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Woof. That describes my week in picks land and Miami’s horrid trip to Tallahassee. Miami couldn’t stop a 4th and 14, which might not even have been an issue had they gone for a game-sealing 4th and 1. OU and Baylor forgot how to score points, as did Ole Miss’ explosive offense. The result was a 2-5 week, which leaves my overall record at 42-34-1.
Let’s see if I can do better this week...
As usual, all lines are courtesy of DraftKings...
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
Virginia Tech (+8) at Miami. I really, REALLY don’t get this line. Virginia Tech fired Justin Fuente, but they’re still ok. Miami just suffered a dismal loss to FSU that effectively ended their season. This has Miami letdown written all over it. Give me the points here.
Florida at Mizzou (+9). How is Florida favored by more than a score over anyone after last week? It seems like they’ve mailed it in, at least defensively, and that won’t change against a good Missouri offense.
Louisville at Duke; OVER 60. Duke’s defense is absolutely dreadful, so the Cards should light up the scoreboard. Conversely, the Blue Devils’ offense is good enough to put some points up, too. I just don’t know if they can stay within 20, so I’ll take the over instead.
Michigan (-14.5) at Maryland. Is this a letdown game for the Wolverines before Ohio State? Potentially, but Michigan is just that good, and Maryland is just that bad. Michigan’s defense smothers Taulia Tagovailoa and the Terps offense, while the ground game takes control in the third quarter.
SMU (+10.5) at Cincinnati. Cincy fought a closer game against horrible South Florida than what the final score showed. That was the same story for the Tulane game. They also were literally a foot from possible overtime with Tulsa. In short, they are barely good enough to win against teams they should be dominating. Until that trend changes, give me a team like SMU here.
Purdue (-11) at Northwestern. Purdue burned me last week, but I’m going right back to the well this week. That’s how little I think of Northwestern’s tepid offense.
UCLA (-3) at USC. I should be careful to bet against trends - like USC owning UCLA - but the Trojans are an absolute hot mess, while UCLA looked dominant in crushing Colorado last week. UCLA should be able to control the game on the ground. Bruins get it done in the Coliseum.