For Honolulu's Curtis Tom, knowing the right people in the right place helped pay off in a Pigskin Picks victory worth a trip for two to Las Vegas and $500.

Tom, a retired dentist, got word from his brother in Boston that a storm was on its way last week. That led to Tom picking Florida State in an upset over pass-oriented No. 2-ranked Boston College in his Pigskin ballot.

"He said it was raining, (that) a storm was coming ... so I picked Florida State," he said. "Plus, how many number twos have lost?"

Boston College suffered the same fate as previous No. 2s USC, South Florida and Cal.

Tom, who submitted between 10-12 ballots, correctly picked the winners of all 15 games.

Tom's strategy includes studying the betting lines and asking for help from friends, especially from his neighbor Les.

"You just gotta pick a couple of hunches," he said. "Pick upsets and be lucky. Half the thing is luck."

Tom said he goes to Las Vegas about once a year. His next visit? "I'm leaving Sunday (for Vegas)," he said.

FOOTBALL ODDS

(Home teams in CAPS)

COLLEGE

TODAY

FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG

Ohio 3 AKRON

TOMORROW

W VIRGINIA 16 Louisville

BYU 7 1/2 TCU

FRIDAY

Bowling Green 3 1/2 E MICHIGAN

Rutgers 18 1/2 ARMY

SATURDAY

Indiana 2 NORTHWESTERN

PURDUE 4 Michigan St

MIAMI FL 3 1/2 Virginia

CLEMSON 8 Wake Forest

Penn St 24 TEMPLE

Georgia Tech 13 1/2 DUKE

South Florida 16 SYRACUSE

Kentucky 3 VANDERBILT

CINCINNATI 5 Connecticut

Colorado 5 1/2 IOWA ST

Air Force 2 1/2 NOTRE DAME

NEW MEXICO 9 1/2 Colorado St

TULSA 2 1/2 Houston

SMU 6 Rice

Boise St 24 1/2 UTAH ST

UTAH 14 Wyoming

Arizona St 7 UCLA

Alabama 4 1/2 MISS ST

Arkansas 1 TENNESSEE

GEORGIA 1 Auburn

WASHINGTON ST 10 1/2 Stanford

Kansas St 8 NEBRASKA

IOWA 14 1/2 Minnesota

MISSOURI 19 Texas A&M

Michigan 3 WISCONSIN

OHIO ST 15 Illinois

VIRGINIA TECH 6 1/2 Florida St

SAN JOSE ST 4 New Mexico St

Kent 3 1/2 NO ILLINOIS

E Carolina 7 MARSHALL

SO MISS 15 1/2 Memphis

Boston College 5 1/2 MARYLAND

TEXAS 6 1/2 Texas Tech

OKLAHOMA 37 1/2 Baylor

NC STATE 3 1/2 No Carolina

Kansas 5 1/2 OKLAHOMA ST

UTEP 5 TULANE

Florida 6 1/2 SO CAROLINA

Cent Florida 20 1/2 UAB

LSU 36 La Tech

USC 4 CALIFORNIA

Washington no line OREGON ST

UNLV 2 1/2 San Diego St

HAWAI'I 17 Fresno St

MID TENN ST 14 UL Lafayette

Navy 15 1/2 NO TEXAS

FLORIDA ATLANTIC 7 1/2 Arkansas St

NFL

SUNDAY

TENNESSEE no line Jacksonville

KANSAS CITY no line Denver

Buffalo 3 MIAMI

Cleveland no line PITTSBURGH

NEW ORLEANS 12 St Louis

CAROLINA 4 1/2 Atlanta

WASHINGTON 3 Philadelphia

GREEN BAY 6 1/2 Minnesota

BALTIMORE no line Cincinnati

Chicago 3 OAKLAND

Dallas 1 NEW YORK GIANTS

ARIZONA 1 Detroit

Indianapolis 3 1/2 SAN DIEGO

Odds provided by National Sports Services, Inc. (http: www.nss.net)