We are back we another good slate of college football games this week. Last week I had my worst week picking games and went 3-2 but with a 21-5 overall record, I had a little room to take a chance or two. For the first time ever I have two games listed at number one and hey it’s my column so I can do that. Plus how do you pick between those top matchups?
5) #24 Ole Miss Rebels at Auburn Tigers
Now that the Rebels were humbled by Alabama after they lost 25-0, we will see what they are made of. The Ole Miss program was flying high after winning their first 3 games including a big win of Texas. They should find it easier to put points on Auburn this week though. Auburn reminds a lot of people of Ole Miss In that they both have young head coaches who rose quickly and run the spread. Plus both teams are upstarts in the loaded SEC West. Ultimately, the Rebels win because the Auburn defense that is giving up 439 yards/game isn’t good enough. The Rebels get the road victory by 7 behind a bounce back performance from Bo Wallace.
4) #25 Maryland Terrapins at #8 Florida State Seminoles
On the surface, it might not seem like it but this game is going to tell us a lot. Florida State is 4th is the nation is ppg at 51.4 but none of the defenses they have faced are very good. That changes on Saturday since Maryland is only giving up 10.3 points per game. We have yet to see Famous Jameis Winston have a bad game as he leads the ACC in completion percentage. If FSU can avoid the slow start that they had against Boston College, they should be just fine in this one. I think they will be on a mission to prove they can beat good teams and win big at home. Darnell Dockett will be able to keep his social media accounts.
3) #22 Arizona State Sun Devils vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish
In this year’s version of the Shamrock Series, Notre Dame and Arizona State will get together in AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Yes Jerry World. Arizona State is hot right now behind the outstanding play of QB Taylor Kelly who has thrown for 342.5 passing yards per game. Notre Dame gives up 230 yards passing a game so the Irish defense should be a pretty good test for the Sun Devils offense. This game will be won or lost on ND’s running game though. If ND can run the ball and control the clock then they will win. However, I don’t think they will be able to and the Sun Devils stay as hot as those flame helmets. ASU takes in by 10.
1b) #15 Washington Huskies at #5 Stanford Cardinal
Last year Washington stunned Stanford 17-14 at home in a game that Stanford didn’t score an offensive touchdown. This year is a different story though and the Stanford offense seems to be back on track after putting up 55 on Washington State last week. Both teams feature dual threat QBs that you don’t hear enough about in Kevin Hogan and Keith Price. If the Huskies can pull this off, they will make an appearance in the top 10 and be legit contenders for the Pac-12 title. Washington can play the same smash mouth game as Stanford and that will cause problems for the Cardinal. However, I just don’t think David Shaw will let his team drop this one. Stanford wins and wins by double digits behind a breakout performance by Kevin Hogan.
1a) #4 Ohio State at #16 Northwestern Wildcats
The stakes are high in this one. On one hand you have Ohio State with the nation’s longest winning streak at 17. On the other, you have Northwestern with one of their highest rankings ever and College Gameday coming to town. Pat Fitzgerald who is one of the most sought after coaches in college football with Texas and USC rumored to be after him this season can write his own check if he finds a way to win this one. The only problem is, Urban Meyer has his team rolling and Braxton Miller will be 100% coming off a nice game last week. The Wildcats won’t be scared and they will be able to run the ball on OSU. I just don’t see them containing Miller and company for 4 quarters. I say OSU beats the ‘Cats in a heartbreaker by 3.