I have yet to make any college football predictions for the new year, so what better time to start than now? Here are a couple of picks to fade come Saturday. (It’s not that I’m not confident. I’m just confident that I don’t have a clue what I’m doing – big difference.)
Ohio at No. 2 Ohio State, 12:00PM ET
The Buckeyes appear to be a pony that you can back all season. They have a top 5 defense, Terrelle Pryor isn’t turning the ball over like Jake Delhomme on a NFL Sunday and any one of their top three runners (Pryor, Dan Herron, Brandon Saine) could take one to the house at any time. Ohio, meanwhile, beat Wofford and then lost to Toledo 20-13 at home last week. They lack offensive firepower and while their defense can compete against MAC opponents, OSU shouldn’t have any problems lighting up the scoreboard on Saturday. I always fear the backdoor cover in a game like this, but hopefully the Buckeyes score about 80 and it won’t matter.
THE PICK: OHIO STATE –29.5
No. 1 Alabama at Duke, 3:30PM ET
Same thing here as the game above – I fear the backdoor cover (especially with ‘Bama playing on the road), but I’m willing to lay the points in what should be a rout. Duke gave up 27 to Elon (who?) in Week 1 and 54 to Wake Forest last week. Considering Mark Ingram is coming back this Saturday and the Tide will be at full strength offensively, anything less than 50 out of Alabama will be a disappointment. On the other side of the ball, ‘Bama has only allowed six points this season. Penn State needed three and a half quarters just to get on the scoreboard with a field goal last week and by that point, the game was already in the books.
THE PICK: ALABAMA –23.5
Arizona State +12.5 at. Wisconsin, 3:30PM ET
Wisconsin has won 25 straight home games against unranked opponents, but they’re 0-2 against the spread this year, which includes a lackluster 27-14 win over a brutal San Jose State team last weekend. Michigan transfer Steven Threet is now the Sun Devils’ starter and he holds a 1-0 record against the Badgers in his short collegiate career. I don’t see ASU winning this game outright (especially considering they’ve lost six straight to FBS schools), but I’ll take the 12.5 points with thunderstorms expected to hit in Madison by game time.
THE PICK: ARIZONA STATE +12.5
No. 6 Texas at Texas Tech +3, 8:00PM ET
There’s something about Lubbock that doesn’t sit well with Mack Brown. The Longhorns are only 3-3 under Brown at Texas Tech and the last time these two teams met here, Michael Crabtree shocked a then-ranked No. 1 Texas team with a last-second touchdown. The Longhorns didn’t look particularly sharp in their first two games of the season, although both were victories. Tech, meanwhile, staved off a late comeback by SMU in Week 1 and then waxed New Mexico 52-17 last Saturday. There’s just something about Lubbock that gives the Raiders a significant edge in this matchup, which is why I like Tech to win outright (but go ahead and give me the points anyway…you know, so they don’t go to waste).
THE PICK: TEXAS TECH +3
