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Each week during the 2014 college football season, I will offer my picks and scores for the biggest games, in addition to a handful of other key matchups.
Last week my picks went 7-3 straight up and 5-5 against the spread. My overall record stands at 47-13 SU and 31-28-1 ATS.
After one of the wildest weekends in college football history, Week 7 brings us five more marquee matchups, and at least two more teams are guaranteed to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten.
No. 2
Auburn Tigers (-2.5) at No. 3
Mississippi State BulldogsSaturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Auburn has won 11 of the past 13 meetings in the series. Last year, the Tigers were fortunate to escape with the win over the Bulldogs as they got an 11-yard touchdown pass with less than 10 seconds left to pull out a 24-20 win.
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Last week Auburn crushed LSU 41-7, as the Tigers from the Plains (minus-7.5) were my best bet of the week on ESPNU's "The Edge" (which airs every Friday at 1 p.m. ET). They led 31-7 at halftime and QB
Nick Marshall had his best game this year, accounting for 207 passing yards and 119 rushing yards with four total touchdowns. Mississippi State crushed an overrated Texas A&M team 48-31. The score looks closer than it actually was, as there were two late Aggies touchdowns.
Bulldogs QB
Dak Prescott is clearly one of the Heisman favorites at this point, and could be the best player on the field in this one, with 1,678 total yards and 19 total touchdowns to date. However, I feel Auburn is the more complete team, especially on the defensive side as it is allowing just 307 yards per game (including just 285 and 280 yards to Kansas State and LSU, respectively), while Mississippi State is allowing 426 YPG.
The Tigers also have been on the big stage repeatedly the past few years and thrived, while every week is new territory for the up-and-coming Bulldogs. The Tigers will make their case for being No. 1.
ATS pick: Auburn
Score: Auburn 34, Mississippi State 27
No. 9
TCU Horned Frogs at No. 5
Baylor Bears (-8)
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
The last time the Horned Frogs visited Waco, they had a plus-6 turnover margin and rolled to a 49-21 win. Last year, Baylor got two interception returns for touchdowns; down 41-38 with 11 seconds left, TCU was intercepted in the Baylor end zone to seal the deal. Remarkably, TCU outgained Baylor 267-206 in passing yardage in that game, and has held the Baylor offense to 211 yards per game less than its average in the past two meetings.
This year in my college football preview, I labeled the Horned Frogs as my No. 1 most improved team in the country, and they validated that claim last week in their 37-33 upset over Oklahoma. QB
Trevone Boykin has thrived in their new high-tempo offense, and he threw for 318 yards last week. The defense remains stingy as ever, allowing just 279 YPG (No. 7 in the country).
On the other side, Baylor QB
Bryce Petty had arguably the worst game of his career last week, hitting just 7 of 22 passes for 111 yards, and now faces a defense that could be even better. While the Bears have covered their past 12 home games by 20 points per contest, I think TCU is capable of slowing down the Baylor offense here, and I look for the Frogs to keep it closer than the Vegas experts think.
ATS pick: TCU
Score: Baylor 34, TCU 31
No. 3
Ole Miss Rebels at No. 14
Texas A&M Aggies (-2)
Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Aggies are a perfect 6-0 all time in this series, and in each of the past two years have pulled out three-point wins at Ole Miss. While this will be the third trip to College Station for Ole Miss, it will be their first since 1975.
[+] Enlarge
Marvin Gentry/USA TODAY SportsAfter a strong start to the season, Kenny Hill threw three interceptions in Week 6.
With last week's 23-17 upset win over Alabama, the Rebels are 5-0 for the first time since 1962. However, this week could be the bigger test to see where Hugh Freeze's program stacks up nationally, as they are once again the underdog here on the road. QB
Bo Wallace raised his game when it mattered most in the fourth quarter last week, with two touchdown passes -- including the game winner -- but it is the Rebels' defense that has them in contention for a playoff berth, as they are allowing just 278 YPG (No. 5 nationally) and 10 PPG (No. 2).
On the other side, the Texas A&M defense is improved from last year, but is still allowing 489 YPG (when you take out SMU and Lamar). Despite putting up big yards, QB
Kenny Hill has now completed less than 60 percent of his passes in each of the past two weeks, and threw three interceptions in Week 6.
While I like Texas A&M's situation here -- playing at home for the first time since Sept. 13 and catching Ole Miss off the big upset win -- I just feel the Rebels are the far superior team, and I will always take an underdog with the much better defense.
ATS pick: Ole Miss
Score: Ole Miss 34, Texas A&M 31
No. 12
Oregon Ducks (-2.5) at No. 18
UCLA BruinsSaturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Oregon has won 10 of the past 12 meetings in the series. Last year, UCLA was without its top running back and had a banged-up offensive line, but surprisingly ran for 219 yards. The 42-14 final score was a tad misleading, as it was tied at 14 at halftime and Oregon didn't take the lead until 2:47 left in the third quarter.
Entering the season, this game appeared to be a preview of the Pac-12 championship game, but now neither team is in first place in its own division. Before last week, it also appeared that we would see a matchup of two undefeated teams, but both were upset on their home field. In a sense, this is like an elimination game in that the loser can kiss any solid chance at an appearance in the College Football Playoff goodbye.
Both offensive lines have struggled (UCLA is No. 123 in sacks allowed, Oregon is No. 110), which has led to both
Marcus Mariota and
Brett Hundley being banged up. The Ducks have allowed at least 439 yards to every FBS team they've played, and the Bruins are averaging 465 YPG on offense. Look for the Bruins, who have the slightly better defense, to pull out a close one at home and remain in the playoff hunt.
