Mr. CFB Pick Six: Week 8
Your humble prognasticator got exactly what he deserved (2-4) last week for making some really dumb picks.
I picked Georgia to beat Vanderbilt and cover 30.5. Don't ever pick Georgia to cover when they are heading into the open date before Florida. Georgia won comfortably 37-20 over the Commodores but didn't come close to beating the spread.
Ditto for Alabama, which was trying to cover 19.5 on the week after a hard-fought game with Texas A&M. With Tennessee coming up the following week, it was a classic sandwich game. The Tide won by three, 24-21.
I could go on but what's the point? We are 17-26 going into week eight. Let's try again.
Miss. State (3-3) at Arkansas (2-5) (giving 6): Arkansas has to be the best 2-5 team in the country after losing yet another close game to Alabama (24-21). The Hogs have now lost five straight games, four by seven points or fewer. Arkansas has to take it out on somebody at home. They win and cover the six.
Tennessee (5-1) at Alabama (6-1) (giving 9): The way Alabama has been playing (ugly), nine points is a lot to give. Alabama, whose only loss was to non-conference Texas on Sept. 9, is still in the national championship discussion if the Tide wins out. Tennessee, whose only loss was to Florida, needs to get better play out of quarterback Joe Milton to stay alive in the SEC East. I don't feel great about it, but Alabama wins and covers nine.
South Carolina (2-4) at Missouri (6-1) (giving 7): Mizzou was impressive last week in beating Kentucky 38-21 in Lexington. The Tigers are still in the hunt in the SEC East as they have Georgia, Tennesse, Florida, and Arkansas left on the schedule. Missouri wins and covers the 7.
Ole Miss (5-1) (giving 6.5) at Auburn (3-3): Mathematically, Ole Miss is still in the hunt in the SEC West, but the Rebels have to win out and hope Alabama loses twice. Auburn is struggling on offense, big time. The Tigers are 101st in total offense among 130 BCS schools. Quite honestly, I'm surprised the line is only 6.5. Ole Miss wins and covers.
Penn State (6-0) at Ohio State (6-0) (giving 4.5) The Buckeyes come into this Top 10 game pretty banged up, especially at running back. Penn State has a shot at winning in the Horseshoe because of a defense that leads the nation in yards allowed per game (193.7) and second in points per game allowed (8.0), I'm going to take Penn State and the points.
Duke (5-1) at Florida State (6-0) (giving 14.5): A win in Tallahassee would be big for a Florida State team with dreams of going undefeated and earning a spot in the College Football Playoffs. The key to this game is simple: If Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, who was injured against Notre Dame on Sept. 30, is cleared to play then the Blue Devils have a chance to keep it close. Florida State wins the game, but I'm betting the Seminoles don't cover the 14.5.