Editor's Note: Judd Hall has gone 10-2 over the last for Saturdays in college football. Have you cashed in with his expert selections? Click to win!
You expect there to be some strange things to happen on Halloween, but that really wasn’t the case. Wake Forest got its heart ripped out by the Hurricanes last Saturday, but at least covered the spread. Hoosier backers no doubt thought they were golden after taking a 24-14 lead into the fourth quarter as 17 ½-point road pups to Iowa. Turns out they forgot that they’re Indiana and let the Hawkeyes win 42-24 to cover the spread.
As far as the College Handicapping Challenge goes, I had a down week in going 2-3. So it’s time to bounce back with some winners for this Saturday.
Miami (-13 ½) vs. Virginia
The Hurricanes had to resort to playing just straight up “Madden NFL 10” with a steady diet of fly patterns, but still end up winning at Wake Forest 28-27. Now Miami has to hope that the Yellow Jackets stumble versus either Wake or Duke to have an outside shot at winning the ACC Coastal title.
Miami will do its level best to make sure they’re still in that race with a contest against the Cavaliers. Virginia has lost any momentum they had from a three-game winning streak as they’ve dropped two in a row. In the Cavs’ most recent setback against Duke, they allowed 343 passing yards.
The ‘Canes are averaging 267.8 yards per game through the air this season. And Miami has no doubt heard enough about how the Cavaliers closed out the Orange Bowl with a 48-0 bitch-slapping. Let’s play with Miami exacting some revenge.
Final Score: Miami 37, Virginia 10
Stanford (+5 ½) vs. Oregon
If there was any question about who was in control of the Pac-10, it was answered with Oregon beating up the Trojans. The Ducks might even get better this week with the possible return of America’s favorite sucker punching fool, LeGarrette Blount.
What the Ducks have to worry about here is being in a trap spot against Stanford. The Cardinal are a solid middle-of-the-pack team in the Pac-10. They’re coming off of a nice 33-14 triumph over the Sun Devils in Palo Alto on Oct. 24.
That time off will actually help us in this spot as Stanford is 2-4 straight up, but 4-2 against the spread over the last five seasons after an open date.
Final Score: Oregon 25, Stanford 21
LSU (+9 ½) at Alabama
It’s been two weeks since the Crimson Tide survived against Tennessee, 12-10. Hopefully Alabama has figured out how to run an offense outside of Mark Ingram. The Tide has gained 3,280 yards this year; Ingram is responsible for 36 percent of that number.
The Tigers have seen their offense show up, scoring 73 points in their last two games. I know that those points were scored against Auburn (no defense to speak of) and Tulane (absolutely worthless), but that’s still impressive. LSU also has a defense that gives up just 12.1 points per game. They held Florida to just 13 points, which has a much better offense than the Crimson Tide.
What puts LSU over the top for me is fact that Alabama is 4-2 SU, but only 1-4-1 ATS over the last five years after a bye week.
Final Score: LSU 25, Alabama 14
Nebraska (+6 ½) vs. Oklahoma
I’m not one for taking a team that has lost to the Cyclones at home, but we’ll make an exception for Nebraska. The Cornhuskers’ defense has been extremely effective for the season, ranking first in the Big XII by allowing 11.3 PPG.
Oklahoma is starting to get used to having Landry Jones as its starting quarterback, with two straight wins. But the Sooners still can’t cover on a regular basis with him under center as they’re 2-2 ATS in his four starts.
Let’s go with the ‘Huskers for this match as they’ve gone 3-1 ATS in their last four home dates with Oklahoma. Plus, Nebraska is 5-3 ATS over the last five seasons as a home underdog.
Final Score: Oklahoma 27, Nebraska 23
Fresno State (-7 ½) at Idaho
The Bulldogs looked like they might be under Pat Hill’s tutelage after losing to Boise State and at Cincinnati in consecutive weeks. Fresno State has turned it around since then, winning its last scoring four straight decisions and scoring no fewer than 31 points in that stretch. A big reason for the Bulldogs’ success is Ryan Matthews. The junior running back has rushed for 724 yards and six touchdowns during this win streak.
Idaho knows that they have its first winning season this millennium after a 35-34 home victory over Louisiana Tech. The Vandals also know that they couldn’t stop the Bulldogs as they picked up 222 yards on the ground. Now they have to face the No. 5 rushing attack in the country that is averaging 259.6 YPG. Plus, Fresno State has covered its last two games in the Kibbie Dome.
Final Score: Fresno State 34, Idaho 21
You can reach Judd Hall via e-mail at judd@vegasinsider.com
