Welcome back to the Funvee Tailgate BLOG, The THUNDERBLOG’s Weekly College Football Series. If you noticed the emphasis on “BLOG,” that is because we also have the Funvee Tailgate Podcast that ties into the blog series. Here’s the iTunes link to go subscribe. For those newer readers, the blog version of the Funvee Tailgate looks at the full slate of Top 25 FBS teams along with a few other selections. After a couple weeks off, the Blog portion of the Funvee is here. Thanks to everyone for patiently waiting it out (if you noticed) and supporting the podcast. Week 9 is the final weekend before the CFP rankings are released and this weekend should continue to shake things up. LET’S FIIIIRRRREEEE IT UP!

Big Games This Week:

Weeknight Madness:

#13 West Virginia smashed through Baylor on Thursday 58-14. WVU sits in the third seat in the Big XII but still has both Texas and Oklahoma on their schedule for November. To think they’re completely dead and gone from the CFP is a bit of a stretch. #25 App State will make their first entry into the Top 25 a quick one as they fell to Georgia State 34-14 on Thursday. Finally, #23 Utah took care of UCLA Friday night 41-10.

Saturday Slate:

A Saturday full of intriguing matchups. Some “elimination” games, some “show me” games, and some traps are spread across the beautiful landscape of Week 9. #3 Notre Dame and #8 Oklahoma are all MASSIVE favorites and should win. Let’s take a look at the rest of the slate:

• #2 Clemson (-17.5) at Flordia State at noon on ABC–Clemson heads to a disappointing FSU squad as the Tigers look to continue to carry the ACC in the CFP rankings. This one has trap game all over it as Clemson should be able to walk through the rest of their schedule to the ACC Championship but has shown cracks. Clemson wins but doesn’t cover.
• #20 Wisconsin (-3.5) at Northwestern at noon on FOX–the de facto Big Ten West championship game. Wisconsin will be without QB Alex Hornibrook but that shouldn’t slow down the Badgers. Northwestern has been too inconsistent to be a true threat. Wisconsin wins and covers.
• #18 Iowa (+5.5) at #17 Penn State at 3:30 on ESPN–Both of these squads have fallen out of the spotlight but could, with some help, make noise in the Big Ten. Both team’s offenses have been solid but Iowa’s defense has shown a bit more than Penn State’s. Iowa wins outright.
• #21 South Florida (+9) at Houston at 3:30 on ESPN2–One of the last unbeatens in the nation, USF has been anything but consistent. If their offense comes in buzzing, we’ll have a shootout on our hands. Nine points is a lot to lay if you’re the Cougars. Houston wins but doesn’t cover.
• #9 Flordia (+7) vs. #7 Georgia at 3:30 on CBS from Jacksonville–One of the best rivalry games in October, this game will be a defensive struggle. Florida showed up against LSU a few weeks back and Georgia is looking to charge ahead and back up the rankings. I like the Bulldog offense to edge the Florida D. Georgia wins and covers.
• #12 Kentucky (+7.5) at Missouri at 4 on SEC Network–Mizzou is a hot pick here and it’s likely because Kentucky struggled at A&M a few weeks ago although Mizzo has been riding by the seat of their pants in their games. I like the Wildcats to prove the doubters wrong. Kentucky wins outright.
• #15 Washington (-12) at Cal at 6:30 on FOX–Washington should win this game pretty easily. The line moved from 10 to 12 throughout the week to get interest in Cal. The Bears will struggle to put up points and will have a hard time stopping a high powered Huskie offense. Washington wins and covers.
• #22 NC State (-2.5) at Syracuse at 7:00 on ESPN2–This game features the best QB matchup that you likely won’t hear about. NCST Ryan Findley and Cuse’s Eric Dungery can huck the pigskin and I’d expect this to be extremely high scoring. Gotta stick with Cuse in the Dome, though. Syracuse wins outright.
• #14 Washington State (+2.5) at #24 Stanford at 7:00 on PAC-12 Network–Stanford has been completely inconsistent throughout their 2018 run while Washington State has been a high powered machine. Watch this line closely towards game time because the pick is easy for me. Cougars win outright.
• #16 Texas A&M (+1.5) at Mississippi State at 7:00 on ESPN–The Aggies show the most potential in a matchup of letdown teams. SEC road games are tough but give me the Aggies. A&M wins outright.
• #6 Texas (-3.5) at Oklahoma State at 8:00 on ABC–A show me shootout game for Texas as OK State has been a high powered machine. We’ll need to see if the Lornhorns can match the output we saw in the Oklahoma game. I’m taking the Cowboys with the points. OK State wins outright.
• #19 Oregon (-9.5) at Arizona at 10:30 on ESPN–Teams struggle when they go down to Arizona and ASU. I like Justin Herbert and the Ducks a lot, but this will be a close game. Oregon wins but doesn’t cover.

My Lehigh Mountain Hawks are still looking for their first Patriot League win as they’ll travel up to Holy Cross. Let’s see if no analysis will put the juju in Lehigh’s favor.

Make sure to check out the podcast for our full in-depth analysis. Let me know what picks you disagree with in the comments.

(cover photo via)