Oklahoma -28 at BAYLOR – I like the Sooners here because they seem to have retained their focus, even after their benchmark dominant 15 point win at Ohio St a couple of weeks ago. The proof of this is last week they slammed Tulane by 42 points. Be mindful that Tulane is actually ranked a little bit higher than the Baylor Mike Bears. One can make an argument that Oklahoma is the best team in college football. One can also make the argument that Baker Mayfield is the best quarterback in college football. He’s not the most humble person on the planet, and he’s certainly not going to pass up the opportunity to pad his stats to keep the pole position in the Heisman race. Oklahoma is going to score at least 55 points in this game, and there’s not much Baylor is going to be able to do about it. Baylor won’t be able to hold the ball. Oklahoma has a very good pass defense and Baylor’s QB was only 12/34 in their loss to Duke with 3 interceptions. I would count on at least one defensive score by the Sooners this week. Baylor only ran the ball in that game for 57 yards. It will be very difficult for them to keep the ball out of Mayfield’s hands and they certainly won’t be able to stop him once he has it. Baylor only scored 10 points against UTSA. This will be an easy game for Baylor to quit and be pathetic, a la Rutgers last year at home against Michigan. Lay the wood on the Sooners and watch the covered wagon zoom around the field.
Michigan -9.5 at PURDUE – There has to be a reason why the computers have Michigan ranked 6[SUP]th[/SUP] in the country. It’s because they are really really good. For some reason, people seem to think Purdue is also good (the computers don’t, they have Purdue ranked 64[SUP]th[/SUP]). The fact of the matter is, Purdue is never good. What’s interesting is that Michigan hasn’t played Purdue in 5 years, but other than that, there really isn’t anything very interesting about this game. Purdue got everyone’s attention by giving a fraudulent Louisville team all they could handle. Then in week 2 and week 3 they beat a bad Ohio team and a pathetic Missouri team. Purdue has a balanced offense, that has found success this year, but the Wolverine defense is the hallmark of Harbaugh’s team. This game is far too important for Michigan as they enter their Big 10 schedule. Michigan beat Florida at a neutral site by 16 points – despite throwing 2 interceptions for touchdowns. Florida is a lot better than Purdue. They also beat Air Force by 16 and Air Force can run the ball a lot better than Purdue can. I like this game because it’s time for Michigan to make a statement and they will have the 9 ½ points covered by the first quarter. The Michigan defense will not allow this game to get close. I don’t see Purdue scoring more than 14 points and Michigan will definitely score at least 30. I’m laying the wood on the Maize and Blue to cover.
Utah – 3 at ARIZONA –Last week Utah QB Tyler Huntley completed 30 of 43 passes for 341 yards and 4 TDs against San Jose State. This year Utah is averaging 37 ppg on 477 total yards per game (294 passing yds/g; 183 rushing yds/g). Arizona has a non-game last week against UTEP, winning 63-16. All I saw were Wildcats trying to decide what dance to do in the endzone every time I saw a highlight from that game. Now it’s time for both teams to get serious – let’s look at the two real games that each team had. Utah went to BYU, always a tough place to play, and came away with a 19-13 win. Arizona’s only tough game was at home, and they lost to Houston 19-16. Their other two games were against Northern Arizona and the aforementioned shit show which is UTEP. Utah likes going on the road and is 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 road games. Meanwhile, Arizona is 7-15 against the spread in their last 22 home games. Utah’s defense is really tough, much better than Houston’s defense and Houston really shut down Arizona. Both teams are off next week so I am expecting a very physical game. Points will be at a premium but I don’t expect Arizona to do much dancing in the end zone this week. I’m going with the road favorite and taking the Utes.
FLORIDA ST – 11.5 vs NC STATE – This game is going to go down in history as a HA HA special as my stomach will be so tight from laughing I’ll have abs of steel by the end of the night. If everyone watched the same game I did on opening night, I saw Florida State’s front seven go toe to toe to Alabama and it wasn’t easy determining who actually had the tougher and faster defense. There’s no question that the Seminoles losing their QB that game took the wind out of their sails but the reason they lost that game is because their special teams coughed up the ball 3 times. Now, the Seminoles and their new QB have had 3 weeks to prepare, and by all accounts he’s ready for the job – beating out some experienced veterans. These kids are not 1 star recruits either, trust me. Florida State is home and the school can’t wait to get back to some normalcy and some football. That inappropriate tomahawk chop is going to be loud that they will make Chief Wahoo look politically correct. The computers have FSU ranked 16[SUP]th[/SUP]….I think they are easily a top 10 team. On the other hand, NC State is ranked 49[SUP]th[/SUP] and I don’t think they deserve to be ranked that high. NC State lost by 7 at home to a fraudulent South Caroline team. They then beat a weak Marshall team and followed with a beating of Mark Furman worthy of OJ’s approval. Having said all that, they are going on the road to an incredibly hostile environment. NC State only averaged 2.5 yards per carry running the ball against South Carolina. You know what they say about not being able to run the ball in a hostile environment? (I’ll give you a hint, you lose). I think this time it’s the Wolfpack going into the wrong den. I’m laying the points on the home Seminoles…start chopping!
