Many of us waiting to see how this Tulane game shakes out.
1* Michigan State +7.5 Michigan State should be playing better than they are. Getting thrashed by Minnesota was embarrassing, and it's probably good that the Spartans are on the road. They can only think about themselves as a team, without the pressure from fans, boosters and family. I also think Maryland may be overdue for one of their "off" games. I'm not as impressed with their loss at Michigan last week. They don't stop the run well, and the Terms offense often can gain yards, no problem, but converting in the red zone(and turnovers) have plagued them n the past. MSU's defense shows up and makes this a tight game that can go either way.
1* Purdue +11 Purdue has injuries, including to their starting QB. But their backup is pretty good as backups go. Minnesota is also a decent team, not a great team, that is going to have some bumps along the way. They played a creampuff schedule until MSU, and I doubt they win consecutive blowouts. Minnesota has an average defense, lost their best WR to injury, and other playmakers to graduation. It's in the 4th, 5th and 6th weeks that undefeated teams start to regress a bit and lose a game or two. Purdue will be competitive as usual.
1* Miss. State -4 It makes sense to take the Aggies, getting 4 with the defense they have. But this line, and some are at 4.5, says that some sharp money think that A&M can be beaten by more than a FG. A&M, even with better teams in the past, have laid a number of eggs in these types of road games. In fact, even in some of their home games (App. State). We need to stop thinking of A&M , and Jimbo, as some type of recruiting juggernaut that gets so many 4 and 5 star HS players, that they are better on the field than they are. It hasn't translated to more wins on the field, unlike Alabama, Georgia and OSU. The Aggies are down their top WR threat, have semi-duds at QB, and that can mean trouble in Starkville where the fans will be wild for their homeboys to beat the highly acclaimed Aggies. Miss. State defense also is underrated. They will be a factor here.