College Picks 10/20/07

Utah at TCU (-3 ½)
Play: Utah $100 (3 Stars)

While the 38-point performance against Stanford last week was an improvement, let’s not forget what kind of team Stanford is (2-4 to be precise). Utah has talent at almost every position and the ability to not just hang around with TCU, but win by a significant margin. The biggest thing going for Utah is that Brian Johnson is leading the offense again. In all three games he’s played a full 60 minutes, the Utes have won.

Central Michigan at Clemson (-17)
Play: Central Michigan $100 (3 Stars)

Central Michigan is back on track with three straight wins by at least 20 points.
And Clemson? Their running game produced a grand total of nine yards in their last outing, mainly because Virginia Tech built a big lead against them and didn’t let up. But Dan LeFevour and the Chippewas offense can also put up points against any team from any conference. Clemson is a tough team at home (especially after a week off) but this is still too many points.

Wake Forest at Navy (+3)
Play: Wake Forest $150(3.5 Stars)

When a team eventually comes up against a defense it can’t push around, that team is going down. It happened when Navy faced Rutgers earlier this year and was held to fewer than 300 yards of total offense – and it will happen against Wake Forest on Sunday because the Deacons allow only 99 yards per game on the ground.

Nevada at Utah State (+7)
Play: Nevada $150 (3.5 Stars)

I can just imagine the Utah State coaches as they watch film of Colin Kaepernick running all over the Boise State defense. The Nevada quarterback was thrown into the fire in Nevada’s biggest game of the year and he proved to be more than a handful for the Broncos. The freshman finished the game with 243 yards: three touchdowns through the air and an amazing 177 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Not a bad debut for the kid making his first college start.

The game ended up going four overtime periods against the best defense in the WAC. Just imagine what Kaepernick will do against the worst defense in the conference.

Miami at Florida State (-5 ½)
Play: Florida State $75 (2.5 Stars)

I wouldn’t expect much improvement from this Miami's band of overblown underachievers – even against a young and battered FSU offensive line this week. This rivalry has traditionally yielded low-scoring, tightly contested games in which the favorite hasn’t won since 2001, but something tells me this game could be different.

Colorado State at UNLV (-2 ½)
Play: Colorad State $100 (3 Stars)

The Rebels have been losing like a tourist at the blackjack table, mainly because their offense hasn’t been able to get off the ground. They’re scoring fewer than 18 points per game. Even though their freshman quarterback has performed better than expected, they don’t trust him in the red zone and their running game isn’t good enough to overpower anyone.

It’s a similar story for Colorado State. Unlike UNLV, however, the Rams have played nothing but top-flight teams thus far. Their stats are a little deceiving because of games against tough squads like Colorado, Cal, Houston and TCU. Last weekend’s loss against Air Force was the first time a game got away from CSU, so expect them to have a good week of practice, tighten the defense, ratchet up the offense and arrive in Las Vegas ready to play.