There were a lot of options this week, but I ended up going with a lot of chalk. Not a lot of underdogs give me hope, and the game I feel strongest about (Alabama -6.5), I won't touch because of my fandom. So I went with teams that look real against pretenders.
1. Stanford (-2.5) @ Notre Dame
Saturday 12:30pm CT | BTN
I
think Maryland has a really good football team this year, and Indiana's
coming off of their biggest win in years. I want Indiana to prove it
to me - I don't think they will. I think Maryland wins this one
straight up.
2. Baylor (-15) @ Texas
Saturday 2:30pm CT | CBS
Arkansas looks
really good right now. Texas A&M's defense has been known to be
suspect, and Arkansas can exploit a weakness. Arkansas's defense isn't
exactly top notch, so I look for there to be a lot of points scored in
this one. Last year's game was a 41-31 game... and Arkansas is
significantly better than that team. I think this one is really close.
3. SMU @ East Carolina (-41.5)
Saturday 6pm CT | ESPN
South Carolina
looked terrible against Vanderbilt last week, and Missouri looked even
worse at home losing to Indiana, so that took some luster off of this
game. South Carolina is a better team than Missouri, and with Gameday
being in town for an ESPN night game, that team and stadium will be
fired up. I think it could be close... but no closer than a touchdown.
4. Oklahoma (-5.5) @ TCU
Saturday 6pm CT | ESPNU
Clemson looked ok
against Florida St, even though they absolutely blew the game. UNC
can't stop anybody (gave up 70 to ECU last week), so I look for Clemson
to roll these dudes.
5. Memphis (+4) @ Cincinnati
Saturday 6:30pm CT | FSN
Ole Miss has Alabama coming to Oxford next week,
and with a win over Memphis, they will have College Gameday in the
Grove for the first time ever. With a loss to Memphis, College Gameday
will head to Starkville to see the Bulldogs and Texas A&M. Lots of
pressure here for the Rebels, and Memphis has looked really good so far
this year. I look for the Tigers to cover in a close game, but they
won't pull the upset in Oxford.
