Inside the Lines: Who to Take and Not Take This Weekend in College and Pro Football Action

Iowa vs. Purdue
Iowa -12
Iowa has burned me once already this year and I usually get a little weary of double digit Big Ten spreads not involving Michigan or Ohio State but I trust this one. Iowa has been incredibly inconsistent this year. When they play like they are capable of they can blowout the lowly opponents but at the same time they only beat Rutgers by 7 and lost to a FCS school. Purdue is arguably the second worst Big Ten school ahead of Rutgers so if they can’t come out with a 12 point win then I lose hope with them going forward.

Illinois vs. Rutgers
Illinois -6
Under 53.5
Rutgers is a disgrace to the Big Ten right now. In their last two Big Ten games they have lost a combined 136-0. Let that sink in. Illinois isn’t good either but at least they have some talented football players on their team that can play at the next level especially in their defensive line. That line may hold Rutgers in the dumpsters again for another week. Expect an ugly low scoring game.

Nebraska vs. Indiana
Nebraska -3
Everyone hopped on the Indiana bandwagon after the Sparty upset but it is looking more and more like that was a byproduct of Michigan State not being as good as we first thought. Nebraska is being taken a little too light for my taste in this one. The team is still undefeated and Tommy Armstrong has done an amazing job this year at QB. His play is why they might be the favorites to win the West and they must beat Indiana to get there.

Southern Mississippi vs. LSU
Southern Mississippi +25
I’m taking a chance with USM to make it a close enough game against that LSU defense. Southern Miss is top 20 in the country in points scored and passing yards. We’ve seen the LSU offense struggle this year too. Against FBS schools, LSU has scored more than 23 points once in four tries. Say they score a couple more TDs than that playing a worse defense but I think USM should be able to score at least two touchdowns of their own to still cover. It’s a pretty big spread for a team that has already fired several coaches.

Missouri vs. Florida
Under 48.5
These are two defensive teams that tend to not score a lot of points and win by barely outscoring their opponent. Florida has held their opponent to 7 points or fewer in four of their five games this season. Missouri on their two road games this year scored a combined 18 points against West Virginia and LSU. Florida isn’t putting up 40 points themselves.

Texas-San Antonio vs. Rice
Texas-San Antonio -3.5
Texas-San Antonio should be favored by more than just 3.5 points for this one. Among their losses were close games to Colorado State and Arizona State, two pretty good opponents for a smaller school. Rice hasn’t been able to stop anybody they’ve played and really haven’t even made their games competitive.

Other Considerations:
Pitt -3.5, Georgia -14, Texas Tech +1, Middle Tennessee -3, Ohio State-Wisconsin Over 44

NFL Lines Week 6

Philadelphia vs. Washington
Washington +2.5
Call me crazy but I like the Redskins to win or at least make it a one or two point game this week. I know the Eagles are in favor with a lot of fans but they did lose to Detroit after a bye while Washington has won three straight. I like the momentum and Washington is a pass first team just like Detroit. This is going to be a close one but I’ll take Washington.

Los Angeles vs. Detroit
Detroit -3
We’ve got a similar situation here in this game too. We have a team that lost their last one after winning three straight and now has to travel across the country to play a team that won their last one. If Todd Gurley is going to start doing something this is the game to do it against the Lions run defense. If he can’t get going there is no way Los Angeles will win because Matt Stafford will find a way to will that pass offense to victory with their injuries at RB.

Pittsburgh vs. Miami
Pittsburgh -7.5
Throw out the one game against Philadelphia and you can argue the Steelers look like the best team in football right now. Their closest win was by 8 points against Cincinnati, a much better team than Miami. Tannehill looks lost on offense and has more interceptions than touchdowns this year. Miami’s weakness on defense is the secondary and you best believe Big Ben will pick them apart in a route.

Indianapolis vs. Houston
Houston -3
Houston spent on a lot of money this offseason to fix their offense. So far it hasn’t worked but the Colts are about as easy of a team as possible to get it going. They have allowed at least 22 points in every game this year and three games with 30 or more. You have to like the Texans at home for this game.

Cincinnati vs. New England
Over 47
You think four weeks away from football was going to stop Tom Brady from being himself when he came back? I sure didn’t. The offense could have put up a lot more than 33 points if it wasn’t such a blowout. While the Bengals have a better defense, stopping Tom Brady will be a problem still. If he gets close to repeating last week the Bengals just need 14 points or so to hit the over.

Overall NCAAF: 56-43
Overall NFL: 57-46