House Money: No Buckeyes But Key Matchups Across the Country in the Season's Biggest Weekend To Date

By 11W Staff on October 10, 2019 at 4:15 pm
The Red River Rivalry is one of the headliners in week six.
Jay Biggerstaff/Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
50 Comments

Ohio State gets a breather this weekend, and it's coming at a great time with several players nursing some minor injuries. It was on Tuesday when Ryan Day talked about the importance of not only getting healthy but keeping the momentum rolling throughout the off week.

Last week was problematic for our pickers. To start off, the Penn State/Purdue matchup ended up being a push as the Nittany Lions won 35-7 in a game with a 28-point spread. So that's officially our second push of the year and won't be factored into the season-long records. 

No one was able to hit on half of their picks in week six, and the Wolverines were a big part of that. Just about everyone liked the Hawkeyes to cover the +4 on the road, but Michigan was victorious by a score of 10-3. If you like watching capable offenses, then you probably turned off the television. Props to David on being the only person to nail this one.

The Golden Gophers were favored by 14 over the Illini, but this one wasn't close with Minnesota staying unbeaten and cruising to a 40-17 win. Andrew and David Regimbal were the only ones with the Gophs covering. 

An SEC showdown between the Gators and Tigers was the top game of the weekend. Auburn was a three-point road favorite, but Bo Nix threw three interceptions and struggled mightily in Gainesville. The Gators won by a score of 24-13, and most of our team had sided with Auburn. 

Ohio State was faced with its first real test of the season when the Spartans came to town, but Ryan Day and his crew passed with flying colors. It was a slow first quarter, but the Buckeyes unleashed a scoring barrage in the second en route to a 34-10 victory. David was the lone staffer who picked the Spartans to cover the 19.5 points.

Despite the lack of Buckeye action, week seven features the best slate of the season so far with a number of major matchups across the country.

  • Just a reminder that all of our submissions are against the spread rather than a straight pick'em. The lines are from www.sportsbook.ag and are collected on Mondays of each week. There's always a chance that the lines will move in the days leading up to kickoff.
11W Staff Picks: Week Seven
  KEVIN CHRIS RAMZY HOPE JONES ELLIS WERTHEIM REGIMBAL VANCE
LAST WEEK: 4-5-1 3-6-1 4-5-1 4-5-1 4-5-1 5-4-1 3-6-1 3-6-1 4-5-1
OVERALL: 27-31 28-30 33-25 29-29 29-29 33-25 31-27 34-24 31-27
ACCURACY: 47% 48% 57% 50% 50% 57% 53% 59% 53%
Miami (-1) vs. #20 Virginia MIAMI UVA MIAMI UVA UVA UVA UVA UVA MIAMI
#6 Oklahoma (-11) vs. #11 Texas OKLA OKLA OKLA OKLA TEX OKLA OKLA TEX OKLA
#16 Michigan (-21.5) @ Illinois MICH ILL ILL MICH ILL MICH MICH MICH ILL
#1 Alabama (-17) @ #24 Texas A&M TAMU BAMA TAMU BAMA BAMA BAMA BAMA BAMA TAMU
#2 Clemson (-27) vs. Florida State FSU CLEM FSU CLEM CLEM CLEM CLEM CLEM FSU
#8 Wisconsin (-10) vs. Michigan State MSU WISC WISC WISC WISC WISC WISC WISC WISC
Minnesota (-7.5) vs. Nebraska NEB NEB MINN NEB NEB NEB NEB NEB MINN
#9 Notre Dame (-11.5) vs. USC ND ND USC ND USC ND USC USC USC
#10 Penn State (-4.5) @ #17 Iowa PSU PSU PSU PSU PSU PSU PSU PSU PSU
#5 LSU (-13.5) vs. #7 Florida LSU LSU FLOR FLOR LSU LSU FLOR FLOR FLOR

If you're into watching the misery of Hurricane fans or want to see Tate Martell take the field for three plays from the slot, then Friday evening's matchup is just for you. The Canes are just 2-3 on the season, but they're favored at home over a ranked Cavaliers team. Most of our forecasters are siding with Virginia. 

The Red River Showdown gets underway at high noon, and the annual gathering at the State Fair of Texas is expected to be another good one. The 11-point spread is a little higher than some expected, but we're mostly rolling with the Sooners. The narrative has been that this is one of the only real defenses that Jalen Hurts will face all season. The Longhorns currently rank 104th in total defense, which says a lot about the Big 12.

Wisconsin is a 10-point favorite with the Spartans heading to Madison. The Badgers boast the nation's top-ranked defense and the Sparty offense has lacked consistency. Aside from J.K. Dobbins, Michigan State has been solid against the run. Can they slow Jonathan Taylor on Saturday? We're rolling with the Badgers at home. 

Penn State is looking like one of the best teams in the country, and the Nitts get their first challenge of the season Saturday at Iowa. The Hawkeyes couldn't get anything going against Michigan, but the defense should present a challenge for James Franklin and Sean Clifford. We're siding with the Nittany Lions by over 4.5 points.

The weekend's top matchup will take place in the Bayou with Joe Burrow looking to keep up his stellar play against the Gators' 10th-ranked defense. The Tigers are nearly a two-touchdown favorite, but Florida has been playing better since Kyle Trask took over under center a few weeks back.

Dan Mullen is fresh off the big win over Auburn, and folks are starting to believe in the Gators. The defense was superb last week at home, but a trip to Baton Rouge is a whole different challenge. This isn't the LSU team we are used to seeing as the Tigers are No. 2 nationally in total offense behind only Oklahoma. Our staff is split on the Saturday night showdown.

No Buckeyes means that you can dedicate your Saturday to a handful of other big ones if your heart desires to do so. Who are you liking in the Red River Rivalry? Can the Gators keep it close against LSU and its Heisman hopeful? 

50 Comments
View 50 Comments