College Football Picks Week 10: Odds and Spread Predictions for Top 25 Teams
Things are starting to heat up on the college football landscape, especially with the release of the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.
It gives the college football world its first peek at which teams are the one's to beat in the quest for a national championship. Here are the current rankings:
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Clemson gets the top spot in the first postseason poll of the season, and the Tigers have quite the test this week. Taking on No. 16 Florida State, the Seminoles appear to be the last real roadblock of Clemson's campaign, as they finish the season with three manageable games.
A big reason why they are on the cusp of making the College Football Playoff is because of their defense, which has been unbeatable, as ESPN.com's David Hale points out:
They aren't the only team within the top four that has a tough matchup during Week 10. Below is the upcoming schedule for the Top 25 teams of the College Football Playoff rankings:
| Friday, Nov. 21 | |||
| No. 22 Temple at SMU | 8 p.m. | Temple -11.5 | Temple |
| Saturday, Nov. 22 | |||
| Penn State at No. 21 Northwestern | 12 p.m. | NW -2 | Penn State |
| Vanderbilt at No. 10 Florida | 12 p.m. | Florida -19 | Florida |
| No. 5 Notre Dame at Pittsburgh | 12 p.m. | ND -7.5 | Notre Dame |
| No. 11 Stanford at Colorado | 1 p.m. | Stanford -16 | Stanford |
| No. 16 Florida St. at No. 1 Clemson | 3:30 p.m. | Clemson -12 | Clemson |
| Arkansas at No. 18 Ole Miss | 3:30 p.m. | Ole Miss -11 | Ole Miss |
| No. 9 Iowa at Indiana | 3:30 p.m. | Iowa -8 | Iowa |
| Rutgers at No. 17 Michigan | 3:30 p.m. | Michigan -21.5 | Michigan |
| No. 8 TCU at No. 14 Oklahoma St. | 3:30 p.m. | TCU -5 | Oklahoma St. |
| Cincinnati at No. 25 Houston | 3:30 p.m. | Houston -9 | Houston |
| No. 23 UCLA at Oregon State | 4:30 p.m. | UCLA -15.5 | UCLA |
| Navy at No. 13 Memphis | 7 p.m. | Memphis -8.5 | Memphis |
| Iowa State at No. 15 Oklahoma | 7 p.m. | Oklahoma -26 | Oklahoma |
| No. 7 Michigan State at Nebraska | 7 p.m. | MSU -4.5 | Michigan State |
| No. 12 Utah at Washington | 7:30 p.m. | Even | Utah |
| Auburn at No. 19 Texas A&M | 7:30 p.m. | A&M -8.5 | Texas A&M |
| No. 2 LSU at No. 4 Alabama | 8 p.m. | Alabama -7 | LSU |
| Minnesota at No. 3 Ohio State | 8 p.m. | OSU -23 | Ohio State |
Game of the Week
No. 2 LSU at No. 4 Alabama
Sure, this could have been a stunt to get even more viewers considering there are plenty of undefeated teams that could take the No. 4 spot, but one-loss Alabama will be hosting No. 2 LSU in a game that is going to rock the CFP rankings in just the first week.
But what a matchup this is going to be. LSU, now in the meat of their schedule, is about to take on three ranked SEC opponents in their last four games. If they somehow win out, they are a lock for the playoff, and might be considered the favorites.
They have the right weapon in running back Leonard Fournette, who is having a historic season as SEC Network points out:
"A look at how Leonard Fournette stacks up to past Heisman Trophy running backs. pic.twitter.com/RcCOGqw9qj
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 5, 2015"
He will face his toughest test of a Heisman Trophy-worthy campaign in the Alabama defense, which is allowing just over 78 rushing yards per game this season.
The problem is Alabama hasn't lost to LSU since 2011 and have quite a running back of their own in Derrick Henry, who Fournette has a lot of respect for, according to WAFB's Jacques Doucet:
If he is able to wear down the LSU defense and put some points on the board, the Alabama defense, which has allowed just over 16 points per game this season, could hold down the Tigers just enough.
Granted, the pick might be different if this game was being played in Death Valley, but being the home team is sure to help out Alabama.
Prediction: Alabama 23, LSU 17
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
