HICKMAN'S HUNCHES for games of Saturday, October 26

•Texas A&M—Baylor. Loomed early as the game in the SWC this season but Baylor has been disappointing. Big Bears have it in them but must stick with Aggies until proven wrong. TEXAS A&M.

•Michigan State—Illinois. Illini could do no wrong against Minnesota, while Spartans were soundly spanked by Purdue. However, homecoming is over. MICHIGAN STATE.

•North Carolina State—Duke. Surprising Wolfpack has suffered only a tie with Miami while Blue Devils are unblemished. State is bowl-banned and Duke is bowl-bound. DUKE.

•Syracuse—Penn State. Nittany Lions have now lost twice while the Big Orange—even without Jim Brown—has only an opening-game tie against its record. Still stubborn. PENN STATE.

•Notre Dame—Pittsburgh. Panthers, despite losses to Oklahoma and Army, still one of best teams in the East. Irish have improved each outing and with extra week off should be ready. NOTRE DAME.

•Texas—Rice. Possibly the two most improved teams in SWC. Both are eying title after opening conference wins. Also, both Owls and Longhorns are in contention for title should Aggies falter. Going with the home team. TEXAS.

•Virginia—Army. Cavaliers have come along better than expected. Could be off week for Cadets who have been high for Notre Dame and Pitt. But on or off, Army has one of the most devastating ground games in the country. ARMY.

•Wisconsin—Ohio state. Badgers are no pets this year, but feeling is that Buckeyes have too much manpower for them, even at Madison. In a tough one, OHIO STATE.

•Michigan—Minnesota. Wolverines were scared by Northwestern surge while Golden Gophers couldn't get going against Illini. Can Gophers come back? It says here, yes. MINNESOTA.

•Oregon—California. Golden Bears are better than their record shows but Ducks with three conference wins are winging toward Rose Bowl. OREGON.

ALSO:

Mississippi state over Alabama
Louisiana State over Florida
Dartmouth over Harvard
Iowa state over Kansas State
Kentucky over Georgia
Tennessee over Maryland
Missouri over Nebraska
Iowa over Northwestern
Oklahoma over Colorado
Navy over Pennsylvania
Princeton over Cornell
Washington State over USC
UCLA over Stanford
Georgia Tech over Tulane
Vale over Colgate

Last week's hunches:

15 right, 9 wrong, 1 tie
Record to date: 76-43-6