The Big E College Football Picks: Week 7

Last week was one of the more memorable in recent college football history with 6 games between ranked teams and plenty of intrigue across the country. This week, we get to experience more of the same. Hopefully.

LEAGUE STANDINGS

Congratulations to The Mad Hopper for winning week six with a record of 12-6. However, Paint St. Paint keeps his overall lead and extends it to two games with a 71-40 record.

Big E: 67-44 (4th place)

I have now entered the top 5 and can smell the lead. Now to this week's game...

Washington State (+17.5) at No. 25 Stanford

Pick: Stanford

The Cardinal are suddenly backed up against a wall and can't afford to drop any league games when they are favored by this much. A backdoor cover is always strong with Wazzu but I think Stanford is going to play really well on Friday night, have a big day on offense, and force a bunch of turnovers on defense.

No. 1 Florida State (-24) at Syracuse

Pick: Florida State

This seems kind of low, right? Perhaps the sharps are seeing FSU looking ahead to next weekend and about to sleepwalk in the Carrier Dome? This game would have been awesome in 1998.

No. 13 Georgia (-3) at No. 23 Missouri

Pick: Missouri

Our league gets the benefit of locking in the spread prior to the suspension of Todd Gurley. That makes 3 running backs the Dawgs will be without in this one. Have you seen Hutson Mason throw? I expect Missouri to do enough to win outright.

Texas (+14.5) at No. 11 Oklahoma

Pick: Oklahoma

The Sooners lost this game last year and will be looking for revenge plus they'll be itching to get back on the field after losing to TCU last week. Texas' offense has been a mess and won't allow a cover even if this game stays close.

Rice (+1) at Army

Pick: Army

Rice is back on track after a couple wins but I think Jeff Monken is DGT™ at Army right now.

Duke (+3) at No. 22 Georgia Tech

Pick: Duke

I'm not feeling confident of this pick (last we saw these teams Duke was losing to Miami and Tech beat Miami) however I'm taking the Blue Devils coming off a bye week to get ready for the triple option.

No. 8 Michigan State (-21) at Purdue

Pick: Michigan State

Vegas must have been impressed with Purdue's win over Illinois last week, eh?

No. 12 Oregon (-2) at No. 18 UCLA

Pick: Oregon

I don't want to give points to a road favorite in a battle between ranked teams. Yet, I have to think Mariota comes back with an epic performance that vaults him back to the top of the Heisman race. I'm not willing to give up on Oregon just yet and I don't trust UCLA anyway.

No. 2 Auburn (-3) at No. 3 Mississippi State

Pick: Miss State

Would this pick have made sense before the season? Absolutely not. With GameDay in town I'm betting on Miss State playing well and giving Auburn a tough time.

No. 9 TCU (+8) at No. 5 Baylor

Pick: TCU

Baylor's offensive output last week against Texas doesn't make me feel like they'll dominate TCU at all. Plus, there's a decent chance Bryce Petty leaves this game with an aggravation to his back. This is the first big game at Baylor's new stadium which should be awesome. Still way too many points to cover.

North Carolina (+17) at No. 6 Notre Dame

Pick: North Carolina

The Irish just fail to cover.

No. 16 Oklahoma State (-20.5) at Kansas

Pick: Oklahoma State

This line makes no sense. I guess Vegas really like the absence of Charlie Weis.

No. 7 Alabama (-9) at Arkansas

Pick: Arkansas

This line has been skittish all week and well it should have been. Some drama is circling Alabama as their offense fell flat last week and they'll be in a dog fight at night in Fayetteville.

No. 19 East Carolina (-15.5) at South Florida

Pick: East Carolina

USF is coming off a bye week and recently played Wisconsin tough up in Madison. Unfortunately for the Bulls, throwing the ball is something that East Carolina likes to do, a lot.

No. 3 Ole Miss (+2) at No. 14 Texas A&M

Pick: Ole Miss

I'll take the points here all day. Ole Miss' defense is one of the best in the country and just as long as their offense doesn't mess things up I think they'll win.

USC (-2.5) at No. 10 Arizona

Pick: USC

All these happy, happy joy joy articles out there about Rich Rodriguez and they can't even be favored at home against an unranked USC team? Vegas knows something! Major let down factor at play.