Ringer's Record
Last Week ATS: 11-7
Last Week SU: 13-5
Season ATS: 58-37 (61%)
Season SU: 86-16 (84%)
1 Oklahoma (-9.5) vs. 10 Texas at Dallas, TX
The Red River Rivalry is once again a Top 10 matchup. I'm not completely sold that Texas deserves this lofty of a ranking, but a 4-0 start mixed with a load of teams beginning the season ranked higher losing has gotten them here. Oklahoma has struggled against ranked teams this year, but has had too much talent in the end. I expect the same thing to happen here.
Prediction - Oklahoma 31 Texas 24
Vanderbilt (+28.5) at 2 Alabama
Vandy was a nice story when they started off 3-0. Now they are getting into the meat of their schedule. I wouldn't expect too many more wins for the Commodores. 1st Downs will be a rarity this week as they face a vicious Bama D. The Crimson Tide went to Gainesville and spanked the Gators. They should win this one with ease.
Prediction - Alabama 35 Vanderbilt 6
19 Florida (+13.5) at 3 LSU
The schedule doe snot lighten up for the Gators. Florida showed they aren't ready for a return to national prominence just yet after a 38-10 home loss to Alabama. Now they head to Baton Rouge to take on an equally potent LSU squad. To makes matters worse, Florida lost starting QB John Brantley. LSU will roll just like the Tide.
Prediction - LSU 31 Florida 15
4 Boise St. (-21.5) at Fresno St.
Believe it or not, this could be Boise's toughest test en route to an undefeated season. With that said, I fully anticipate the Broncos to have an unblemished record come December. Kellen Moore did not have his typical game against Nevada, but they finally got the running game going. Pat Hill always has his Fresno teams ready for the big boys, but they will fall well short in this one.
Prediction - Boise St. 45 Fresno St. 20
Colorado (+27.5) at 5 Stanford
Andrew Luck is clearly the favorite for the Heisman at this point in the season. Did you see the one-handed catch he made? The mean can do it all. Look for him to put up big numbers against this bad Colorado team. Stanford has covered the spread in every game this year. They will continue that streak in a blowout.
Prediction - Stanford 49 Colorado 14
Kansas (+33.5) at 7 Oklahoma St.
The Pokes return to action after a week off. They proved to be National title contenders with a comeback victory at Texas A&M. Title contenders win games like this easily. That should be the case here. Look for Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon to continue their joint Heisman campaign in a romp.
Prediction - Oklahoma St. 51 Kansas 13
Cal (+24.5) at 8 Oregon
Cal came awfully close to ending Oregon's perfect regular season last year. Despite a down year for the Golden Bears, they came within minutes of knocking off the Ducks. Jeff Tedford is a good coach and will have his team ready to play on Thursday night. The speed and talent for Oregon combined with the Autzen Stadium atmosphere will be too much for Cal to pull the upset this year.
Prediction - Oregon 38 Cal 21
Boston College (+21.5) at 9 Clemson
Has there been a team in the country more impressive than the Clemson Tigers? Clemson is notorious for having tremendous talent and underachieving. They have plenty of talent on the roster this year, but there were not the expectations of year's past. This team is playing loose and finally gets a week where they don;t play a ranked team. Boston College is bad and it will show this week.
Prediction - Clemson 37 Boston College 10
11 Michigan (-5.5) at Northwestern
Is Michigan for real? They sure looked like it in a 58-0 beatdown of Minnesota last week. Let's face it, Minnesota is woeful though. Dan Persa returned for Northwestern last week and had the offense playing well. His defense couldn't hold the lead against Illinois though and they lost 38-35. Michigan started 5-0 last year too. They ended 7-5. I think a similar ending could be in store.
Prediction - Northwestern 31 Michigan 28
17 Auburn (+10.5) at 12 Arkansas
Both of these teams have bounced back nicely from early-season losses. Auburn went on the road to beat a very talented South Carolina team. Arkansas came back from 18 down to defeat Texas A&M. It doesn't appear that either of these teams have what it takes to beat out Alabama or LSU in the SEC West. The winner of this could improve their bowl stock though. I'll take Arkansas close.
