ND-Washington Pick...and some confidence pool selections

By Michael Rothstein

The Journal Gazette

Back after a week's hiatus -- the confidence pool went on, Insights went a pedestrian 5-5 -- and Notre Dame is once again one of the 10 games involved.

Insights, confidence pool-wise, has lingered around 13th place all season. And after missing the UNC score by one point (I had 28-24 UNC), let's give it another try.

Notre Dame-Washington: This is the first game I can say I feel good about predicting with 100 percent certainty this year. Notre Dame is going to beat Washington -- and win handily. The Huskies porous pass defense and inability to keep quarterbacks from being accurate plays right into what the Irish like to do. Look for Jimmy Clausen to set another career high -- possibly topping 400 yards -- and for touchdowns from Michael Floyd, Golden Tate, Robby Parris and Duval Kamara. The defense will also play well as Washington's offense is less than impressive. Notre Dame is going to put up 500-plus yards of offense in this one and make a statement on national television Saturday night. And new kicker David Ruffer will make a field goal and an extra point in relief of Brandon Walker. Our pick: Notre Dame 52, Washington 17.

On to the confidence pool:

Confidence Level 10: Notre Dame over Washington. Why: See above.

Confidence Level 9: Michigan State over Michigan. Why: This game might be closer than originally thought, but Javon Ringer will be enough for the Spartans.

Confidence Level 8: Boston College over North Carolina. Why: UNC was a good team when it had Brandon Tate. Without him, teams can focus on Hakeem Nicks and the Eagles are getting better by the week.

Confidence Level 7: LSU over Georgia. Why: LSU has issues, but at home the Tigers will pull the mild upset and send the SEC into another confused tailspin.

Confidence Level 6: Penn State over Ohio State. Why: The Nittany Lions are the best team in the Big Ten and destined for a national championship game appearance. This is one of their final hurdles. It'll also double as the best college football game of the year.

Confidence Level 5: Texas Tech over Kansas. Why: With all the Texas and Oklahoma talk, the Red Raiders are quietly winning games and climbing the polls. It'll happen again against a Jayhawks team not quite as good as last season.

Confidence Level 4: Texas over Oklahoma State. Why: It'll be a good game, but Colt McCoy and Texas are the nation's best team and will win at home. On the road, this might have been different.

Confidence Level 3: Virginia Tech over Florida State. Why: FSU is on its way back, but not all the way there yet.

Confidence Level 2: Tennessee over Alabama. Why: Every year, when it looks like Phil Fulmer is done and gone he wins some games he isn't supposed to. Watch it happen again.

Confidence Level 1: Connecticut over Cincinnati. Why: Both teams have quarterback issues. Only one, UConn, has Donald Brown at running back.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know what you think below. And stop by tomorrow during the Notre Dame-Washington game. We'll chat all things college football while watching the game.

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The Journal Gazette's Assistant Sports Editor Tony Krausz covers The University of Notre Dame. Krausz, a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a native of St. Louis, has been assistant sports editor since October 2005. Prior to joining the JG, he worked at two papers in Mississippi covering high school and college athletics.