NCAA Football

College Football Upset Edition

I will be picking two major upsets in this week’s edition of my college football picks.  First let’s start with an SEC West matchup between the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

5:00 PM PT CBS ALA -7.0

1 Alabama

(8-0, 5-0 SEC)

8-0

13 LSU

(5-2, 3-1 SEC)

How Alabama Wins:  You have Damien Harris in the backfield for a reason.  Don’t rely on Jalen Hurts too much, and continue to play good defense.  I’m still not quite sold on Hurts as a quarterback, but when you have an offense that averages over 40 points per game and a defense that averages a little less than 15 against, you are golden.

How LSU Wins:  With Superman, AKA Leonard Fournette.  The Tigers are not winning the game with Danny Etling throwing the ball.  It will also help big time that LSU will be playing this game at home in Death Valley.  If that’s not home-field advantage than I don’t know what is (besides CenturyLink Field of course).

The Bottom Line:  I have called this one too many times incorrectly, but Bama picks up their first loss this season.  Fournette called an important players-only meeting before the game and I think he’s going to have a monster performance.  The Tigers get back in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.

5:00 PM PT ABC OSU -17.5

10 Nebraska

(7-1, 4-1 Big Ten)

7-1

6 Ohio State

(7-1, 4-1 Big Ten)

How Nebraska Wins:  The cornhuskers played quite well in their overtime loss to Wisconsin.  As long as Tommy Armstrong Jr. limits his mistakes, Nebraska will have a chance in this one.  Their defense also needs to step up because in a hostile environment like “The Horseshoe”. they can’t afford to give up big plays.

How Ohio State Wins:  Play a complete game.  If they play the way they did against Northwestern last week, the Buckeyes will be in for a long Saturday.  J.T. Barrett needs to be precise on his throws, and Ohio State’s receivers need to catch the football.  Mike Weber may not be Ezekiel Elliot, but he needs a big game to keep OSU afloat.

The Bottom Line:  I think with the way OSU has played over the last few weeks, they are in for another loss.  Ever since almost losing to Wisconsin in OT, I do not think they have looked good.  OSU may be favored by a bunch, but I expect Nebraska to win in a huge upset.

I am 16-13 on the year.  Let’s see if that improves this week.