We’ve reached the midway point of the college football regular season and I’m not gonna lie we're coming off a disappointing 2-4 week. Granted, we had a disgusting beat with North Texas (-5) winning by 4 and then the blatant 12 men-on-the-field cheating strategy Oregon used to beat Ohio State. Regardless, we’re mixing it up and bringing a celebrity pick to you this week. Former freshman All-American WR Bo Hines is coming in strong with the lock of the week to help us get back on track. Let’s run the tables!
Let’s start the week off with an SEC matchup of the Tigers. I’ve heard all the talk that Missouri is a “paper tiger” (pun intended). I simply don’t believe it. Missouri has top-tier SEC talent at the QB, RB, and WR position, and stacking their roster up to Auburn’s is apples to oranges. I really believe Missouri could throttle Auburn this weekend to the tune of a 21+ blowout. Gimme Missouri over Auburn in the battle of the Tigers.
Best Bet: Missouri -4
This is the weekly “makes no sense” line. UCLA is on a 5 game losing streak and has shown literally ZERO reason to be excited. The team flat-out sucks. Rutgers on the other hand started out hot with a 4-0 record before dropping two in a row including an ugly loss last week against Wisconsin. I truly believe this is one of those games where Rutgers rebounds after an embarrassing loss to show they had an off week against Wisconsin. Gimme the Scarlet Knights at home.
Best Bet: Rutgers -4.5
Iowa spoiled one of my picks last week and after watching that beatdown of Washington, I'm an Iowa believer. This isn't your dad’s Iowa squad. They seemingly have gotten with the 21st century and realized you can actually throw the ball to gain yards in a football game. The defense is very good as always and they have decent skill players on offense for a change. Michigan State is on a three-game losing streak while their only two FBS victories were one-score wins against BAD teams (Maryland and FAU). We just watched Iowa beat down Washington by 21+ and you think this pitiful Spartans team is gonna hang with them? Yeah right if you believe that I got oceanfront property in Iowa to sell you.
Best Bet: Iowa -4.5
It took six games for me to hop on the Sun Devils bandwagon but I’m firmly planted on the wagon now. The Sam Leavitt and Cam Skattebo combo is a throwback to better days when smash mouth football reigned supreme. If there is one thing for certain about this year's Arizona State team is that there isn't a team in FBS football that is physically tougher than them. That's the type of football I love and I'm 100% behind the smash-mouth style Coach Dillingham brought to Tempe. Cincy is a modern spread-it-out and throw-often team so this game will be interesting to compare the two styles of play. At the end of the day, football is a street fight and I’ll always side with the tougher side. Gimme the Sun Devils pulling an upset.
Best Bet: Arizona State +5
This line is heavily influenced by recency bias as Oklahoma crapped the bed last week and looked pitiful on offense, scoring 3 points. South Carolina has been hot and cold as well, one week scoring 33 against an SEC opponent and then following that up 3-point outing against Ole Miss. For my calculations I see this game being close with Oklahoma bouncing back after a tough week against Texas. As a wise man once said, the over isn't dead until the fat lady sings but the under is always in trouble of losing. My gut tells me over so let's cheer on some points.
Best Bet: O41.5
North Texas gave us a horrendous beat last week, winning by 4 points and missing covering the spread by 1 point. However, I have a feeling they’ll reward us this week against Memphis. This North Texas team scores points in bunches compared to a Memphis squad that looks to win the possession battle and grind teams out. This feels like one of those games where North Texas may very well lose but to lose by more than 11 feels unlikely. Gimme the Mean Green in a redemption game for the boys this weekend!
Best Bet: North Texas +11
Kansas State (-3) vs. West Virginia
Kansas State is poised to demolish West Virginia this weekend due to their strong offense and recent momentum. The 17th-ranked Wildcats have shown resiliency bouncing back from a tough loss against BYU with impressive wins against OK State and Colorado. Their dual-threat quarterback Avery Johnson has been exceptional this year and looks to match up well against this West Virginia defense that struggles against dual-threat guys. The talent disparity between the two teams leads me to think this will be an easy cover for the Wildcats. Lock it in, Kansas State by more than 3.
Celebrity Best Bet: Kansas State -3
