MC&J: Ohio State returns to the field in college football’s Week 9 slate

Last week ATS: 4-10 (3-5 National, 1-5 B1G)

Season ATS: 81-71 (31-31 National, 50-40 B1G)

Last week was one of our worst weeks of the season.

Indiana looked like a shell of what they have been the last couple years in the rock fight against Michigan, Alabama could never pull away from Texas A&M, Houston let their cover against Utah slip with just a couple minutes left, and there were a few other missteps.

After stomaching a losing week, now I’m even hungrier to pick some more winners. With Ohio State back in action and the schedule heating up, now is the perfect time to get back on the winning track as we are about to enter the final full month of the college football season.

National Games

No. 17 Florida v. No. 3 Georgia (-11.5) – 3:30 p.m. ET – ABC

The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party goes indoors! Since there are stadium renovations going on in Jacksonville, this year Atlanta will host the annual contest between the Bulldogs and Gators.

Georgia has dominated the series of late, winning eight of the last nine meetings with Florida. Maybe smart money should be on the Gators to score 20 points, since they have scored that exact amount in each of the last four editions of the rivalry.

The Bulldogs are likely going to come out angry in this one, since they have had a couple weeks to stew over their shocking loss to Auburn. What was surprising about the setback against the Tigers was how poor Georgia was against the run, giving up nearly 200 yards on the ground.

Florida is coming off a 27-24 win against Texas, snapping a two-game losing streak. There are still questions on who will start at quarterback, as Aaron Philo is dealing with an injury, which could lead to Tramell Jones Jr. starting for a second straight game.

I think it doesn’t matter who starts, as the Bulldogs win by at least two touchdowns.

Georgia 37, Florida 21

No. 6 Utah (-6.5) v. Cincinnati – 3:45 p.m. ET – ESPN

Cincinnati not only is coming off an upset of Texas Tech last week, the Bearcats get to stay at home to take on another undefeated team. The rushing attack was what allowed Cincinnati to win last week, rolling up 255 yards on the ground against the Red Raiders.

Finding similar success running the football will be tough this week against a stout Utah defense.

The Utes needed two touchdowns to complete a fourth quarter comeback late last Saturday against Houston. The win allowed Utah to stay perfect on the season and headed towards a spot in the College Football Playoff. Along with the trip to Cincinnati, the Utes also have a showdown with BYU looming next week, so it will be interesting to see where their heads are at.

Even with having to hit the road for this game, Utah is a better team. Cincinnati may make things tough for the Utes for a while, but I just think the Utes are too tough on both sides of the football. Utah wins this one by at least 10 points.

Utah 30, Cincinnati 17

No. 1 Miami (FL) (-14.5) v. North Carolina – 7:30 p.m. ET – ABC

There’s always a danger in laying this many points on a ranked team hitting the road to take on an unranked team under the lights. Unfortunately for North Carolina I think there is a big enough gap between the teams to justify the Hurricanes being favored by just a little more than two touchdowns.

Maybe I should just stop picking Miami games. After thinking the Hurricanes would cover against Florida State, last week I thought Pitt could score enough to stay within shouting distance. Now Mario Cristobal’s team heads to Chapel Hill before taking on Notre Dame in South Bend next week.

The Tar Heels may be 4-3 on the season but their offense doesn’t inspire much confidence. The only two times North Carolina has scored at least 30 points this season came against East Tennessee State and last week in a 31-30 overtime loss to Syracuse.

I just don’t think Bill Belichick’s team has enough firepower to keep up with Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney

Miami (FL) 41, North Carolina 21

B1G Games

No. 25 Wisconsin v. Iowa (-3.5) – 12:00 p.m. ET – FOX

A week after Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt slogged through a 13-6 overtime game between Indiana and Michigan, this week they might have a similar scoreline in Iowa City.

Neither Hank Brown or Jeremy Hecklinski played well in the loss at Minnesota last week, combining to throw three interceptions, while the Iowa running game only churned out 90 yards.

Had it not been for a loss to UCLA two weeks ago, Wisconsin would be in an even better spot for the College Football Playoff. If the Badgers can win against the Hawkeyes on Saturday, we could be looking at the very real possibility the Badgers make the CFP since their remaining schedule is pretty soft.

