2019 College Football Season: Week 7 - Picks and Viewers Guide

Week 7 brings a bit more excitement than Week 6 with mid-week quality, and weekend excitement.

Weekday Slate (Wednesday to Friday)

Appalachian State at Louisiana (Wed., 7:00 pm, ESPN2)

A great #FunBelt matchup on a Wednesday as App State travels to Louisiana to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns in Lafayette. One loss between them (ULL to Miss State in Week 1) and taking care of business the rest of the way for both. This could be a conference championship game preview and should be an exciting mid-week game.

Syracuse at NC State (Thurs., 7:00 pm, ESPN)

This is a game that perplexes me. The spread has NC State as the favorite despite losses to Boston College and West Virginia this season. Syracuse hasn’t looked good this season but they’re 3-1 in game they could be reasonably expected to win and 0-1 against Clemson. I may be wrong, the Syracuse D should allow NC State to be better than it’s been most of the season, but Cuse is solid on both sides of the ball if not spectacular in either regard.

Virginia at Miami (FL) (Fri., 7:00 pm, ESPN)

A better game than it’ll appear on the surface. Miami has been insanely unlucky this season with turnovers and conversion rates in the red zone. Their underlying performances show a team that’s at least a game better if not more than their current win total. Virginia is good once again with a stout defense and a slightly underwhelming offense that can go off in spurts. Watch this game because it should be close and may get really weird.

Colorado at Oregon (Fri., 9:00 pm, FS1)

Watch this for two reasons: A) #Pac12AfterDark it’s going to get weird. and B) The Pac-12 loves for their favorites to lose on a weeknight so watch to find out if there’s train wreck.

