Record
Week 2: 22-1 vs. Spread: 7-8 Over/Under: 7-8
Overall: 39-8 vs. Spread: 15-17 Over/Under: 17-15
Friday
Florida Atlantic @ #16 UCF (7:00 PM, ESPN)
Spread: UCF -13.5 Over/Under: 74.5
Prediction: UCF 52, Florida Atlantic 24
#10 Penn State @ Illinois (9:00 PM, FOX Sports 1)
After almost suffering a monumental upset to App State to start the season, the Nittany Lions responded by blowing out Pitt and Kent State. Illinois will look to respond after losing to South Florida last week. The Illini will not respond the way Penn State did. The Lions will roll to a third straight rout.
Spread: PSU -27 O/U: 61
Prediction: Penn State 48, Illinois 10
Saturday
#2 Georgia @ Missouri (Noon, ESPN)
The second-ranked Bulldogs mus'n't overlook Mizzou. Tiger quarterback Drew Lock ranks sixth in the FBS in passing yards through three games (1062), and fifth in touchdown passes (11). But he'll have to traverse a Bulldog defense that ranks seventh in total yards allowed per game (259) and second in points allowed per game (8.0). The host Tigers will not pull of the upset this Saturday.
Spread: UGA -14 O/U: 64.5
Prediction: Georgia 38, Missouri 21
#8 Notre Dame @ Wake Forest (Noon, ABC)
The eighth-ranked Irish have looked shaky since beating Michigan three weeks ago, only beating Ball State and Vanderbilt by one possession each. Wake Forest may be better than those teams, but not exponentially better. The 2-1 Demon Deacons rank 15th in total offense (542 yards per game), but rank 108th in total defense (457 yards allowed per game). Wake could pull up the upset at home, but I'll go with the Fighting Irish.
Spread: ND -6.5 O/U: 59
Prediction: Notre Dame 34, Wake Forest 21
Nebraska @ #19 Michigan (Noon, FOX Sports 1)
Speaking of teams that have looked shaky, Michigan hosts Nebraska in a Big Ten battle in the Big House. The Wolverines could not get it going against Notre Dame, and they haven't been tested in the two weeks since. The Cornhuskers are still seeking their first win under Scott Frost, and they reached a low point with a home loss to Troy last week. I don't think Nebraska will test Michigan too much.
Spread: MICH -19 O/U: 49.5
Prediction: Michigan 40, Nebraska 17
#23 Boston College @ Purdue (Noon, ESPN2)
Speaking of Big Ten teams still seeking their first win, the Boilermakers of Purdue are hoping to get their first victory of the season against the rising B.C. Eagles. Boston College entered the AP Top 25 rankings after a win on the road against Wake Forest last week, and I think the Eagles will stay there after sending Purdue to 0-4.
Spread: BC -7 O/U: 63
Prediction: Boston College 37, Purdue 20
#22 Texas A&M @ #1 Alabama (3:30 PM, CBS)
This SEC showdown could be the game of the weekend (or it could be a 'Bama blowout). If you remember (I didn't, so I had to look it up), Kellen Mond and the Aggies almost knocked off the Tide last season. A&M also came extremely close to upsetting Clemson two weeks ago (I didn't remember that either). Mond and company will put up a fight, but I don't think the Crimson Tide are losing until they travel to Baton Rouge (foreshadowing!).
Spread: ALA 26.5 O/U: 59.5
Prediction: Alabama 31, Texas A&M 28
#3 Clemson @ Georgia Tech (3:30 PM, ABC)
The fightin' Tigers of Clemson travel to Atlanta to battle the runnin' Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech on Saturday. GT (hey, my initials!) is 1-2 after successive losses to South Florida and Pittsburgh. I don't care if Georgia Tech runs the triple option, quadruple option, or quintuple option, I don't see the host Jackets upsetting the Tigers.
Spread: CLEM -16 O/U: 54
Prediction: Clemson 52, Georgia Tech 24
Tulane @ #4 Ohio State (3:30 PM, Big Ten Network)
Urban Meyer is back from his three-game suspension, but Meyer or no Meyer, Ohio State looked quite impressive through the first three weeks, especially last Saturday night in Texas. Other than Urban's return (and the absence of Nick Bosa), there not many interesting things about this matchup. 1-2 Tulane doesn't stand a chance.
Spread: OSU -37 O/U: 68
Prediction: Ohio State 63, Tulane 24
Kansas State @ #12 West Virginia (3:30 PM, ESPN)
West Virginia knows it could have a tough battle with Kansas State (last season, the Wildcats lost to the Mountaineers by five, a week before upsetting Oklahoma State), but this Kansas State team got thumped by Mississippi State just two weeks ago, and barely beat South Dakota (South Dakota!) the first week of the season. I think Will Grier and company will roll.
Spread: WVU -15.5 O/U: 60.5
Prediction: West Virginia 39, Kansas State 22
#13 Virginia Tech @ Old Dominion (3:30 PM, CBSSN)
Pass.
...Okay, okay, I will provide some kind of insight here. The Hokies are 2-0. Neither game was particularly close. The Monarchs (the first thing I think when I see this team nickname is butterflies, not royalty) are 0-3. Those losses came against perennial National Championship contenders Liberty, FIU and Charlotte. The Hokies will destroy the Monarchs.
Spread: VT -27.5 O/U: 52.5
Prediction: Virginia Tech 32, Old Dominion 3
Florida International @ #21 Miami (3:30 PM, ESPN2)
After the first-week loss to LSU, Miami has demolished Savannah State and Toledo. Apparently, the first meeting between these two teams (in 2006) featured an ugly brawl that included 13 ejections and 31 suspensions (I don't know these things, I'm just getting this info from the Internet). That is the only interesting thing about this matchup. I think the 'Canes will cruise (but not cover).
