It’s the first bye week for Notre Dame so no game preview this week. Taking a peek at this week’s games before my picks below I think this is a great week to settle into some afternoon football and then spend your time transitioning to something else at night. It’s a really good lineup for the Noon slot and a lousy week for primetime. It’s bizarre that ESPN is taking GameDay all the way to Berkeley for visiting Miami and that game begins at 10:30 in the eastern time zone! I didn’t even include it in the picks this week!

2024 Betting Record

ATS: 18-22-1
SU: 29-12-0

A solid week of picks were had as we look towards the month of October now. Against the spread I went 4-2-1 with our first push of the year thanks to the NC State and Northern Illinois game. I missed on the Kansas State game to cover and Utah being upset by Arizona.

I picked Illinois to upset Penn State and again didn’t see Arizona upsetting the Utes. Otherwise, a quality 5-2-0 week straight up last time around.

Week 6 Games to Watch

All times are Eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll.

Friday Games

Syracuse [+7] at #25 UNLV
9:00 PM, FS1

We have a pretty fun Friday night matchup for an undefeated UNLV going through all sorts of NIL-related drama. Syracuse has been okay this year with a win over Georgia Tech already. Still, UNLV is 26 spots higher than the Orange in FEI and it’s a nice little spread for the home favorites. No pressure. I’m going to take those points for sure and not think twice about it. I hope for the storylines, UNLV keeps winning though.

UNLV 39
Syracuse 35

Saturday Games

#9 Missouri [+2] at #25 Texas A&M
12:00 PM, ABC

Missouri nearly being upset by both Boston College and Vanderbilt really pumped the brakes on their national hype. They’ve been idle since that game at Vanderbilt and it feels like forever since they’ve played. Now, Texas A&M awaits as home favorites. Conner Weigman is a game-time decision and has missed quite a bit of time. I’m not sure I agree with the Aggies being favored.

Missouri 28
Texas A&M 24

SMU [+7] at #22 Louisville
12:00 PM, ESPN

This is a tough game for Louisville to bounce back from after the loss to Notre Dame. The Mustangs are 4-1 with a close loss to BYU but piled up 108 points over their last 2 wins against TCU and Florida State. I think Louisville hangs on here but a close, super high scoring game looks to be coming in this jam-packed Noon slot.

Louisville 52
SMU 50

Boston College [+1] at VirginiaΒ 
12:00 PM, ACC Network

Both of these programs are among the 7 undefeated teams remaining in ACC play. I don’t think many will be watching this one on the little old ACC Network. It’s a score I’ll be keeping my eye on, though. The BC quarterback is questionable this weekend which is probably why Virginia is the slight favorite. I have to believe if Castellanos can’t go this should be a home win for the Cavaliers.

Virginia 30
Boston College 23

Navy [-10] at Air Force
12:00 PM, CBS

This rivalry hasn’t gone Navy’s way in recent seasons. Air Force comes into the weekend on a 4-game winning streak against the Middies. However, so far in 2024 Navy has looked awfully dangerous and gets to be the decent road favorite. Can these amazing helmets worn by Air Force save them?

Navy 33
Air Force 29

Iowa [+20.5] at #3 Ohio State
3:30 PM, CBS

I’m sticking to my guns, dying on this hill, surely not alone, that Iowa with Cade McNamara at quarterback will get lit up by any team with a pulse. These teams met in Columbus a couple years ago and the Hawkeyes lost by 44 points. Maybe it’s not that bad, but still pretty bad this weekend.

Ohio State 41
Iowa 13

#12 Ole Miss [-9] at South Carolina
3:30 PM, ESPN

Ole Miss lost last week as 15.5-point favorites and now come back with a tricky test at South Carolina. So far, Vegas hasn’t lost too much faith. It’s college football and the comparisons rarely mean anything but…this Gamecocks team did beat the same Kentucky team that Ole Miss lost to and they did it by 25 points. I’ll chalk up last week to Kiffin having his annual offensive clunker. It probably won’t happen in back-to-back weeks.

Ole Miss 37
South Carolina 19

Rutgers [+6.5] at Nebraska
4:00 PM, FS1

More people should be talking about Rutgers, baby. They are 4-0 with wins over Virginia Tech and Washington in recent weeks. Now they travel to Lincoln for a fun Big Ten game in the afternoon timeslot. This is an important game for Nebraska if they want to break into the next tier of teams nationally. They have road games at Indiana and Ohio State coming up right after this, too. I like a big win for the Corn.

Rutgers excitement!Β 

Nebraska 29
Rutgers 13

#15 Clemson [-14.5] at Florida State
7:00 PM, ESPN

Florida State to date: 1-4 record, -47 in point differential, -0.98 in yards per play differential, and 122nd nationally in yards per play offensively. Now, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is out with a finger injury and it’s Brock Glenn time for the Seminoles. DJU has been atrocious this year (2nd to last passer rating in the ACC) so maybe they’ll get a spark? I expected this spread to be much larger but perhaps the rivalry here will wake up Florida State. Gosh, can an upset happen here!??

Clemson 27
Florida State 23