Beans' Weekly Winners: Week 6

Missouri (-10) at Nebraska, 9pm

Just what The Weekly needs, a little dose of Chase Daniel. The leading Heisman candidate brings his high powered offense into Lincoln for a chance to beat Nebraska on their home turf for the first time in a long time. The Tigers are averaging 53.4 points per game and just over 400 yards per game passing. In addition to what we knew was going to be a prolific passing game, Mizzou RB Derrick Washington has picked up right where Tony Temple left off last season. Thanks to Washington and Daniel's mobility Missouri can truly beat you in the air or on the ground. This is going to a problem for the Cornhuskers. New Husker head coach Bo Pellini is a defensive guru, but he hasn't had the time to resurrect the once famous Blackshirt defense. Last week the Nebraska "D" gave up 35 points to an offensively challenged Virginia Tech team. Expect the Tigers to hang another 40 or 50 on the scoreboard as they get their first win in Lincoln in over 30 years.

Kansas (-12) at Iowa State, 12:30pm

Well if the theme for the last two weeks was Auburn and whoever Navy was playing, this week looks to be Big XII road favorites. It just so happens that Kansas' favorite whippin' boy is Iowa State. In the past two seasons the Jayhawks have beaten up on the Cyclones to the tune of 86-17. No too much has changed from those last two years. Kansas has lost a lot of buzz recently because of their loss to South Florida (a game they should have won) and the fact that there are four Big XII teams not named Kansas in the Top 10. Thanks to the lack of buzz around the Jayhawks there's only a 12 point spread on this game, and we see lots of value in it. Saturday is the day that the Jayhawks will put it all together on the offensive side of the ball as 2007's leading receiver Dexton Fields will be back after missing games with an injured foot. Fields went for 11 catches, 109 yards and 2 touchdowns in last year's contest against the Cyclones. The addition of Fields, as well as a 95th ranked Cyclone rushing defense, will take pressure off of the lagging rushing game. This game should be over by halftime.

Rutgers at West Virginia (-14), noon

Two big factors at play here. One: the Mountaineers may have finally put it together. Two: Rutgers stinks. We know it was just Marshall, but a win is a win and West Virginia looked pretty good in their win last week. The supposed downfall of Patrick White has been thoroughly overplayed. He has completed 73.3% of his passes and thrown for seven touchdowns and only one interception. This team isn't going to contend for a national title and they all know it, but they also know that a Big East title and BCS appearance are well within their grasp. On the other hand, you have a 1-AA quality team disguised as a major program. Mike Teel has thrown for two touchdowns and seven interceptions. He didn't even play well against Morgan State last week (11-18, 188 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception) and the team only amassed 297 total yards. This Rutgers team is worse than the one who let West Virginia torment them last year, in Piscataway mind you, by the score of 38-3. West Virginia embarrasses Rutgers on Saturday -- this is a layup.

Auburn at Vanderbilt (+3.5), 6pm

College Gameday is broadcasting from Nashville, Tennessee and it's not for a neutral site game. Vandy is hosting Gameday for the first time and are primed for an upset of their neighbors from the Plains. Speaking of Auburn, they are coming off of two brutal SEC brawls -- uhh, I mean games. Those games have really taken a lot out of teams in the past. A recent example would be then No. 1 LSU grinding out a win at Florida last year and then getting beat at Kentucky the following week. We incorrectly thought that Auburn had taken strides in their mastery of the spread offense. Their quarterback play has been terrible and they've had difficulty putting points on the board. Vandy's ball hawking defense combined with an offense that never spits the pit gives them the top turnover margin in all of America. They have a win over Ole Miss, who just beat Florida, and Saturday would be a landmark win for a program who's looking for a landmark win. Vandy in a low-scoring squeaker.

Illinois (+2.5) at Michigan, 3:30pm
We love battle tested teams who are fighting for their lives. The Fightin' Illini have already played, and been competitive in, two games against Top 10 programs. They've been on the losing end of both games, vs. Missouri and at Penn State, but have played pretty well in both games. Michigan is still trying to find an identity. They've had an up and down season thus far due to inconsistent play of their young players in prominent roles -- especially at the quarterback position. The Illini have missed Rashard Mendenhall, but QB Juice Williams is a veteran leader and this is a must win game. Thanks to last year's success the expectations were high for this group of Illini and after losing the Big Ten opener at Penn State last weekend, they'll need to take care of the Wolverines this weekend in order to stay in Big Ten championship contention. We'll take the team with more to lose in this game, as Illinois has to have this game. Illini by double digits.