College Football Picks Week 6 2023
Last week was my best of the season, largely thanks to West Virginia. The Mountaineers cashed as a +370 underdog, winning by 3 thanks to blocking two TCU field goals in the 4th quarter. My season turned around at this time last year so hopefully this is the beginning of a nice winning streak.
Week 0: +0.82 units
Week 1: -7.37 units
Week 2: -2.83 units
Week 3: -0.59 units
Week 4: -5.31 units
Week 5: +6.21 units
Total: -9.07 units
Arizona @ USC (Saturday, 9:30 PM Central)
Arizona was awful not long ago- they went a combined 1-16 in 2020 and 2021. They’ve improved tremendously in the last two years and gave Washington a real game last week even with starting QB Jayden de Laura hurt. Their offense will be capable with or without de Laura and as we saw last week against Colorado, the USC defense is a complete sieve. Arizona is a top 40 team in the country and should not be getting three touchdowns here.
Arizona +21.5 -110 (3 units)
Purdue @ Iowa (Saturday, 2:30 PM Central)
Iowa has leaned even further into their identity this year- their defense and special teams remain excellent while their offense is horrible. Starting QB Cade McNamara looks to be out for the year which only compounds their offensive struggles, and they looked awful after he left the game against Michigan State. Purdue is a lot better than their 2-3 record would indicate and they should be road favorites here.
Purdue +2.5 -110 (3 units)
Alabama @ Texas A&M (Saturday, 2:30 PM Central)
Loyal readers will remember that I bet Texas A&M +8.5 in this matchup in the preseason. That’s obviously great value now, but I’ll still put an extra unit on the Aggies at +2.5. I think they could be the best team in the SEC West- they’re one of a few teams in the country that has the level of athletes that Alabama does, and their quarterbacking situation is better than I feared. Alabama’s problems are well documented and I think they should be small underdogs here.
Texas A&M +2.5 -110 (1 unit)
Texas Tech @ Baylor (Saturday, 7 PM Central)
Baylor pulled off one of the greatest comebacks you’ll ever see against UCF last week, as they won after being down 28 points in the 3rd quarter. I do have some pretty fundamental questions about the Bears, if you exclude the last one and a half quarters against UCF their offense has been horrid this year. Texas Tech is easily the best 2-3 team in the nation and has been extremely unlucky this year.
Texas Tech +1 -110 (1 unit)