Home	Away	Home Rating	Away Rating	My Spread	Win%	Date	Time	TV
Louisiana	Appalachian State	9.402	16.108	-5.681	56.4%	10/9	19:00	ESPN2
NC State	Syracuse	0.494	9.030	-4.416	55.1%	10/10	19:00	ESPN
Texas State	ULM	-9.409	-8.011	-0.039	50.5%	10/10	20:15	ESPNU
New Mexico	Colorado State	-12.514	-18.687	7.468	58.3%	10/11	19:00	CBSSN
Miami (FL)	Virginia	-4.701	10.360	-11.154	62.2%	10/11	19:00	ESPN
Oregon	Colorado	13.767	0.099	17.838	69.2%	10/11	21:00	FS1
Georgia	South Carolina	26.606	1.297	30.552	82.8%	10/12	11:00	ESPN
Illinois	Michigan	-6.528	14.690	-18.670	70.1%	10/12	11:00	ABC
Tennessee	Mississippi State	-8.540	7.858	-11.200	62.2%	10/12	11:00	SECN
Temple	Memphis	5.366	11.322	-4.672	55.3%	10/12	11:00	ESPN2
Western Michigan	Miami (OH)	-2.532	-4.336	3.345	53.9%	10/12	11:00	ESPNU
Bowling Green	Toledo	-23.552	3.201	-25.145	77.0%	10/12	11:00	STAD
Texas	Oklahoma	14.192	23.385	-4.042	54.7%	10/12	11:00	FOX
Purdue	Maryland	-6.576	2.451	-5.968	56.7%	10/12	11:00	BTN
Indiana	Rutgers	3.793	-18.886	25.796	77.7%	10/12	11:00	BTN
Duke	Georgia Tech	11.864	-11.741	25.891	77.8%	10/12	11:30	ACCN
Eastern Michigan	Ball State	-2.191	-9.123	8.081	58.9%	10/12	13:00	ESPN+
Marshall	Old Dominion	-7.922	-21.188	14.966	66.2%	10/12	13:30	STAD
Central Michigan	New Mexico State	-3.777	-18.608	15.788	67.1%	10/12	14:00	ESPN3
Clemson	Florida State	30.814	6.463	29.205	81.4%	10/12	14:30	ABC
Texas A&M	Alabama	8.189	30.552	-17.189	68.5%	10/12	14:30	CBS
Wisconsin	Michigan State	18.947	12.588	11.115	62.1%	10/12	14:30	BTN
Arizona State	Washington State	9.755	0.839	12.461	63.5%	10/12	14:30	P12N
USF	BYU	-9.892	-1.695	-6.336	57.1%	10/12	14:30	CBSSN
Houston	Cincinnati	-1.354	17.856	-16.293	67.6%	10/12	14:30	ESPN2
Akron	Kent State	-30.416	-9.064	-19.994	71.5%	10/12	14:30	ESPN3
Ohio	Northern Illinois	-7.832	-10.605	5.087	55.8%	10/12	14:30	ESPN+
Tulane	Connecticut	9.312	-21.973	32.896	85.3%	10/12	14:45	ESPNU
Virginia Tech	Rhode Island	0.204	-22.636	26.994	-	10/12	15:00	ACCN
Vanderbilt	UNLV	-4.929	-20.333	17.967	69.4%	10/12	15:00	SECN
Baylor	Texas Tech	13.633	0.449	16.869	68.2%	10/12	15:00	FS1
West Virginia	Iowa State	3.422	7.302	0.076	50.5%	10/12	15:00	ESPN
Coastal Carolina	Georgia State	-5.859	-0.881	-2.525	53.1%	10/12	15:00	ESPN+
Nevada	San Jose State	-7.517	-9.237	3.298	53.9%	10/12	15:00	ATTRM
FAU	Middle Tennessee	1.540	-7.009	9.809	60.7%	10/12	15:00	ESPN+
UTSA	UAB	-15.028	-1.316	-12.727	63.8%	10/12	17:00	ESPN+
Missouri	Mississippi	12.850	-0.364	16.318	67.6%	10/12	18:00	ESPN2
WKU	Army	-8.347	0.974	-7.420	58.2%	10/12	18:00	STAD
Louisiana Tech	UMASS	2.141	-32.259	36.297	89.0%	10/12	18:00	ESPN3
Southern Miss	North Texas	2.721	-10.947	15.565	66.8%	10/12	18:00	FACE
FIU	Charlotte	-11.707	-9.757	-0.258	50.7%	10/12	18:00	ESPN+
Air Force	Fresno State	-0.194	0.082	1.714	52.2%	10/12	18:00	CBSSN
Iowa	Penn State	14.405	22.661	-3.919	54.5%	10/12	18:30	ABC
Minnesota	Nebraska	16.162	6.747	12.565	63.7%	10/12	18:30	FS1
Wake Forest	Louisville	11.939	0.874	13.902	65.1%	10/12	18:30	ACCN
Kentucky	Arkansas	1.368	-12.605	17.789	69.2%	10/12	18:30	SECN
Tulsa	Navy	-3.390	-3.890	1.802	52.3%	10/12	18:30	ESPNU
Notre Dame	USC	18.230	7.946	15.100	66.3%	10/12	18:30	NBC
LSU	Florida	26.326	16.839	14.857	66.1%	10/12	19:00	ESPN
Oregon State	Utah	-4.571	16.009	-17.841	69.2%	10/12	19:00	P12N
Boise State	Hawaii	13.398	10.823	5.539	56.3%	10/12	21:15	ESPN2
San Diego State	Wyoming	5.129	5.807	1.360	51.9%	10/12	21:30	CBSSN
Arizona	Washington	7.864	9.248	1.696	52.2%	10/12	22:00	FS1

Early Slate (11:00 am to 11:30 am)

A quality over quantity early slate.

Oklahoma at Texas (11:00 am, FOX)

This is routinely a fun and enlightening game, but often a blowout. That said it’s been a barn burner of comebacks year after year and I expect fireworks again this season.

