After only getting one matchup wrong last week, Junior sports reporter Dawson Green will once again share with you his picks for this week’s slate of matchups and you can decide whether he is a Pigskin Prognosticator or a Football Fool.
4 Clemson at Wake Forest
Clemson scraped by Syracuse last week after losing starting QB Trevor Lawrence to a neck strain. The Clemson secondary will once again be tested by a prolific offense. Wake Forest, led by quarterback Sam Hartman, is in the top thirty in scoring offense. Clemson stepped up big last week against a top fifteen scoring offense last week in Syracuse and held them to only 23 points. The Tigers will go come home with a victory this weekend. The offense will click, led by the running game of Travis Etienne and the defense will be too physical and fast for Wake Forest.
Clemson 34 Wake Forest 17
5 LSU at 22 Florida
LSU started off the season ranked number twenty-five and have risen all the way up to number five this week. Transfer QB Joe Burrow has made all the difference for the LSU offense. Playing at home, in “The Swamp” will help the Gators make it tough on LSU, but that will not be enough. Florida does not have enough playmakers to keep LSU off the scoreboard or enough playmakers to outscore them. The Gators are coming off of an emotional upset over Mississippi State and should have momentum, just not enough to upset the LSU Tigers.
LSU 21 Florida 16
19 Texas vs 7 Oklahoma
The Red River Rivalry is officially back. This is the first ranked matchup between these two teams since 2011. After an embarrassing loss to Maryland to start the year, Texas has been on a roll. The Oklahoma offense is prolific, led by QB Kyler Murray, but the defense has been shaky. I expect the Texas Longhorns to take advantage of this defense. The real test will be if the Longhorn defense can stop the Sooners offense and I think they can. Texas will get a huge win over Oklahoma and shake up the College Football Playoff picture.
Texas 38 Oklahoma 34
6 Notre Dame at 24 Virginia Tech
Notre Dame has been rolling since Ian Book took over as the starting quarterback. Blacksburg, Virginia is one of the toughest places to play a night game in College Football and will be a big test for Notre Dame. Virginia Tech lost their starting QB for the season two weeks ago, but picked up a win over a ranked Duke team last week. I expect Virginia Tech to put up a fight and keep the game close, but Notre Dame has too much talent and depth to lose this game.
Notre Dame 35 Virginia Tech 27
Arizona State at 21 Colorado
Herm Edwards has turned some heads in his first year back as a head coach. His Arizona State Sun Devils are much improved from a year ago. The Colorado Buffalo continue a recent string of success led by a lethal passing attack and a suffocating defense. The Arizona State offense is nothing to look over though. Quarterback Manny Wilkins has thrown for over 1200 yards and 10 touchdowns while only throwing one interception. Arizona State has already upset one team this year in Michigan State and I expect them to pull another one on Saturday.
Arizona State 27 Colorado 21
13 Kentucky vs Texas A&M
Kentucky is one of the surprise teams of college football so far this year. After victories over Mississippi State and South Carolina, Kentucky is riding high. They take their run-first offense led by Benny Snell Jr. into Kyle Field. This is one of the toughest places to play in college football and will be a huge test for Kentucky. Texas A&M is led by QB Kellen Mond and the offense has the capability. If they can get out to a big lead, they might be able to hold off Kentucky. I believe that the Kentucky defense is too good to allow Texas A&M to run up the score early. Good defense and a great running attack will be the key for Kentucky.
Kentucky 31 Texas A&M 17
