College Football Picks - 10/24/2015

Recap of last week's picks

Another rough week for picks.  For the four losses, none were even close.  Alabama carried the day to save from complete disaster.  I drank way too much of the Bill Snyder and Jim Harbaugh cool-aid.  But we do not dwell in the past, we look to the second half of the season. 

First a recap of where we are:


Week of 10/17
Winnings last week: -$340 (1-4)
Winnings to date: -$250 (14-15-1, 7.6% loss)

And here are this week's picks.  All road warriors, including three ranked teams touted as underdogs.

Note that it's $110 to win $100 on each, odds from vegasinsider.com

Clemson (-7) at Miami (11:00 am CDT)

Miami used to be a stadium to be feared.  But that was when all the games seemed to be at night and fans actually showed up.  Early kickoff should keep the home field advantage at bay.  Meanwhile Clemson is putting together a playoff resume.  Conference wins on the road over second tier teams is a must.  By more than a TD.  They'll do it.

Houston (-22) at Central Florida (11:00 am CDT)

The Houston Cougars have been a major story under the radar this year, streaking out to an undefeated record with a win over Louisville on the road.  No matter what point spread you throw at them, they cover.  They average 46 points per game.  Central Florida has been awful at 0-7 giving up 30+ points per game.  This will be high scoring and 3 TD plus is no problem.  UConn beat this team by 27.

Duke (+3) at Virginia Tech (2:30 pm CDT)

Duke is always a favorite of this blog.  Bettors still don't take them seriously because of basketball.  Once again they're ranked in all polls.  Facing a middling Virginia Tech team that doesn't seem to be improving.  Give me points on the road?  I like it.  Also worth noting the game isn't at night where the Hokies play with more of an edge.

Texas A&M (+5.5) at Mississippi (6:00 pm CDT) - Pick of the Week

Despite a final score nowhere near the line, Texas A&M looked like they could hang with Alabama if they just didn't make so many mistakes.  The defense is vastly better than last year and if their QB tandem can avoid disastrous mistakes they are the better team here.  The Aggies have always played well on the road in the SEC as well, including 2-0 in Oxford.  Ole Miss is 1-2 in their last 3 games with the only win over a rollover OOC.  Aggies probably win straight up.


Utah (+3.5) at  Southern California (6:30 pm CDT)

Last week I thought Southern California might surprise Notre Dame.  They hanged around but didn't deliver any sort of knock out punch.  Utah probably has the most complete resume of a Top 5 team, with wins over California and Michigan (ranked) as well as Arizona State and Oregon (formerly ranked).  The Pac 12 tends to have strong records on the road, I don't see why Utah shouldn't win straight up against a Trojans team adjusting to a new Head Coach.

Enjoy your college football Saturday!