Good morning and welcome to the Week Nine rendition of our Weekly Pick ‘Em series. This week might be lacking compared to the one that precedes it, but there are still plenty of exciting games to keep us occupied throughout our Saturdays, including multiple storied rivalries such as Michigan-Michigan State and Florida-Georgia.
We enter the home stretch of the season with a winning record. I’m still waiting for the week that ruins it all. With that in mind, let’s get into it.
Henry’s Last Week: 3-2
Kansas (+10) vs. Baylor L
No. 9 UCLA (+6.5) vs. No. 10 Oregon L
Boise State (+2) vs. Air Force W
Mississippi State vs. Alabama (-21) W
San Diego State (-7) vs. Nevada W
Henry’s Season: 24-21
For how bad last week started, I’m ecstatic with the final result. Two straight losses, followed by three straight wins equals a solid week in my book. Just some advice, never underestimate Nick Saban after a loss and never overestimate UCLA.
Anyways…
Henry’s Picks:
Ohio State vs. Penn State, 11 a.m. CT, FOX
The Pick: Penn State +15.5
The Nittany Lions are coming off easily the best performance of their season, following up their embarrassing loss to Michigan with a 45-17 rout of Minnesota, who’s supposedly decent but I’m having my doubts at this point. Still, that win serves as a huge momentum boost for a team still very much in the mix for the College Football Playoff.
Couple that with Ohio State’s lack of legitimate competition this season, and you’ve got a recipe for a semi-close Big 10 matchup to start off your day.
Score: Ohio State 41-30 Penn State
Cincinnati vs. Central Florida, 2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN
The Pick: UCF -1
Cincinnati is a very uninspiring 6-1 in my opinion.
Sure, winning is winning but I can’t imagine them being satisfied with a four-point win over a 1-6 South Florida team and a two-point win over 3-4 SMU in their last two games. Sure, UCF struggled in its last game, ultimately getting blown out by East Carolina due to a large number of committed turnovers.
The Knights went into that game sporting a four-game win streak where they outscored their opponents 178-56, which included Georgia Tech and aforementioned SMU. When this team is on, it’s more than capable of putting up an insane number of points, headlined by one of the best rushing attacks in the country and a decent passing attack with a minor interception problem.
Their wins combined with the loss to East Carolina aren’t all that impressive, but Cincinnati has been less so. I expect this newly established rivalry to swing the other way this year, as UCF defeat the Bearcats for the first time since 2018.
Score: UCF 38-34 Cincinnati
Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State, 2:30 p.m. CT, FOX
The Pick: Oklahoma State +1.5
I feel like I’ve bet against Oklahoma State too much over the past two seasons, with mostly poor results. Even without the stellar defense it had last season, this team has managed to get it done time-and-time again this season, at least in terms of covering the spread.
The Wildcats’ win over Oklahoma gets less impressive by the week. Since that win, they’ve experienced two nail biters against middle-of-the-pack Big 12 competition and completely imploded against No. 7 TCU last weekend. They are a decent team, but I don’t see them as a contender for the Big 12 title anymore.
The Cowboys on the other hand are very much within the race. They may have also imploded against TCU two weeks back but other than that, they’ve impressed every step of the way. They’ve put up 40+ points in five of their seven games, including the last three, and while I expect that streak to be broken after this week, I still see them putting up a lot of points here.
Kansas State’s defense has had strong performances, but only against mediocre offenses. It’s going to struggle against an offense that is putting up nearly 45 points per game.
Score: Oklahoma State 35-27 Kansas State
Michigan State vs. Michigan, 6:30 p.m. CT, ABC
The Pick: Michigan State +23
The Spartans struggled mightily through their first three Big 10 matchups of the season, losing all three of them by a combined deficit of 110-40. But it seems like they did progress through the losses before finally pulling off a conference win against Wisconsin.
The Badgers might not be a good gauger of skill this season, but like Michigan State, they’ve also progressed throughout the season. So, I believe that win was noteworthy. It gave them momentum entering the bye week and showed the coaching staff what works on offense, and that could give them what they need to give the Wolverines a scare.
I don’t expect the Spartans to win here, but Mel Tucker has had Harbaugh’s number over the past two seasons, so I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised either. I’m not calling an upset here but don’t be surprised if you find out this game is close over Twitter late in the game.
Score: Michigan 31-23 Michigan State
Wyoming vs. Hawai’i, 10:59 p.m. CT, ESPN+
The Pick: Wyoming -11.5
With the PAC-12 being as intense as it is, you would think the action after dark would be somewhat decent. Instead, we’re stuck with stinkers like this.
The Cowboys have given zero indication they would struggle in a game like this. Hawai’i is one of the worst teams in the Mountain West and Wyoming’s last two wins have been two-score victories over better conference foes.
The Rainbow Warriors are weak on both sides of the ball and while the Cowboys don’t sport an amazing offense, they do have one of the best running backs in the Mountain West in Titus Swen. Rush defense just so happens to be the Hawai’i defense’s biggest flaw.
All of that leads me to believe Wyoming ups its two-score win streak to three tomorrow morning.
