College Football Picks Week 7: Odds and Spread Predictions for Top 25 Teams

After a chaotic Week 6 turned the world of college football upside down, Week 7 might just provide an encore. 

A number of high-profile matchups line the docket, and while this is great for fans, the same cannot be said for bettors who want to make some coin while enjoying the games. In the SEC alone, tough calls in the form of several SEC West bouts and an encounter between the top two teams in the East make for a crop of lines best resembling a minefield.

Again, that is just in the SEC. For fans brave enough to wager money on the outcomes, at least do so armed with knowledge. Below is a look at the full slate with a few highlights after the jump.

Week 7 Top 25 Schedule Projections

Away	Home	Spread	Pick ATS
No. 1 Florida State	Syracuse	FSU -20	No. 1 Florida State
No. 2 Auburn	No. 3 Mississippi State	AUB -3	No. 2 Auburn
No. 3 Ole Miss	No. 14 Texas A&M	A&M -2	No. 3 Ole Miss
No. 9 TCU	No. 5 Baylor	BU -8	No. 9 TCU
North Carolina	No. 6 Notre Dame	ND -17	No. 6 Notre Dame
No. 7 Alabama	Arkansas	AL -9	No. 7 Alabama
No. 8 Michigan State	Purdue	MSU -21	No. 8 Michigan State
USC	No. 10 Arizona	USC -3	USC
Texas	No. 11 Oklahoma	OK -14.5	No. 11 Oklahoma
No. 12 Oregon	No. 18 UCLA	ORE -3	No. 12 Oregon
No. 13 Georgia	No. 23 Missouri	UGA -3	No. 13 Georgia
No. 16 Oklahoma State	Kansas	OSU -21	No. 16 Oklahoma State
No. 19 East Carolina	South Florida	ECU -15	South Florida
Duke	No. 22 Georgia Tech	GT -3.5	Duke
Washington State	No. 25 Stanford	ST -17	No. 25 Stanford

Note: All odds, updated as of 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 9, are courtesy of Odds Shark. 

Upset Pick of the Week: No. 10 Arizona (+3) over USC

STEVE DYKES/Associated Press

This sounds like a favorite, right?

• The home team.
• Undefeated.
• Went to Eugene and took down Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks a week ago.
• Is the No. 10 team in the nation.

Well, that would be the No. 10 Arizona Wildcats, the underdog at home in a matchup this weekend against the 3-2 USC Trojans.

Alright then.

Arizona averages 39.8 points per game, good for the No. 21 overall rank, behind the arm of freshman quarterback Anu Solomon (1,741 yards and 14 touchdowns to four interceptions) and the legs of freshman tailback Nick Wilson (574 yards and six scores).

The mastermind who brings it all together, though, is head coach Rich Rodriguez, a pioneer of the quick-twitch, spread-them-out attacks.

Rodriguez's offense specializes in big plays, while USC's defense specializes in surrendering them. 

Really, revealing that the Trojans just lost to unranked Arizona State and backup quarterback Mike Bercovici—who threw for an eye-popping 510 yards and five scores—on a 46-yard Hail Mary attempt at the end of regulation would be enough.

But take it a step further. In that game alone, the Trojans defense also allowed plays of 21, 77 and 73 yards.

"You learn the hard way in games like this," coach Steve Sarkisian said, per STATS LLC, via ESPN.com. "I feel bad for our kids, I thought they fought hard, competed well and gave amazing effort. But we didn't get it done in the end."

USC can be perceived as dangerous with a potential .500 mark all but ruining the season, but at the same time, the Wildcats have been the definition of dangerous all year long. The defense will do just enough while the offense hits on a few key plays in front of a friendly crowd to pull off the "upset."

Prediction: Arizona 28, USC 24

Spread to Avoid: No. 7 Alabama (-9) vs. Arkansas 

Something has to give when the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide travels to Fayetteville for a showdown with the surging Arkansas Razorbacks.

College GameDay sums up the war of attrition nicely:

Alabama is reeling after an upset at the hands of then-ranked No. 11 Ole Miss last week, where quarterback Blake Sims finally had a letdown performance with just 228 yards and one interception.

Really, that has been the main cause for concern for the Crimson Tide since the season even began, and while Arkansas does not exactly tout an elite defense, the Razorbacks do have a stable of backs that is unmatched in depth.

The No. 7 rushing offense in the land (316.6 yards per game) and No. 7 scoring offense (44.6) is spearheaded by no one back in particular:

NAME	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Alex Collins	86	621	7.2	84 (TD)	6
Jonathan Williams	66	486	7.4	90 (TD)	8
Korliss Marshall	22	117	5.3	27 (TD)	1
Keon Hatcher	3	98	32.7	82 (TD)	1
Kody Walker	17	83	4.9	11	0

It is easy to see, then, why bettors may want to steer clear of this one.

While Alabama is the better team on paper, the same could have been said last week against Ole Miss before quarterback Bo Wallace tossed three touchdowns. Brandon Allen (751 yards, nine touchdowns, one interception) is no slouch under center for the Razorbacks, either, should coach Bret Bielema call his number frequently Saturday. 

In the end, Nick Saban's team will likely overpower the not-quite-there-yet Razorbacks, but a spread of more than a touchdown does a disservice to the renaissance in Fayetteville. Truthfully, this one could swing either way.

Prediction: Alabama 35, Arkansas 27

Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. AP poll via The Associated Press.