Week 9 CFB Picks

Congratulations in advance to the Alabama Crimson Tide on winning the National Championship (again). I kid, I kid. But the defending champs do look like the best team in the country by a wide margin so far this season. They passed what I thought would be there toughest challenge with flying colors, beating Texas A&M 33-14 last weekend. While #1 didn't go down, #2 Ohio State did, falling 24-21 to Penn State in Happy Valley Saturday night. It's seemingly clear who's #1, but after that, it's sort of muddled.

Last Week: 12-6 (9-8 vs. Spread)
Overall: 102-38 (74-73 vs. Spread)

(Home Team Listed Last)

Thursday
#25 Virginia Tech 24, Pittsburgh 17 (7:00 PM, ESPN)
Pittsburgh, behind James Connor (531 yards rushing, 7 TD), is ranked 25th in the country in rushing offense. However, Virginia Tech, which is coming off a blowout win over Miami, ranks 10th in the country in rushing defense.

Friday
#22 Navy 32, South Florida 28 (7:00 PM, ESPN2)
Navy's upset win of Houston three weeks ago doesn't look as good after the Cougars lost to SMU last weekend, but the Midshipmen did impress in a win over Memphis Saturday. USF is 6-2, but is coming off a 16-point loss to Temple.

Saturday
#10 West Virginia 38, Oklahoma State 28 (Noon, FOX)
The unbeaten Mountaineers continue to roll, and they are breaking Big 12 stereotypes along the way, winning with a great defense (In six games, they've allowed 11, 21, 32, 16, 17, and 10 points, respectively). I think they'll continue the roll Saturday in Stillwater.
#2 Michigan 34, Michigan State 24 (Noon, ESPN)
Michigan should be weary of Michigan State, despite the Spartans' 2-5 record (and five straight losses). At the same time, it is because of those things that the second-ranked Wolverines should come out with a win this time.
#24 Penn State 35, Purdue 13 (Noon, ABC/ESPN2)
The newly-ranked Nittany Lions need to avoid a letdown after upsetting #2 Ohio State last Saturday night, especially against the juggernaut that is Purdue. In all seriousness though, the Boilermakers did play tough against Nebraska last week (after firing their coach), only losing by 13.
#5 Louisville 54, Virginia 21 (Noon, ABC/ESPN2)
After Louisville struggled a bit with Duke two weeks ago, it was fair to assume they might have a little trouble with an NC State team coming off a near-upset of Clemson. The Cards had no trouble, however, as they went back to their dominant ways (which should continue this week).
#4 Washington 32, #17 Utah 21 (3:30 PM, FS1)
The Huskies and Utes face off Saturday in what might be the biggest Pac-12 matchup of the season (thus far). Utah has been able to come out of a lot of close battles with wins, but Washington is one of the most all-around dominant teams in the nation.
#8 Baylor 50, Texas 38 (3:30 PM, ABC)
Texas has fallen on hard times, losing four of its last five, including last week against Kansas State. Baylor remains unbeaten (although the best team they've faced is probably Oklahoma State), and I think they'll remain perfect this weekend.
#14 Florida 27, Georgia 10 (3:30 PM, CBS)
Georgia has also fallen on hard times, losing three of its last four, including last week against Vanderbilt.  Florida is in first place in the SEC East (although the best team the 5-1 Gators have beaten is probably Missouri), and should remain that way after this week.
Northwestern 13, #6 Ohio State 45 (3:30 PM, ESPN)
The Buckeyes suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday night at Penn State due to poor offensive line play and special teams miscues, but their defense still dominated, and this week they're back at home against 4-3 Northwestern.
#13 Boise State 42, Wyoming 24 (7:00 PM, CBSSN)
Boise State escaped with a win over BYU last week, and the unbeaten Broncos should be able to escape against 5-2 Wyoming, which got destroyed by Nebraska and lost to Eastern Michigan, Saturday night.
Kansas 7, #16 Oklahoma 52 (7:00 PM, FS1)
Oklahoma came out on top in a shootout with Texas Tech last week (66-59), and they probably won't be involved in a shootout this week at home against 1-6 Kansas, a team that didn't win a game last season, and has lost six in a row this season after a first week win over Rhode Island.
#7 Nebraska 28, #11 Wisconsin 35 (7:00 PM, ESPN)
In this week's primetime Big Ten contest, the two best teams in the conference (not named Michigan or Ohio State) face off. Tommy Armstrong Jr. and company have done a wonderful job starting 7-0 this season, but Wisconsin is hard to beat at Camp Randall.
#15 Auburn 39, Ole Miss 28 (7:15 PM, SECN)
Auburn is coming off a win over then-#17 Arkansas last week, and this week they face a scuffling team that has lost to Arkansas and LSU the last two weeks. After having 12 touchdown passes and three interceptions the first four weeks, Chad Kelly has three TDs and four picks the last three games.
#18 Tennessee 38, South Carolina 23 (7:15 PM, ESPN2)
Although Tennessee has lost its last two games, those two games were against Texas A&M and Alabama, and the Vols are coming off a bye week. They shouldn't have a problem with 3-4 South Carolina.
New Mexico State 10, #9 Texas A&M 58 (7:30 PM, ESPNU)
After suffering their first loss of the season at the hands of Alabama last Saturday, the Aggies get to take out all of their anger and disappointment on 2-5 New Mexico State, a team that has lost to Idaho and Georgia State the last two weeks.
#3 Clemson 45, #12 Florida State 28 (8:00 PM, ABC)
The night ends (at least for ranked teams) with a marquee matchup between two very talented teams. I could see the Seminoles winning, but they got absolutely slaughtered by Louisville, a team that lost to Deshaun Watson and Clemson.