Prediction - Arkansas 34 Auburn 28
Maryland (+15.5) at 13 Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech has used a high-octane offense to vault themselves into the Top 15 in the nation. They host of Maryland team that looked dangerous before getting blown out at home by Temple. Any team facing Tech will have the difficult task of stopping Paul Johnson's triple-option attack. I don't see Maryland being that team.
Prediction - Georgia Tech 33 Maryland 17
14 Illinois (-16.5) at Indiana
Bloomington can be a difficult place to play - just ask Penn State. This will not be a cake walk for the Illini. Indiana will have a tough time scoring though. Illinois has a stout defense and the Hoosiers offense is less than stellar. Illinois will continue their hot start, but not without a fight from Indiana.
Prediction - Illinois 24 Indiana 14
Ohio St. (+10.5) at 15 Nebraska
Ohio State has looked really bad in their 2 losses this year. It doesn't get any better for the Buckeyes. They will only return 2 of "Tattoo 5" that were originally supposed to be back for this game. Now they head to Lincoln for the Huskers' first Big Ten home game. This crowd will be revved up, and Ohio State will not have the weapons to overcome that.
Prediction - Nebraska 27 Ohio St. 14
UConn (+20.5) at 16 West Virginia
UConn is the defending Big East champion. West Virginia was the preseason favorite to win the conference this year. You would guess that combination would make for a good game. Guess again. UConn has looked pedestrian during their 2-3 start. They have no chance against this high-powered WVU offense.
Prediction - West Virginia 35 UConn 14
Kentucky (+18.5) at 18 South Carolina
South Carolina lost their SEC opener to Auburn last week. Lucky for them they play in the SEC East which keeps them very much alive. Steve Spurrier has finally seen enough of Stephen Garcia and has turned the wheel over to Connor Shaw at QB. That means we will see a lot of Marcus Lattimore, and that will be enough to lead to an easy victory.
Prediction - South Carolina 34 Kentucky 14
Miami (+7.5) at 20 Virginia Tech
5 weeks into the season and I don't have a gage on how good either of these teams are. Miami has bad losses to Maryland and Kansas State. Virginia Tech looked terrible in a 23-3 home loss to Clemson last week. The truth is that the winner of this game still has a great chance in the ACC. I like V Tech to bounc3e back in a close one.
Prediction - Virginia Tech 26 Miami 21
22 Arizona St. (-3.5) at Utah
Arizona State appears to be an up and down team. They have only lose 1 game, but have been very inconsistent in their play from week to week. This week, they head to Utah as the Utes try to get on track in their inaugural Pac-12 season. The Utes play well at home and expect them to squeak this one out.
Prediction - Utah 28 Arizona St. 25
Missouri (-3.5) at 23 Kansas St.
It's not every week that you see an unranked team favored on the road against a ranked team. That is the case when Missouri heads to the Little Apple to take on Kansas State. I think that Missouri is the more talented team, but you can't discount what K-State has done in their last 2 victories over Miami and Baylor. I don't think they can survive for a third week in a row.
Prediction - Missouri 28 Kansas St. 21
24 Florida St. (-12.5) at Wake Forest
FSU looks to get back on track after 2 consecutive losses. Of course both losses were against teams that currently reside in the Top 10. Wake has been improved this year, but are far away from the Top 10. I think Florida State does get a groove back and wins in Winston-Salem.
Prediction - Florida St. 34 Wake Forest 17
25 Texas A&M (-6.5) at Texas Tech
Texas A&M has blown 2 leads of 17 points or more in consecutive weeks. This is a must-win for Aggies coach Mike Sherman. They travel to Lubbock to square off with undefeated Texas Tech. The Red Raiders have looked good against bad competition. This will be their stiffest test to date. Texas A&M bounces back with a nice road win.
Prediction - Texas A&M 38 Texas Tech 35
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