Illinois (odds -4) at Purdue Start Time 12:00PM ESPN2: And then there were 10. Undefeated teams, that is. Last week, IL, along with GA Tech and Michigan fell from the ranks of the unbeaten. This is exactly the point in the year that such teams suffer undefeated letdowns. Yet a case can be made for the fact that the Illini have been running thru raindrops. They had narrow escapes in consecutive wks on their home field against AZ State, W. Michigan and Northwestern. All resulted in narrow 3 pt wins. Purdue grew up following their national TV thrashing by ND. They also learned they must return to the ground game. In the two games following that Irish loss, they outrushed Minnesota 217-100 in a 45-17 confidence building win. Free College Football Pick: Then they nearly upset PSU losing just 23-18 in a game where they ran for 162 yards against a PSU defense that allows just 103 RYPG. This is a live emerging home dog in a great situation.
Maryland at Florida State (odds -17) Start Time 3:30PM ABCT: It is rare that a team coached by Randy Edsall gets blown out….Yet there is precedence this year. They have already lost on their home field by a count of 38-7 to Temple. In his first year at College Park, it is a true transition year for the former UConn mentor. He is playing numerous Freshman as a result of suspensions, defections and multiple injuries. Now they must go on the road following a heartbreaking home loss to undefeated Clemson that dropped them to 2-4 SUATS. They led that game 35-17 before losing 56-45. It was, however, the coming out party for QB C.J. Brown. The bad news is that he must now make his first road start at a very tough venue. Much was expected of FL State to start the season. Consecutive September losses to Top 10 teams Oklahoma and Clemson burst their bubble. It resulted in a hangover for a trip to Wake Forest where they lost their third consecutive game. But the 41-16 win last week at Duke was a clear buy sign. It was an outstanding performance for the offense that gained a balanced 481 yards. In a cross roads game for both teams, FL State emerges with a comfortable victory, cementing the Terps as an also ran this season.
Georgia Tech at Miami Florida (odds -2 ½) Start Time 3:30PM ESPN: Last week Tech fell from the ranks of the undefeated. It was certainly not a surprise to readers of these pages. This is a team who had built their rep on devouring a trio of cupcakes in early September. Yet once ACC play began, their true colors began to show. As the opponents became more familiar with their offensive strengths they made the necessary adjustments. In the last four wks the Tech output has gone from 770 yards to 296 yards, declining each week. The passing game which showed so much promise early on, went just 2-8-2 last week for only 24 yards. Now they suffer from undefeated letdown as well as from the fact that their power rating has been greatly over adjusted after their first 3 victories. We take advantage by stepping in with a 3-3 SUATS Miami team who has been lifted by the performance of QB Harris. In their 30-24 win at NC last week, he had an outstanding performance going 20-30-0 for 267 yards. Reasons for concern include Miami’s 8-22 ATS record as ACC HF and the fact that this will be the first look at the Tech option for first year HC Golden.
Free Picks: Penn State at Northwestern BettingOct 20, 2011 - 6:27 PMhttp://PregameVideos.com - Penn State held to 16 points 4 out 7 games and Penn State ranked in BCS but not odds makers poll plus other factors college football bettors need to know about Penn State at Northwestern (Saturday, October 22, 2011) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Bryan Leonard and analysis from host Vegas Runner.