Football Picks – Who Will Finish Higher in the USA Today Coaches Poll: UCLA Or Notre Dame?

As the 2010 season beckons, UCLA and Notre Dame both face their fair share of uncertainty. Yet, these two programs stand on shaky ground in the NCAAF football picks for very different reasons.

UCLA can’t count on a bright future because Rick Neuheisel – now in his third season as the Bruins’ head coach – has yet to turn the corner in Westwood.

UCLA teams have been ravaged by injury, especially at quarterback, and have failed to put points on the board.

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Most football betting picks according to pundits expected Neuheisel to be an offensive whiz and a quarterback guru; what’s more, he’s hired Norm Chow, the former offensive coordinator at USC during the Trojans’ halcyon days in the Pete Carroll era, as his own offensive coordinator.

(He did this in 2009, but the move still says a lot about Neuheisel’s desire to light up the stat sheet.)

UCLA fans are waiting to see a Neuheisel offense bust out all over and make the Bruins the force they were under former coaches Bob Toledo and (especially) Terry Donahue.

Recruiting is picking up for the Bruins, but until the talent meshes on the field, it’s hard to take UCLA too seriously, especially in a Pac-10 where five teams – Arizona, Oregon State, Oregon, Stanford and Cal – have better credentials and talent than the Bruins do.

UCLA might very well beat Kansas State out of conference, but contests against Houston and Texas are likely to draw two defeats. If UCLA can merely go 5-4 in the Pac-10, it will have done well. All in all, a 6-6 season and a bowl bid would not be a terribly disappointing showing for the program, given its slow progression under Neuheisel.

The 2011 campaign is shaping up to be the year when this program will have to win big; the implosion of cross-town rival USC (due to NCAA sanctions and accompanying player departures) might really help UCLA’s recruiting efforts by then, while Neuheisel’s young roster hits its stride.

Notre Dame faces uncertainty this year because the Fighting Irish are breaking in a new coach. Though most pundit’s football picks suggest that Brian Kelly is widely regarded as a fantastic hire in South Bend. He’s pulling in the recruits and appears to have the program on the right track, but year one will still be a mystery.

No one knows exactly what to expect in 2010, even while Kelly is making Notre Dame a force to be reckoned with in 2011 and beyond.

Notre Dame’s schedule, as usual, will be loaded with nearby Big Ten teams. Purdue, Michigan and Michigan State are all on the slate, and the Irish should win two of those three contests. Stanford and USC from the Pac-10 will push the Irish, who will likely split those two games.

A road game at Boston College and a home game versus Utah are toss-ups. A split of those tilts wouldn’t be all that bad. A home game against Pittsburgh is a likely loss, but every other contest –versus Western Michigan, Navy, Tulsa, and Army –should be a win.

A 7-5 or 8-4 season won’t be viewed with glee by fans of this traditional power, but such a record will be better than the 5-7 or 6-6 record UCLA is likely to produce. Make the Fighting Irish your football picks – they will finish higher in the polls.

Football Picks: Notre Dame