ATS pick: UCLA
Score: UCLA 37, Oregon 34
No. 13
Georgia Bulldogs (-3) at No. 23
Missouri TigersSaturday, noon ET
These two met in Columbia two years ago in Missouri's inaugural SEC game. The Tigers led 17-9 in the third quarter, but Georgia outscored them 32-3 down the stretch; it was somewhat misleading, as Missouri had a 371-355 yardage edge. Last year, Georgia came in missing two running backs and three of its top four receivers, then had four turnovers in a 41-26 loss.
This marks a battle of the top two teams in the SEC East. UGA is coming off a 44-17 win over Vanderbilt in which Heisman hopeful RB
Todd Gurley rushed for 163 yards and completed the longest pass for the Bulldogs this year (50 yards). On the other side, Missouri is fresh off a bye, and won its last game 21-20 at South Carolina, rallying from a 20-7 fourth-quarter deficit.
Obviously, the matchup to watch here is Gurley going up against a Missouri defense that allowed 241 rush yards to Indiana and the Hoosiers' great RB
Tevin Coleman in the upset loss. Another reason to like the Bulldogs here is that they are getting much healthier at the WR spot, which could make their offense even more potent. Georgia will take the lead in the SEC East.
ATS pick: Georgia
Score: Georgia 34, Missouri 27
Quick hitters
No. 1 Florida State Seminoles (-23.5) at Syracuse Orange
Saturday, noon ET, ESPN
The Seminoles finally got their first cover of the 2014 season last week, dropping Wake Forest 43-3. Now they take on a reeling Syracuse team that has dropped three straight and lost last week to Louisville 28-6 at home. The bigger loss for them was QB
Terrel Hunt being declared out for the next month or so (fractured fibula), and that's not good news taking on a Florida State defense that could be finally hitting its stride. The Orange allowed Notre Dame QB
Everett Golson to hit 25 consecutive passes, and now they take on
Jameis Winston and all of the Seminoles' speed on a fast track inside a dome. Despite some injury concerns with RB
Karlos Williams and WR
Rashad Greene, I look for FSU to roll here and set up a huge showdown against Notre Dame next weekend in Tallahassee.
ATS pick: Florida State
Score: Florida State 38, Syracuse 10
No.7 Alabama Crimson Tide (-10) at Arkansas Razorbacks
Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Crimson Tide have won seven in a row in this series, and have outscored the Razorbacks 104-0 the past two years. While Arkansas comes in fresh off a bye, the Crimson Tide should be plenty motivated trying to rebound from last week's blown fourth-quarter lead at Ole Miss. An advantage for the Tide is that they won't have to worry about a hurry-up spread attack this week, as the Hogs' physical brand of offense is tailor-made for a Tide defense that enters with the No. 3 rush defense in the country. Alabama is certainly not out of playoff contention yet, and I look for them to get a comfortable bounce-back win against a team it has dominated for the better part of the past decade.
ATS pick: Alabama
Score: Alabama 37, Arkansas 20
LSU Tigers (-1.5) at Florida Gators
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
This will mark the first time since 1989 that neither team comes into this game ranked, and QB issues are the problem for both teams. Florida starting QB
Jeff Driskel was supposed to be improved this year with new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, but that has not been the case, and he was benched last week in favor of true freshman
Treon Harris. After leading the comeback win over Tennessee, Harris was suspended indefinitely this week, so Driskel is back in as the starter. LSU is coming off its worst loss ever under coach Les Miles, falling 41-7 at Auburn. True freshman
Brandon Harris got his first career start, but he was benched in favor of former starter
Anthony Jennings, and the two will compete for the starting job this week. Despite the QB issues, I do like the home underdog Gators in this one, as they have the better defense and the Tigers are playing a game for the seventh consecutive week (and on their second straight road trip). The home team has won the past three in this series by 16 PPG.
ATS pick: Florida
Score: Florida 23, LSU 20
USC Trojans (-2.5) at No. 10 Arizona Wildcats
Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
USC has dominated this series as of late, winning 10 of the past 12 meetings. The Wildcats are surprisingly the lone undefeated Pac-12 team remaining, as they are 5-0 for the first time since 1998 and are coming off an upset win at Oregon. Notably, that was the largest upset, spread-wise, of the year (Arizona was plus-24). USC is coming off the Hail Mary loss to Arizona State, and has given up 500-plus yards in two of its past three games. The Trojans have been susceptible against the run (452 rush yards allowed to Boston College) and the pass (510 pass yards allowed to Arizona State). The Wildcats' offense led by QB
Anu Solomon (382 total YPG) and true freshman RB
Nick Wilson (574 rush yards) should be able to take advantage, as the Wildcats are averaging 640 YPG at home this year.
ATS pick: Arizona
Score: Arizona 31, USC 28
Texas Longhorns versus No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners (-14.5), Dallas
Saturday, noon ET, ABC
After losing to the Sooners by a combined 80 points in 2011 and 2012, the Longhorns pulled off the upset 36-20 last year in Mack Brown's final season. Last week, Texas played much better than its 28-7 loss to Baylor indicated. They had a 190-124 yardage edge at halftime, but trailed 7-0 thanks to Baylor getting a blocked field goal return for a touchdown; Texas also had a mishandled snap at the Baylor 1-yard line late in the half. While the offense has struggled, the defense seems legit, as it limited Baylor QB Bryce Petty to just 111 pass yards and a 32 percent completion rate (Petty's lowest totals of his career). However, coach Bob Stoops and the Sooners come in off an upset loss to TCU, and it should be noted that Stoops & Co. have not lost back-to-back games in the regular season since his first year in Norman in 1999.
ATS pick: Oklahoma
Score: Oklahoma 30, Texas 13