3:30 Kickoff: Auburn at South Carolina, Michigan State at Ohio State
By Ty Duffy
If Stephen Garcia is going to get it going, this is the game. Auburn must load the box. Throwing deep he will face often busted one on one coverage. Perhaps freshman wideout Damiere Byrd can make an impact in his first game?
Michigan State at Ohio State: Both went 11-1 and shared the Big Ten title last year. Neither played each other. This is a battle of empiricism against intuition. Observable evidence suggests Michigan State is a significantly better football team as presently constituted. Virtually no Big Ten fan feels comfortable picking them.
The Buckeyes have a freshman quarterback and little playmaking ability going against a firm MSU defense. The key for Sparty will be not beating themselves. Kirk Cousins killed them against ND with untimely interceptions. Their Special Teams play – blocked punt allowed, missed 23-yard FG, kickoff return TD allowed, flubbed fake FG, two punt return fumbles – has been abysmal.
Picks: Three of my picks going right now. Like Michigan State (+3.5), Baylor (-3.5), Georgia Tech (-10)