Welcome back after a week off. Last time we gave our college football picks we were on a roll, coming off of two consecutive weeks going 10-1 against the spread with our picks. When we were picking the college kids last we had a perfect week going five for five and cleaning up.

We’re now 23-17 on the year against the spread and have even gone back to using our metrics again. Though, ultimately, we’re sticking to what’s worked so well in this recent stretch of success, the old eye and gut tests.

A smart bettor would sit on his wins and stick to a few sure things but that’s not how we do things as we’re ready to get back at it with the most picks we’ve had in any week. Off we go.

Picks of the week

Wyoming +1.5 versus New Mexico

Wyoming hasn’t been convincing this season offensively where they’ve been way off their performance from a year ago. Yet, they’re still 4-3 this year and have won two of their three conference games and are a tough out at home where they’ve only lost to a much better Oregon team.

Seeing the 3-4 Lobos favored in this one after having started Mountain West play by going 1-3 seems odd. The Cowboys have been solid defensively and still have one of the better head coach and quarterback combinations in the Mountain West. As home dogs where they’ve got the added altitude advantage, they seem like a perfect opportunity to make some easy cash.

Kentucky -3.5 versus Tennessee

How the mighty have fallen. Tennessee was supposed to be the SEC East’s big story the last three years. Instead, they’ve devolved into a bottom dweller this season. They’re now 3-4 on the year with all four of their losses coming against SEC competition. Tennessee’s four losses came by an average of 23 points which is pretty amazing.

Kentucky’s a surprising 5-2 on the year which might be a slightly deceiving record as they’re not great but they’re a solid program. To beat the Vols at home it won’t take much more than that.

The numbers like the Wildcats in this one and given how out of sorts Tennessee’s offense has been – they’re in the bottom 100 of the FBS in just about every meaningful category- this seems like easy an easy W.

Purdue -4.5 versus Nebraska

Purdue’s record isn’t great but they’ve shown themselves to be a competitive team this year and have won us some money this season already. The beauty here is the Boilermakers are at home and playing against a Huskers team that’s been disastrous this season.

Purdue’s defense is for real and at home, they’ve been competitive in every game. Nebraska’s just below average in everything which is why the numbers have Purdue favored by as many as 11 points in this one.

Nebraska’s been too turnover prone on offense and they’re allowing over 30 per on defense. Even if the Boilermakers aren’t explosive, expect them to cover here and pull through by over a touchdown.

Arizona +3 versus Washington State 

This is a classic matchup of two teams who are moving in opposite directions. The Wildcats have been amazing since the switch at quarterback three weeks ago, while the Cougars have been unrecognizable the last few weeks offensively.

As of now, there doesn’t seem to be a team in the Pac-12 who has an answer as to how to stop QB Khalil Tate who’s won three consecutive conference player of the week awards. Wazuu’s defense has been good this year but this Zona offense is a whole different challenge.

It’s also all a moot point if Luke Falk and the Washington State passing attack keep struggling as their run game isn’t much help. Give us the fighting Tate’s to pull off the upset.

Big game hunting

West Virginia +7.5 versus Oklahoma State

It feels like we’ve been talking about road games in Morgantown and how hard they are for Big 12 foes all year. Finally, we get to bet on the Mountaineers playing in a big game as home dogs.

WVU’s simply been impressive and they might just have the better college quarterback in this contest as Will Grier’s been on fire and more consistent than Mason Rudolph. Their whole offense is chalk full of playmakers that’ll be hard for the Cowboys to stop.

OSU on their good days can be explosive offensively as well, and it’s worth noting our metrics like the Cowboys. However, Mike Gundy’s guys are coming off an atrocious Week 8 game to the Longhorns that they barely won in overtime. We’ve already won money while betting against OSU in their first big game of the year against TCU, we’re ready to do so again.

Penn State +6.5 at Ohio State

This is likely to be considered the big game of the week and is also a sort of quarterfinal or round of 16 games for the college football playoffs. The winner will be sitting pretty after this game, that’s for sure.

It’s also pretty easy to say Penn State’s been the better team this year, at least offensively. It’s the Buckeyes talent on defense and their home field advantage that gives them the edge for the bookmakers here. The offensive experience and playmaking are what entices about a Penn State team that’s played the Buckeyes tough for years now, and has shown an ability to come through time and time again in clutch situations.

Saquon Barkley likely won’t run ragged all over Ohio State like he did Michigan, but his talents and Trace McSorley’s ability to improvise should make a difference. If they’re not able to pull off the upset outright expect the Nittany Lions to at least keep this very close.

NC State +7.5 at Notre Dame

Watch out for the Wolfpack who have a dominant defensive line, a dynamic playmaker in Jaylen Samuels and a reliable quarterback.

Notre Dame looked great a week ago against USC who they were able to run all over, but against this NC State front, it shouldn’t be so easy. Also, the Irish are fairly young in a lot of areas and don’t be surprised if this is a classic let down game.

Whoever comes out on top in this one will make some serious noise in next week’s rankings and be a true playoff contender as both these squads are really good. With the spread just slightly over a touchdown, we like our chances, as this could be a similar game to the Georgia matchup with the Irish earlier in the year which was a defensive battle that came down to one point.