By Chris Carlson
Week 8 was chalk-full of big upsets or almost upsets along with several competitive games to watch with the standouts being Ohio State, Virginia, Utah, and Minnesota. Week 9 looks a bit soft on paper having only 2 ranked versus ranked matchups so keep an eye on the games flying under the radar. After this week the REAL rankings come out which adds another layer of drama heading into November.
Marquee Matchups
#8 Oregon vs. #13 Utah: Everything is telling me to pick Oregon in what should be a highly competitive PAC-12 scrap. The Ducks have 6-year starter QB Bo Nix who has just one interception. Oregon running backs Bucky Irving and Jordan James combine for over 1,100 rushing yards and 15 rushing TD’s on the season. Here’s the problem Utah is so well coached along with that stellar defense to keep them in games. Not to mention the Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium are so hard to defeat even without QB Cam Rising. Given the recent outcomes of this game especially in 2021, there’s no way the Ducks will overlook Utah even with that very poor offense but it won’t be easy. Oregon wins but this College Football podcaster is not fully on board with the spread.
The Pick: Oregon -6.5
#18 Louisville vs. #20 Duke: The Cardinals are coming off a bye week after a bad loss to Pitt in week 7. The Blue Devils had the lead on FSU but the Seminoles score 21 unanswered points in the 4th quarter. A win over Clemson back in September and a hard fought loss to Notre Dame is proof Duke has a real chance to pull off an upset as a road dog. The major piece to the puzzle here is the unknown status of a quality quarterback in Riley Leonard. Did Louisville peak after the Irish victory or did they just not take Pitt serious heading in to an off week? Keep a close eye on Leonard to see if he starts, if so this College Football junkie is picking Duke. If not, look for the home team to win by running the ball and taking a few shots with QB Jack Plummer.
The Pick: Duke +4.5
Under The Radar
#1 Georgia vs. Florida: The Bulldogs will be without all-world TE Brock Bowers so will see what the young QB Carson Beck can do as far as spreading the ball around. Florida’s front 7 is strong and for as much crap QB Graham Mertz got as a Badger, he’s played pretty dang good as a Gator. Mertz will need to use his arm and feet to extend as many drives as possible. Although the Bulldogs got off to a bit of a mediocre start they seemed to put it all together against a pretty good Kentucky team. This SEC matchup being played at the swamp should be close enough at the half for UF to sneak under the spread. Pretty or ugly Georgia will find a way to get the job done versus the Gators.
The Pick: Florida +14.5
#11 Oregon State vs. Arizona: This PAC-12 scrap should be a good one based off the improvements made by Zona under Jedd Fisch. The Wildcats have been in a fair amount of close contest win or lose and this one on Saturday night shouldn’t be any different. On top of surprisingly blowing out Washington State, Arizona will be well rested. That said so will the Beavers who’ve been on a nice little run after stubbing their toe in a loss to Washington State. Zona is holding opponents under 100-yards per game on the ground. In order to beat Oregon State the Wildcats will have to contain QB DJ ‘U’and RB Damien Martinez.
The Pick: Oregon State -3
Saturday Upset Special
Kentucky upends #21 Tennessee as a +3.5 home dog.
Hardcore Barnburners
Boise State vs. Wyoming: 3 out of Boise State’s 4 loss were razor close the last being a 31-30 defeat to the scrappy Colorado State Rams. The issue was the Broncos were up 31-10 with less than 6 minutes to play. Run-heavy Air Force piled up 356 yards on the Cowboys in week 6 so let’s see if Wyoming is able to shore up their rush defense. Must win for both teams so don’t forget to check the score down the stretch and tune in.
The Pick: Wyoming +5
Iowa State vs. Baylor: Which Baylor team will show up this Saturday, the Bears squad that beat UCF or the one that got handled by Texas Tech? The same question goes for Cyclones having lost to Ohio but winners in 3 of their last 4 outings. This BIG-12 tussle has all the ingredients for a hardcore barnburner so sit back and enjoy this one folks.
The Pick: Iowa State -3
Against The Spread
Wyoming +5 versus Boise State
Florida +14.5 versus #1 Georgia
N.C. State +10 versus Clemson
Virginia +19 versus Miami
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Quick Hits Recap
-Ohio State has now won 7 straight over Penn State holding the Nittany Lions to just 1-16 on third down.
-Buckeyes stud WR Marvin Harrison Jr. had 11 catches, 162 yards, and a TD in the 20-12 win.
-Washington needed a late pick-six to pull away from ASU 15-7. The Huskies are now 7-0 for the first time since 2016.
-Both Oklahoma and Texas had close call victories last week over UCF and Houston.
-Virginia shocked UNC beating the Tarheels 31-27 as a 24-point dog.
-With the win over Iowa the Minnesota Gophers collected Floyd of Rosedale and Paul Bunyan’s Axe at the same time. The last time they accomplished this feat was 1993.
-Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy threw for 4TD’s in the Wolverines largest victory over their in-state rival Michigan State 49-0.
Written by Chris Carlson Host of The College Ball Show Podcast available at blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio &
Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio