College football Week 7 thread

Looks like an interesting week. The big games ...

(All times Eastern and lines courtesy of Bovada)

Thursday

Rutgers (+17) at Louisville, 7:30 p.m., ESPN --- closest thing to a marquee win the Cardinals are likely to have all year

Arizona (+5.5) at USC, 10:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 --- Coach O is back, baby!


Saturday

Missouri (+9) at Georgia, noon, ESPN --- Tigers get another chance to prove they're for real, and the Bulldogs are REALLY banged up.

Oklahoma (-14) vs. Texas, noon, ABC --- If this one hits double digits, the Mack Brown death watch begins in earnest.

South Carolina (-6) at Arkansas, 12:21 p.m., SEC Network --- Will Clowney's Operation Shutdown continue?

Florida (+7) at LSU, 3:30 p.m., CBS --- Gators are good on defense, but that line seems awfully low.

Baylor (-18.5) at Kansas State, 3:30 p.m., Fox --- Give the points times two.

Northwestern (+10.5) at Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2 --- A third loss could do-in the Badgers.

Oregon (-14) at Washington, 4 p.m., Fox Sports 1 --- Huskies should be happy if they can hold Ducks under 50.

Stanford (-8.5) at Utah, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Network --- With UCLA up next week, possible trap game for the Cardinal.

Oregon State (+1) at Washington State, 10:30 p.m., ESPNU --- Winner will be a strong contender for third in Pac-12 North, which is something I guess.

 

No idea what the spread is but the late game on ESPNU is Oregon State at Washington State.

 

Wazzu minus-1. I'll add that to the list.

 

That Baylor line reminds me of the Georgia line last week. Road game against an opponent you should bury with a line that looks too good to be true.

Stay-away game for me, but I'm sure Baylor will win by 40.

 

I watched Rutgers flounder on defense against SMU on Saturday -- gave up a school-record 484 passing yards and blew a 35-14 fourth-quarter lead. Rutgers also allowed 450-plus yards to Fresno's Derek Carr. Rutgers allowed 52 points (including overtime) in both games.

RU-Louisville? It's going to be ugly. The Knights made Garrett Gilbert look like Peyton Manning. Bridgewater might throw for 600 if he wants to. Louisville could score 70 or 80.

 

If Mizzou is ever going to make hay in the SEC, this is probably the best chance they'll have in the next 5-10 years. After banged-up Georgia come home games against Florida (still working in the new QB and not much running game either) and South Carolina (Shaw questionable, Clowney in "fuck it" mode).

Between that, a senior quarterback and a schedule that doesn't include Bama or LSU, this is suddenly a great opportunity to go 9-3 or maybe even 10-2. I know, crazy talk. But last month, this three-game stretch looked like "hey hopefully there's a lucky one in there," and now it looks like there's a chance to take two.

 

Hasn't happened yet, but I'm getting ready to give myself a hearty pat on the back:

 

You might want to wait until they actually beat someone real.

 

They might be a paper tiger, but they can easily make it into the top 10 without beating someone real. Their next three: K-state, Iowa State, Kansas. They win those three, it's possible that losses above them will allow them to move into the top 10.

 

Is the over/under set at ∞?

 

They'll be 0-3 for the rest of October.

 

Saw Baylor in person against West Virginia. The tempo is unbelievable.