Texas continues to roll. The Longhorns weathered the storm both figuratively and literally to beat TCU, 30-7, last Saturday after a 3 hour, 6 minute lightning delay. Case McCoy and Co. seem to be hitting their stride and Texas should win easily against a bad Kansas team. But 28 points is a little too high for my taste. Mack Brown burned freshman quarterback Tyrone Swoopes’ redshirt last week and if the Longhorns get a decent lead, expect Swoopes to get the first meaningful playing time of his college career. The Jayhawks can keep it a little closer if they’re playing against a first-year quarterback. Texas wins, but I think Kansas can come within four touchdowns.
Kansas (+28) at Texas
Lock of the Week
Miami at FSU (-21.5)
It will be a crime if Florida State goes undefeated and still misses out on the national championship game. They’ve been the most dominant team in the nation so far. The Seminoles are beating their opponents by nearly 40 points per game. They dismantled then-No. 3 Clemson on the road, 59-14, in what was, by far, the best single-game performance of the year. In fact, Florida State has played against two Top 25 teams this season and they’ve outscored them 114-14. Miami is ranked in the Top 10, but the Hurricanes are fool’s gold. The Hurricanes needed last-second touchdowns to beat North Carolina and Wake Forest. The Seminoles are on an entirely different level and the game is in Tallahassee. It’s a high spread at -21.5, but Florida State beat a much better Clemson team by much more. I wouldn’t bet against the Seminoles.
Upset Alert
Wake Forest (+3.5) at Syracuse
Wake Forest has been a surprisingly scrappy team. The Demon Deacons have wins over NC State and Maryland and led most of the game at Miami last week before giving up the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds. The Orange are coming off of a 56-0 drubbing at the hands of Georgia Tech and have given up 48 points or more three times this season. The Carrier Dome isn’t exactly the best of home-field advantages and if Wake Forest plays like it did last week, it can come up with the upset on the road.
