Editor's Note: Judd Hall has gone on fire with a 14-4 mark over the last six Saturdays. Are you ready to win with his expert selections this week? Click to win!
We didn’t have too many upsets in the college football world last week. The only real shocker was seeing the Cougars fall to Central Florida. We also got to see Pete Carroll feel what it’s like to get lit up for 55 points last week as his Trojans were dumped by Stanford. There was even a chance to watch the noose tighten up a little bit more around Charlie Weis’ neck after the Irish lost at Pittsburgh.
The College Handicapping Challenge wasn’t all that memorable for me last Saturday as I went 1-4 after a 5-0 mark the week before. Don’t forget that you can still win some prizes in these last few weeks of the contest. I’m going to go a little “chalky” this Saturday in what is rivalry week for many schools across the country.
Ohio State (-12 ½) at Michigan
Remember when this game used to mean something? It was only three years ago that these hated rivals played as No. 1 vs. No. 2 for a right to get blasted by the Gators. Now one of the teams is heading out to Pasadena, while the other needs to win this week just to become bowl eligible.
Ohio State hasn’t shown itself to be an offensive juggernaut as they are ranked 65th in the nation by averaging 369.1 yards per game. But they did very well against the Maize and Blue last season, picking up 416 yards. Michigan’s defense has been lacking during the last few weeks as well, giving up 464.8 YPG in its last four games.
The Buckeyes seem to save their best for Michigan as they’ve no fewer than 37 points three times over the last five seasons. I don’t like taking a road team as a big favorite…especially in a rivalry game. However, it seems like the Wolverines have lost their drive. Hopefully Rich Rodriguez has his resume updated, George O’Leary style.
Final Score: Ohio State 32, Michigan 13
Texas Tech (+6 ½) vs. Oklahoma
The Red Raiders really has nobody to blame but themselves for losing to Oklahoma State last weekend. Luckily for Texas Tech they get to play host to the Sooners this Saturday to get a little bit of revenge from last year.
I’m sure there are a few people that believe Oklahoma will be the team to beat here after piling up 65 points on the Aggies. Hell, Landry Jones threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns against Texas A&M. While those are great numbers, they did come against a pass defense that is 112th in the nation.
Texas Tech is 63rd nationally, surrendering only 218.5 YPG through the air. Plus, the Red Raiders gave up only 90 yards passing last weekend. I look for Mike Leach’s kids to come up with a good effort in stopping Jones from attack through the air.
The Red Raiders have also been a great play as home ‘dogs, going 2-1 straight up and 3-0 against the spread since 2006.
Final Score: Oklahoma 31, Texas Tech 27
Purdue (-3 ½) at Indiana
It was going to be a rough first year for Danny Hope with the Boilermakers, but he’s had some bright spots to build on. Purdue did pull off a big upset against the Buckeyes at home in October and just beat Michigan (name-wise that was huge). Now Hope has his sights set on keeping hold of the Old Oaken Bucket.
The Hoosiers should have been preparing themselves for a bowl game right now, but they haven’t been able to close out teams this season. Indiana has had the lead in the fourth quarter against the Wolverines, Wildcats, Hawkeyes and the Badgers and wound up losing in each of them.
This series has been one-sided over the last decade with Purdue going 8-2 SU, but just 5-5 ATS.
While the line makes some think that the Hoosiers will finally close out a game, remember that they are 3-8 SU and 5-6 ATS as home pups in Big Ten play.
Final Score: Purdue 33, Indiana 27
Oregon (-5 ½) at Arizona
The Ducks may have lost out on the chance at a national title the other week with a loss at Stanford, but they still control their own destiny in the Pac-10. Oregon proved that loss was just a flash in the pan after controlling the Sun Devils for a 44-21 win last Saturday.
Arizona also has a chance to make its first ever trip to the Rose Bowl if they win the final three games of its season. Will that happen? I’ll be the pessimist about the Wildcats’ chances after being out of sorts last Saturday against California.
The ‘Cats have only one good victory on their schedule when they dropped Stanford 43-38 on Oct. 17. Plus, this team gave up 45 points to Oregon in the first half of last year’s meeting. They did make a nice run late, but still lost 55-45.
It’s awful hard not to play with Arizona since they’re 9-1 ATS in its last 10 home games as an underdog in Pac-10 games. Yet I’ll side with Oregon here as they’re 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS in its last six trips to Tucson.
Final Score: Oregon 34, Arizona 24
Tennessee (-17 ½) vs. Vanderbilt
I know that this is going to be debatable, but I think Lane Kiffin’s first year in the SEC has been a successful one. The Vols had their bad times in losing to UCLA at home and at Ole Miss last week. Yet this team has had some decent showings at Florida and Alabama.
Kiffin will get to make Tennessee bowl eligible this week when they get to take on its rival, the Commodores, in Knoxville.
Not a lot has gone right for Vanderbilt this year as they’ve won just twice this year and lost two games by no more than four points. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that they have the worst offense in the SEC, averaging just 16.4 points per game. Not exactly a team the Vols have to worry about hanging almost 500 yards on them last Mississippi did last week.
If that doesn’t make you want to back the Volunteers, how about the fact that they are have gone 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS in their last four trips to Nashville.
Final Score: Tennessee 32, Vanderbilt 13
You can reach Judd Hall via e-mail at judd@vegasinsider.com
