2021 NCAA Week 7 Picks

10:30 pm California at #9 Oregon (-13 1/2, 54 1/2) - The Golden Bears have fielder better teams than the current 1-4 squad that will line up at Oregon Friday night.

The 4-1 Ducks have had an extra week to ruminate over their 31-24 OT loss at Stanford, and should be significantly encouraged to show the conference that they are still the team to beat. Wins over Fresno State, Ohio State, and Arizona are all high quality and they should return to form.

Coin Flip: Oregon

Prediction: Ducks 45 Golden Bears 20

10:30 pm #24 San Diego State (-9, 41) at San Jose State - There are good reasons the Aztecs are ranked. First, they're 5-0 this year, and, throwing out the disaster that was 2020, they were 9-3 in 2019, plus, they have one of the most consistent runners in college football, Greg Bell, who has rushed for over 100 yards four times this season and topped the century mark four times last year. The Aztecs have wins over Arizona and Utah on their resume and are 1-0 in conference play with last week's 31-7 rout of New Mexico.

San Jose State comes off a miracle 2020 season in which they won the conference championship with a 7-0 record, but already are 1-1 in the conference and 3-3 overall with deep losses to USC (30-7), Western Michigan (23-3) and last week, a 32-14 setback at Colorado State. QB Nick Starkel has been sidelined with injury the last two games, replaced by Nick Nash. It's homecoming week at San Jose, and the Aztecs are their main rival. San Deigo State is ranked #11 in rushing offense nationally and #2 in rushing defense, allowing just 50.0 yards per game on the ground.

Coin Flip: San Jose State

Prediction: Aztecs 31 Spartans 14

Saturday, October 16

12:00 pm UCF at #3 Cincinnati (-20 1/2, 58) - The line is somewhat surprising here, if only because 3-2 UCF may not be the great team it was in was from 2017 to 2019, but they are still competitive. Lost for an undisclosed period is QB Dillon Gabriel with a broken arm. His replacement, freshman Mikey Keene played well in a 34-30 loss at Navy and last week's 20-16 win over East Carolina.

The Bearcats are a different kind of animal, however. They've allowed just 61 points in five games and just three in their lone AAC game, a 52-3 romp over Temple last week. At home this season, they've outscored opponents 143-24. Chalk up another huge win for Cincy.

Coin Flip: Cincinnati

Prediction: Bearcats 42 Knights 7

12:00 pm #10 Michigan State (-4 1/2, 51 1/2) at Indiana - The Hoosiers are 2-3 and scoring just 23.8 points per game, a far cry from what was expected of them. QB Michael Penix Jr., coming off an ACL injury, can't run and is hitting on just 54% of his throws.

The Spartans just keep winning, blowing up Rutgers last week, 31-13, to go 6-0. Road games don't seem to bother them; they're 3-0 away from home. Indiana could surprise, but that's a long shot. The Spartans have too many weapons.

Coin Flip: Michigan State

Prediction: Spartans 34 Hoosiers 14

12:00 pm #21 Texas A&M (-9, 60 1/2) at Missouri - Following its upset of #1 Alabama last week, do the Aggies bounce or score another SEC victory? They should be up to winning on the road despite the emotional roller coaster.

Even with the 41-38 win over Alabama, the Aggies have one fo the best defensive teams in the country, allowing just 16.8 points per game. Missouri gives up 37.5 and has the worst rush defense in the country, allowing 286.8 yards per game. Red meat for RBs Devon Achane and Isaiah Spiller.

Coin Flip: Mssouri

Prediction: Aggies 56 Tigers 10

12:00 pm #12 Oklahoma State at #25 Texas (-5 1/2, 59) - Big game for both teams as the Longhorns can't afford another loss and the Cowboys are 2-0 in conference play. Oklahoma State is 5-0, the last four against pretty good competition (Tulsa, Boise St., Kansas St., Baylor) and should be able to ride the arm of Spencer Sanders to a win.

The Longhorns are improved since installing Casey Thompson at QB, but their defense fell apart in last week's 55-48 loss to Oklahoma, blowing a 38-20 lead as the Sooners scored 25 points in the final quarter. Look for Texas to keep this one close enough for an upset chance at the end.

Coin Flip: Texas

Prediction: Cowboys 33 Longhorns 30

12:00 pm Auburn at #17 Arkansas (-3 1/2, 54) - Auburn got spanked, 34-10, by Georgia last week, and now have two losses to Top 10 teams this season (Penn State, 28-20). The Razorbacks didn't fare any better, losing 37-0 at Georgia, then made matters worse by going far a two point conversion at the end of their battle at Ole Miss, and failing, for a 52-51 loss. They should be happy to get back to home turf, where they are 4-0.

Arkansas has a better team than Auburn, top to bottom. They just have to play their game and prove it.

Coin Flip: Auburn

Prediction: Razorbacks 28 Tigers 21

12:00 pm #20 Florida (-10 1/2, 59) at LSU - Last week's 42-21 loss at Kentucky dropped LSU to 3-3- overall and 1-2 in the SEC, essentially ending any hope of winning their division or the conference. Now having to host Florida, they face a third straight loss, unheard of in Bayou country.

The Gators also lost at Kentucky, 20-13, two weeks back, but rebounded with a 42-0 wipeout of Vanderbilt. Florida also has two losses and is chasing #1 Georgia, whom they play next week, so they could get caught looking ahead rather than focusing on the Tigers. In what's already been a surprising year, LSU could spring an upset.

Coin Flip: LSU

Prediction: Tigers 27 Gators 24

Click here for late games.

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