Yearly Record: 7-4
Notre Dame -7.5 at North Carolina State
I understand that Notre Dame has only played Navy and Tennessee State, but they’ve steamrolled both of them, covering in the process. While North Carolina State looked better than anticipated vs UConn, they’re not a team that’s going to be able to contain Sam Hartman and the Irish’s insane rushing attack. The Wolfpack defense allowed 160 rushing yards vs UConn, and even though I’m a UConn fan, their offensive line and running back depth doesn’t match Notre Dame. I think Notre Dame is going to absolutely pump the Wolfpack to the point that this spread isn’t even remembered.
Utah -7 at Baylor
With Cam Rising out, you might think that the play would be to take Baylor to cover. WRONG. Utah looked great vs Florida with Rising out and Baylor is depleted. Coming off an 11-point loss vs Texas State, which should have been a tune up game, Baylor’s energy is down. They’re usually a team known for stout defense, but got ripped for 441 yards and 42 points against the Bobcats. This pick isn’t about my faith in Utah. It’s about my lack of faith in Dave Aranada’s Baylor team.
Texas +7.5 at Alabama
There’s a lot of great games this weekend, but none have more hype than Alabama vs Texas. My logic is that Alabama’s roster has less talent than last season and Texas has more talent. They played a remarkably close game in Austin last year with Quinn Ewers missing half the game, so I’m using last years game as a barometer to judge this years game. I have faith in Ewers and Xavier Worthy and don’t fully believe in Jalen Milroe. This game will come back to quarterback play, so I’m rocking with the Longhorns +7.5.
UConn +3 at Georgia State
This line is kind of wild to me. UConn is coming off a ten point loss to North Carolina State, where they looked okay. Georgia State is fresh off a shootout win vs Rhode Island where they gave up 35 points and 520 yards. I know UConn is going on the road, but they showed promise on offense last week in the run game. Maybe I’m blinded by my fandom for UConn, but this line feels like an absolute no brainer to take the Huskies. Jim Mora is going to have this squad prepped for today and will look to pound the rock. I’m getting behind my Huskies, once again, and taking them as underdogs +3.