We've reached the 13th week of the season, and that can only mean one thing: It's the annual SEC cupcake festival that does absolutely nothing for the conference's image or playoff hopes.
This time around it's mostly just the state of Alabama engaging in the festivities, and that's precisely why you won't see the Crimson Tide or Tigers on our weekly lineup. No one is expecting Western Carolina or Samford to present much of a challenge.
So who brought us some good fortune to in the week that was? All nine of our staff members had the Badgers covering the 14 points on the road in Lincoln. A 16-point victory gave everyone a fairly predictable win. Most had the Wolverines covering the two-touchdown spread over the Spartans. That one wasn't even close as Jim Harbaugh delivered a 44-10 beatdown on Mark Dantonio.
Ohio State was favored by 52.5 points over Rutgers, but that didn't stop just about everyone from siding with the Buckeyes. David was the lone staffer to correctly pick the Scarlet Knights to cover in Piscataway. Notre Dame was an 8.5-point favorite over Navy, and most had the Midshipmen covering. The Irish cruised to an easy 52-20 home win.
Minnesota was red hot coming off the win over Penn State, but a trip to Kinnick Stadium is always dangerous. The Hawkeyes were favored by a field goal, and again David was the only forecaster to nail that one. Kirk Ferentz handed P.J. Fleck his first loss of the season by a score of 23-19.
LSU was a 21-point road favorite against Ole Miss, and wouldn't you know it the final score was 58-37 Tigers. That's officially our third "push" of the season, so that one won't be factored into the overall tally.
- Reminder: All of our submissions are against the spread rather than a straight pick'em. The lines are from www.sportsbook.ag and are collected on Mondays of each week. There's always a chance that the lines will move in the days leading up to kickoff.
| KEVIN | CHRIS | RAMZY | HOPE | JONES | ELLIS | WERTHEIM | REGIMBAL | VANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAST WEEK: | 5-4-1 | 4-5-1 | 4-5-1 | 5-4-1 | 5-4-1 | 5-4-1 | 5-4-1 | 3-6-1 | 4-5-1 |
| OVERALL: | 57-60 | 61-56 | 73-44 | 65-52 | 63-54 | 63-54 | 60-57 | 66-51 | 74-43 |
| ACCURACY: | 49% | 52% | 62% | 56% | 54% | 54% | 51% | 56% | 63% |
| #2 Ohio State (-18) vs. #8 Penn State | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | PSU | OSU | OSU |
| #17 Iowa (-15) vs. Illinois | ILL | IOWA | IOWA | ILL | ILL | IOWA | ILL | IOWA | ILL |
| #10 Minnesota (-13.5) @ Northwestern | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN |
| #13 Michigan (-8.5) @ Indiana | INDY | MICH | INDY | MICH | MICH | MICH | MICH | MICH | INDY |
| #4 Georgia (-13) vs. Texas A&M | TAMU | TAMU | TAMU | UGA | UGA | UGA | TAMU | TAMU | TAMU |
| #14 Baylor (-5.5) vs. Texas | TEX | BAY | TEX | BAY | TEX | BAY | TEX | TEX | BAY |
| Navy (-4) vs. #25 SMU | NAVY | SMU | NAVY | SMU | SMU | SMU | NAVY | SMU | NAVY |
| #12 Wisconsin (-24) vs. Purdue | WISC | WISC | WISC | PUR | WISC | WISC | PUR | WISC | PUR |
| #19 Cincinnati (-10.5) vs. Temple | CINCY | CINCY | TEMP | TEMP | CINCY | CINCY | CINCY | TEMP | TEMP |
| #9 Oklahoma (-18) vs. TCU | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | TCU | TCU | OKLA | OKLA | TCU | OKLA |
While it's not the most exciting lineup, all eyes will be on Columbus Saturday afternoon when the Buckeyes welcome the Nittany Lions. Ohio State was favored by 18 when we locked in our picks, and the spread has gone up a bit to 18.5.
A tough rush defense but susceptible secondary means this could be Justin Fields' time to shine in the spotlight. The former Penn State commitment is coming off his first 300-yard performance and may actually be on the field in the fourth quarter against the No. 8 team in the country.
One of the biggest remaining questions surrounds the health of PSU speedster K.J. Hamler. He suffered an apparent concussion against Indiana last week, but most are expecting Hamler to suit up. David is siding with the Nittany Lions, but everyone else is rolling with the Buckeyes this weekend.
Michigan seems to be putting it all together at the right time, and this weekend Jim Harbaugh takes his crew to Bloomington to square off against the 7-3 Hoosiers. Indiana has been throwing the ball around a lot this year, but the Wolverines have the country's fourth-best pass defense. Most are siding with Michigan as an 8.5-point road favorite.
The Bulldogs hosting Texas A&M is pretty much the only SEC game worth a darn this weekend. This one isn't expected to be too close as Kirby Smart is a near two-touchdown favorite in Athens. Our staff has some mixed opinions on the outcome.
Texas is unranked a mere 10 months after Sam Ehlinger told the world the Longhorns were officially back. It hasn't been a good showing for Tom Herman, and the Horns are an underdog again this weekend versus a one-loss Baylor team. This one will go down in Waco and our staff is split on the 5.5-point spread.
Speaking of Baylor, the Bears blew a 25-point lead last weekend against the Sooners. Lincoln Riley will look to keep things rolling Saturday night when he hosts the 5-5 Horned Frogs. 18 points is a hefty spread when you consider the struggles Alex Grinch has had on defense this year.
Who are you siding with on this underwhelming 13th week of the season? Does Ohio State cover against the Nittany Lions or does it get tested for the first time all year?
