Last week in college football saw huge blowouts (Michigan 78-0 over Rutgers), exciting finishes (Florida State 20-19 over Miami on a blocked PAT), upsets (Navy 46-40 over #6 Houston), and hurricane-outs (LSU at Florida). We already have one of those things covered this week (the Navy-East Carolina game scheduled for tonight was postponed), and hopefully we'll have the other things as well.
Note: As I did with my NFL picks, I am now mentioning my record against the spread in addition to my straight record.
Last Week: 10-4 (7-7 vs. Spread)
Overall: 77-28 (57-56 vs. Spread)
(Home Teams Listed Last)
Friday
Duke 17, #7 Louisville 52 (7:00 PM, ESPN)
After a bye last week (followin their first loss of the season), Louisville and Lamar Jackson are looking to get back in the win column, an they should do so with ease against Duke, who is not Clemson (I know, shocking).
Saturday
NC State 13, #3 Clemson 35 (Noon, ABC)
Speaking of Clemson, they also get what should be a relatively easy conference game, as they face NC State in Death Valley. The Wolfpack are 4-1, but that one loss was to East Carolina, and their best win was last week against 2-4 Notre Dame.
Kansas State 32, #19 Oklahoma 48 (Noon, ESPN)
K-State and Oklahoma face off in a battle of 3-2 Big 12 teams Saturday. Of course, the difference is that the Sooners have had a much tougher schedule thus far, facing three teams that were ranked at the time.
#20 West Virginia 45, Texas Tech 42 (Noon, FS1)
Patrick Mahomes II (who leads the nation in passing yards) and the Red Raiders will be looking to knock off the unbeaten Mountaineers at home, and they could definitely do it. However, I think WVU will get by Texas Tech, who lost to Kansas State last week.
#10 Nebraska 28, Indiana 31 (3:30, ABC/ESPN)
This is another game where a home underdog could pull off the upset. In this one, I'm actually picking the Hoosiers, who have already upset Michigan State at home, to give Nebraska its first loss of the season in Bloomington.
North Carolina 24, #16 Miami 35 (3:30 PM, ABC/ESPN2)
North Carolina and Mitch Trubisky did not perform well last week against Virginia Tech (a 34-3 loss), while Miami fell to Florida State late. The Hurricanes, as long as they don't dwell on last week, should win pretty handily.
#24 Western Michigan 42, Akron 28 (3:30 PM, CBSSN)
WE HAVE A MAC TEAM IN THE TOP 25!!!!! The Broncos are unbeaten,
Wake Forest 20, #14 Florida State 38 (3:30 PM, ESPN)
Wake Forest should not be taken lightly, but Florida State, fresh off an exhilarating victory in Miami, are much more talented. Dalvin Cook (785 yards rushing, 7 TD) is a Heisman candidate, and Deondre Francois (1,557 yards passing, 9 TD, 2 INT) is a future Heisman candidate.
Kansas 7, #11 Baylor 52 (3:30 PM, FS1)
On the bright side, Kansas already has more wins then it did all of last season. The bad news is, the Jayhawks are 1-4 (the one win coming against Rhode Island the first week of the season) and face a 5-0 Baylor team (at Baylor) that should demolish them.
#1 Alabama 37, #9 Tennessee 21 (3:30 PM, CBS)
The undaunted Crimson Tide face another tough conference test, at ninth-ranked Tennessee. The Vols are on a run of ranked teams themselves (this is their fourth straight ranked opponent), and they're coming off a double-overtime loss to Texas A&M. The Tide will roll again.
#17 Virginia Tech 40, Syracuse 24 (3:45 PM, ESPNU)
Va Tech dismantled then-#17 North Carolina last week, and there is no reason to think they won't do the same thing this week against the Orange, who have been blown out two games in a row (50-33 to Notre Dame and 28-9 to Wake Forest).
#21 Utah 32, Oregon State 20 (4:00 PM, PAC-12)
The Utes keep things interesting. Last week, they were down 14-12 at halftime before going on to beat Arizona 36-23, the week before, they lost by five, and the week before, they won by four. They might make it close again, but they should win.
Missouri 14, #18 Florida 32 (4:00 PM, SECN)
Neither of these teams played last week, but for different reasons. Mizzou had a bye, while Florida's game against LSU, who blew out Missouri the week before, got postponed due to Hurricane Matthew. The Gators won't be impeded by Mother Nature this week.
Tulsa 21, #13 Houston 45 (7:00 PM, ESPN2)
The Houston Cougars were riding high until last week, when they got upset by Navy. Houston's not necessarily out of the playoff race, but they'll have to win out, and do it in impressive fashion. That starts with a home meeting with 4-1 Tulsa Saturday.
#12 Ole Miss 38, #22 Arkansas 28 (7:00 PM, ESPN)
Arkansas is coming off a loss to the best team in the nation. Ole Miss led Alabama at one point when they faced the Tide, but ended up losing by five. As long as they don't blow a lead like they did against Bama and Florida State, the Rebels will emerge victorious.
#2 Ohio State 42, #8 Wisconsin 28 (8:00 PM, ABC)
This week's marquee primetime matchup features two of the four Big Ten teams in the top ten. Wisconsin needs to bring the defense at home against the talented Buckeyes, but they also need to fare better against OSU's defense than they did against Michigan's (a 14-7 loss).
Colorado State 14, #15 Boise State 48 (10:15 PM, ESPN2)
The blue field Broncos continue to rise up the rankings, and could continue to do so after this week's meeting with 3-3 Colorado State, which has lost its last two games (at Minnesota and home against Wyoming).
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that Western Michigan beat Oklahoma State. It was Central Michigan, not Western Michigan, who upset Oklahoma State. The author regrets this error.
No comments:
Post a Comment