Akron +15 at TROY – Why would anyone want to bet on the Akron Zips you might ask? The Zips lost 41-14 loss to the visiting Iowa State Cyclones. Akron actually moved the ball fairly well in that game, and was only trailing by 6 at halftime. Iowa State is a really good football team, and they are much better than Troy. So the story here is I am expecting Akron to score against a softer Troy defense and I love the 15 points as a result. Troy gave up 24 points to a New Mexico State team whose power ranking is on par with Akron’s. That means Troy would have to score 40 points to cover this spread but their highest point total this year is 34 points against Alabama State. You’re asking the Trojans to cover a 15 point spread when they are only averaging 24.7 points per game on offense and have yet to show any consistency on offense this year. Akron coming off a loss to a tough team may be more battle ready this week than Troy in this non-conference game. I’m taking the points, because I like taking points…let’s go Zips and give me that backdoor cover.
Well..what do you think?
Michigan -9.5 at PURDUE – There has to be a reason why the computers have Michigan ranked 6[SUP]th[/SUP] in the country. It’s because they are really really good. For some reason, people seem to think Purdue is also good (the computers don’t, they have Purdue ranked 64[SUP]th[/SUP]). The fact of the matter is, Purdue is never good. What’s interesting is that Michigan hasn’t played Purdue in 5 years, but other than that, there really isn’t anything very interesting about this game. Purdue got everyone’s attention by giving a fraudulent Louisville team all they could handle. Then in week 2 and week 3 they beat a bad Ohio team and a pathetic Missouri team. Purdue has a balanced offense, that has found success this year, but the Wolverine defense is the hallmark of Harbaugh’s team. This game is far too important for Michigan as they enter their Big 10 schedule. Michigan beat Florida at a neutral site by 16 points – despite throwing 2 interceptions for touchdowns. Florida is a lot better than Purdue. They also beat Air Force by 16 and Air Force can run the ball a lot better than Purdue can. I like this game because it’s time for Michigan to make a statement and they will have the 9 ½ points covered by the first quarter. The Michigan defense will not allow this game to get close. I don’t see Purdue scoring more than 14 points and Michigan will definitely score at least 30. I’m laying the wood on the Maize and Blue to cover.
Utah – 3 at ARIZONA –Last week Utah QB Tyler Huntley completed 30 of 43 passes for 341 yards and 4 TDs against San Jose State. This year Utah is averaging 37 ppg on 477 total yards per game (294 passing yds/g; 183 rushing yds/g). Arizona has a non-game last week against UTEP, winning 63-16. All I saw were Wildcats trying to decide what dance to do in the endzone every time I saw a highlight from that game. Now it’s time for both teams to get serious – let’s look at the two real games that each team had. Utah went to BYU, always a tough place to play, and came away with a 19-13 win. Arizona’s only tough game was at home, and they lost to Houston 19-16. Their other two games were against Northern Arizona and the aforementioned shit show which is UTEP. Utah likes going on the road and is 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 road games. Meanwhile, Arizona is 7-15 against the spread in their last 22 home games. Utah’s defense is really tough, much better than Houston’s defense and Houston really shut down Arizona. Both teams are off next week so I am expecting a very physical game. Points will be at a premium but I don’t expect Arizona to do much dancing in the end zone this week. I’m going with the road favorite and taking the Utes.
FLORIDA ST – 11.5 vs NC STATE – This game is going to go down in history as a HA HA special as my stomach will be so tight from laughing I’ll have abs of steel by the end of the night. If everyone watched the same game I did on opening night, I saw Florida State’s front seven go toe to toe to Alabama and it wasn’t easy determining who actually had the tougher and faster defense. There’s no question that the Seminoles losing their QB that game took the wind out of their sails but the reason they lost that game is because their special teams coughed up the ball 3 times. Now, the Seminoles and their new QB have had 3 weeks to prepare, and by all accounts he’s ready for the job – beating out some experienced veterans. These kids are not 1 star recruits either, trust me. Florida State is home and the school can’t wait to get back to some normalcy and some football. That inappropriate tomahawk chop is going to be loud that they will make Chief Wahoo look politically correct. The computers have FSU ranked 16[SUP]th[/SUP]….I think they are easily a top 10 team. On the other hand, NC State is ranked 49[SUP]th[/SUP] and I don’t think they deserve to be ranked that high. NC State lost by 7 at home to a fraudulent South Caroline team. They then beat a weak Marshall team and followed with a beating of Mark Furman worthy of OJ’s approval. Having said all that, they are going on the road to an incredibly hostile environment. NC State only averaged 2.5 yards per carry running the ball against South Carolina. You know what they say about not being able to run the ball in a hostile environment? (I’ll give you a hint, you lose). I think this time it’s the Wolfpack going into the wrong den. I’m laying the points on the home Seminoles…start chopping!
Akron +15 at TROY – Why would anyone want to bet on the Akron Zips you might ask? The Zips lost 41-14 loss to the visiting Iowa State Cyclones. Akron actually moved the ball fairly well in that game, and was only trailing by 6 at halftime. Iowa State is a really good football team, and they are much better than Troy. So the story here is I am expecting Akron to score against a softer Troy defense and I love the 15 points as a result. Troy gave up 24 points to a New Mexico State team whose power ranking is on par with Akron’s. That means Troy would have to score 40 points to cover this spread but their highest point total this year is 34 points against Alabama State. You’re asking the Trojans to cover a 15 point spread when they are only averaging 24.7 points per game on offense and have yet to show any consistency on offense this year. Akron coming off a loss to a tough team may be more battle ready this week than Troy in this non-conference game. I’m taking the points, because I like taking points…let’s go Zips and give me that backdoor cover.
Well..what do you think?
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