By Jonathan Lee and Bart Lopez
AccuScore's college football picks were profitable yet again last week (3-2-1) for a record of 10-4-1 over the last 3 weeks.
JON’S EXPERT PICKS
Indiana +15.5 vs. Penn State
The Hoosiers are not a good football team. What they are however is improved on offense under Kevin Wilson and his multiple passing attack. Penn State is very good on defense, but decidedly mediocre on offense. This line is basically three scores (multiple two-point plays withstanding) and seems a few points too large for me to be confident in the Lions. IU quarterback Edward Wright-Baker has been solid throwing for 925 yards thus far with a 62 percent completion rate. Those numbers are respectable, and he should be able to guide his team for at least a couple scores. That would be all that is needed as Penn St. should struggle to score 30+ points. If this line moves to a full 16 or 16.5, obviously I would like the Hoosiers even more.
Arizona +12.5 at USC
There are a few truths that have revealed themselves this season in the Pac-12. One is that neither of these teams are top-25 in quality. Another is that Lane Kiffin has at best an inconsistent bunch, and at worst an unmotivated team. The third is that despite a patchwork offensive line and a poor defense, Arizona quarterback Nick Foles will produce against anybody. That all adds up to this line being too large. Arizona is 1-3, but the 3 losses came against arguably top-10 competition (Ok St., Stanford, Oregon). The Foles-led passing offense is still ranked 5th in the NCAA. USC’s passing defense is middle of the road despite not having faced even an above average passing game until last week against ASU. I expect an ugly game with multiple turnovers by both teams, but Foles should be able to score enough points to keep this game close.
SYR +1 vs. Rutgers
Rutgers’ pass efficiency defense ranks 76th in the nation, and that includes the opener when N.C. Central threw for just 112 yards and 2 interceptions. The offense also ranks just 96th in the country despite a 48-point win in that same opener. Syracuse meanwhile has won three games against middling competition, and luckily Rutgers is as middling as they come. The upside for the Orange is that its relative strength is the passing game with QB Ryan Nassib which happens to line up with Rutgers’ relative weakness. I’ll take the home team that only needs to win outright in a game that features two evenly matched below average BCS teams.
Georgia Tech (-10) at North Carolina State
Bart picks this game below, and I’ll let him get into exactly why, but this line makes no sense to me. Suffice it to say that I love the Wramblin’ Wreck big-time.
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BART’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS
Georgia Tech (-10) at NC State
My first pick of the week is Georgia Tech covering the spread on the road against NC State. The Yellow Jackets are the top offense in the nation at the moment, average 53.3 points per game with roughly 630.5 yards per game. NC State has some key injuries to its defensive line and is coming off a big loss to Cincinnati (14-44). The last time these two teams met NC State won 45-28, but that game had two very different teams.
Texas Tech (-6.5) at Kansas
My second pick is two stars and an AccuScore hot trend. Texas Tech is coming off a narrow victory against Nevada, but has been blowing out opponents this year, averaging 48 points per game and holding opponents to 19. Even though the Red Raiders will be without WR Darrin Moore, I’m confident RB Eric Stephens and QB Seth Doege will have little trouble putting points on the board. In its last game Kansas lost big to Georgia Tech, where it gave up 66 points and 604 yards on the ground. I don’t think the Jayhawks will be able to keep the game that close.
Stanford (-20.5) vs. UCLA
My final pick is a four star pick and an AccuScore hot trend. Stanford is projected to cover the spread with 60.1% probability. It hasn’t played since September 17th, when it trounced Arizona on the road 37-10. On average, the score at the end of Stanford games has been 46-9. UCLA is coming off a win against Oregon State, but gave up 49 points at home to current number 17 Texas. The last time these two teams met Stanford shut out UCLA 35-0 in Los Angeles. 20.5 points is a lot, but I’m banking not only on Stanford being a great team, but also UCLA crumbling.
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Go to the College Football Picks for game forecasts and previews for every game of the college football betting season.
