The Top 5 College Football Coaching Performances This Season, Plus Your Week 10 Picks

[inline:chip]Before we get to your regularly scheduled programming, a little side note about coaching. For all the attention that the Urban Meyers, Nick Sabans, and Joe Paternos of the world receive, there are as many coaches out there doing an admirable job, minus the fanfare. So let's celebrate the unheralded guys. Here are the Top 5 coaching performances of the season. 5. Dave Wannstedt, Pittsburgh Has the one-loss Panthers tied for first in the Big East. True, they haven't been too tested by their relatively easy schedule, but the Panthers have taken care of business nonetheless. 4. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech Built an efficient offensive attack that only Miami has been able to figure out. There's a strong chance Johnson's troops will end the year with one loss and in a BCS bowl game. 3. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati The most surprising team in the nation? Perhaps. With Kelly's offense you know what you are going to get -- lots of big plays.

2. Gary Patterson, TCU Naysayers will point to the Horned Frogs' mediocre conference as the reason for their undefeated mark, but look closely and you'll see that behind Patterson TCU has wins over Clemson, Virginia, and BYU. 1. Chip Kelly, Oregon After a season-opening loss, marred by the on-field melee that followed, most coaches could have folded on their team. Kelly did the opposite, rallying his troops, getting them to play above expectations, and having them in position for a possible date with the Rose Bowl. Last week I went 9-6 with choices. Here are your Week 10 picks. (Home team in caps). PITTSBURGH (-21.5) over Syracuse The Panthers are exceeding expectations at this point, but given how hot they've been it's tough to bet against them piling up the points. Wisconsin (-10) over INDIANA With a win in sight, the Hoosiers crapped the bed in last week's crushing defeat to Iowa. Chances of them bringing that same energy and passion against the Badgers isn't likely. Northwestern (+16.5) over IOWA The Hawkeyes' trend of playing close contests hasn't yet caught up with them; still, it isn't an encouraging sign. The Wildcats aren't great, but are they good enough to pull off the upset? NOTRE DAME (-11) over Navy A week after feasting on lowly Washington St., the Irish offense will have a field day against the Midshipmen. Not to mention that wide receiver Michael Floyd is expected to return from injury, only adding another threat alongside Golden Tate. GEORGIA TECH (-16) over Wake Forest The Yellow Jackets have run the ball at will all season long. No reason to expect the trend not to continue against a suspect Demon Deacon run defense. IOWA ST. (+7.5) over Oklahoma St. The home team has been a winner four straight times in this series. The Cowboys will be trying to regroup from that debacle against Texas, again without top playmaker Dez Bryant. PENN ST. (-3.5) over Ohio St. In what should be a terrific game, the Nittany Lions get the edge because of the home crowd and because Terrelle Pryor still hasn't shown enough consistency to trust in leading the Buckeyes to a meaningful road victory. STANFORD (+6.5) over Oregon This is my sleeper pick of the week. The game has letdown written all over it for the Ducks. Are they as good as they looked against USC? Probably not, meaning the Cardinal might capitalize on a little big-win hangover. LSU (+7.5) over ALABAMA The Tide should win this game against what appears to be a good but not great Tigers squad. But if LSU can find a way to slow down running back Mark Ingram, the outcome could be closer than thought. Oregon St. (+7) over CALIFORNIA Remember when Jahvid Best was the best running back in the Pac-10? Me neither. The Beavers' Jacquizz Rodgers currently holds that title and will show the Bears why. Houston (+1) over TULSA Expect a lot of scoring and for the Cougars to eek out a win. Oklahoma (-5.5) over NEBRASKA The Huskers could pull off the upset against the Bradford-less Sooners. More than likely, however, Oklahoma keeps things close before a late score secures the win. Connecticut (+16.5) over CINCINNATI The Bearcats have shown no signs of slowing down and could get quarterback Tony Pike back. I think at some point they are in line for a drag-em-out battle and it could be the Huskies to supply that challenge. Kansas (-3) over KANSAS ST. All of a sudden the Jayhawks look nothing like the dominant force they were to open the campaign. The Wildcats have played their opponents tough of late and figure to be ready for this rivalry matchup. FLORIDA (-35) over Vanderbilt Brandon Spikes may be sitting this one out, but it shouldn't matter against the Commodores' non-existent offense. Tim Tebow and Co. will have no such problems putting points on the board. EDITOR'S SELECTION (i.e. JR has nothing to do with this pick): Duke over UNC The Blue Devils get 10 points in the Tobacco Road battle for the Victory Bell, but they won't even need 'em. Quarterback Thaddeus Lewis leads Duke past the Tar Holes... and one game away from Duke's first Bowl game appearance in years.