We nailed the three-game parlay yesterday on NHL hockey, but I wanted to take a day off from that to focus on college football. By the way, I nailed the three-game parlay on last week’s college football as well, but I’ve always looked at hockey as such a crapshoot, so that’s why I was so excited about last night as opposed to last week. Let’s take a look at Saturday’s games…
Syracuse vs. West Virginia (-14)
Just looking at the records of these two teams, it would look like an evenly-matched contest, but it really isn’t. The 5-1 record of the Mountaineers is legit because of the opposition put in front of them. The Orangemen’s 4-2 record is somewhat fraudulent since two of their wins came against D-II schools and a third came against an Akron team with an 0-7 record on the year.
In three tries against legit division I schools, they’re 1-2 with the only win coming against South Florida. The other two losses to Washington and Pittsburgh were by three touchdowns or more. Also, West Virginia has the fifth-best defense in the country while the Orangemen are having a ton of problems with a shaky offence.
Iowa State vs. Texas (-21)
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Iowa State Cyclones after losses by 41 and 52 and now they take on a frustrated Texas team that is looking to get some respect after a couple of losses early into the 2010 campaign. It certainly didn’t help Iowa State’s chances after the Longhorns got themselves a huge victory against Nebraska last week.
The biggest thing to look at is Iowa State’s repeated failures against teams in the Top 25. In three games against ranked opponents this season, they’ve lost by an average of 41 points. Texas might also catch Iowa State looking ahead to next week when they finally have a chance to play a winnable game. Texas will represent the third ranked team in a row for Iowa State.
LSU vs. Auburn (-6)
Is there a team that has more lives than the boys from the Bayou? I’m not sure I’ve seen a team that is so shaky despite the fact that they’re 7-0 and ranked 6th in the country. They needed a last-second penalty for too many men by Tennessee to win and they struggled to beat McNeese State last week because of their inept offence.
Meanwhile, Auburn is coming off a 65 point performance in beating Arkansas and looking to keep up their 40 point per game average. While LSU is having trouble with their two quarterback system and barely getting completions, Auburn is having no problems with their Heisman candidate Cam Newton. The Tigers can only get away with shaky play for so long before it comes back to bite them.
Upset Special: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma State (+6)
Nebraska was wounded by Texas and now must deal with a tough road game in Stillwater. The Cowboys could be catching the Huskers at the absolute right time.