Iowa (-6) vs. Wisconsin – The home Hawks opened as 5 point favorites, but most books have moved up to 6 or even 6 ½ points. The public is betting Iowa at nearly 80%. The Hawkeyes have the 7th best rushing defense in the country and 6th best in scoring defense. Ricky Stanzi is 3rd in passing efficiency. Iowa is poised to make a run, but they have a tough test against Wisconsin. The Badgers are coming off one of the biggest wins in school history with their victory over then-#1 Ohio State. John Clay is a bruising running back, and Wisconsin pulls its offensive linemen better than anyone in the country. The Badger rush offense vs. the Hawkeye rush defense should be fun to watch.
Michigan State (-6) at Northwestern – The wiseguys have been hitting this line hard. The Spartans started as 7 ½ point favorites, and after getting bet down to 5 points, some buy back on Michigan State has pushed the line back up to 6 or 6 ½ points. The squares are backing the Spartans at over 80%. This will be Michigan State’s first game outside of the state of Michigan. Kirk Cousins has been efficient, the Spartans can also run the ball effectively, and the defense is underrated. But Northwestern has a knack for being a pesky underdog. Dan Persa is the #4 quarterback in the country in terms of passer rating. The Wildcats are coming off their bye, so they should be rested and prepared.
Oklahoma (-3) at Missouri – The Sooners opened as 2 ½ point road favorites, but most sportsbooks have moved that up to 3. When the BCS standings came out, Oklahoma was unveiled as the top team. They go on the road to face an undefeated Missouri team with an underrated defense. The Tigers have the second best scoring defense in the entire country, believe it or not. Last week, Mizzou held Texas A&M to 9 points in College Station. But Oklahoma has better talent and better football players than the Aggies. Landry Jones is having a nice season, and DeMarco Murray has been outstanding. Bob Stoops and company are coming off a 52-0 whitewashing of Iowa State last week.
Nebraska (-6) at Oklahoma State – Nebraska started as 4 point road favorites, but many sites have gone up to 6 points. The Huskers are coming off a disappointing loss to Texas in Lincoln. Taylor Martinez was held in check, and the Nebraska receivers dropped a number of touchdown passes. Regardless, this is a good football team with a tremendous defense. They head to Stillwater to battle an undefeated Oklahoma State squad. Justin Blackmon is one of the nation’s top wide receivers, and Kendall Hunter is an underrated running back. The one problem for this team is probably their defense, which isn’t that good. They’ll need to play great football if they hope to stay undefeated for another week.
Auburn (-5 ½) vs. LSU – The biggest game of the day takes place in the SEC between the conference’s two remaining undefeated teams. The home Tigers opened as 5 point favorites, and after the line went up to 6 ½ points, some buy back on LSU has brought it back down to 5 ½ or 6 points. Cam Newton has probably been the best player in college football to this point in the season. Do you think the Florida coaching staff, players, and fans wish they had that guy back? They hung 65 points on Arkansas last week, but LSU’s defense is considerably better than the Razorback’s. They’re 11th in scoring defense, and are extremely fast. This should be a hard-hitting battle, and the winner is in the catbird’s seat for the SEC West title. But Alabama …
