I went 7-2 two weeks ago and am now 39-7 on the season. I think this one of the toughest slate of games I've picked this year. I could see just about any of these games going either way. Home field advantage is usually big in college football, too, and out of these seven games, I pick four road teams to come out on top.
No. 22 Florida at No. 14 Missouri, 12:21 p.m. ESPN3.com
Missouri kind of snuck up on me. I don't feel bad, though. I think it snuck up on a lot of people. The Tigers are undefeated and announced they are a contender in the SEC East with a resounding 41-26 win over Georgia last week. But they lost their QB, James Franklin, to a separated shoulder in the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman Maty Mauk will start in his place. I thinkm I will give the Gators the edge in this one because of that.
Florida 20, Missouri 17
Syracuse at Georgia Tech, 12:30 p.m. ESPN3.com
Interesting game for both teams. ACC newcomer Syracuse has been keeping its head above water in the new league. The Orange are 3-3 and picked up their first league win over N.C. State last week, 24-10. Georgia Tech has dropped three straight games -- to Virginia Tech, Miami, and BYU -- after starting the season 3-0. The Yellow Jackets need to win because it will be looking at 3-4 with a loss with a trip to Charlottesville to face a UVa team that could have some momentum from a Duke win next Saturday. 'Cuse needs to win to keep what are probably its faint bowl hopes alive. A win here would go a long way toward that goal. I like the Yellow Jackets because the Orange aren't as strong as the Jackets' previous three losses.
Georgia Tech 24, Syracuse 17
No. 24 Auburn at No. 7 Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. CBS
Auburn has seen a rebirth this season under Gus Malzahn, its previous offensive coordinator who turned Cam Newton into a star during the Tigers' national championship run in 2010. He is an offensive mastermind and has Auburn ranked seventh in the nation in rushing yards. The Tigers have not played a tough schedule, yet, and I think Kyle Field, Johnny Manziel and A&M will be a bit too much for the Tigers to handle. This should be a fun and high-scoring game.
Texas A&M 38, Auburn 31
No. 9 UCLA at No. 13 Stanford, 3:30 p.m. ABC/ESPN2
Stanford suddenly finds itself not on top of the Pac-12 North after an upset loss to Utah last week. Oregon and Oregon State are both undefeated in the conference. UCLA is the only other team in the Pac-12 undefeated overall along with Oregon. This will be a tough game for the Cardinal, but back at home I see it pulling out a close victory over the Bruins.
Stanford 31, UCLA 28
USC at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. NBC
Both these teams are struggling this year but I think USC is a little better and starting last week under interim coach Ed Orgeron, the players said they were having fun playing again. Lane Kiffin was fired two weeks ago after a blowout loss to Arizona State. I think the Trojans are going to let it fly in this one and put up some good offensive numbers the Fighting Irish won't be able to keep up with.
USC 33, Notre Dame 31
No. 5 Florida State at No. 3 Clemson, 8 p.m. ABC
The ACC has been waiting for a matchup like this for a long time. The long-suffering conference has not had a matchup of two top-5 teams since 2005 when Virginia Tech and Miami faced off. The winner likely has the inside track to win the ACC Atlantic Division, though the Tigers do travel to Maryland next weekend while FSU still has to face Miami. Clemson has been tested more this season, earning close wins over Georgia, N.C. State, and last week over Boston College when maybe the Tigers were looking ahead to this contest. FSU has blown almost every team away except for a slight hiccup against BC, which has proven to be a tougher team than in 2012. FSU has had two weeks to prepare for this game. I think Clemson has been starting to get a little shaky. In this battle of Heisman Trophy-contending QBs -- Jameis Winston for FSU and Tajh Boyd for Clemson -- I like the younger of the two to bring his Seminoles to Death Valley and get a huge victory. In reality, this one could go either way and I'm not really sure what to expect but it should be a great game.
Florida State 38, Clemson 35
Duke at Virginia, 3:30 p.m. Comcast SportsNet
Call me crazy, but I think Virginia wins this one. It's been three weeks since Virginia has put together a complete game. Different facets of the team have been working at different points but hardly ever all together. I think it comes together for the Wahoos and for one week at least, the "Fire Mike London!" call quiets down a bit. The defense was working against Pittsburgh but not the offense. Against Ball State, the offense got it cranking a bit but the defense couldn't stop anything and Virginia had 13 penalties and three turnovers. Last week against Maryland, UVa played maybe its best game of the season but couldn't turn drives into Maryland's red zone into touchdowns. The defense wasn't quite good enough down the stretch as well, letting Maryland convert a 3rd-and-22 that helped the Terrapins to eventually score the go-ahead touchdown. I thought near the end of the Ball State game, the team was quitting. But that doesn't appear to
have been the case. The team fought hard against the Terrapins. Linebacker Henry Coley said this week that the team is close to winning again, which it hasn't done since Sept. 21 against VMI. So I credit London for rallying the troops a bit. They at least seem to believe in him still. I think that will be enough in this one to carry the Cavaliers to a win over the Blue Devils, which have won four of five in this series. Virginia lost last year in Durham, 42-17, after leading 17-14 at the half. Virginia last won in 2011 in Charlottesville, 31-21. I learned something funny from Daily Progress columnist Jerry Ratcliffe about this series this week, which he called an underrated ACC rivalry. Apparently, former UVa cornerback Chase Minnifield (known for trash talking) was jabbering with Duke coach David Cutcliffe during that 2011 game and Cutcliffe was irrate after the game and let London hear about it. I recall Cutcliffe being angry but I had no idea what Minnifield said. Supposedly, he told Cutcliffe, "You ain't go no more Mannings, dawg!" referring to the fact that Cutcliffe coached both Peyton and Eli Manning in college. Cutcliffe was the offensive coordinator for Peyton at Tennessee and the head coach for Eli at Ole Miss. In this one, UVa doesn't have to deal with a Manning. This secondary, which has struggled the past two weeks vs. the Cardinals and Terrapins, will have to deal with the Duke combo of QB Anthony Boone and WR Jamison Crowder, who has 47 catches for 618 yards and two touchdowns. Last year, Boone, as a backup, torched UVa for four touchdowns and WR Conner Vernon had a field day. Luckily, Vernon has graduated but the defense will still have to contend with an offense that has had its number in recent seasons (2008: 31 points; 2009: 28 points; 2010: 55 points; 2011: 21 points; 2012: 42 points). Hold the Blue Devils to 21 points and I think the Cavs win. If Duke scores in the 30s or more, it will probably be a long day for the Wahoos. Duke is 4-2 and is seeking a second straight season of bowl eligibility, a streak it has never achieved. The Blue Devils haven't beaten a good team yet this season (wins: North Carolina Central, Memphis, Troy, Navy; losses: Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech), so nothing in their schedule is pointing to them being a great team. Even if UVa loses the rest of its games after this one, I just have a pretty good feeling about this one.
