West Virginia and Louisville picked the wrong day to play one of the great games of last season. The Mountaineers and Cardinals played a triple overtime classic in which West Virginia rallied for 17 points in the fourth quarter and won, 46-44. But it was the same day – Oct. 15, 2005 – that Southern California beat Notre Dame, 34-31, and grabbed all the national headlines.

Tonight, West Virginia and Louisville have the stage to themselves.

The picks:

Today

No. 3 West Virginia (plus 11â2) at No. 5 Louisville

Big East’s best combine to average 79 points per game … WEST VIRGINIA 33-30.

Saturday

No. 1 Ohio State (minus 27)

at Illinois

Buckeyes haven’t given up TD in eight quarters. … OHIO STATE 38-10.

Ball State (plus 331â2) at No. 2 Michigan

WR Mario Manningham (knee) could be back for Wolverines … MICHIGAN 39-3.

Oklahoma State (plus 17) at No. 4 Texas

Longhorns’ shaky pass defense faces another potent passer in Bobby Reid … TEXAS 44-24.

Arkansas State (plus 31) at No. 6 Auburn

Tigers DE Quentin Groves leads SEC with 7.5 sacks. … AUBURN 35-6.

No. 7 Florida (minus 151â2) at Vanderbilt

Gators have won 16 straight in series but needed two OTs to win last season … FLORIDA 27-13.

No. 14 LSU (minus 3) at No. 8 Tennessee

Tigers first visit to Neyland Stadium since 2001 … TENNESSEE 24-21.

No. 9 USC (minus 29) at Stanford

USC back on track … USC 38-7.

UCLA (plus 17) at No. 10 California

Home team has won last six in series … CAL 30-14.

North Carolina (plus 271â2) at No. 11 Notre Dame

First meeting since 1975 … NOTRE DAME 44-10.

No. 12 Arkansas (minus 21â2) at South Carolina

UA has won five of eight vs. other USC under Houston Nutt … SOUTH CAROLINA 24-21.

No. 16 Boston College (minus 4) at No. 22 Wake Forest

Winner has inside track to ACC championship … BOSTON COLLEGE 20-19.

Penn State (plus 7) at No. 17 Wisconsin

P.J. Hill, Big Ten’s top rusher, should play … WISCONSIN 21-17.

No. 18 Oklahoma (minus 3) at No. 21 Texas A&M

Aggies trying to go 9-1 for first time since ’98 … OKLAHOMA 26-20.

Maryland (plus 16) at No. 19 Clemson

Terps’ 11th-ranked rush defense in ACC faces league’s best running team … CLEMSON 40-17.

No. 20 Ga. Tech (minus 6) at North Carolina State

Yellow Jackets need two wins in last three ACC games to earn title-game berth … N.C. STATE 20-17.

No. 23 Virginia Tech (minus 2) at Miami

Teams have split last six meetings in Orange Bowl … MIAMI 23-21.

Washington (plus 13) at No. 24 Oregon

Huskies have yet another hurting quarterback … OREGON 42-20.

Arizona (plus 16) at No. 25 Washington State

Cougars have won four straight … WASHINGTON STATE 28-10.