Spread: MIA -26 O/U: 56.5
Prediction: Miami 40, Florida International 17
#17 TCU @ Texas (4:30 PM, FOX)
Both of these Texan teams are coming off of challenging games against good opponents. While the Horned Frogs fell short against fourth-ranked Ohio State last Saturday night, the Longhorns dominated 22nd-ranked USC. Tom Herman's squad could give TCU a scare, but I don't think Gary Patterson and the Frogs will lose for a second straight week.
Spread: TCU -2.5 O/U: 48.5
Prediction: TCU 32, Texas 21
McNeese @ #25 BYU (6:00 PM, ESPN3)
Ah, finally! We have now reached the meat of this weekend's slate. Oh... wait... no, no, I was gravely mistaken. I apologize. Fresh off a stunner over Wisconsin last week, Bringham Young University (it's important that we know what the acronyms stand for) hosts the McNeese Cowboys. The FCS school is 3-0, but it's also an FCS school. I'll go with the Cougars.
Spread: BYU -24.5
Prediction: BYU 35, McNeese 14
Army @ #5 Oklahoma (7:00 PM)
Bear with me through this underwhelming part of the schedule. Apparently, the only way you can watch this game is via pay-per-view. I have immense respect for the troops, but I'm not paying to watch their triple-option offense try to keep up with Kyler Murray and the Sooners. Oklahoma will spring into conference play on a high note.
Spread: OKLA -30 O/U: 59
Prediction: Oklahoma 55, Army 20
Louisiana Tech @ #6 LSU (7:00 PM, ESPNU)
Ohio State fans' adopted second team (because of former Buckeye quarterback/current Tiger quarterback Joe Burrow) hosts in-state "rival" La Tech in a battle between the state school and the tech school. The state school has looked quite impressive, beating two ranked teams in the first three weeks. In this duel between top-30 defenses, the 29th-ranked defense (LSU) should have no problem beating the 20th-ranked defense (Louisiana Tech).
Spread: LSU -19.5 O/U: 51
Prediction: LSU 34, Louisiana Tech 10
#14 Mississippi State @ Kentucky (7:00 PM, ESPN2)
Kentucky is probably still on Cloud 9 after beating rival Florida for the first time in over three decades, but a meeting with Mississippi State might bring the Wildcats back down to earth. These two teams favor running to passing the ball, so this will be a battle in the trenches. I think the Bulldogs will out-run the Wildcats.
Spread: MSST -9.5 O/U: 56
Prediction: Mississippi State 28, Kentucky 17
Texas Tech @ #15 Oklahoma State (7:00 PM, FS1)
Points, points, points. Those are the three words I would use to describe this Big 12 matchup. The 2-1 Red Raiders rank first in the FBS in total offense (624 yards per game), while the 3-0 Cowboys rank sixth (590 yards per game). The gap between these two teams comes on the other side of the ball. Texas Tech ranks 105th in the nation in total defense (454 yards allowed per game). Oklahoma State ranks 17th (296 yards allowed per game).
Spread: OKST -14.5 O/U: 77.5
Prediction: Oklahoma State 58, Texas Tech 42
Arkansas @ #9 Auburn (7:30 PM, SEC Network)
This is a stark contrast to Texas Tech-Oklahoma State, as the defensive-minded Auburn Tigers host the... bad Arkansas Razorbacks. Auburn suffered a last-second loss to LSU last week, so the Tigers can take their anger out on the 1-2 Razorbacks, who got blown out by North Texas last week.
Spread: AUB -30 O/U: 57.5
Prediction: Auburn 60, Arkansas 7
#24 Michigan State @ Indiana (7:30 PM, BTN)
I smell an upset here. The 1-1 Spartans have not looked good, losing to Arizona State and almost losing to Utah State. The 3-0 Hoosiers have (relatively) easily dispatched of FIU, Virginia and Ball State. No, those aren't especially strong teams, but the host Hoosiers have been known to play superior conference opponents tough, and the Spartans have been very shaky this season.
Spread: MSU 4.5 O/U: 50.5
Prediction: Indiana 35, Michigan State 28
#7 Stanford @ #20 Oregon (8:00 PM, ABC)
Our second (and final) battle of ranked teams comes out west, where the ground-'n-pound Cardinal face off against the high-flying Ducks. Oregon's highly-ranked run defense will be tested against NFL running back prospect Bryce Love, but the Stanford defense will be tested against NFL quarterback prospect Justin Herbert. I'm going with Herbert and the host Ducks.
Spread: STAN -2.5 O/U: 57.5
Prediction: Oregon 32, Stanford 30
#18 Wisconsin @ Iowa (8:30 PM, FOX)
We get a late-night Big Ten battle this weekend, as Wisky will look to bounce back after getting upset by BYU. The Badgers visit unbeaten Iowa. Wisconsin will be tested in Iowa against the Hawkeye defense (209 yards allowed per game, 2nd in the country), but I think Jonathan Taylor, Alex Hornibrook and company will escape with a win.
Spread: WIS -3 O/U: 42.5
Prediction: Wisconsin 24, Iowa 20
Arizona State @ #10 Washington (10:30 PM, ESPN)
Per usual, we end the night with some #PAC12AfterDark. Washington lost its first game of the season to Auburn, while Arizona State lost last week to San Diego State. Herm Edwards' squad will battle, but I think Myles Gaskin and the Huskies will take this one.
Spread: WASH -18 O/U: 52
Prediction: Washington 45, Arizona State 38
Stats and Info via ESPN.com
Lines via Various Sites
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