Memphis at Temple (11:00 am, ESPN2)

Temple’s taken a step back after beating Maryland but they’re still a solid test for this Memphis team on the road. This will be a defensive test and it’s the perfect pairing with what should be a points Red River Shootout (I know it’s not called that anymore).

Midday Slate (1:00 pm to 3:00 pm)

The afternoon slate looks fun, and also Bama is playing (I kid, I kid).

Alabama at Texas A&M (2:30 pm, CBS)

I know, I know, SEC bias but A&M has been solid against really good competition. They’re going to slow the game down and be closer than expected well into the third quarter before Alabama pulls away. A&M may be the best 6-6 team of all time when it’s all said and it’s going to royally piss people off.

Michigan State at Wisconsin (2:30 pm, Big Ten Network)

You’re going to watch this because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties you need Wisconsin football in your life. You want Wisconsin football in your life. Also, Michigan State could score 0 and Jonathan Taylor is going to rush for 4,000 yards and not win a Heisman.

Washington State at Arizona State (2:30 pm, Pac-12 Network)

This is not #Pac12AfterDark but it is a tale of two philosophies and should be an interesting contrast that will be enjoyable for neither side.

Cincinnati at Houston (2:30 pm, ESPN2)

Cincinnati looks to avoid the letdown after beating UCF against a Houston team that looked so, so, so much better against North Texas than anyone expected. My system has this as just under a 17-point game but I think this game is so much more interesting than a three score contest. Make it your third game but keep an eye on it for a fun finish.

Evening Slate (5:00 pm to 7:00 pm)

Florida at LSU (7:00 pm, ESPN)

The evening headliner sees Florida come off a huge road win over Auburn last weekend. LSU is coming off a slow start against Utah State and cannot afford that kind of a start against Florida in Death Valley. If nothing else, we get to watch an exciting matchup of the LSU offense against the Florida defense.

Penn State at Iowa (6:30 pm, ABC)

Iowa laid an egg against Michigan and scored 3 points. The defense is legit, the offense is inconsistent, and Penn State is a team most have been sleeping on. It should be a great atmosphere in Kinnick, but I think ultimately Penn State has an offense where Michigan does not.

USC at Notre Dame (6:30 pm, NBC)

Notre Dame is better, USC is better than expected, it’s a rivalry game and you should keep an eye on it.

Nebraska at Minnesota (6:30 pm, FS1)

It’s time to talk to your kids about Rowing the Boat and an undefeated Minnesota. Nebraska and Scott Frost could use a signature win this season and beating undefeated Minnesota is their last chance to pick up one of those marquee wins on the road. For Minnesota they just need to keep the status quo, be good enough on defense to allow the offense to pull away. Nebraska has been a disappointment to some preseason expectations but there were always going to be growing pains for Frost.

North Texas at Southern Miss (6:00 pm, Facebook)

This is a big contest in the Conference USA West and that doesn’t really mean a lot to most fans but this one should be fun pointsy and an option for a computer screen with a handful of bigger games on the TV.

Late Night Slate (9:15 pm to 10:00 pm)

Watch these games they should be fun.

Hawaii at Boise State (9:15 pm, ESPN2)

This should be a shootout. Hawaii is going to make big mistakes and have big successes. Boise State is going to play their game but will need to be more efficient than they’ve been so far in 2019. Will steady or explosive win? That is the challenge at all levels of sport.

Wyoming at San Diego State (9:30 pm, CBSSN)

A pretty great Mountain West game. SDSU has found it hard to score points this season, while Wyoming has been hit this year and took a pretty big step back on defense.

Washington at Arizona (10:00 pm, FS1)

Khalil Tate is playing, Arizona is better than expected, and Washington has yet to find any semblance of consistency. All the makings of a surprisingly #Pac12AfterDark affair.

Good week ahead here, a good start if a little bit shallow, leads us into a solid to good afternoon, a wonderful evening slate, and a relatively excellent late-night slate to bring us home with some points.