Week 7 College Football Predictions

Thursday
Temple at Clemson (+43.5): The Tigers are coming off a game where they played very sloppily for the first three quarters but found a way to score 24 points to rally and win in the 4th. Temple is coming off their closest game of the season excluding their opening overtime loss to Buffalo. They fell to Kent State by 11. Given all that information and the fact that it's a home game for Clemson, the Tigers should dominate and cover the spread.
Clemson 63 Temple 0

Virginia Tech (+3) at Boston College: Both teams are coming off a bye week. Both already have one conference loss, so this is a big game to keep the schools in the running for the ACC Championship. Given Virginia Tech's history of success on Thursday night football on ESPN and the fact that they'll want to redeem themselves for their poor showing against Georgia Tech a couple weeks back, I give the ever so slight edge to the Hokies.
Virginia Tech 24 Boston College 21

Colorado State at Air Force (+5): While the Rams are 4-1, their five opponents have won a total of five games thus far. For math majors out there, that's an average of one a team. With the game in Colorado Springs and the Falcons having played a tougher schedule thus far, I'm giving them the edge in this one.
Air Force 28 Colorado State 21

Friday
Pittsburgh (+10.5) at Central Florida: UCF got an emotional win last week against Marshall, but then again, it was Marshall (1-4). Pitt has been playing excellent ball of late and is much too quick, especially offensively for the Golden Knights to handle for sixty minutes.
Pittsburgh 35 Central Florida 14

Saturday
Nebraska (+10.5) at Kansas State: NU has not won in Manhattan since 1996 and have the Longhorns in Lincoln next week. This is a definite trap game for NU to look out for. Although I am taking them to win the game, I feel it will be closer than the spread suggests and am not all too confident with the pick.
Nebraska 24 Kansas State 17

Iowa (+17.5) at Indiana: Unless Iowa gives it a half effort like they did against Syracuse, they should have no problems in Bloomington. If they can beat Purdue by 30, they should have no problem giving the Hoosiers a similar beating.
Iowa 35 Indiana 14

Oklahoma State at Kansas (+3): I have not figured either team out yet. OSU was up two scores late in the 4th quarter against K-State last week and found a way to lose 31-27. KU rallied from 17-0 back against Nebraska, but lost in overtime and then they found a way to lose 21-18 last week to Texas A&M. Having played tougher competition, having played them all close, and with the game being played at home, I'm going with the Jayhawks.
Kansas 24 Oklahoma State 21

Missouri (+2) at Texas A&M: A&M lost at the last second to Texas Tech two weeks ago. Missouri dismantled the Red Raiders in the first few minutes of the game. So long as the Tigers can keep their high from a week ago, I think they should have no problems at College Station. A&M may need that 12th man on the field to stop the Mizzou offense.
Missouri 31 Texas A&M 21

Iowa State at Oklahoma (+19): OU better watch out for a hangover from the Red River Shootout loss to Texas a week ago. Lucky for them, ISU has not played good ball all season and are 0-3 against teams from major conferences, losing by the combined score of 92-45 (avg. 30.7-15.0). Unless OU shows up drunk or literally hung over, they should win this one. It may be slightly closer than the "experts" think, though.
Oklahoma 28 Iowa State 17

Baylor at Texas (+29): The 'Horns are played better each consecutive week since the loss to Ohio State. They may have a slight let-down after their big 28-10 victory last week against the Sooners. Baylor is not as bad as they have been in previous years and could give Texas a scare early on. The 'Horns should pull away in the second half.
Texas 38 Baylor 17

Texas Tech (+7.5) at Colorado: It'll be difficult for me to pick the 'Buffs until they win one. They have improved over the past few games, but still haven't been able to pull through in the end. Red Raiders should win this one.
Texas Tech 24 Colorado 13

Ohio at Illinois (+6): Ohio surprised me last week by beating Western Michigan. They've fallen to the likes of Rutgers and Missouri (a combined 11-0). With Illinois attempting to get over a heart-breaking loss to Indiana, I give the slight edge to the Bobcats in this one.
Ohio 24 Illinois 21

