It’s gotten beyond ridiculous at this point. I have had plenty of seasons in the black in my years of doing this weekly article. But college football continues to laugh at my attempts each week in 2025, it seems.
For the umpteenth time it feels like, it was a 4-6 week last week. The Vandy game was the ultimate gut punch, as the Bama RB broke free and could have fallen down with a handful of seconds left to cover, but scored to deliver a very bad beat. Mississippi State and Penn State both forgot how
to play football for a week.
But I am not yielding. I will break through. As usual, I’m using the lines over at the FanDuel Sportsbook.
(Disclaimer: these are just my opinions. Please do your own analysis and pick accordingly. I am not telling you what to do with your money. Be responsible. Have a gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. T&C apply; lines subject to change.)
And now, on with this week’s picks…
Ohio State at Illinois; UNDER 49.5
The Buckeyes’ defense is one of very, very few playing at the level of Miami’s this year, and boy how they are. I see this as a 35-13 or 28-17 type of game. In any event, just under the total, with Ohio State firmly in control.
Washington State at OLE MISS -32.5
The Rebels are a wagon right now, and that continues against an abysmally poor Cougar team in Oxford. Doors get blown off here.
Oklahoma vs. Texas; UNDER 43.5
We don’t know if John Mateer is playing, but this line leads me to believe Vegas doesn’t think he is, so the Sooners’ offense could have a tougher time against Texas’ normally solid defense. OU’s defense is an absolute machine right now and will have Arch Manning in hell. I hate unders, but I’m struggling to see where the points come from here.
Arkansas at TENNESSEE -12.5
The Hogs are turning back to Bobby Petrino after Sam Pittman’s firing, and they have plenty of ability on offense. But Tennessee has been a machine at home under Josh Heupel, and the Vols’ offense this year has scored 40+ in every game they’ve played. That continues in a big way against a very, very bad Arkansas defense.
GEORGIA -3.5 at Auburn
I expected this line to be a little bit higher in favor of Georgia, to be honest. While the Tigers’ defense has been good, their offense with Jackson Arnold has struggled for much of the season. Dawgs take this one of the road and cover.
South Carolina at LSU; OVER 44.5
I feel like this could be a game that gets a little bit more offensive firepower than it’s getting credit for. LaNorris Sellers and the Gamecocks start off a murderer’s row stretch of games with a loss here, but I think it’s an entertaining fight, at least.
CLEMSON -14.5 at Boston College
The Eagles are a mess, and it feels like maybe Dabo’s group is starting to get on an upswing after a much-needed bye week a couple of weeks ago. Tigers big here.
IOWA -3.5 at Wisconsin
The Badgers can’t do a darned thing on offense right now, and Iowa’s defense is still pretty good, as it seems to be just about every year. The Hawkeyes do enough on offense to get past this mark in a low-scoring game.
TCU -1.5 at Kansas State
Kansas State has finally gotten back to semi-competitive after a terrible start to the season, but I like TCU on the road here with Josh Hoover having a solid game.
Alabama at MISSOURI +3.5
I don’t know if the Tigers pull off the upset, but I do think this is going to be a close, competitive game with a sleepy, 11 am local time kickoff. I’ll take the points at home and see.