Virginia 27, Duke 24
No. 22 Florida at No. 14 Missouri, 12:21 p.m. ESPN3.com
Missouri kind of snuck up on me. I don't feel bad, though. I think it snuck up on a lot of people. The Tigers are undefeated and announced they are a contender in the SEC East with a resounding 41-26 win over Georgia last week. But they lost their QB, James Franklin, to a separated shoulder in the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman Maty Mauk will start in his place. I thinkm I will give the Gators the edge in this one because of that.
Florida 20, Missouri 17
Syracuse at Georgia Tech, 12:30 p.m. ESPN3.com
Interesting game for both teams. ACC newcomer Syracuse has been keeping its head above water in the new league. The Orange are 3-3 and picked up their first league win over N.C. State last week, 24-10. Georgia Tech has dropped three straight games -- to Virginia Tech, Miami, and BYU -- after starting the season 3-0. The Yellow Jackets need to win because it will be looking at 3-4 with a loss with a trip to Charlottesville to face a UVa team that could have some momentum from a Duke win next Saturday. 'Cuse needs to win to keep what are probably its faint bowl hopes alive. A win here would go a long way toward that goal. I like the Yellow Jackets because the Orange aren't as strong as the Jackets' previous three losses.
Georgia Tech 24, Syracuse 17
No. 24 Auburn at No. 7 Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. CBS
Auburn has seen a rebirth this season under Gus Malzahn, its previous offensive coordinator who turned Cam Newton into a star during the Tigers' national championship run in 2010. He is an offensive mastermind and has Auburn ranked seventh in the nation in rushing yards. The Tigers have not played a tough schedule, yet, and I think Kyle Field, Johnny Manziel and A&M will be a bit too much for the Tigers to handle. This should be a fun and high-scoring game.
Texas A&M 38, Auburn 31
No. 9 UCLA at No. 13 Stanford, 3:30 p.m. ABC/ESPN2
Stanford suddenly finds itself not on top of the Pac-12 North after an upset loss to Utah last week. Oregon and Oregon State are both undefeated in the conference. UCLA is the only other team in the Pac-12 undefeated overall along with Oregon. This will be a tough game for the Cardinal, but back at home I see it pulling out a close victory over the Bruins.
Stanford 31, UCLA 28
USC at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. NBC
Both these teams are struggling this year but I think USC is a little better and starting last week under interim coach Ed Orgeron, the players said they were having fun playing again. Lane Kiffin was fired two weeks ago after a blowout loss to Arizona State. I think the Trojans are going to let it fly in this one and put up some good offensive numbers the Fighting Irish won't be able to keep up with.
USC 33, Notre Dame 31
No. 5 Florida State at No. 3 Clemson, 8 p.m. ABC
The ACC has been waiting for a matchup like this for a long time. The long-suffering conference has not had a matchup of two top-5 teams since 2005 when Virginia Tech and Miami faced off. The winner likely has the inside track to win the ACC Atlantic Division, though the Tigers do travel to Maryland next weekend while FSU still has to face Miami. Clemson has been tested more this season, earning close wins over Georgia, N.C. State, and last week over Boston College when maybe the Tigers were looking ahead to this contest. FSU has blown almost every team away except for a slight hiccup against BC, which has proven to be a tougher team than in 2012. FSU has had two weeks to prepare for this game. I think Clemson has been starting to get a little shaky. In this battle of Heisman Trophy-contending QBs -- Jameis Winston for FSU and Tajh Boyd for Clemson -- I like the younger of the two to bring his Seminoles to Death Valley and get a huge victory. In reality, this one could go either way and I'm not really sure what to expect but it should be a great game.
Florida State 38, Clemson 35
Duke at Virginia, 3:30 p.m. Comcast SportsNet
Call me crazy, but I think Virginia wins this one. It's been three weeks since Virginia has put together a complete game. Different facets of the team have been working at different points but hardly ever all together. I think it comes together for the Wahoos and for one week at least, the "Fire Mike London!" call quiets down a bit. The defense was working against Pittsburgh but not the offense. Against Ball State, the offense got it cranking a bit but the defense couldn't stop anything and Virginia had 13 penalties and three turnovers. Last week against Maryland, UVa played maybe its best game of the season but couldn't turn drives into Maryland's red zone into touchdowns. The defense wasn't quite good enough down the stretch as well, letting Maryland convert a 3rd-and-22 that helped the Terrapins to eventually score the go-ahead touchdown. I thought near the end of the Ball State game, the team was quitting. But that doesn't appear to |
| Duke WR Jamison Crowder |
Virginia 27, Duke 24
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