Michigan (+7) at Penn State: I don't understand why some claim this to be the toughest matchup Michigan has until their game against the Buckeyes. Does anyone remember PSU's showing against Notre Dame? They almost fell to 2-4 Minnesota a week ago, as well. I, for one, don't believe the skeptics and think the Wolverines should have no problems making the folks in Happy Valley anything but content.
Michigan 35 Penn State 17

Ohio State (+15) at Michigan State: The Spartans were 3-0 at one point and staring 4-0 right in the face when they fell asleep against the Irish and Notre Dame made them pay. They've since lost to Illinois and Michigan to fall to 3-3. This will mark their 4th consecutive loss and John L. Smith may want to start looking for another job.
Ohio State 35 Michigan State 10

Purdue (+7) at Northwestern: I'd like to pick Northwestern. I really would. But, in Randy Walker's absence, the Wildcats have been anything but the pesky team they were. They even lost to Division I-AA New Hampshire by three scores. Purdue has struggled in recent weeks, but should have enough offensive firepower to beat Northwestern.
Purdue 28 Northwestern 14

Minnesota at Wisconsin (+9): Minnesota had one taken away from them last week by the refs against Penn State. They're now 2-4 and in desperate need of a win. Wisconsin, meanwhile, has been cruising along against nobodies. Because of the desperation involved and the tough schedule they've had to play thus far, I see the GO-phers pulling off the upset here.
Minnesota 28 Wisconsin 24

Syracuse at West Virginia (+25): The 'Cuse may be 3-3, but have lost the three games by a combined 27 points to teams with a 15-3 record. West Virginia's toughest opponent thus far has been 3-2 Maryland. I do believe the Mountaineer rushing attack will be too much for Syracuse, but think the Orange will make things a bit tighter than 'Neers coach Paul Rodriguez would like it.
West Virginia 28 Syracuse 14

Wake Forest at NC State (+4): Both teams are in completely different moods and mindsets entering this game. Wake was 5-0 and up 17-3 heading into the 4th quarter last week against Clemson. Clemson scored 24 unanswered in the 4th to win 27-17 and hand the Deacons their first loss of the year. NC State was 1-2 at one point, but have since played the role of the cardiac kids, beating Boston College and Florida State toward the end of the 4th quarter in their past two games to improve to 3-2. With this and the fact that the game is at home, I'm going with the Wolfpack.
NC State 21 Wake Forest 17

Maryland (+4.5) at Virginia: While the Terps have done anything but impress me this season, that's more than I can say for Virginia, whose lost to the likes of Western Michigan, East Carolina, and beat Wyoming by one in overtime. The Terps may not be great, but they're better than the Cavs.
Maryland 28 Virginia 17

South Florida (+2.5) at North Carolina: The Bulls appear to improve on a weekly basis, where as, the Tar Heels have appeared to get worse. Even with the game in Chapel Hill, I'm going with Jim Leavitt's Bulls to out-hustle and out-play UNC.
South Florida 24 North Carolina 21

Miami (Ohio) (+9) at Buffalo: I was gutsy (or stupid, take your pick) enough to take Buffalo last week against then 1-4 Ball State. The Bulls went on to get crushed 55-25. Miami is winless, but gave Northern Illinois all they could handle in their Sunday night affair. After last week's blowout, it'll be tough for me to go with Gill's Bulls anymore. Even though they're winless, I'll have to go with the Red Hawks.
Miami (Ohio) 28 Buffalo 14

Ball State at Central Michigan (+9.5): Can the Chippewas finally get over the .500 mark? It seems like they've been chasing it all year and now finally have that opportunity. Ever since their week 1 31-24 loss to Boston College, I've been impressed with CMU and see them finally getting over that infamous .500 mark with a win over the Cardinals of Ball State.
Central Michigan 35 Ball State 21

Army at Connecticut (+5): UConn already got crushed by Navy. Will they have learned from that game? Defensively, they'll have to, since Army runs a similar style offense. Even though my gut is telling me otherwise, I'm going with the home team, but not to beat the spread.
Connecticut 21 Army 17

Rutgers at Navy (+2): That's right, 5-0 Rutgers is an underdog. I'll tell you what, if you like solid rushing attacks, then I'd tune into this game. Rutgers has one of the best 1-2 punches in the backfield in all the nation with Ray Rice and Brian Leonard. Navy may have the best option attack in the country as they showed last week against Air Force. Even though Rutgers will have a tough time stopping the option, they will be too big and physical for the Midshipmen in the end.
Rutgers 28 Navy 24

