by With the Gameday Journal regular season standings heating up, it is officially crunch time. Here are my five favorites plays of the week so far.
#21 Kansas State -8.5 at #25 Kansas
The Sunflower Showdown is upon us and the Jayhawks are looking to snap a 14-game losing streak against their hated in-state rival. If Jalon Daniels was under center for KU I’d have a different play here, but Kansas State is one of the hottest teams in the country right now. The Wildcats have been rolling since the Oklahoma State loss, going 4-0-1 ATS and nearly defeating Texas on the road. Pair that up with a Kansas team that has been very unlucky at the QB position and super up-and-down as of late, and I think it’s a gimme. The only worry would be a closer than expected game because of it being a rivalry, but K-State has covered in the previous four. Make it five for the Cats.
Rutgers at Penn State -20.5
College football is more cool when Rutgers is good, but ever since that 6-2 start Greg Schiano’s team has been exposed, especially with Iowa putting up 405 total yards of offense on them last week. Penn State has tended to avoid the let-down spot after losing to Michigan under James Franklin, as they are 5-1-1 ATS in weeks following a loss to the Wolverines. Throw in the fact that Rutgers’ below-average offense has to deal with this elite Nittany Lion defense on the road, and I lay the points with PSU even amid the OC firing and gut-wrenching 0-2 record against UM and OSU.
#20 UNC at Clemson -6.5
Had the Tar Heels entered this game undefeated, this was going to be my Game of the Year. I’ve been eying up a Clemson win here for several weeks and still feel strongly about it. It’s a bad matchup for UNC’s offense against a Tigers team that is finally starting to put it together, plus winning in Death Valley is near impossible for some. Don’t worry Dabo, I bought some Clemson stock.
UNLV +3.5 at Air Force
These teams are trending in opposite directions, as the Falcons have lost two straight against Army and Hawaii while UNLV is putting together quite possibly its best season in school history. Air Force has dominated this matchup in recent years, but the Rebels are a physical bunch that are one of the best rushing teams in the nation — a formula that the Falcons have traditionally struggled against. This is going to be a great game between two teams that have exceeded expectations and are vying for the MTW title, but I’ll take Barry Odom and UNLV to cover and most likely win this one on the road.
Illinois at #16 Iowa U30.5
We meet again.