Virginia (+4) vs. Illinois — 2 units
This is a serious quarterback mismatch. Virginia returns gunslinger Brennan Armstrong to an offense that averaged a staggering 393 yards passing per game. Illinois imports former Syracuse Orangeman Tommy Devito who was his same erratic self in the Illini loss to Indiana last week. If the Virginia offensive line can hold up against a solid Illinois defensive line, they should throw the ball all over the yard. Getting 4 looks like a good deal in a game that should be lined a pick’em.
Alabama (-20) vs. Texas — 2 units
We can’t remember a time when the top few teams in the FBS were so far ahead of the rest of the pack. We learned this the hard way last week as we expected the Ducks to offer SOME resistance to the Georgia Bulldogs. Certainly, Texas offers more of a challenge to the Tide than Utah State did, but Alabama could have scored 80 if they wanted to last week. Texas won’t get shut out in this one, but this is a wicked Alabama defense. Moving the ball won’t be easy and Alabama will force multiple turnovers. We’ll go with the public on this one and lay the wood with Nick Saban and the Tide.
Notre Dame team total under 35.5 — 2 units
Notre Dame sports an elite defense, and Marshall will find it hard to move the ball in this one. But Marshall also brings in a sneaky good D, and we should expect the Irish to have a bit of a hangover after a good showing against Ohio State. In that game though, the Irish offense only moved the chains 12 times. They’ll find more success here, but at 35.5 they’ll need to score at least 6 times. We don’t see it. Make sure to get the hook and play the ND team total under 35.5