Northern Illinois (+2.5) at Western Michigan: For the simple fact that Northern Illinois has Garrett Wolfe, I'm going to go ahead and pick them. Yeah, he's just one guy, but go ahead and tell that to Ball State. He ran for 353 yards and had two touchdowns called back that would've added another 115 to his total (that's right, 468 total, which would've been a record).
Northern Illinois 24 Western Michigan 21

Mississippi at Alabama (+14): The Tide have not been playing great recently and the 'Rebs are starting to improve it looks like. If this game had been played in Oxford, I would think about taking Ole Miss. But, with the game in Tuscaloosa, I'll have to go with 'Bama, not by much though.
Alabama 21 Mississippi 14

Utah (+4) at Wyoming: The Cowboys are 2-4 and yet have outscored their opposition. They lost by 7 to unbeaten Boise State, by 1 to Virginia in overtime and by 6 to Syracuse in overtime. With that history, I'm going with Utah in a close one.
Utah 24 Wyoming 17

Tulsa (+2.5) at East Carolina: ECU is playing solid football right now. They are one club I would not want to play, especially in their neck of the woods. Tulsa is playing even better, though, which Southern Miss can attest to, losing to the Golden Hurricane 20-6 last week. Tulsa wins, but it's close.Tulsa 28 East Carolina 24

Marshall at SMU (+4): Marshall is coming off a very emotional last-second one point loss to Central Florida last week. It's hard for me to see them bouncing back in Mustang land on Saturday.
SMU 28 Marshall 17

Florida at Auburn (+1.5): Two unbeatens are underdogs? Rutgers and now Florida? Whew. While I didn't agree with the Rutgers game, there are some things playing in Auburn's favor here. Florida is coming off a huge home victory against LSU and Auburn is ticked off after getting embarrassed by Arkansas. The Tigers have underachieved the past few weeks and have a chance to redeem themselves by beating the Gators at home and making things real interesting again in the SEC.
Auburn 21 Florida 17

California (+7.5) at Washington State: Even though the Cougars are playing some solid football right now, Cal is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. The only thing Cal has to worry about is the potential let-down following their big win last week against Oregon. Even if they suffer a slight let-down, I still see them pulling out of this one with a victory.
California 31 Washington State 21

Vanderbilt at Georgia (+13): The Bulldogs' offense woke up last week, but their "#1" defense was dominated by the Volunteers. Against Vandy and with the game being in Athens, I see the 'Dawgs defense rebounding. The only question will be, will their offense look like they did early in the season, like they did against Colorado and Ole Miss, or somewhere in the middle? That's the question that makes me nervous about taking them to beat the spread.
Georgia 28 Vanderbilt 10

Florida State (+23) at Duke: If this was basketball, I'd take Duke in a heartbeat. But, it's not. FSU should dominate from start to finish and cover the spread without problem.
Florida State 35 Duke 0

Oregon State at Washington (+9.5): UW got shafted last week by the officials. Would they have won the game on the last play? We'll never know. The main chore this week for Ty Willingham will be to get his kids focused on Oregon State and ready to play on Saturday. I think he will do just that.
Washington 24 Oregon State 17

UCLA at Oregon (+10): The Ducks have something to prove to themselves, the media, and the fans after last week's disappointing performance against Cal. At Autzen, they should rebound very nicely against the beat up Bruins.
Oregon 38 UCLA 21

Toledo at Kent State (+7.5): What happened to Toledo? They fell to Iowa State in triple overtime and outlasted Kansas in overtime. They're now 2-4 and their typical bowl appearance is looking bleak at the current moment. Kent State, meanwhile, is 4-2 after reeling off four consecutive wins and should make that five at home over a struggling Rockets' team.Kent State 28 Toledo 24

Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green (+11): Without quarterback Omar Jacobs, the Falcons' offense hasn't clicked as well this year. But, on the other side of the coin, it's going to take a miracle for me to pick the winless Eagles of Eastern Michigan anytime soon.
Bowling Green 28 Eastern Michigan 14

