College Football Picks Against The Spread Late September 17

Sep 4, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Bevo XV, the Texas Longhorns mascot, during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas won 50-47 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

College Football Picks Against The Spread Late September 17

It has been a rough start to the college football season for me. I have a huge hole to dig myself out of, but with 51 college football games on Saturday, I have a chance to do it!

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Sunday through Friday, I am the perfect husband. No really, I am. You can ask the boss a.k.a. my wife. I help with all of the household chores, walk the dogs, cook meals, all that good stuff that women love. Come Saturday, my wife hates me. This is MY day. I become one with the couch. Just another piece of immovable furniture. I create my own game of Bladder-Bust since I fast forward through all of the commercials. I am almost disappointed when I have to take time out to eat or get another beer. Why am I interested in so many games? Other than the fact that I love college football, here is why: I was possessed by Jimmy The Greek and Lee Corso at the same time!

In case you don’t know what I do here, I pick every college football game of the season. Against the spread. Trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds! I take the average of the odds from all of the Vegas casinos. I then round to the nearest half. There will be no ties here. Ties are for the other football (soccer).

This contains the picks for FBS vs. FBS game only. It is too hard to get an accurate spread on teams that involve 1-AA teams.

I will assign a point value “bet” on each game, between one and five points. That way you can see just how confident I am in each pick. Look for those at the end of each line.

This is for entertainment purposes only! I cannot be responsible for you losing any of your worldly possessions (or limbs) because of my picks. These are a guideline that you can use to help you with your picks. I am a simple man. I can’t have that on my conscience.

The final 20 college football games this weekend kick off after 7pm eastern time. I will pick all of those, against the spread of course, in this column. I have a good feeling about this week, so let’s get going!

Just in case you missed any:
Thursday-Friday
Early Saturday
Afternoon Saturday

Next: Click Here For The Evening Picks!

Sep 10, 2016; Annapolis, MD, USA; Navy Midshipmen celebrates on the field after defeating Connecticut Huskies 28-24 at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

Maryland(-9.5) at Central Florida(2): UCF got blasted by Michigan, but Michigan’s defense had a lot to do with that. Maryland doesn’t have much of a defense. This will likely be a back and forth game, and I really don’t see either team winning by two scores. Give me UCF.

Navy(-6.5) at Tulane(5): This line has plummeted since opening at -11. It is down way too far. Navy for under a TD is easy money. Give me the Middies.

South Alabama at Louisiana-Lafayette(-2.5)(3): Nope, I still don’t buy it. South Alabama’s true self lies somewhere between the team that toppled Mississippi State and the one that lost to Georgia Southern, who is a decent team in their own right. Jags by at least a touchdown.

Louisiana Tech at Texas Tech(-10.5)(2): TT is more than capable of covering this, but that defense is awful. There is not a lot of room for error on these lines. Since I can’t adjust the line, I will adjust the points. I’m taking Texas Tech, but they wont burn me as badly if (when) they fail to cover.

Troy at Southern Mississippi(-10.5)(3): I don’t really like that half, but the Eagles have far better skill players on offense. They should be able to cover this. I’ll take Southern Miss.

Mississippi State at (20)LSU(-14.5)(2): Catch this one before it falls farther. It is already at 14 in several places. LSU’s offense struggled against Wisconsin, and their defense had some issues stopping the run. Nick Fitzgerald is the new one man gang in Starkville. I think he helps keep this within two TD’s. I say LSU by 13 or 14.

(17)Texas A&M at Auburn(-3.5)(4): This will be a close game, but I still like the Aggies straight up.

Army(-3.5) at UTEP(3): This line is down, and it shouldn’t be. Saying Army is back is a relative term, but their years of losing 9 or 10 games are over. Give me Army.

(3)Ohio State(-1.5) at (14)Oklahoma(3): I took Oklahoma in Pick Em, and I’m still taking them here. This should be a great game, I don’t doubt that, but Oklahoma plays well with their feet to the fire in the regular season. They usually only choke once during the season, then in the Bowl. They had their in-season choke job. Now it’s time for them to run the table, make us fans think they are good, then get blasted in another bowl game.

Texas State at (24)Arkansas(-30.5)(1): Wait….hold on a minute. I am still scarred by how disinterested Arkansas looked on offense against Louisiana Tech. My high school team could have scored 20 on Texas Tech’s D, and we got 45’ed in ten games a year. Give me Texas State.

North Texas at (23)Florida(-36.5)(2): The Gators are going to have some trouble covering this without Antonio Callaway. The offense loses some explosiveness without him. Florida will win easily, and will likely let off the gas. Give me UNT.

(12)Michigan State at (18)Notre Dame(-6.5)(2): It looks like I’m far from the only one that thinks Michigan State is in trouble. That said, I don’t know if the Irish win by a touchdown. I will take Sparty to not get covered.

(16)Georgia(-6.5) at Missouri(3): Georgia’s close call with Nicholls State is either going to light a fire under them or begin their demise. Missouri looked really good last week, but Eastern Michigan is worse than at least 50 1-AA schools. I want to see Nicholls play Eastern Michigan! In all seriousness, I think this like is a little low. Missouri has a good defense, but the Bulldogs are too talented on offense not to win by a TD. I’ll take UGA.

Duke at Northwestern(-3.5)(5): Uhhh….nope. Northwestern lost to Illinois State last week! Duke lost to a decent Wake Forest team. Duke by at least a touchdown, and probably more.

USC at (7)Stanford(-8.5)(4): This line looks awfully low, especially considering I put all of my confidence points on the Cardinal in Pick Em. I’m taking Stanford for anything under two TD’s.

Buffalo at Nevada(-10.5)(1): I kinda doubt the Wolfpack are good enough to beat anyone by double digits. Give me the Bulls.

UCLA(-2.5) at BYU(3): Once again, I am at odds with the odds. I still like BYU straight up at home.

Utah(-13.5) at San Jose State(1): I’m not a big believer in that Utah offense just yet. Give me the Spartans at home.

(11)Texas(-6.5) at California(4): I expect Cal to hang around, but they are far from a well-oiled machine. They will again make a mistake or two at a really critical time to put this game out of reach. I’ll take Texas.

Hawaii at Arizona(-23.5)(1): The Wildcats are supposed to cover this without QB Anu Solomon? The Warriors are awful on the mainland as usual, so I guess I have to take Arizona.

Next: ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 3

This week I have 11 one pointers, 17 two pointers, 13 three pointers, nine four pointers, and four more five pointers. That gives me a total of 140 possible points. I am aiming for 90. I need to get out of the hole before the end of September to have any shot at my 55% goal.