Coach Rick chose to back the dogs in Week 7 and it didn’t work out so well. Georgia led 24-20 over Alabama at one point last week, but then gave up 21 unanswered points in a 41-24 loss.
Boston College and Coach Rick’s former college coaching brethren couldn’t overcome Virginia Tech in a 40-14 loss. Luckily, Florida and LSU was postponed to prevent a 0-fer-3.
Time to regroup, which is the perfect time to do so. The Big Ten and Mountain West start play this week and gives us a matchup of ranked opponents.
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(#18) Michigan vs. (#21) Minnesota Predictions
Minnesota and head coach P.J. Fleck try to repeat last year’s 11-2 season, but open against 18 th -ranked Michigan. The Wolverines will start Joe Milton – who has 11 career pass attempts – at quarterback with the transfer of Dylan McCaffrey.
Fleck returns Tanner Morgan who threw for 3,253 yards and 30 touchdowns last season. The Gophers also return WR Rashod Bateman (60 receptions, 1,219 yards, 11 TDs) who opted back in to the 2020 season.
The Wolverines do not do well against ranked opponents on the road in the Jim Harbaugh era. They are just 1-8 in nine such games. Michigan is also 0-10 as an underdog under Harbaugh.
BEST BET: MINNESOTA -2.5
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(#9) Cincinnati vs. (#16) SMU Predictions
Cincinnati hasn’t played a game in three weeks, but they are 3-0 and ranked No. 9. The victories aren’t all that impressive either – Austin Peay, Army, and South Florida.
SMU has racked up some serious yardage and point totals though they did underwhelm in last week’s 37-34 overtime win over Tulane. The Mustangs average 42.6 points per game and have yet to score fewer than 30 this season.
Cincinnati averages 35.7 points a game and the SMU defense isn’t all that great – 407.4 total yards and 25.4 points a game.
When SMU plays, the scoreboard lights up and with the Total set at 56.5 the Over looks like a winner.
BEST BET: OVER 56.5
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(#17) Iowa State vs. (#6) Oklahoma State Predictions
Both Iowa State and Oklahoma State are nearly one-dimensional on offense. Cyclones QB Brock Purdy has played well but not up to expectations. Purdy is 78-of-125 for 912 yards and four touchdowns. The big key for Iowa State has been RB Breece Hall who has 135-plus yards in each of ISU’s last three games.
On the other side, it’s the Cowboys’ Chuba Hubbard. After last year’s 2,000-yard season, Hubbard finally got his 2020 campaign going in OSU’s last game, a 47-7 win over Kansas. Hubbard rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cowboys also have a solid defense, which leads Coach Rick to believe this could be a run-oriented, defensive battled. In Oklahoma State’s last seven games, the Under has cashed.
BEST BET: UNDER 54.5
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(#23) NC State vs. (#14) North Carolina Predictions
It’s not typical for this in-state battle to be one of ranked opponents. NC State enters this game on the heels of a three-game winning streak. The Wolfpack scored 30 or more points in each of those three wins.
The problem is that the starting quarterback in those three games – Devin Leary – broke his fibula in a win over Duke last week. Leary will miss four to eight weeks. That means Bailey Hockman, who started the first two games of the season while Leary sat out on coronavirus protocol, will start.
Hockman went 1-1 in his starts. He went 7-of-16 for 82 yards and was picked off twice in a 45-24 loss to Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels beat the Hokies 56-45 on Oct. 10.
If Leary were playing, the Over might be in play, but the Under is 4-0 in the last four NC State vs. UNC matchups. It’s a double-digit spread (-14.5), but the Tar Heels are 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight home games facing an opponent with a record above .500. It will also be a great way to bounce back after the loss to Florida State last week.
BEST BET: NORTH CAROLINA -14.5
