SMART BET College Football Picks for Saturday, October 5, 2013

Sorry this post comes a little in the day, but you still have plenty of time to make all of the bets I am posting.

Minnesota at Michigan (-19.5): Maybe it is just me, but I really think this Michigan team has a ton of talent, but clearly they have not put it together. They have to be one of the only teams in history to have started 4-0, and yet dropped in the standings each of the last two weeks after narrow wins. Part of having a good football program is learning to win even when you do not play very well. Michigan has done exactly that after narrow wins against Akron and UConn. Michigan comes off a bye week with plenty of time to prepare and refocus for Minnesota. If this team can put things together, they can easily dominate and blowout a team like Minnesota. Therefore, lay the 19.5 and take Michigan for 1 unit.

LSU at Mississippi State (+9.5). Tough and meaningless spot for LSU. MissSt is another team that has failed to put it all together. They are well coached, have above average talent, and should be motivated to beat LSU at home. LSU comes off a season ending loss at Georgia, which was a heartbreaker as well. LSU also is playing their second straight road game and come in as an almost 10 point favorite. MissSt comes off a blowout win over Troy and hopefully have that offense firing on all cylinders for today’s big home SEC game. I look for MissSt to play well and hopefully pull the upset. Take the points with Mississippi State for 1 unit.

Ohio State at NORTHWESTERN (+7). The real question is how good is Ohio State? While under Meyer they have won 17 straight, but have not beat a team ranked insider the top ten during that entire run. Northwestern may not be a top ten team, but they have one of the best coaches in the country and will play very well tonight. NW has had two weeks to prepare for this matchup. On the other, Ohio State comes off a gritty road win over Wisconsin and now hit the road to take on NW. OSU could easily be overlooking this game. I will take my chances here with NW and the points for 1 unit.

Good Luck.