College Football 2019: Week 9

Every week of the 2019 college football season so far has brought us ridiculous plays, surprising outcomes and hilarious events. But Week 8 was the wildest one yet. So much happened last week (both football-related and not). I don't know where to begin. I suppose I'll begin at the beginning.

• Former Oregon Star Stops Gunman - Ex-Oregon receiver Keanon Lowe, a football and track coach at Parkrose High School in Portland, was credited with tackling an armed student after footage was released on Friday showing him disarming a man a few months ago, preventing potential injuries and/or deaths. Lowe played for the Ducks from 2011-2014, but his efforts at Oregon pale in comparison to his heroic effort in May.

• Worst Fake Punt of All-Time? - Before Saturday, it was clear that the Indianapolis Colts held the title of "Worst Fake Punt of All-Time". But Arkansas decided to take a shot at that title last weekend, and the Razorbacks may have done enough to snatch the belt. Down 17-0 to Auburn in the second quarter, Arkansas decided to try a fake punt on 4th-and-11 from its own 41-yard-line. Punter Sam Loy acted like he was going to punt, then tried the "Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway" throwing strategy, which resulted in an easy Auburn interception. The Tigers went on to win, 51-10.

• Sooner Schooner Stumbles - During a break in Saturday's West Virginia-Oklahoma game, Oklahoma's famous horse-drawn carriage, the Sooner Schooner, went out onto the field. As it was turning around, it took a spill. Luckily, nobody was hurt. Unluckily, the Sooner Schooner will be retired for the remainder of the season due to the incident. I should've taken the crash as a sign of how my picks against the spread were going to go this weekend.

• Long Live Lovie - Week 7 gave us the first big upset of the 2019 college football season. Week 8 saw Week 7 and said, "Hold my beer". Illinois, one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, was a 30-point underdog against a Wisconsin team that had looked unstoppable in the first seven weeks of the season. Somehow, the Fighting Illini came back and beat the Badgers, 24-23, on a game-winning field goal as time expired. This was a big win for Illinois head coach Lovie Smith, who looks like he could be either 50 years old or 200 years old.

• Trouble with Tua? - Tennessee hung with the first-ranked Crimson Tide for a half Saturday night, but Alabama pulled away and won easily. The biggest story was Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a high ankle sprain during the game and could be out a few weeks. The Tide play second-ranked LSU in two weeks. It remains to be seen whether Tua will be back for the big SEC matchup. If he's not, Bama will count on backup Mac Jones, who does have a history of success coaching women's intramural flag football teams.

• Sports are Often Bad, but They're also Often Good - There was nothing inherently exciting about the Rutgers-Minnesota game last Saturday. Any game featuring Rutgers is not inherently exciting. But something noteworthy did happen during the game. Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck sent out walk-on placeholder Casey O'Brien to hold the snap on an extra point early in the fourth quarter. O'Brien got the hold down, and the extra point went through the uprights to make it 28-0, Minnesota. Why am I talking about this seemingly insignificant moment? Well, Casey O'Brien is a four-time cancer survivor. He finally got into a game last weekend, and it was such an emotional moment that it had his head coach was in tears on the sideline. 

Week 8 Superlatives

Best Performance: Shane Buechele, QB, SMU (30-53, 457 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT)

The SMU quarterback had a day in a 45-21 win over Temple, throwing for 457 yards (250 of them to receiver Reggie Roberson Jr.) and six touchdowns (three of them to Roberson Jr.) to propel the Mustangs to 7-0.

Best Play: Using Your (or Someone Else's) Head

It is extremely difficult to execute a successful onside kick. Ohio kicker Michael Farkas managed to do it Saturday in the second quarter of a game against Kent State. Farkas kicked the ball right off the helmet of Kent State up-man Isaac Vance. It bounced off the helmet and back to the Bobcats. That's how you execute a successful onside kick. Ohio went on to win, 45-38.

