Each week, I use this space to tell you what I think are a few of the best bets heading into the weekend. I will also throw in an upset of the week, which will feature a team that is at least a touchdown underdog that I am picking to win outright. I will also give you picks on other games involving potential College Football Playoff teams. Just about everybody is technically a CFP candidate this early in the season, so for the first few weeks, at least, I'll go with teams currently ranked within the top 12 of the AP Top 25 poll.
I got back on track last week. My Week 5 picks were 2-1 with a near miss on the upset special, which is now 1-2 winning outright but has covered all three times.
Below are the picks for Week 6 in college football.
Week 6 picks
No. 4 Michigan at Indiana
No team has suffered more at the hands of the two biggest names in Big Ten football than Indiana. The Hoosiers have not beaten Ohio State since 1988 and have beaten the Wolverines just once since 1987; that came during the bizarre, COVID-shortened season in 2020, so it doesn't really count. Indiana has scored enough points to stay in some games and win a few, but the Hoosiers have not faced a defense like Michigan's. They will likely struggle with the Wolverines offense as well. Pick: Michigan -22
Wisconsin at Northwestern
This is a bad week to play Wisconsin. The Badgers suffered a humiliating loss to Illinois, leading to the school firing a popular and successful coach the next day. The Wildcats played their best game of the season last week in a 17-7 loss at Penn State. Still, Northwestern is arguably the worst team in the Big Ten right now and Wisconsin is hungry. Pick: Wisconsin -10
Florida State at No. 14 NC State
Neither team impressed in big matchups last week as each picked up their first losses of the season. This line seems to indicate these teams are evenly matched, and the Wolfpack are only favored because they are at home. I'm not sold on FSU just yet, and I do not expect the Seminoles defense to have the same level of success against the NC State offense that Clemson's did. Pick: NC State -3.5
Upset of the week
No. 17 TCU at No. 19 Kansas
This should be fun. Kansas is still looking for respect after a 5-0 start. The Jayhawks made their debut in the AP poll this week after a 14-11 win over Iowa State. That game showed that Kansas can win even when its opponent dictates style. TCU is also undefeated and coming off a humiliation of Oklahoma. This looks like a much more even matchup than this line indicates, and I like the home team to win. Pick: Kansas +7, +222 ML
Other CFP candidates
- Texas A&M at No. 1 Alabama (O/U 51.5) Pick: Under 51.5
- Auburn at No. 2 Georgia (O/U 50) Pick: Under 50
- No. 3 Ohio State (-22.5) at Michigan State Pick: Ohio State
- No. 5 Clemson (-20.5) at Boston College Pick: Clemson
- Washington State at No. 6 USC (-13) Pick: USC
- Texas Tech at No. 7 Oklahoma State (-9.5) Pick: Oklahoma State
- No. 8 Tennessee (-3) at No. 25 LSU Pick: Tennessee
- No. 9 Mississippi (-18.5) at Vanderbilt Pick: Vanderbilt
- No. 11 Utah (-4.5) at No. 18 UCLA Pick: Utah
- No. 12 Oregon (-13) at Arizona Pick: Oregon
Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 6, and which Top 25 favorite will go down hard? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread -- all from a proven computer model that has returned more than $3,100 in profit over the past six-plus seasons -- and find out.
