Each week, I use this space to tell you what I think are a few of the best bets heading into the weekend. I will also throw in an upset of the week, which will feature a team that is at least a touchdown underdog that I am picking to win outright. I will also give you picks on other games involving potential College Football Playoff teams. With a lot of CFP hopefuls still remaining, I'll go with teams ranked within the top 12 of the AP Top 25 poll.
Week 7 of the 2022 college football season brings plenty of excitement with three games between undefeated teams, two more contenders that are facing tough road tests and one more that is an underdog at home.
Last week was so close and yet so far. I nailed one pick but missed the other two by a combined 2.5 points. There are no moral victories here, though, so I'm shooting for 4-0 this week. Below are the picks for the loaded Week 7 action.
Week 7 picks
Iowa State at No. 22 Texas
This is a trap game for Texas. The Longhorns have to be sure not to get too high after one of its most dominant wins in the history of its rivalry with Oklahoma and not look ahead to a big showdown with Oklahoma State next week. Iowa State is a grinder. While the Cyclones make things uncomfortable for your offense, they do not have enough offense of their own to steal the win. ISU has lost three straight in the conference by a combined 11 points, but the Cyclones will keep this close. Pick: Iowa State +16
Minnesota at No. 24 Illinois
These teams feature two of the top four running backs in the country in Illinois' Chase Brown and Minnesota's Mohamed Ibrahim, who is returning from injury this week. They also feature two of the top six rushing defenses. This sounds like a formula for a lot of punts. In fact, we just saw this game last week when the Illini beat Iowa 9-6. This may be a little higher scoring, but not too much. Pick: Under 38
San Jose State at Fresno State
Fresno State has not been the same since QB Jake Haener, the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, went down with an injury in the loss to USC in Week 3. Backup Logan Fife has not been able to pick up the slack in losses at UConn and Boise State. Meanwhile, San Jose State is on a three-game winning streak, all by at least 17 points, and is now among the conference favorites. Pick: San Jose State -8
Upset of the week
No. 19 Kansas at Oklahoma
Did I miss a memo? Is this still the same Oklahoma team that has given up an average of almost 49 points per game in three conference games? I realize Kansas will probably be without QB Jalon Daniels, but Jason Bean did a very nice job in his absence in last week's 38-31 loss to TCU. There is a very short list of conference teams that Oklahoma could be favored over at the moment, and Kansas isn't one of them. Pick: Kansas +7.5, +235 ML
Other CFP candidates
- Vanderbilt at No. 1 Georgia (O/U 58.5) Pick: Under 58.5
- No. 3 Alabama at No. 6 Tennessee (+7.5) Pick: Tennessee
- No. 4 Clemson (-3.5) at Florida State Pick: Clemson
- No. 10 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan (-7) Pick: Michigan
- No. 7 USC (+3.5) at No. 20 Utah Pick: USC
- No. 8 Oklahoma State (+3.5) at No. 13 TCU Pick: Oklahoma State
- Auburn at No. 9 Mississippi (-15) Pick: Mississippi
Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 7, and which top-15 favorite will go down hard? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread -- all from a proven computer model that has returned almost $3,000 in profit over the past six-plus seasons -- and find out.
