I dislike being right in this case. I went 14-1 in picks last week, including correctly guessing a double-digit win for N.C. State over Virginia. My record now sits at 44-24. Here are this week's selections, with Virginia coming out ahead against Bye University:
Friday
Georgia Tech (2-3) at Louisville (2-3), 7 p.m. ESPN
Georgia Tech 27, Louisville 24
Saturday
National game of the week: Red River Rivalry
No. 19 Texas (4-1) vs. No. 7 Oklahoma (5-0) in Dallas, Noon Fox
One of the sport's classic rivalries kicks off a solid Saturday slate. This game rarely disappoints, even when one team is ranked and the other isn't, such as 2015 when a Texas team that finished the season 5-7 defeated then-No. 10 Oklahoma, 24-17. The Sooners are scoring a ton of points but have looked vulnerable, struggling with Iowa State and nearly losing to Army at home. The Longhorns lost to Maryland by five to open the season but have ran off four straight wins, with an impressive victory over TCU included in which they defeated the Horned Frogs by more than Ohio State did. Second-year coach Tom Herman is starting to build momentum. I'm going to go with Texas in the upset.
Texas 30, Oklahoma 27
Syracuse (4-1) at Pittsburgh (2-3), 12:20 p.m. ACC Network
Syracuse came oh so close to taking down Clemson on the road last week and busting into probably the top 20. The Orange could be ripe for an upset following that emotional loss, but I'll still take them over the struggling Panthers.
Syracuse 31, Pittsburgh 24
Boston College (4-1) at No. 23 N.C. State (4-0), 12:30 p.m. NBCSW
N.C. State 31, Boston College 27
No. 4 Clemson (5-0) at Wake Forest (3-2), 3:30 p.m. ESPN
The Demon Deacons fired their defensive coordinator after four games, and they rebounded somewhat by defeating a terrible Rice team last week, 56-24. In addition to struggling with Syracuse, newly minted starting QB Trevor Lawrence suffered a scary-looking head injury in the game that ended up just being a sprained neck. He actually will play this week. At the beginning of the year, I thought Wake had a chance in this game, but now I don't know, given the weakness of the defense. And it seems like Clemson coach Dabo Swinney will have the Tigers ready after the near upset last week.
Clemson 38, Wake Forest 24
No. 5 LSU (5-0) at No. 22 Florida (4-1), 3:30 p.m. CBS
LSU 23, Florida 20
Florida State (3-2) at No. 17 Miami (4-1), 3:30 p.m. ABC
Another rivalry game that doesn't usually disappoint, but the Seminoles are still scuffling, for the most part, while the Hurricanes seem to have figured some things out since getting blown out by LSU in the opener. Miami switched starting QBs last week from Malik Rosier to N'Kosi Perry.
Miami 31, Florida State 20
No. 6 Notre Dame (5-0) at No. 24 Virginia Tech (3-1), 8 p.m. ABC
This game might have drawn "College GameDay" had the Hokies not gotten tripped up at ODU, with a matchup that likely would've pitted two top-10 teams. But, as I expected, Tech turned things around nicely last week, handing Duke its first loss, 31-14. But the Blue Devils started out last season 4-0
before losing six of their last eight regular-season games, so we can't be sure yet that was a legitimately good win by the Hokies. This one would be. Notre Dame is beginning to look like a real contender for the College Football Playoff this year, and the Fighting Irish's offense has taken off since coach Brian Kelly switched from Brandon Wimbush to Ian Book at quarterback. In three games, Wimbush completed 55.3 percent of his passes for 589 yards, one TD, and four picks while Notre Dame scored 24, 24, and 22 points. In the past two, Book has completed 74.3 percent of his throws for 616 yards, seven TDs, and no interceptions while Notre Dame put up 56 and 38 points. I like Tech to keep it close, given this is a huge opponent and a night game at Lane Stadium, but I think Notre Dame is just the better team.
Notre Dame 27, Virginia Tech 23
Friday
Georgia Tech (2-3) at Louisville (2-3), 7 p.m. ESPN
Georgia Tech 27, Louisville 24
Saturday
National game of the week: Red River Rivalry
No. 19 Texas (4-1) vs. No. 7 Oklahoma (5-0) in Dallas, Noon Fox
One of the sport's classic rivalries kicks off a solid Saturday slate. This game rarely disappoints, even when one team is ranked and the other isn't, such as 2015 when a Texas team that finished the season 5-7 defeated then-No. 10 Oklahoma, 24-17. The Sooners are scoring a ton of points but have looked vulnerable, struggling with Iowa State and nearly losing to Army at home. The Longhorns lost to Maryland by five to open the season but have ran off four straight wins, with an impressive victory over TCU included in which they defeated the Horned Frogs by more than Ohio State did. Second-year coach Tom Herman is starting to build momentum. I'm going to go with Texas in the upset.
Texas 30, Oklahoma 27
Syracuse (4-1) at Pittsburgh (2-3), 12:20 p.m. ACC Network
Syracuse came oh so close to taking down Clemson on the road last week and busting into probably the top 20. The Orange could be ripe for an upset following that emotional loss, but I'll still take them over the struggling Panthers.
Syracuse 31, Pittsburgh 24
Boston College (4-1) at No. 23 N.C. State (4-0), 12:30 p.m. NBCSW
N.C. State 31, Boston College 27
No. 4 Clemson (5-0) at Wake Forest (3-2), 3:30 p.m. ESPN
The Demon Deacons fired their defensive coordinator after four games, and they rebounded somewhat by defeating a terrible Rice team last week, 56-24. In addition to struggling with Syracuse, newly minted starting QB Trevor Lawrence suffered a scary-looking head injury in the game that ended up just being a sprained neck. He actually will play this week. At the beginning of the year, I thought Wake had a chance in this game, but now I don't know, given the weakness of the defense. And it seems like Clemson coach Dabo Swinney will have the Tigers ready after the near upset last week.
Clemson 38, Wake Forest 24
No. 5 LSU (5-0) at No. 22 Florida (4-1), 3:30 p.m. CBS
LSU 23, Florida 20
Florida State (3-2) at No. 17 Miami (4-1), 3:30 p.m. ABC
Another rivalry game that doesn't usually disappoint, but the Seminoles are still scuffling, for the most part, while the Hurricanes seem to have figured some things out since getting blown out by LSU in the opener. Miami switched starting QBs last week from Malik Rosier to N'Kosi Perry.
Miami 31, Florida State 20
No. 6 Notre Dame (5-0) at No. 24 Virginia Tech (3-1), 8 p.m. ABC
This game might have drawn "College GameDay" had the Hokies not gotten tripped up at ODU, with a matchup that likely would've pitted two top-10 teams. But, as I expected, Tech turned things around nicely last week, handing Duke its first loss, 31-14. But the Blue Devils started out last season 4-0
Notre Dame 27, Virginia Tech 23
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