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Upsets were the order of the day last Saturday in college football with California, Florida State and Penn State all falling to unranked foes. As far as my picks are concerned, I went 3-2 for the second week in a row in the College Handicapping Challenge. Don’t worry if you haven’t played in the first few weeks because there are plenty of great prizes to win as the season rolls on.
Minnesota (-2 ½) vs. Wisconsin
The Golden Gophers came awful close to coughing up the win against Northwestern last weekend. Minnesota, however, used Duane Bennett’s three touchdown runs to help themselves upend the Wildcats 35-24.
Wisconsin is coming into this game with a perfect 4-0 mark after dropping the Spartans 38-30 last Saturday. While that record sounds nice, you have to take into account that two of those wins came against Northern Illinois (inconsistent, at best) and Wofford (currently 1-3 in FCS). Plus, the turnover battle has helped out the Badgers as well. They converted the four Michigan State turnovers into 21 points last week.
I don’t see Minnesota handing the ball over the Badgers all that much this week after throwing just one pick last Saturday against the ‘Cats. And to sweeten the pot is the fact that the Golden Gophers are 8-3 straight up and 7-4 against the spread when listed as single-digit home favorites.
Final Score: Minnesota 24, Wisconsin 10
Georgia (-2 ½) vs. LSU
We’re five weeks into the season and I still don’t have a good read on the Tigers. I know they have the talent to contend in the SEC, but yet the struggle against teams like Washington and Mississippi State. LSU rolled against the Commodores and Ragin’ Cajuns, but could have (and probably should have) lost to the Huskies and Bulldogs. Georgia is right about where they should be when you consider the new pieces that have been installed on its offense.
I had mentioned earlier in the week that LSU is in a trap this week with the Gators coming to Baton Rouge. And the Tigers are 4-1 SU and 1-4 ATS in the game leading into a meeting with UF. What we should also note is that Les Miles’ program has been a road pup just three times since taking over for Nick Saban in 2005 – they’ve failed to cover each time.
Final Score: Georgia 32, LSU 13
Florida State (-5 ½) at Boston College
Well, I figured the Seminoles would have trouble with South Florida, but didn’t think they’d lose outright. I guess God will smite you the very next week after almost dropping 60 points on BYU in Provo. Boston College is a surprising 3-1 in Frank Spaziani’s first year as head coach when you consider they don’t have a real starting QB and more holes to plug than Sonny Corleone’s body.
This is a series that has actually worked against the home team, which makes sense for a lousy conference like the ACC. The road team is 4-0 SU and ATS in all four head-to-head meetings. And that run will keep going this Saturday.
Final Score: Florida State 27, Boston College 13
Wake Forest (+1 ½) vs. North Carolina State
The Demon Deacons aren’t anywhere near the team that I figured them to be before the season started. When you stop and think about it, they would be 1-3 right now had Stanford hold onto its lead back on Sept. 12. North Carolina State looked like they were going to have a good defense at the start of the season. Now I’m not so sure after giving up 300 yards to Pittsburgh in a 38-31 win.
This is really a game where most people would probably pass, but we’ll take Wake Forest to get a conference win. Wake has gone 4-1 SU over the last five home tilts they’ve had with the Wolfpack. Even better is that they are 5-0 ATS in that stretch.
Final Score: Wake Forest 24, North Carolina State 17
Arkansas (-1 ½) at Texas A&M
You ever hear that looks can be deceiving? That’s what we’ve got with Texas A&M this weekend. The Aggies might be 3-0, but you have to take into consideration who they’ve faced so far: rolling over New Mexico, barely beating Utah State and ripping apart UAB. It’s easy to see why this team leads the nation in total offense with 574.3 yards per game.
The Razorbacks haven’t done all that well this year with a 1-2 mark through three games. Although, I contest they have played much tougher talent in Georgia and Alabama. Arkansas also has the edge on QB with Ryan Mallett. The former Wolverine may have been owned by the Crimson Tide, but he lit up the Bulldogs for five touchdowns. We’ll see the Mallett of two weeks ago silencing the Aggie Yell.
Final Score: Arkansas 42, Texas A&M 30
You can reach Judd Hall via e-mail at judd@vegasinsider.com
