College Football Picks: Take Minnesota and Georgia against the spread this week

Perhaps you love the NFL and want to enjoy some American football on a Saturday? Maybe you’re just a die-hard college fan. Here are four tips for this week’s action.

Georgia Bulldogs (-24.5) @ South Carolina Gamecocks (+24.5)

The best team in college football travels to Columbia, South Carolina, to face a Gamecocks defence that gave up almost 300 rushing yards in a 44-31 defeat against the now 10th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks last Saturday.

South Carolina scored in every quarter and posted 416 yards of total offence, but three second-half turnovers ended any chance of a last-gasp comeback. The defeat to their SEC divisional rivals took their overall record to 1-1 after a 35-14 victory over the Georgia State Panthers in week one.

Unless a memorable upset is in the offing, the Gamecocks will be staring at back-to-back losses as the Georgia Bulldogs roll into town. The defending national champions leap-frogged Alabama, who required a last-second field goal to deny Texas, in the AP Top 25 Polls on Monday thanks to a one-sided 33-0 win over Samford.

Georgia limited Samford to just 128 total yards, only 19 of which came on the ground. That elite performance came just seven days after a magnificent 49-3 success over the 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks. A similarly stout defensive effort, as well as a typically potent offensive display, can ensure the Stetson Bennett-led Bulldogs triumph with another emphatic score here.

Selection: Georgia -24.5 @ 1.82

California Golden Bears (+11) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-11)

Who predicted Notre Dame would start the season 0-2? Not me, that’s for sure. A mixture of poor execution and bad play calling has hurt the Fighting Irish early this year. You could forgive a road defeat to the talented Ohio State Buckeyes, but a 26-21 loss at home to Marshall? Get out of here!

Marcus Freeman became the first head coach in Notre Dame’s history to lose his first three games in charge, which goes back to the Fiesta Bowl in January. However, he has an incredibly talented roster at his mercy, and big-time players make big-time plays when they are hit with adversity.

Despite being just 7 for 26 (27%) on third downs this year, and losing the total yardage battle in both of their games so far, I fully expect the Fighting Irish to bounce back with a bang. Their opponents the California Golden Bears have recorded home victories against UC Davis and UNLV but now face far stiffer opposition. 

Stretching back to the start of 2020, California have lost seven of their last eight road games and they figure to struggle with Notre Dame’s run-pass-option offence, where sophomore quarterback Drew Pyne will take over from the injured Tyler Buchner at quarterback. Notre Dame is the better team - I have no doubt about that - and hopefully they will make a statement by covering this generous spread with ease.

Selection: Notre Dame -10.5 @ 1.71

Colorado Buffaloes (+27.5) @ Minnesota Golden Gophers (-27.5)

Colorado’s run defence stinks! The Buffaloes gave up 275 yards on 30 attempts - an average of 9.2 yards per carry - in a 38-13 home defeat to TCU on September 3, and they failed to plug the gigantic gaps in a 41-10 pounding at the hands of Air Force seven days later. Surely they didn’t allow the Falcons to surpass TCU’s impressive rushing number? Oh boy they did.

Air Force tallied a mind-boggling 435 total rushing yards on 70 attempts (6.2 yards per carry). Just to further emphasise their domination, 174 yards came from fullback Brad Roberts, who also added three touchdowns on a career-high day. They simply took the Buffaloes to pound town. 

Life doesn’t get easier for the battered and run-down (quite literally) Colorado as they head to Minnesota to face a Golden Gophers offence that is averaging over 50 points per game, largely due to their powerful running game. Take a deep breath Buffaloes fans.

Minnesota’s senior running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who boasts two 1,000-yard seasons in his college career, is averaging 131 rushing yards per game and is currently third in the country in rushing touchdowns (four). Expect him to inflict more pain on Colorado and help the Golden Gophers run up another big score.

Selection: Minnesota -27.5 @ 1.91

Mississippi State Bulldogs (-2.0) @ LSU Tigers (+2.0)

Only North Carolina’s Drake Maye has thrown more touchdowns (11) than Mississippi State signal-caller Will Rogers (nine) so far this year. The junior, who led his team to the Liberty Bowl last season, is completing 78.6% of his passes - a number that would be even higher if you take into consideration a vast number of drops from his receivers.

The Bulldogs offence is rolling - they put up 49 points against Memphis and 39 against Arizona, but they also turned the ball over five times in those two games. Mistakes don’t often go unpunished, and they will need to protect the football better against rivals LSU, who forced five turnovers from Southern in a 65-17 mauling last week.

Mississippi State are marginal favourites to continue their winning streak, but I like the underdogs here. LSU missed a last-second extra point to lose 24-23 against Florida State in week one, but Brian Kelly’s side bounced back in a big way at home on Sunday and could be in contention for a top-25 ranking sooner rather than later.

Electric playmaker Kayshon Boutte (watch this guy, seriously) will attract plenty of attention from Mississippi State’s defence, which will allow one-on-one matchups elsewhere on the field. If their receivers can find separation, I like LSU to continue their fine recent record against their SEC rivals. Since 1992, LSU has won 26 of their 30 match-ups against Mississippi State. Add another one to that total.

Selection: LSU Money Line @ 2.14

Recommended bets

Georgia -24.5 @ 1.82
Notre Dame -10.5 @ 1.71
Minnesota -27.5 @ 1.91
LSU ML @ 2.14