I went 7-5 against the spread last week to move to five games over .500 for the season. The good: picking Colorado to whip Nebraska. The bad: picking NC State to keep it close against Notre Dame. The ugly: picking Alabama to cruise past Texas.
Check out Stewart Mandel’s picks.
(All point spreads come from BetMGM, click here for live odds, all kickoff times Eastern.)
No. 7 Penn State (-14.5) at Illinois, Noon, Fox
The Illini got whipped at Kansas last week, giving up 262 yards on the ground, and now face a much more talented team that has better running backs. Penn State should be primed to make a statement in its first Big Ten test.
Penn State 31, Illinois 13
The Pick: Penn State -14.5
The Tigers ran all over State last year and should be ready to show that their Week 1 performance against Florida State wasn’t who they really are.
LSU 27, Mississippi State 14
The Picks: LSU -9.5
South Carolina at No. 1 Georgia (-27.5), 3:30 p.m., CBS
Shane Beamer’s offensive line has looked very shaky — the Gamecocks have allowed an SEC-worst 23 TFLs — and this is not the team to go against if you have problems in the trenches. In the past two seasons, Kirby Smart’s crew has outscored South Carolina 88-20.
Georgia 43, South Carolina 10
The Pick: Georgia -27.5
San Diego State at No. 16 Oregon State (-24.5), 3:30 p.m., FS1
Last year, the Beavers had the Pac-12’s top defense, and they’re No. 1 again. The Aztecs offense, meanwhile, ranks No. 11 in the Mountain West in yards per play.
Oregon State 38, San Diego State 9
The Pick: Oregon State -24.5
Minnesota at No. 20 North Carolina (-7.5), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
The Tar Heels have shown a potent ground game to support Drake Maye, and they should have too much firepower for a Gophers team that has a good defense but a middling offense.
North Carolina 24, Minnesota 13
The Picks: North Carolina -7.5
Northwestern at No. 21 Duke (-18.5), 3:30 p.m., ACCN
The Wildcats had a bounce-back performance last week against UTEP, but Riley Leonard and company are a much bigger problem.
Duke 28, Northwestern 7
The Pick: Duke -18.5
It’s been a long week for the Spartans off the field and now they’ll face a prolific offense that figures to be too much for a defense that struggled against the pass last year (26-to-2 TD-to-INT ratio).
Washington 44, Michigan State 20
The Pick: Washington -16.5
No. 11 Tennessee (-6.5) at Florida, 7 p.m., ESPN
The Vols sputtered last week against Austin Peay, but they still didn’t look as lost as Florida did at Utah in Week 1. Tennessee has more athletes and is still playing with more confidence than the Gators and should cruise here. Florida’s defense hasn’t faced an attack anything like Joe Milton and the Vols.
Tennessee 31, Florida 20
The Pick: Tennessee -6.5
Wyoming at No. 4 Texas (-29.5), 8 p.m., Longhorn Network
The Cowboys are 2-0, with a win over a talented Texas Tech team. Texas won’t take Wyoming lightly after its huge win in Tuscaloosa, but the feeling here is that it’ll be hard not to have a bit of a hangover after that one for what is still a pretty young team.
Texas 38, Wyoming 13
The Pick: Wyoming +29.5
Colorado State at No. 18 Colorado (-23.5), 10 p.m., ESPN
Two weeks ago, Washington State lit up the Rams, and Colorado has even more speed at the skill positions. Expect another big day for Shedeur Sanders.
Colorado 48, Colorado State 17
The Pick: Colorado -23.5
Feldman’s Upset Special: No. 15 Kansas State (-5.5) at Missouri, Noon, SEC Network
Chris Klieman’s team had little trouble against a good Troy team last week, but the hunch here is that the Tigers pull the upset, getting some revenge after getting smashed last season on the road.
Missouri 23, Kansas State 21
The Pick: Missouri +5.5
(Photo of Joe Milton: Bryan Lynn / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
