College Football Picks

Mississippi State enters off a nasty 19-3 loss suffered on the road in Death Valley against the No. 4 LSU Tigers. Bulldogs Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald looked lost throwing the football as he completed just 33% of his passes for 59 yards and threw four interceptions. Keith Franks handicapped this game and predicts which Bulldogs squad we see Saturday night!

Last year’s encounter between both outfits was a classic. Penn State literally won on the last play of the game at the infamous Kinnick Stadium and broke Iowa hearts when the Hawkeyes thought they had finally ousted one of the conference’s heavyweights. Iowa believes they can win and sportsbooks suggest they can as well having the underdog get less than a touchdown here. Keith Franks looks at the matchup and where the value sits.

Florida does not have the greatest offensive reputation. In fact, the Gators defense and running game has been their strengths over the last several years. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are on the heels of their worst offensive performance of the season in the 36-16 loss at LSU. Jay Horne looks at if we should expect a snooze-fest and who is the team to be betting come Saturday afternoon.

We have seen many different manifestations of Oregon, both in terms of their strengths and weaknesses on the field, in addition to their overall level of energy. With the Ducks, it can flip right in the middle of a game. Against Stanford, they were shot out of a cannon, only to wane and let Stanford stage an unlikely comeback to win the game. Against Washington State last week, it was the opposite dynamic, with the Ducks looking like mummies in the first half, before turning on the juice in the second half. Which Oregon shows up on Saturday. LL has his free college football prediction.

Texas Quarterback Sam Ehlinger is listed as questionable with a Level 1 Shoulder Sprain. This is mission-critical for Texas as he is the one that drives the Longhorns offense. As a dual threat quarterback, Ehlinger keeps defenses honest with the persistent possibility of a scramble and/or designed option play. How do we make a pick on this game considering the injury? Keith Franks breaks down the betting options.

Stanford is coming off a week 8 win over the ASU Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium last Thursday night. Cardinal QB K.J. Costello was 22/29 for 231 yards and one TD but this game was a battle of FG kickers until midway through the third quarter—it was a whopping 6-3 Stanford lead at the half. Stanford will need more points this week to take a lead into the half versus WSU! See Wilson’s prediction.

When your 129th in the country in passing offense, there isn’t going to be much excitement among your receivers and that is certainly the case for Navy. They have just one player with over six catches on the year and not one player has more than a single touchdown so far. How does this Navy team put up points against Notre Dame?

Win or lose, Northwestern has made it a regular occurrence to play in close games. They gave Michigan a three-and-a-half quarter scare before falling 20-17 to the Wolverines and nipped the Huskers in overtime after going 90-yards to tie the game as time wound down in regulation. These Northwestern kids are gamers! But is 7 points enough versus a 5-2 Wisconsin team?

Washington is still among the class of the conference. But we do see some troubling patterns. In their two biggest games of the season, they came up short. There is this everlasting dull vibe about them. On one hand, they have that stifling defense with all those sterling defensive backs, along with an offense with a 4-year starter in QB Jake Browning and RB Myles Gaskin, On the other hand they’ve gotten worse over time in terms of bottom-line production. Does this Huskies team have enough to cover an 11, and at some betting sites, a 12 point spread? Loot has his doubts.

Despite the improvements shown by this Florida State team, they still have a long way to go before they are an elite football team. The offense still goes through periods of “what the heck are they doing?” The defense is solid but not good enough to carry the load. Sportsbooks have set the line at -14.5. Can FSU find an edge to reward dog bettors here? Jay Horne has his football prediction.

You have bad defenses, then you have the UCLA defense. There seems to be a systemic failure on that side of the ball. Recent neglect in this area has created this dreary period in the history of this defense, where they are out-manned and out-performed at nearly every turn. Is this fact enough to take a hard look at Utah -10? Loot Levinson gives his football pick.

The big question entering this Thursday’s match-up is can Baylor’s defense step up to compete against this dynamic West Virginia offense? The Bears defense has not been impressive thus far allowing over 400 yards and 31 points per game. Mountaineers QB Will Grier is a veteran with an accurate arm. Jay Horne looks at the odds from the sportsbooks and tries to answer this question and more. Read Jay’s pick.

Jay Horne: Why I am so confident in Georgia Tech this week despite the fact they have looked pretty bad in recent weeks. After all, Virginia Tech is 4-2 SU and 3-0 in conference play. However, I think everyone needs to consider a couple of important factors surrounding this match-up. Read my Georgia Tech pick!

Will the real Miami quarterback please stand up? Boston College’s offense knows their game plan. Miami is still searching as it settles into its new old QB. Malik Rosier began the season as the man. He was benched for freshman N’Kosi Perry who sparked the offense by completing his first 10 passes against Florida International. Since, he completed less than 45% of his attempts and tossed two picks in the loss to Virginia. Coach Mark Richt will revert back to the senior Rosier to lead the Canes. Can BC take advantage of a cold QB or can Rosier lead the Canes to close out his senior year season? Jay Horne has his football pick.

Wisconsin was a playoff hopeful to start this season because they were supposed to be one of the best offenses in the Big Ten. The Badger defense was going to be young but they were going to be allowed to develop with the offense covering their backside. That has not materialized however and much of the offensive inconsistency is due to a lack of progression by QB Alex Hornibrook. Can the Wisconsin offense hold it together and cover a whopping 25 point spread?

Last week the Bulldogs added to Auburn’s turmoil upsetting the Tigers 23-9. Now Mississippi State will have the opportunity to do something they have not accomplished since 2014 by winning back to back SEC West games. Bettors who think their efforts may pay off are looking and waiting for a MSU +7. Sportsbooks currently have 6.5. However, Jay Horne is focusing on the total!