Here are my Week 11 college football picks and the rest of the pool plays:
Kansas State (+6) over TCU: A Bill Snyder team getting points is usually a safe pick. Kansas State’s only loss was against Auburn so both these teams are in contention for the College Football Playoff. I think Kansas State will try to control the ball to keep TCU’s explosive offense off the field. That’s why I also like the under in this game.
Under 58 in TCU vs Kansas State: See above
Under 45 in LSU vs Alabama: I can see LSU winning this game and because of that I like the under. It might be similar to the game two weeks ago when the Tigers upset Ole Miss 10-7. I don’t think Alabama’s offense will be as efficient on the road in Baton Rogue. Remember that these teams played a 9-6 game three years ago before meeting again in the National Championship.
Michigan State (-4) over Ohio State: Michigan State is the better team and are coming off a bye. The Spartans are playing at home in primetime, so I give the advantage to quarterback Connor Cook over Ohio State freshman J.T. Barrett.
Pool Plays
Kentucky (+10) over Georgia: The next two games are only pool plays but I was very close to making them official picks. I make most of my college football picks based on scheduling situations. Georgia is in a terrible scheduling spot this week. They just played Florida and play Auburn next week. So this Kentucky game is sandwiched between two big games for the Bulldogs. The matchup next week against Auburn is even more important because of how the Tigers beat the Bulldogs last season. Georgia also had their College Football Playoff dreams crushed last week when they lost to Florida. With no shot a winning the title and I think Georgia comes out flat in Lexington. That being said, the line has probably adjusted taking those factors into consideration. So I would lean towards Kentucky but would like this game a lot more if the spread was a few points higher.
Purdue (+17) over Wisconsin: The Badgers are one of four teams in the Big Ten West with one loss. The other three are Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. Those are Wisconsin’s three opponents after this game in West Lafayette. So this is a lookahead scenario against Purdue with bigger games on deck. Purdue has improved in conference play and even out gained Nebraska last week in a 21-point loss. The home team is getting a lot of points here but there’s going to be cold and rainy weather for an early kickoff on Saturday. That climate favors Wisconsin’s game plan of running of the ball and playing strong defense. That’s why I would only lean Purdue in this game.
Penn State (-7) over Indiana
Iowa (pick) over Minnesota
Baylor (+5) over Oklahoma
North Carolina State (+4) over Georgia Tech
Duke (-3.5) over Syracuse
Northwestern (+1.5) over Michigan
Iowa State (-3.5) over Kansas
Texas (+3.5) over West Virginia
Auburn (-23.5) over Texas A&M
Notre Dame (+2.5) over Arizona State
Oregon State (-8) over Washington State
Virginia (+20) over Florida State
UCLA (-6) over Washington
Louisville (-3) over Boston College
Vanderbilt (+14.5) over Florida
LSU (+6.5) over Alabama
Arizona (-17) over Colorado
Utah (+8.5) over Oregon