Hawaii (+5) at Fresno State: These two teams are going in completely different directions. Hawaii is 3-2 and are very effective, as usual, on offense. Fresno State is reeling following their opening week win against Nevada. They've lost four straight, need to find some confidence, and get their heads back in the game. After falling to the very bottom of the well after last week's embarrassing 13-12 loss to then winless Utah State, there's nowhere to go but up for here for Pat Hill's Bulldogs. Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that Hill is going to have his team ready to go for this game and Fresno will bounce back with a huge conference win.
Fresno State 35 Hawaii 28

Arizona (+3.5) at Stanford: This is the Cardinal's best opportunity to win a game. To this point, they've had the toughest schedule in all the country. Their initial 6 opponents have won more than 78% of their games thus far. Even with that bit of information, I'm still going with Arizona.
Arizona 17 Stanford 10

Utah State at San Jose State (+14): The Spartans' sad schedule continues as they play host to 1-5 Utah State. The Spartans enter the game at 3-1, with their only loss coming by 6 to the 4-2 Washington Huskies. They should improve that record to 4-1 with a win over the Aggies.
San Jose State 35 Utah State 14

UAB (+5.5) at Rice: I have not been able to figure out Rice this year. They're 1-5, but have looked decent at times. Even so, it doesn't make me confident to take them here against 3-3 UAB. The Blazers should get over the .500 hump after a win in this one.
UAB 24 Rice 10

Cincinnati at Louisville (+27.5): Cincy has now played at the Horseshoe, at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, and now at Louisville. If they lose here, they'll be 3-4 with their four losses coming to teams with a 20-2 record (Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Louisville). While the Cardinals should win, I'm taking the pesky Bearcats against the spread.
Louisville 35 Cincinnati 17

Houston at Southern Mississippi (+2): A high-scoring offense vs. a quick defense. I usually give defense the edge and I especially do here with the game in Hattiesberg.
Southern Mississippi 28 Houston 21

Idaho at Louisiana Tech (+2): It's surprising to say, but thus far into the season, Louisiana Tech has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation. They're 1-4, losing to Nebraska (5-1), Texas A&M (5-1), and Clemson (5-1). Their opponents have a winning percentage of 70%. The Bulldogs should be good and ready for a home game against the likes of Idaho.
Louisiana Tech 31 Idaho 24

Kentucky at LSU (+26): Kentucky has improved some this year thanks to former Oregon head coach Rich Brooks. However, they have not improved enough to win in Baton Rouge.
LSU 31 Kentucky 10

Arizona State at USC (+19.5): It amazes me to see such a large spread when USC has won their past two conference games (Washington State and Washington) by a total of 12 points. Although, it may deal with their opponent this time around, as Arizona State has lost their last two Pac 10 games by 63 points (California and Oregon). ASU should improve some from those embarrassing losses, but not enough to pull off the upset at the Coliseum.
USC 35 Arizona State 21

Tulane at UTEP (+13): Jordan Palmer and the Miners should have no problems wreaking havoc on the Green Wave's secondary.
UTEP 42 Tulane 24

New Mexico (+3) at UNLV: The 'Rebs should play it close at home, but I have a hard time seeing them have enough at the end to win the game.
New Mexico 21 UNLV 17

Florida International at Miami (Florida) (+28): How pesky is 0-6 Florida International? We shall see this week at the Orange Bowl. Outside of one loss to Arkansas State by 25, which seemed to be an aberration, Florida International has lost their other five games by a combined 14 points, including last week's seven overtime loss to North Texas. Miami should win, but perhaps not by as much as the spread suggests.
Miami (Florida) 31 Florida International 7

Arkansas State at Memphis (+12): Both teams appear to be going in opposite directions. ASU has won two straight to move to 3-2 and Memphis stands at 1-4. I'm going with the momentum factor and ASU.
Arkansas State 24 Memphis 17

Louisiana-Monroe at Troy (+9): While I don't expect the Trojans to cover the spread, I do think they'll pull out a tight win at home. Louisiana-Monroe has made a habit of it to lose the tight ball games this year and I expect the same to happen here.
Troy 24 Louisiana-Monroe 17

Sunday
Boise State (+26) at New Mexico State: New Mexico State has improved mightily from a year ago, but their two wins have both come against Division I-AA foes and they're in no way ready for what the Broncos bring to the table.
Boise State 56 New Mexico State 21