For as good as the high school and pro picks have gone this year, college hasn’t been so great, as I fell below .500 with my latest performance. We’ll get above that mark this week I hope.
USC (-4.5) at California
A tough game to get a read on. USC has hardly set the world on fire since beating Ohio State, but the Bears are coming off a humiliating 39-point loss at Oregon. Will Cal bounce back, or fold at the first sign of trouble? USC doesn’t lose many “big” games and I don’t see that trend changing.
Pick: USC
UCLA (+5.5) at Stanford
The Bruins are 3-0, but its kind of an uneasy 3-0 after a ho-hum win over a bad Kansas State team two weeks ago. Stanford just pasted Washington and seems to have it dialed in under Jim Harbaugh. This UCLA team did win at Tennessee, but Kevin Craft on the road gives me the willies.
Pick: Stanford
Oregon State (+5) at Arizona State
The Beavers have done their normal September thing, that is, finish .500 or below. The Sun Devils gave Georgia a run in Athens and almost pulled off a pretty decent upset. So pick Arizona State right? Not so fast. Oregon State picks it up midseason, and we are basically at that point.
Pick: Oregon State
Washington State (+35.5) at Oregon
The Ducks came up huge last week, completely throttling California in an unexpected 42-3 ambush. Washington State actually somewhat hung with USC, only losing 27-0. Oregon will win and win handily, but the inevitable letdown keeps the Cougars in covering range.
Pick: Washington State
Washington (+12) at Notre Dame
This line has moved down from an opening of 14, meaning that there’s some serious money being thrown at the Huskies. That seems to be for good reason, as Notre Dame has injury issues on offense and Washington has played well against good competition.
Pick: Washington
LSU (+4) at Georgia
The Tigers may be ranked No. 4, but they aren’t getting the respect that normally comes from that ranking from the bettors. Probably because LSU has come close to losing to Washington and Mississippi State. I expect Georgia to hold serve at home.
Pick: Georgia
Oklahoma (-7.5) at Miami (Fla)
Apparently Sam Bradford isn’t going to play for the Sooners. It hasn’t mattered the last two games, as Landry Jones has led Oklahoma to consecutive blowout shutout victories. Miami won’t be shut out, and a packed house will ensure a cover in Jones’ first-ever road game.
Pick: Miami
Michigan (+4) at Michigan State
This is one of the more drastic line movements I’ve seen over the span of a week. The undefeated Wolverines started as a 1-point favorite, moved to 2.5 point favorite and have backslid to 4-point dogs to the 1-3 Spartans. The big money feels it knows something, but I have a hard time bending my noodle around this.
Pick: Michigan
Florida State (-3.5) at Boston College
The Seminoles are definitely the schizo team of college football. They lose a classic to Miami, have to come back to beat I-AA Jacksonville State, kill BYU at BYU then throw up a stinkbomb at home against South Florida. BC is pretty nondescript, so I guess I’ll go with the Seminoles to alternate to a good performance.
Pick: Florida State
Auburn (+2.5) at Tennessee
The classic matchup of the flashy offense (Auburn) against the hard-hitting defense (Tennessee). The Tigers have been pretty prolific under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, but they haven’t been tested like the Vols will test them. Tennessee can barely complete a forward pass, but they might not need to.
Pick: Tennessee
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