We had a successful week last week, going 8-2 straight up and 6-4 against the spread (or the over). Thank you, BYU. Now, let’s see if we can make a little non-existent money this week.
Five from the SEC
No. 2 Alabama (-25.5) at South Carolina
This one is a hard one to gauge. Not because of who’s going to win, but whether Alabama will cover. Ryan Hillinski had a great first appearance last week and Carolina’s offense clicked -- against Charleston Southern. Alabama, on the other hand, is still inexperienced on the defensive side of the ball. Doesn’t matter; they have the speed to slow down South Carolina’s running game and obviously have plenty of weapons at their disposal on offense. 25.5 is a whole lot, but Alabama can cover it. The pick: Alabama wins, covers
No. 9 Florida (-8) at Kentucky
I don’t like Felipe Franks and I don’t like Florida’s offense as a whole. But Kentucky has lost a lot from last year and now they’re on their backup QB, Sawyer Smith. Smith can’t possibly be a worse passer than Terry Wilson was. But Kentucky’s not as talented as they were last year and Florida’s defensive front is superb. So go with the visitors and the under, which sits currently at 48. The pick: Florida wins, and take the under.
Kansas State (+7) at Mississippi State
Mississippi State has shown up on offense in the first two games, but the defense has been sketchy. K-State, on the other hand, has blasted each of its first two opponents. The fact that it’s in Clanga-ville makes me lean towards the Bulldogs, and I think they’ll have just enough to get past a K-State team that may be better than anticipated. The pick: Mississippi State wins, K-State covers.
Colorado State (+10) at Arkansas
Let’s keep this in mind here: Arkansas blew this game on the road last year, which started their spiral out of control. They got smacked last week by a weak Ole Miss team, and their offensive line has been pitiful. But they get Nick Starkel at the helm, which should help a little bit. Colorado State is a turnover machine -- in a bad way. They’re already -5, and have turned the ball over 6 times total. This is the classic case of the moveable force against the animate object, but someone has to win. So we’ll take the Pigs, but a 10-point spread is too much, in my opinion. The pick: Arkansas wins, Colorado State covers.
Arkansas State (+33) at No. 3 Georgia
The Red Wolves can score some points. They put up 30 on SMU and 43 on UNLV. Of course, they’re not Georgia, and they couldn’t stop SMU at all and lost. I think Georgia wins this thing handily, but I’m not comfortable with the spread. I am, however, more comfortable with the over at 58. The pick: Georgia wins and take the over.
Five from around the country
No. 1 Clemson (-28) at Syracuse
Having seen the Tigers up close last week -- well, they’re really good. Syracuse just got smoked by Maryland. That means they’re not really good. Clemson is angry A&M brawled with them, because nobody has been that close to them in a long time. Syracuse isn’t A&M, and they’re going to suffer. The pick: Clemson wins, covers.
No. 21 Maryland (-7) at Temple
Mike Locksley has the Terps offense rolling. Temple crushed Bucknell in week 1 but didn’t play last week. It may be a road game for Maryland, but I like their chances to keep it rolling. It’s almost like Texas is on their schedule or something. The pick: Maryland wins, covers.
Arizona State (+14.5) at No. 18 Michigan State
The Sun Devils are 2-0, but their wins don’t exactly impress me. Only 19 points against Sacramento State? That’s a red flag. I expect Michigan State to handle them without a ton of difficulty, but Sparty don’t score. So Arizona State covers. The pick: Michigan State wins, Arizona State covers.
No. 20 Washington State (-9.5) at Houston
This one screams shootout. It’s the Pirate against D’Eriq King. I think Washington State will win and cover, but the question is whether the two can top 73.5 points. 45-31 would do it, and that doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility. So let’s live dangerously: The pick: Washington State wins, covers and take the over.
No. 19 Iowa (-1.5) at Iowa State
This one is really tough. Iowa has played better so far, but Iowa State probably got a big wakeup call from Northern Iowa a couple of weeks ago. It is in Ames, I still like Brock Purdy, so it’s time to go with an upset. The pick: Iowa State wins outright.