Best Gameday Sign: Jim Harbaugh gets the Dinkleburg Treatment

Yes, I know this is the second time I have changed this superlative. But I think I've settled on highlighting the best College Gameday sign each week. Last weekend, Gameday was in State College, PA, for Penn State-Michigan. Most of the signs I saw made fun of Jim Harbaugh and/or Michigan's ineffective offense in some way, including this Fairly OddParents-inspired one.

Week 9 Picks

Thursday

#16 SMU @ Houston

(7:30 PM, ESPN)

The highest-ranked Group of Five team at the end of the season gets an automatic berth in a New Year's Six bowl, and right now, SMU is that team. The Mustangs have scored over 40 points in every game this season. No reason to think that won't continue against 3-4 Houston.

Spread: SMU -14  Over/Under: Over 65.5

Prediction: SMU 45, Houston 21

Saturday

#13 Wisconsin @ #3 Ohio State

(Noon, FOX)

This Big Ten battle lost a little luster when Wisconsin fell to Illinois, but it's still a matchup between two of the most talented teams in the country. I wouldn't be surprised if the Badgers make it a close game, but Illinois exposed weaknesses last week, and Ohio State is a whole lot better than Illinois.

Spread: OSU -14  Over/Under: Over 49.5

Prediction: Ohio State 38, Wisconsin 21

#5 Oklahoma @ Kansas State

(Noon, ABC)

Although their literal wagon crashed last week, The metaphorical Sooner Schooner continued to roll on. Oklahoma has only scored less than 48 points in just one of its seven games this season. In three Big 12 games, Kansas State has scored a total of 49 points. The Wildcats won't be able to keep up.

Spread: OKLA -23.5  Over/Under: Over 57.5

Prediction: Oklahoma 48, Kansas State 21

#20 Iowa @ Northwestern

(Noon, ESPN2)

Speaking of Oklahoma, this is the opposite of an Oklahoma game. Both of these teams struggle offensively and don't give up a lot of points defensively. The Wildcats will be lucky to score more than two touchdowns on the Hawkeyes, though it's worth noting that Iowa is 2-5 against the spread.

Spread: NW +10  Over/Under: Under 37.5

Prediction: Iowa 21, Northwestern 13

#21 Appalachian State @ South Alabama

(Noon, ESPNU)

App State is among the three teams vying for the Group of Five spot in a New Year's Six bowl, behind SMU and Cincinnati. All the Mountaineers can do is just keep winning, and they will win this Saturday against 1-6 South Alabama, the second-most embarrassing USA team right now.

Spread: APP -26  Over/Under: Over 52

Prediction: Appalachian State 42, South Alabama 13

#9 Auburn @ #2 LSU

(3:30 PM, CBS)

After a nice bye week... I mean, win over Mississippi State... LSU goes back at it against a top team. Auburn has wins over Oregon and Texas A&M, but couldn't do anything against Florida the week before LSU beat the Gators. I think the Tigers will win by double digits (and show less skin).

Spread: LSU -10.5  Over/Under: Under 58.5

Prediction: LSU 35, Auburn 21

#6 Penn State @ Michigan State

(3:30 PM, ABC)

Penn State dispatched of Michigan last Saturday night to remain unbeaten, although the Wolverines made it closer than a lot of people thought. After scoring a combined 10 points against Ohio State and Wisconsin, the Spartans will have a hard time putting points on the board against the Nittany Lions.

Spread: PSU -6.5  Over/Under: Under 44.5

Prediction: Penn State 30, Michigan State 13

#15 Texas @ TCU

(3:30 PM, FOX)

Texas almost lost to Kansas (again) last week. But the important thing is that Texas didn't lose to Kansas last week. The Longhorns will have to play a lot better on the road against TCU, especially on defense (they gave up 48 points to Kansas). I think they will.

Spread: TEX -1.5  Over/Under: Over 59

Prediction: Texas 38, TCU 24

Maryland @ #17 Minnesota

(3:30 PM, ESPN)

PJ Fleck's team continues to row the undefeated boat. Maryland couldn't beat IU last week and got destroyed by Purdue the week before. The good news is that this week's opponent is not from the state of Indiana. But that's the only good news.

