GAMES OF THE WEEK

No. 13 Boise St. at San Jose St.

Friday, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Boise State (6-0) needs a win to keep pace with No. 14 Utah in the battle for a possible Bowl Championship Series berth, but it might not be as easy as it sounds. San Jose State (5-2) actually leads the Western Athletic Conference with a 3-0 league record. San Jose State is giving up only 16.6 points per game and last week had six sacks and forced four turnovers in a 31-14 win at New Mexico State. Facts are facts, though, and San Jose State, in eight tries, has never defeated Boise State.

The pick: Boise State.

No. 3 Penn St. at No. 10 Ohio St.

Saturday, 5 p.m., Channel 7

A win would put Penn State (8-0) in prime position to finish 12-0 and earn no worse than its first Rose Bowl berth since the 1994 season. A win against Penn State would get left-for-dead Ohio State (7-1) back in the national-title race. It’s all about breaking streaks for Penn State. Last week, the Nittany Lions halted a losing streak to Michigan at nine games and this week they’ll be trying to win in Columbus for the first time since 1978.

The pick: Ohio State.

No. 7 Oklahoma St. at No. 1 Texas

Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

Texas Coach Mack Brown has warned his Longhorns about eating “the poison cheese” that comes with being the nation’s top-ranked team. Texas (7-0) has won 10 straight in the series but has had to stage some incredible comebacks to salvage victories against the Cowboys (7-0). In 2004, Oklahoma State led, 35-7, before surrendering 49 straight Texas points. In 2005, Texas trailed Oklahoma State, 28-9, and rallied to win. Last year, Texas rallied from a 35-14 deficit in the fourth quarter to win.

The pick: Texas.

No. 2 Alabama at Tennessee

Saturday, 4:45 p.m., ESPN

No one can say Alabama is getting short-changed in the rankings. The Crimson Tide (7-0) has risen from No. 24 in the preseason to No. 2 based on one great half at Georgia. Tennessee (3-4) is last in the SEC East but is coming off a 34-3 rout of Mississippi State. There is a lot of bad blood between Alabama and Tennessee, and the Crimson Tide has not posted consecutive wins against the Volunteers since 1991-92.

The pick: Tennessee.

-- Chris Dufresne