Hello and welcome as we take a glimpse back at the week that was and look ahead to an absolutely loaded week of college football.
It took nine weeks for it to happen, but we've finally had our first push of the season. Iowa traveled to Penn State last week as a six-point underdog and the Nittany Lions came away victorious by a score of 30-24. The staff was pretty split on this one and everyone earned a push (or tie, if you will) thanks to the end result. Note: the push won't be factored into the season-long record.
The other major Big Ten contest took place in Evanston where the Badgers ventured as a 6.5-point favorite. We were heavily favoring Wisconsin to cover, but three turnovers were too much for Paul Chryst to overcome. The Wildcats won by a score of 31-17 and are firmly atop the West Division with a few more challenges looming.
The game of the week was in Jacksonville, but the Florida/Georgia rivalry didn't exactly live up to the hype. A touchdown favorite heading into the game, the Bulldogs handled the Gators with ease and went home a 36-17 winner behind three Jake Fromm touchdown passes. Three of our pickers had Florida but the rest were riding with Kirby's crew.
Davidstradamus was the lone selector who thought Florida State would cover the 17 points against Clemson. The game was in Tallahassee and it was an embarrassing performance for the Seminoles as Trevor Lawrence shredded them for 314 yards and four touchdowns. It was a 59-10 massacre and the worst home loss in FSU history. Dabo's defense is ridiculous and Lawrence has hardly looked like a true freshman, but this has been a disastrous first season for Willie Taggart.
Tom Herman and the Longhorns picked up loss No. 2 on the road against Oklahoma State. This was a fun one to watch with the Cowboys coming away with a three-point victory in front of the home crowd. Chris, Andrew, and Andy were the only ones to have Okie State covering the three-point spread.
Dan and Jake had Tennessee covering (+7.5) against South Carolina. Everyone else missed that one as the Volunteers managed to keep it close. The finally tally had the Gamecocks winning by a field goal.
Week nine wasn't too bad and it certainly had its share of upsets, but it doesn't compare to what we're heading into in about 48 hours. There are crucial contests all throughout the day and the 10th week of the season is looking like the best one yet.
- Reminder: All of our submissions are against the spread. The odds will certainly fluctuate a bit throughout each week, but we'll be using sportsbook.ag for all betting lines.
| CHRIS | RAMZY | HOPE | HARRISH | JONES | WEBB | ELLIS | WERTHEIM | REGIMBAL | ANDERSON | VANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAST WEEK: | 6-3-1 | 3-6-1 | 6-3-1 | 5-4-1 | 4-5-1 | 3-6-1 | 5-4-1 | 2-7-1 | 6-3-1 | 6-3-1 | 4-5-1 |
| OVERALL: | 43-46 | 39-50 | 48-41 | 41-48 | 37-52 | 41-48 | 51-38 | 41-48 | 39-50 | 45-44 | 45-44 |
| ACCURACY: | 48% | 43% | 53% | 46% | 41% | 46% | 57% | 46% | 43% | 50% | 50% |
| #10 Ohio State (-21.5) vs. Nebraska | NEB | NEB | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | NEB | OSU | OSU | NEB |
| Michigan State (-2) @ Maryland | MICHST | MARY | MICHST | MICHST | MICHST | MICHST | MICHST | MICHST | MICHST | MICHST | MICHST |
| Purdue (-3) vs. #16 Iowa | IOWA | IOWA | IOWA | IOWA | IOWA | IOWA | PURD | IOWA | IOWA | IOWA | IOWA |
| #6 Georgia (-9.5) @ #9 Kentucky | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | KENT | UGA | KENT | UGA | KENT | UGA |
| #17 Texas (-2) vs. #13 West Virginia | WVU | TEXAS | TEXAS | TEXAS | WVU | TEXAS | WVU | WVU | TEXAS | WVU | WVU |
| #5 Michigan (-10) vs. #14 Penn State | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU | MICH | PSU | PSU | MICH | PSU |
| #11 Florida (-6) vs. Missouri | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | FLOR | MIZZ |
| #7 Oklahoma (-10) @ Texas Tech | OKLA | OKLA | TTECH | OKLA | TTECH | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA |
| #4 Notre Dame (-8) @ Northwestern | NWEST | ND | NWEST | NWEST | ND | ND | NWEST | ND | ND | NWEST | ND |
| #1 Alabama (-13.5) @ #3 LSU | BAMA | LSU | LSU | BAMA | BAMA | LSU | LSU | BAMA | BAMA | LSU | LSU |
Ohio State hosts Nebraska at noon and we'll get to see if any of the issues have been fixed since the meltdown against Purdue. We got this one locked in with a 21.5-point spread, but that number has actually dwindled down to 18 or so on most sports books. Most of the 11W staff likes Ohio State to cover.
Kentucky is one spot ahead of the Buckeyes in the initial playoff rankings, but this is the week when we truly find out if the Wildcats are for real. The Bulldogs head to Lexington as 9.5-point favorites for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Youngstown's Lynn Bowden burst onto the scene last week with 13 receptions for 166 yards and a punt return touchdown in the come-from-behind victory at Missouri. The Wildcat passing game is ranked No. 119 in America and a one-dimensional offense isn't exactly ideal in this kind of matchup.
Lynn Bowden. Mr. Electricity. pic.twitter.com/ZPVl93VpsW
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) October 27, 2018
Texas is a two-point favorite at home against West Virginia, and this could be one of the more exciting ones the weekend. The staff is pretty split on this Big-12 contest. Elsewhere in the conference, we're mostly feeling Oklahoma (-10) against the Red Raiders in Lubbock.
The Wolverines are favored by 10 at home and who knows which Penn State team shows up in Ann Arbor. Michigan is clearly trending in the right direction and that defense is playing out of this world. It's a 3:45 p.m. kickoff and several are actually leaning toward the Nittany Lions covering on the road.
Notre Dame vs. Northwestern is another interesting matchup. The Wildcats aren't even ranked but I think most would agree that they're better than the 5-3 record would indicate. The Irish are an 8-point road favorite and this would be a colossal win if Pat Fitzgerald can come out on top in Evanston.
The fact that Alabama is a near two-touchdown favorite against the country's third-ranked program – in Baton Rouge – is pretty absurd but also probably fair. LSU has a good (not great) defense that sits at No. 22 in America. There are future NFL players all over that side of the ball including the top cornerback prospect in 6-foot-3 Greedy Williams.
Could this be the week where Tua Tagovailoa comes back down to earth a bit? Things gets started at 8:00 p.m. and we'll see if Joe Burrow can deliver again like he did against Georgia a few weeks back.
Who do you got in week 10? Can LSU keep it close against the Crimson Tide? Does Penn State have a shot at pulling off the upset in Ann Arbor? Can Lynn Bowden overtake Tua in the Heisman race? #GetRich