Winning at Kinnick Stadium is never easy for visitors. I think Wisconsin’s defense is good enough to be able to be the second Big Ten team to win in Iowa City this year. The offense for the Badgers still needs work but it doesn’t have to perfect against the Hawkeyes.

All they need to do is capitalize on any turnovers forced by the defense.

Wisconsin 17, Iowa 13

No. 20 Northwestern v. Oregon (-3.5) – 3:30 p.m. ET – Peacock

Each week it seems like Oregon’s season keeps getting worse. After falling to Illinois last week, the Ducks not only fired their offensive coordinator, head coach Dan Lanning announced quarterback Dante Moore would not play again this season after suffering a concussion against USC.

Backup Dylan Raiola has been ineffective when on the field despite having a number of talent receivers to throw to.

Northwestern is one of the surprises of college football, with their only loss coming at Indiana. Now offensive coordinator Chip Kelly gets to return to where he used to coach, bringing in an entertaining offense with Aidan Chiles at quarterback. Running back Caleb Komolafe is coming off a 150-yard performance in the 42-14 win over Rutgers.

Autzen may be a tough place to play but it’s not as daunting when the Ducks aren’t at full strength. At this point it almost feels like Oregon is ready for the season to be over. With games against Ohio State, Michigan, and Washington still ahead of them, the Ducks might be lucky to finish the season at 6-6.

Northwestern 27, Oregon 20

No. 2 Ohio State (-6.5) v. USC – 7:30 p.m. ET – NBC

It is still unknown who will start at quarterback for Ohio State on Saturday night but at least both Luke Fahey and Tavien St. Clair have had two weeks to prepare for the trip to Los Angeles.

The backups don’t need to be Julian Sayin, they just need to play clean football and not put Ohio State in danger. It also helps when whoever is starting has Jeremiah Smith to throw to.

USC just hasn’t clicked with Lincoln Riley as their head coach, and many are expecting the two to separate after this season. The Trojans are coming off a loss 24-7 loss in Madison to Wisconsin last week. The defeat was a microcosm of Riley’s time in Los Angeles, as USC didn’t show anywhere close to as much toughness as their opponent.

Another issue with USC is a lot of their skill position players aside from quarterback Jayden Maiava are underclassmen. Even those skill position players are talented, their lack of experience could lead to them getting rattled by Matt Patricia’s defensive schemes rather easily.

I’m not saying Ohio State is going to do what they did to Wisconsin in the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game in Cardale Jones’ first start, but I don’t think the Buckeyes are in for a particular tough game. USC is a solid team but they are fragile, which is something you can’t be against an Ohio State team that can break your spirit.

The Buckeyes take care of business on Halloween.

Ohio State 31, USC 17

Rapid Fire Picks

National

No. 22 Arizona v. No. 13 Texas Tech (-3.5) – 12:00 p.m. ET – ESPN

Arizona 31, Texas Tech 24

No. 19 SMU (-9.5) v. Syracuse – 12:00 p.m. ET – ESPN2

SMU 35, Syracuse 28

Auburn v. No. 12 Ole Miss (-13.5) – 12:45 p.m. ET – SEC Network

Ole Miss 38, Auburn 31

Arizona State v. No. 8 BYU (-16.5) – 3:30 p.m. ET – FOX

BYU 33, Arizona State 23

Virginia v. No. 14 Wake Forest (-12.5) – 3:45 p.m. ET – ESPN2

Wake Forest 34, Virginia 27

B1G

Illinois (-2.5) v. Maryland – 12:00 p.m. ET – FS1

Illinois 28, Maryland 17

Michigan (-14.5) v. Rutgers – 12:30 p.m. ET – BTN

Michigan 30, Rutgers 13

Minnesota v. No. 4 Indiana (-20.5) – 3:30 p.m. ET – CBS

Indiana 34, Minnesota 10

Nevada v. No. 7 UCLA (-22.5) – 4:15 p.m. ET – BTN

UCLA 38, Nevada 14

Purdue v. Penn State (-7.5) – 4:15 p.m. ET – BTN

Penn State 24, Purdue 21

Washington v. Nebraska (-7.5) – 8:00 p.m. ET – BTN

Nebraska 31, Washington 27