atlantic
(12) Texas Tech over E. Washington
(13) Wisconsin over Akron
(14) Kansas over Florida Int’l
(15) Arizona St over N. Arizona
(16) BYU over Northern Iowa
(17) VA Tech over East Carolina
(18) Tennessee over at UCLA - MONDAY
(19) S. Florida over TN-Martin
(21) Oregon over Washington
(22) Penn St over Coastal Carolina
(25) Pitt over Bowling Green

Best of Non-Top 25:
Utah over at Michigan (!)
Cal over Michigan St
Fresno St over at Rutgers

-- D.S.