College Football: The Week Seven FIVE

On the surface this is a rather "blah" slate of games, but I have a feeling that some things get sorted out this weekend.....


On to the games....

1. Washington (-3) @ Oregon. [57.5]

Pick: Oregon to win on the ML

Autzen Stadium is not a nice place for visitors to play, and Oregon is a much better team there than on the road. Oregon's only loss was a game they should have won against Stanford, which is looking worse and worse as the weeks go by.  The same can be said for what I think is an overrated Washington team however, as their loss to Auburn continues to look less impressive as the weeks go on.  I think Oregon figures it out, and hands the Huskies a huge loss in conference.


2. Texas Tech @ TCU (-7.5) [62]

Pick: Texas Tech to COVER +7.5

This TCU team is neither as good as people thought they were or as bad as they've looked in the early season.  They still can play defense some, but their offense is suffering from growing pains.  Texas Tech still doesn't play consistent defense, but their offense is rolling and they seem to have keyed in on something with the Freshman quarterback Bowman. Tech hung in there with West Virginia, which is a much better team than the Horned Frogs.


3. Duke @ Georgia Tech (-3) [53.5]

Pick: Duke to COVER +3

Georgia Tech has a lot of tongues wagging because they hung 66 on Louisville last weekend.  Color me not impressed because this is a Cardinals team that's all but quit on their coach, and Bobby Petrino has quit on them as well.  Duke however looked good up until stumbling against Virginia Tech, and they are a quality team.  Georgia Tech has lost to every quality team they've played so far this year.


4. Colorado @ USC (-7) [58.5]

Pick: Colorado to COVER +7

I halfway expect this line to move toward USC as Saturday gets closer as more and more people try and talk their way back into USC.  But the Trojans have issues. They're a little bit like the Houston Texans in the NFL, very talented, but constantly finding themselves out-coached. They have no home-field advantage to speak of. 


5. Ole Miss (-6.5) @ Arkansas [70]

Pick: Ole Miss to COVER -6.5

Their game against aTm notwithstanding, Arkansas is a hot mess of a football team right now. Ole Miss is certainly not a world beater, they lost so much to transfers and the draft after the Freeze debacle, but I think they have enough still on the team to make it another long day in Fayetteville for the Hogs.



Other games of note:

Georgia (-7.5) @ LSU [50.5] - Had LSU taken care of business against the Gators I would have scoffed at this line, of course, it wouldn't be this big had that happened so....As it is I like the Bulldogs to roll against the Tigers in the afternoon (not evening, which is important) in Baton Rogue.

Hawai'i @ BYU (-12) [56] - I'm leaning Rainbow Warriors here. Cole MacDonald has been cleared to play and there's every sign that we're at the beginning of the Cougar swoon as the season starts to wear them down.

Texas A&M (-2) @ South Carolina [53] - An under-the-radar candidate for game of the week as these two fairly evenly matched teams (in terms of on-field talent) play an early one with some fairly important SEC positioning on the line.  I kind of like the Aggies here but wouldn't be surprised to see the Gamecocks pull a mile upset.



Games in which I have a rooting interest.

UNLV @ Utah State (-25.5) [63.5] - I think Rebel head coach Tony Sanchez is coaching for his job here. Last week's effort against New Mexico was pathetic, at best, as the team looked unprepared, unenthused and totally out-classed by a pretty bad UNM team that was operating with their third string QB.  Utah State has been really good this year, and I just don't see the Desert Rug Rats being able to keep up with them.  This will be two blowout losses in a row. If this happens it could be time.


Wisconsin @ Michigan (-7.5) [48] - I still haven't seen anything from the Wolverines that merits this big of a line against the Badgers. One thing is for sure, they had better start off better than the last few weeks or Wisconsin is going to grab a lead and just lay down on Michigan.  This is a huge game that will provide a solid indicator of both team's quality. I also think it's going to come down to a field goal or other special team's play and will be decided by way less than a touchdown.


Enjoy the games.