Spread: MINN -16.5  Over/Under: Under 57

Prediction: Minnesota 35, Maryland 17

Oklahoma State @ #23 Iowa State

(3:30 PM, FS1)

Two weeks ago, Oklahoma State was a ranked one-loss team, with that one loss coming by six points to Texas. Now the Cowboys are on a two-game losing streak that will likely turn into a three-game losing streak on the road against a hot Iowa State team. Life comes at you fast.

Spread: OSU +10.5  Over/Under: Over 63.5 

Prediction: Iowa State 38, Oklahoma State 28

Arkansas @ #1 Alabama

(7:00 PM, ESPN)

Alabama will not have Tua this weekend, but they won't need Tua against Arkansas. Mac Jones, Julio Jones, Jim Jones, Return of the Mack, Big Mac, Bernie Mac, Fat Mac, it don't matter, the Crimson Tide are still gonna roll at home against the Razorbacks.

Spread: ALA -31.5  Over/Under: Over 55.5

Prediction: Alabama 48, Arkansas 14


UCF @ Temple
(7:00 PM, ESPN2)

Two American teams that have spent time in the Top 25 this season meet in my Unranked Game of the Week. Both teams sit at 5-2, with both hoping for a Cincinnati slip up so they can claim a spot in the AAC championship. I'll take Central Florida in a hard-fought battle.

Spread: TEMP +10.5  Over/Under: Over 60

Prediction: UCF 35, Temple 28

Boston College @ #4 Clemson

(7:30 PM, ACCN)

Of all the teams vying for a spot in the College Football Playoff, Clemson has the easiest schedule the rest of the season. But that doesn't mean the Tigers won't get upset, especially if Trevor Lawrence continues throwing bad interceptions. I don't think they'll get upset by Boston College.

Spread: BC +34  Over/Under: Under 59

Prediction: Clemson 44, Boston College 14

#8 Notre Dame @ #19 Michigan

(7:30 PM, ABC)

This is my Game of the Week. Michigan suffered its second loss of the season last week, but they stuck with Penn State in Happy Valley. Notre Dame comes in with just one loss, a close one to Georgia. This could go either way, but I'll go with Michigan, meaning this is also my Upset Alert.

Spread: MICH +1  Over/Under: Under 51

Prediction: Michigan 24, Notre Dame 21

#24 Arizona State @ UCLA

(7:30 PM, PAC12)

After failing to get anything going against Utah last week, Arizona State travels to L.A. to face a UCLA team that blew out Stanford last week. Despite last week's vastly different results, I think ASU is the better team, and I think the Sun Devils will win behind their defense.

Spread: ASU -3.5  Over/Under: Under 55.5

Prediction: Arizona State 30, UCLA 21

California @ #12 Utah

(10:00 PM, FS1)

Speaking of the Utes, they also play a California team this weekend, but they do so at home. The Golden Bears have lost three straight, including last week against Oregon State, which had just been killed by Utah. Utah should beat Cal, but it could be a low-scoring game.

Spread: CAL +21.5  Over/Under: Over 37.5

Prediction: Utah 28, California 13

Washington State @ #11 Oregon

(10:30 PM, ESPN)

Washington State ended a three-game losing skid last week with a rout of Colorado. The one-game winning streak will probably end this week against the Ducks, who have won six straight since an opening loss to Auburn, including last week on the road against Washington.

Spread: WSU +14  Over/Under: Under 65

Prediction: Oregon 35, Washington State 24

Last Week: 18-4  vs. Spread: 9-13  Over/Under: 8-14

Season: 134-36  vs. Spread: 74-94-2  Over/Under: 86-83-1

Stats and info via ESPN.com, BleacherReport.com, Twitter.com, SportingNews.com, OddsShark.com, and CBSSports.com

Lines via OddsShark.com

Lines as of Wednesday evening