It's been an interesting week in the college football world. There were plenty of upsets as four top-10 teams fell to the opposition. While Georgia, West Virginia, Washington, and Penn State all went down, a few others came away with some serious resume-boosting wins.
The Wolverines dismantled the Badgers in Ann Arbor and now some folks seem to think Jim Harbaugh and Co. may give Ohio State a real run for the money in the Big Ten. Michigan State bounced back with a huge win at Happy Valley and the Ducks remain in the hunt after taking down the Huskies.
As for our dream team of pickers, it was a bit of a rough one as the vast majority had both the Badgers (+7.5) and Nittany Lions (-13.5) covering the respective spreads. Ohio State was favored by nearly 30 against Minnesota and most had the Buckeyes covering. A defense that continues to give up big plays prevented that from happening.
The worst of the weekend? Every one of the 11 selectors pegged West Virginia to cover the 6.5 points at Iowa State. The Cyclone defense dominated, however, as Will Grier threw for just 100 yards on the day in a 30-14 loss. This is another prime example of why Matt Campbell's name is being tossed around as a potential successor to Urban Meyer.
On a positive note, nearly everyone correctly forecasted Iowa to cover (-4.5) at Indiana and the Aggies (-2.5) over South Carolina. The latter was especially close with Jimbo Fisher's squad winning by a score of 26-23..
- Reminder: All of our submissions are against the spread. The odds will certainly fluctuate a bit throughout each week, but we'll be using sportsbook.ag for all betting lines.
This weekend's slate isn't as strong as what we saw a week ago, but there are a couple of big ones to be excited about, and it all starts in East Lansing at noon.
| CHRIS | RAMZY | HOPE | HARRISH | JONES | WEBB | ELLIS | WERTHEIM | REGIMBAL | ANDERSON | VANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAST WEEK: | 4-6 | 6-4 | 5-5 | 6-4 | 2-8 | 5-5 | 4-6 | 3-7 | 4-6 | 6-4 | 5-5 |
| OVERALL: | 34-36 | 31-39 | 37-33 | 33-37 | 30-40 | 36-34 | 42-28 | 34-36 | 29-41 | 35-35 | 36-34 |
| ACCURACY: | 49% | 44% | 53% | 47% | 43% | 51% | 60% | 49% | 41% | 50% | 51% |
| #6 Michigan (-7) @ #24 Michigan State | MICHST | MICHST | MICH | MICHST | MICHST | MICHST | MICHST | MICH | MICH | MICH | MICH |
| Temple (-3.5) vs. #20 Cincinnati | CINCY | CINCY | CINCY | TEMP | CINCY | CINCY | CINCY | CINCY | CINCY | CINCY | CINCY |
| #9 Oklahoma (-7.5) @ TCU | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | TCU | TCU | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA | OKLA |
| #1 Alabama (-29) @ Tennessee | BAMA | BAMA | TENN | TENN | BAMA | BAMA | TENN | TENN | BAMA | BAMA | TENN |
| Nebraska (-3.5) vs. Minnesota | MINN | NEB | NEB | MINN | MINN | MINN | MINN | NEB | MINN | MINN | MINN |
| #18 Penn State (-14) @ Indiana | INDY | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU | PSU |
| #3 Clemson (-16.5) vs. #16 NC State | NCST | NCST | NCST | CLEM | CLEM | NCST | CLEM | NCST | NCST | NCST | NCST |
| #5 LSU (-7) vs. #22 Mississippi State | MISST | LSU | LSU | MISST | MISST | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU |
| #2 Ohio State (-14) @ Purdue | OSU | PURD | PURD | OSU | OSU | OSU | PURD | PURD | OSU | OSU | PURD |
| #25 Washington State (-1) vs. #12 Oregon | OREG | OREG | OREG | OREG | WAZZ | OREG | OREG | OREG | OREG | OREG | WAZZ |
There's some dissension on the Michigan/Michigan State game and a spread that has the Wolverines by a touchdown. Jim Harbaugh's struggles against his rivals have been well-documented, but you won't find anyone arguing that the Spartans have the more talented team. They put together a nice performance last week at Penn State, and now they've got the chance for a big win at home.
The top storyline here may very well be Brian Lewerke facing off against Don Brown's defense that checks in at No. 2 in America. Meanwhile, the Spartans are tops against the run so we'll see if the Wolverine ground game can continue its solid play Saturday afternoon.
Jim Harbaughs Michigan Wolverines are currently ranked No. 6 in the country. Despite two losses to unranked teams, Mark Dantonios Michigan State Spartans are ranked No. 24.
— Scott Bell (@sbell021) October 16, 2018
Since 2016, heres how many weeks each coach has spent in the AP top 10:
Dantonio: 1
Harbaugh: 19
Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers are home against N.C. State in what is their only remaining regular season game against a ranked opponent. The Wolfpack are 16.5-point road underdogs and most seem to like them to cover against the country's No. 3 team.
Can Scott Frost finally get a win in Lincoln? Minnesota looked alright last week but we're not sure how much of that was thanks to the Ohio State defense. Nebraska is favored by 3.5 at home. Over in the SEC, three of our pickers got Mississippi State covering in Baton Rouge and there's some uncertainty on the hefty spread in Knoxville.
Luke Fickell quietly has the Bearcats undefeated, but Cincinnati is actually one of three AAC programs with perfect records so far; No. 10 UFC and No. 21 South Florida being the other two. Cincinnati is a 3.5-point road underdog against Temple, and we're feeling the Bearcats in this one.
It's a split when it comes to the game in West Lafayette. Obviously everyone knows about the talent differential here, but can the Buckeyes defense come away with a few stops? The over/under is set at 69, so Vegas is clearly expecting a bit of a night-time shootout. God help the Ohio State linebackers and safeties when it comes to defending Rondale Moore.
Who do you got in week eight? Will it be a repeat of last week with a number of Top-25 upsets? #GetRich
