College Football, Week 8: FSU Rules the ACC

I'm baaaaaackkkk!!! Just in time for the meat of the college football season.

And while it appears Alabama is primed to make a run at its third consecutive national title, another freshman quarterback looks to win the Heisman Trophy.

That's right folks, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston looks to punch his ticket to New York this weekend with a impressive performance against Clemson. You know, the kind of performance that Johnny Manziel had in 2012 against Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

In fact, some might say that Winston is performing better as a freshman this season than 'Johnny Football' had at this point in 2012. And while many pundits would argue that Marcus Mariota should be the frontrunner for college football's most prestigious award, I believe that it is Winston's trophy to lose.

But I digress. I'm back to predict this week's top 25 action, and this time there is a little twist. Unlike last year, I won't be providing outcomes. Instead, I am going to go head to head with the most current Las Vegas odds. It should be noted that last season I was 15-7 in predicting winners, nearly predicting the exact score on a few occasions.

On to tomorrow's predictions(note: all lines are from pinnaclesports.com, last updated at 10/18/2013, teams that I predict to cover are in bold)

5 Florida State (-3) at 3 Clemson: This game has been and will continue (until game time) to be billed as the duel between quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Tajh Boyd. Yet the Seminoles would be unwise to count out the presence of wideout Sammy Watkins, who has been absolutely on fire in 2013, catching 36 passes for at total of 582 yards.

The X-factor in this game has to be the play of the Florida State defense. Among the leaders in scoring defense( allowing only 12.0 ppg), the Seminoles have also allowed opponents to convert only 29.41% of their third down conversions. Add to that FSU is +4 in turnover margin, and I believe the visitors will cover the small spread.

11 South Carolina (-7.5) at Tennessee: The Volunteers are still foaming at the mouth over their overtime loss at Neyland Stadium two weeks ago against Georgia. They believe they're better than their 3-3 record would suggest, and feel a win over the Gamecocks would go a long way to proving that.

Unfortunately for UT, SC's defense is a bit better than the Bulldogs. That and a healthy Connor Shaw means the favorites cover once again.

15 Georgia at Vanderbilt (+7): Bulldogs are pissed they let Mizzou walk into Athens and come away with a victory. With or without star running back Todd Gurley, look for UGA to roll.

16 Texas Tech(-5) at West Virginia : My upset special of the week as quarterback Clint Trickett has another big game. Mountaineers cover this one.

TCU (+7.5) at 21 Oklahoma State: Two weeks ago Cowboys were stunned by a game West Virginia squad. Could it happen again? No. Home team by at least 10.

22 Florida at 14 Missouri (+3): Tigers have been this year's Cinderella story. Unfortunately for them, without the services of QB James Franklin, the glass slipper no longer fits.

23 Northern Illinois at Central Michigan(+15): The Chippewas are terrible. Just terrible.

24 Auburn at 7 Texas A&M (-13.5): Johnny Manziel and company continue to play lights out, at least until they face LSU.

9 UCLA (+4.5) at 13 Stanford: Although Brett Hundley and the Bruins are on a roll, Stanford is at home and coming off a heartbreaking loss. Even so, I like the underdog to cover in a losing effort.

18 Oklahoma at Kansas (+22): Even Bill Self couldn't help the Jayhawks cover this line.

In other games:

20 Washington (+3.5) over Arizona State

Illinois (+14) covers at home versus 25 Wisconsin

1 Alabama covers versus Arkansas (do you really need the line for this one? Shaking my head)

6 LSU (-9.5) over Ole Miss

And

2 Oregon covers against whomever they're playing (I think it's Washington State, but again does it matter?)

More Observations on Week 1 of College Football

As the opening weekend of college football comes to a close tonight with Florida State vs. Pittsburgh, there might be more questions than answers. While some of the top teams took care of business as expected, other teams were upset, some by FCS (Division I-AA schools).

Looking back at the weekend's action, here are several observations:

Alabama is still the top team in the nation, at least for now. 

There is an old saying that goes 'in order to be the champ, you have to beat the champ.' Well, Alabama is the defending national champ. And, despite a less than stellar performance offensively against Virginia Tech, they still defeated the Hokies rather handily. So, until someone beats them, the Crimson Tide is the No. 1 team in the nation by default.

 It certainly looks like Christion Jones might be the heir apparent to Eddie Lacy for this squad.

The state of South Carolina might have two teams that are legitimate BCS contenders in 2013.

Everyone knew that Jadeveon Clowney and company were going to be a force to be reckoned with in Columbia.

Yet the unknown might have been how Clemson, South Carolina's other BCS squad, would perform in 2013. A 270 yard, 3 TD passing performance by quarterback Tajh Boyd certainly has people talking about the Tigers chances to run the table in the ACC.

 The biggest threat to Clemson's chances at an undefeated season might be the Gamecocks, who will face the Tigers in the season finale in Columbia.

Speaking of running the table, the Louisville Cardinals began their quest to go 12-0 with a resounding 49-7 victory yesterday over Ohio. Teddy Bridgewater, one of the favorites for the Heisman this year, made a emphatic opening statement passing for 355 yards and 5 TDs.  Everyone has been chirping about how Ohio State has an easy chance to run the table this season, but the Cardinals don't face one team ranked in the preseason AP Top 25.

On the West Coast, Oregon made it's claim to being in the top 5, but they still might not be the best team in the PAC-12. 

The Ducks' rolled against a clearly overmatched Nicholls St team, with DeAnthony Thomas and Marcus Mariota picking up where they left off last season.  Yet Stanford, the defending PAC-12 champs, didn't even play this week. This debate may not be settled until these two teams meet on November 7.

Finally, Michigan and Notre Dame, two teams that have quietly flown under the radar this preseason, made big statements of their own a week prior to their showdown in the Big House.

Both the Wolverines and Irish opened the season with new signal-callers under center. And while Michigan's 59-9 demolition was not totally unexpected, it was Notre Dame's 28-6 win that set up what should be a very intriguing matchup.

Michigan's Devin Gardner, a better pure passer than the departed Denard Robinson, might be one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the nation. It will be interesting to see how an Irish defense missing its leading tackler from last year handles him.

For the Irish offense, they will need senior Tommy Rees to play like he did on Saturday.