Welcome back to the Funvee Tailgate BLOG, The THUNDERBLOG’s Weekly College Football Series. If you noticed the emphasis on BLOG, that is because this season we have the podcast tying in as well! If you haven’t checked out this week’s episode, I’ll include the Soundcloud links below. Here’s the iTunes link to go subscribe. Normally I try to get this up on Fridays but I had some work to catch up on after traveling this week so I’m writing this up while watching College GameDay in Times Square. We should be wrapping up play in time for tomorrow night’s big games. LET’S FIRE IT UP!

Last Week’s Record:

4-7 ATS, 12-14 in 2017. TERRIBLE week for me. Time to turn it around.

Thursday and Friday Action:

#21 South Florida rolled over Temple on Thursday night 43-7 as the Bulls move to 4-0. Matt and I have talked about it on the blog before but South Florida could one of the undefeated teams to keep an eye on. There is always one non-Power 5 team that goes on a run and the Bulls could be that squad. Last night, #23 Utah escaped a tough road game at Arizona 30-24. Arizona is always a tough road test for anyone–doesn’t matter how bad that team looks.

Saturday Slate:

So not the most attractive of schedules: only two matchups of top 25 opponents and a lot of ranked teams on the road. The latter presents one thing that makes college football so much fun to watch: CHAOS. That said: #2 Clemson, #3 Oklahoma, #10 Ohio State, #13 Virginia Tech, #18 Washington State, #19 Louisville, and #25 LSU are all MASSIVE favorites and should win. Let’s take a look at the rest of the slate:

• NC State (+11.5) at #12 Florida State at noon on ABC–Interesting matchup here as the Wolfpack could be upset-hunting today. Statistically, NC State as done very well but we haven’t seen a lot from FSU because of the hurricane. FSU wins but doesn’t cover.
• #1 Alabama (-19) at Vanderbilt at 3:30 on CBS–Bama is going to win but Vandy’s HUGE win over KSU last week makes everyone want to take the points; including me. Jalen Hurts might have a bit of trouble against a GREAT Vandy defense (I never thought I’d type that). Alabama wins but doesn’t cover.
• #5 USC (-17) at Cal at 3:30 on ABC–a show-me game for the Trojans on the road. They’ve been up-and-down throughout the season and have been terrrrrible ATS. USC wins but doesn’t cover.
• #16 TCU (+16) at #6 Oklahoma State at 3:30 on ESPN–the early matchup of ranked opponents this week and it will be a track meet. TCU has been off to a hot start but I’m not buying it. Not one bit: OK State wins and covers.
• Toledo (+13) at #14 Miami at 3:30 on ACCNet–a wonky line here. Miami has only played one game but Toledo can certainly help them get re-acclimated to football. The Rockets are the most penalized team in the FBS. Miami wins and covers.
• #8 Michigan (-10.5) at Purdue at 4:00 on FOX–this game has serious Game of the Week potential. Michigan’s defense has been stellar to start the season but the offense leaves a lot to be desired. Purdue is a tough, tough out at home. Michigan wins but doesn’t cover.
• #17 Mississippi State (+4) at #10 Georgia at 7:00 on ESPN–the over/under for this game is 48 and that seems way too high for these two teams. Miss St is riding a high after taking out LSU and Georgia has been on a run to start the season. Nick Chubb vs. the Miss St defense is what to key in on. Georgia wins and covers.
• #22 San Diego State (-3) at Air Force at 7:00 on CBSSN–The Aztecs have been another team that usually gets to a hot start but they’ve fallen earlier than most (usually it’s been at the hands of South Alabama). Air Force played Michigan very well last week which helped bring the line closer in at home. SDSU wins and covers.
• #4 Penn State (-11) at Iowa at 7:30 on ABC–11 points on the road is a lot. A true road test for the Nittany Lions is exactly what they need. We’ve seen Iowa as the opponent to ruin title hopes over the past couple years. That stadium gets rocking and gets the nerves going. I think McSorley might take a step back tonight but not Saquon. PSU wins and covers.
• #15 Auburn (-17.5) at Missouri at 7:30 on ESPNU–UPSET ALERT!!! Auburn has not impressed me one bit. Missouri isn’t too much to write home about but 17.5 points at home is pretty damn tempting. Missouri wins outright.
• #20 Florida (-2) at Kentucky at 7:30 on SECNet–Kentucky hasn’t beaten Florida in a long time. I like their odds tonight. Kentucky wins outright.
• #7 Washington (-12) at Colorado at 10:00 on FS1–A rematch of the 2016 Pac-12 Championship. Washington is very similar to Michigan except the Huskie offense has been a bit better. A true show-me road test but 12 is a lot to give up. Washington wins but doesn’t cover.
• #24 Oregon (-14.5) at Arizona State at 10:00 on Pac 12 Network–ASU is tricky. They shouldn’t be very good but they always play better at home. Oregon wins but doesn’t cover.

0 and 3 Lehigh looks to finally win their first tilt of the season as the Mountain Hawks host Penn this afternoon. Last year, Lehigh utilized a solid second half to win big at Franklin Field and I’d expect a similar type of game today. The Mountain Hawks haven’t impressed at all but we’ve seen these types of starts en route to a Patriot League Championship (2010).

COLD HARD LOCKS:

Check out the podcast around the 39-minute mark for the Cold Hard Locks. Matt and I only compete on a few picks so check out which ones on the pod. We’ll be down at the Eagles game tomorrow so be sure to follow along on our social media accounts!

(cover photo via)