College Football Picks Week 10: Predictions and Odds for Top 25 Schedule
Week 10 has the potential to be one of the most important weeks of the college football season.
The No. 1 Clemson Tigers and No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish face off with ACC supremacy on the line in the second top-five showdown of the 2020 campaign.
Clemson will be without Trevor Lawrence for its trip to South Bend, Indiana. The early decision made on the potential No. 1 overall NFL draft pick's status may help the Tigers' preparation since they can rally behind D.J. Uiagalelei.
In the SEC, the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs face off against the No. 8 Florida Gators with the SEC East title on the line.
The divisional matchup also has College Football Playoff ramifications, as the loser will drop to two losses and effectively be eliminated from contention. The winner could creep into the top four depending on the Clemson-Notre Dame result and would be in line to challenge the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game.
Saturday marks the first time all five power conferences will be in action. The Pac-12 slate opens with the Arizona State Sun Devils facing the No. 20 USC Trojans, but that clash could take a backseat in the spotlight to the pair of premier showdowns.
Week 10 Schedule and Odds
Friday, November 6
No. 11 Miami (-9.5) at NC State (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
No. 9 BYU (-2.5) at No. 21 Boise State (9:45 p.m., FS1)
Saturday, November 7
No. 23 Michigan (-3.5) at No. 13 Indiana (Noon, FS1)
No. 18 SMU (-14.5) at Temple (Noon, ESPN+)
Arizona State at No. 20 USC (-10.5) (Noon, Fox)
West Virginia at No. 22 Texas (-7.5) (Noon, ABC)
No. 25 Liberty at Virginia Tech (-15.5) (Noon, ACC Network)
UMass at No. 16 Marshall (-44.5) (2:30 p.m., ESPN+)
No. 8 Florida at No. 5 Georgia (-4.5) (3:30 p.m., CBS)
Houston at No. 6 Cincinnati (-11.5) (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Purdue at No. 10 Wisconsin (-8.5) (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Kansas at No. 19 Oklahoma (-38.5) (3:30 p.m., ESPN2)
No. 14 Oklahoma State (-10.5) at Kansas State (4 p.m., Fox)
No. 7 Texas A&M (-9.5) at South Carolina (7 p.m., ESPN)
Baylor at No. 17 Iowa State (-13.5) (7 p.m., FS1)
No. 1 Clemson (-7.5) at No. 4 Notre Dame (7:30 p.m., NBC)
Rutgers at No. 3 Ohio State (-37.5) (7:30 p.m., BTN)
Stanford at No. 12 Oregon (-11.5) (7:30 p.m., ABC)
South Alabama at No. 15 Coastal Carolina (-16.5) (8 p.m., ESPNU)
All Times ET. Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. Predictions against the spread in bold.
No. 1 Clemson at No. 4 Notre Dame (+7.5)
Depending on which side you prefer in the ACC showdown, you must keep an eye on line movement throughout the week.
Clemson may win a close game by a touchdown, but it would not cover the 7.5-point spread. If the number shifts to seven points or lower, a more convincing argument could be made to take the Tigers on the road. Part of that has to do with Lawrence's absence. Notre Dame's defense could factor into the final margin of victory being seven points or fewer as well.
The Fighting Irish has limited five of its six opponents to 13 points or fewer this term, and they have an average margin of victory of 18.6 in those contests. The only one-score game in that group was a 12-7 win over the Louisville Cardinals.
Ian Book leads an Irish offense that is capable of keeping pace with Uiagalelei and the 5-star players around him in the Clemson offense.
Four Notre Dame players, including Book, have rushed for more than 200 yards, and five different players have caught touchdown passes from the experienced signal-caller. If the Irish develop a balanced offense and Book makes a few key throws, they could be in the contest for four quarters.
Clemson can still win with Uiagalelei at the helm, but it may not be a dominant victory in which it covers the spread.
In Week 9, Clemson's defense struggled to contain Boston College through the air, as the Eagles put up 207 passing yards and 28 first-half points. If Book picks apart some of the weakness shown against former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec, the Irish could go toe-to-toe with the Tigers.
If Uiagalelei feels more comfortable with a week of practice under his belt, he should look sharper from the start and avoid another double-digit halftime deficit.
While Uiagalelei's play will be important, Clemson's difference-maker could be Travis Etienne, who has eight 100-yard rushing games in ACC play since the start of 2019. Etienne ran over the Miami Hurricanes defense for 149 yards and two scores in Clemson's first Top 25 matchup of the season.
Clemson may not be as dominant as it was in that win Oct. 10, but one long run from Etienne could make the difference in a potential one-score game.
No. 8 Florida vs. No. 5 Georgia (-4.5)
Georgia and Florida are still meeting in Jacksonville, Florida, but the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party will have a different type of environment with a limited number of people in the stands.
What will remain the same is Georgia's dominance of the rivalry. It enters Saturday with a three-game winning streak over its biggest SEC East competition. During that winning run, Georgia has not allowed Florida to reach the 20-point mark. It's also held three of its five opponents under 20 points in 2020.
The Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers eclipsed that threshold, but one of Tennessee's scores came off an offensive mistake in the first quarter.
A year ago, Georgia stifled Florida's running game by holding the Gators to 21 rushing yards. However, Kyle Trask threw for 257 yards and two scores. The quarterback has thrown at least four touchdowns in each of his four games this year, but that streak could come to an end if Georgia gets pressure on him and takes away tight end Kyle Pitts, especially in red-zone situations.
Three of Trask's four-touchdown performances occurred against unranked teams, and the other was in a shootout with the Texas A&M Aggies. If Georgia contains the quarterback's production and is hard to beat on the ground, it could set up some favorable situations for Stetson Bennett and its offense.
The 1,000-yard passer has four wide receivers with more than 100 receiving yards and is complemented by a running back tandem of Zamir White and Kendall Milton.
If Georgia wears down the Florida front seven with its top two backs and Bennett makes a few important throws, like he did in the first half against the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Bulldogs should leave Jacksonville with a win.
If Kirby Smart's team is victorious, it would be in the SEC East driver's seat with four unranked foes left on the schedule. Although it will not overlook those teams, Georgia can start slowly preparing for its rematch with Alabama if it gets by Florida.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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