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College Football Picks Week 10: Predictions and Odds for Top 25 Schedule
October 30, 2017
Week 10 has everything college football fans want.
From the time Lee Corso makes his headgear selection on College Gameday until the final usage of #Pac12AfterDark on Twitter around 2 a.m. ET, there's a heavyweight matchup that starts every few hours that could shake up the hunt for the College Football Playoff.
From East Lansing, Michigan, to Los Angeles and everywhere in between, the schedule lines up for a juicy 14 hours of appointment viewing.
Here's a look at some of the biggest games on the schedule in Week 10:
No. 8 Oklahoma at No. 11 Oklahoma State (-3) (4 p.m. ET)
The traditionalists in us hate to see Bedlam played this early, but it still carries an immense amount of meaning for both the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Oklahoma has won four of the last five Bedlam games, and the last two on its rival's home field in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Sooners have won by a combined winning margin of 43 points in the last two years as well.
Saturday's spotlight will be focused on the pair of star quarterbacks involved in the contest, Baker Mayfield and Mason Rudolph.
Mayfield is averaging 328.5 passing yards per game, but he's coming off his worst production of the season on Saturday against Texas Tech, as he threw for 281 yards in a 49-27 victory. He threw for 180 yards against the Cowboys in 2015 and for 288 a year ago.
Rudolph has a better passing yards average of 358.3, but he is also coming off his worst statistical game of the season as he hit 216 passing yards against West Virginia. Rudolph beat the Sooners in his freshman season with 273 passing yards and two touchdowns in an overtime win. However, he tossed the pigskin for 186 yards in a 38-20 defeat a year ago.
You could argue that Rudolph has the most explosive weapon in his offense in wide receiver James Washington, who has already surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau.
Since Oklahoma gives up 25.2 points per game and the Cowboys concede 24.4, expect a shootout with the pair of gunslingers dueling with a spot atop the Big 12 on the line.
Prediction: Oklahoma 37, Oklahoma State 31.
No. 19 LSU at No. 1 Alabama (-21) (8 p.m. ET)
The game everyone in the South circles on their calendars pits two of the best SEC programs in recent memory against each other under the lights at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Since falling flat on their face with a loss to Troy, the LSU Tigers have bounced back with three consecutive wins, two of which came against ranked foes Florida and Auburn. Ed Orgeron's Tigers won those games by a combined five points, but playing in a close game against Alabama is a different animal.
There are people inside Alabama and out that are ready to write Alabama's name in Sharpie on the national championship program. But the Crimson Tide have plenty of work to do in November before dreaming of that goal, starting with Saturday's SEC West showdown.
Alabama put together a masterpiece in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a year ago by holding LSU to 125 yards and eliminating the threat of Leonard Fournette. One has to think the Crimson Tide are about to unleash a similar performance on Saturday, especially since they've conceded 10 or less points in six games this season.
As much as we consider last year's meeting between the SEC West rivals a defensive stalemate, Jalen Hurts was able to record over 100 rushing and passing yards. The Alabama quarterback has done that three times in 2017, with the last occurrence coming in the 66-3 win over Ole Miss on September 30.
Prediction: Alabama 17, LSU 9.
No. 13 Virginia Tech at No. 9 Miami (FL) (-1.5) (8 p.m. ET)
For the first time since 2010, Virginia Tech and Miami (FL) both enter their rivalry clash in the AP Top 25.
The Hurricanes come into Saturday with more to lose than the Hokies, as a win all but secures them a spot in the ACC Championship barring a catastrophe in the final three weeks of the season. Although they haven't lost yet, the Hurricanes have had some close calls with four straight one-possession victories.
Since losing to Clemson on September 30, the Hokies have reeled off three wins in a row all while patiently waiting for their chance to knock off one of their biggest rivals in their home stadium.
The quarterback battle between Miami's Malik Rosier and Virginia Tech's Josh Jackson will be intriguing, but your eyes should focus on the Virginia Tech defense as well. The Hokies have given up 92 points this season, and just 20 in the last three games against Boston College, North Carolina and Duke.
If the Hokies are able to stifle the Miami offense in south Florida on Saturday, they will have a chance to run the table with Georgia Tech, Pitt and Virginia left on their ACC docket. Miami also has Virginia and Pitt remaining on its ACC slate after Saturday.
Prediction: Miami (FL) 16, Virginia Tech 13
Remaining Top 25 Predictions
No. 2 Georgia (-21.5) 42, South Carolina 7
No. 3 Ohio State (-17) 21, Iowa 16
No. 4 Wisconsin (-10) 27, Indiana 17
No. 5 Notre Dame (-15) 37, Wake Forest 12
No. 20 NC State (+7) 27, No. 6 Clemson 19
No. 7 Penn State (-12) 19, No. 24 Michigan State 16
No. 10 TCU (-7.5) 45, Texas 21
No. 12 Washington (-26) 45, Oregon 21
No. 14 Iowa State (+3.5) 33, West Virginia 26
No. 15 UCF (-14) 34, SMU 17
No. 16 Auburn (-12.5) 35, Texas A&M 28
No. 17 USC 34, No. 23 Arizona 27
No. 25 Washington State (-2) 37, No. 18 Stanford 34
No. 21 Mississippi State (-28) 42, UMass 10
No. 22 Memphis (-14.5) 36, Tulsa 10
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All odds obtained from Oddsshark.com.
All stats obtained from ESPN.com.