AP college football picks: Alabama has a tough follow-up; Baylor braces for … – The Advocate
No. 3 Alabama has to deal with a tough turnaround while No. 4 Baylor — finally — faces a major test.
It’s not quite a showdown Saturday or separation weekend in college football, but at this point the stakes are permanently high.
The Crimson Tide goes to No. 20 Mississippi State on Saturday to play Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs after grabbing control of the SEC West with a victory against LSU and a loss by Mississippi last week.
No time to enjoy the accomplishment. Alabama needed to get refocused immediately.
“So far, so good,” Nick Saban said Wednesday about his team’s preparation.
The Tide (8-1) also seems to be in control of its playoff hopes now, coming in second in the committee’s rankings Tuesday night.
Baylor (8-0), which sits at six in the playoff rankings, hopes to make its move this month. All the Bears’ toughest opponents are ahead of them, starting with Oklahoma.
The Sooners haven’t provided much resistance to Baylor the last two seasons, losing two games by a combined 63 points. Oklahoma (8-1) is hoping to work its way back into the playoff picture, too.
The picks:
MARQUEE MATCHUPS
No. 3 Alabama (minus 7½) at No. 20 Mississippi State
Tide TB Derrick Henry made a push in the Heisman Trophy race last week; Prescott would vault to near the top of the charts if he can lead an upset … Alabama 28-18.
No. 12 Oklahoma (plus 2½) at No. 4 Baylor
Another QB who could make a late Heisman run? OU’s Baker Mayfield … Baylor 52-35.
No. 25 Memphis (plus 6½) at No. 16 Houston
Cougars can set up a possible winner take the AAC West regular-season finale against Navy; Or Memphis can get back into the division race … Memphis 45-42.
STAYING UNBEATEN
No. 1 Clemson (minus 28) at Syracuse
Orange have lost six straight, putting coach Scott Shafer on the hot seat … Clemson 45-14.
No. 2 Ohio State (minus 15½) at Illinois
Buckeyes get QB J.T. Barrett back after one-week suspension … Ohio State 31-17.
No. 5 Oklahoma State (minus 14) at Iowa State
Last time Cowboys went to Ames in November with national championship hopes was 2011. Didn’t go well for Oklahoma State … Oklahoma State 31-24.
Minnesota (plus 12½) at No. 8 Iowa
Floyd of Rosedale, the greatest of all trophy game trophies, is on the line … Iowa 31-17.
PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
Wake Forest (plus 27) at No. 6 Notre Dame
#GoACC … Notre Dame 45-14.
Oregon (plus 10) at No. 7 Stanford
Teams have split last six games … Stanford 41-28.
No. 10 Utah (minus 6) at Arizona
Wildcats need a win here or in rivalry game against Arizona State to get bowl eligible … Utah 28-23.
No. 11 Florida (minus 8) at South Carolina
Gamecocks defense, second-to-last in the SEC in yards per play (6.0), should be a welcome sight to Gators offense … Florida 30-17.
Kansas (plus 45½) at No. 13 TCU
Jayhawks are last in Big 12 in yards per play (4.54) and yards per play against (7.30). Not great … TCU 55-14.
Maryland (plus 15) at No. 14 Michigan State
Spartans can still work their way back into playoff race after last week’s Nebraska loss … Michigan State 35-17.
CONFERENCE CALLS
Arkansas (plus 8) at No. 9 LSU
Razorbacks QB Brandon Allen leads the SEC in passer rating (164.67) … LSU 34-24.
No. 15 Michigan (minus 13½) at Indiana
Hoosiers have gone from 4-0 to scrambling to get bowl eligible after five straight losses … Michigan 28-20.
Miami (plus 13) at No. 17 North Carolina
Tar Heels have become the most overlooked good team in the country … North Carolina 38-21.
Washington State (plus 10) at No. 18 UCLA
Hard to get past what Kyle Whittingham has done at Utah, but if the Cougars can win a couple more games how about Mike Leach for Pac-12 coach of the year? … UCLA 37-31.
North Carolina State (plus 10) at No. 19 Florida State
Seminoles are accustomed to playing for high stakes in November. How do they respond when not? … Florida State 28-20.
No. 21 Temple (minus 3) at South Florida
Owls can clinch American’s East division … South Florida 20-17.
SMU (plus 21½) at No. 22 Navy
Midshipmen are in position to make the playoff selection committee work overtime … Navy 38-21.
Purdue (plus 16) at No. 24 Northwestern
Wildcats are the favorite team of Stanford and Iowa … Northwestern 28-14.
TWITTER REQUESTS
Pittsburgh (plus 3½) at Duke
Combined score of last two games between Panthers and Blue Devils: Duke 106, Pittsburgh 106 … Duke 27-24.
Georgia (plus 2) at Auburn
Bulldogs last trip to Auburn was the Prayer at Jordan-Hare game … Auburn 28-24.
Texas (plus 8) at West Virginia
Would be nice for the top of the Big 12 if a team or two in the middle assert itself; Mountaineers are mostly likely … West Virginia 31-24.
Washington (plus 2½) at Arizona State
Couple of four-win teams trying to get bowl eligible … Washington 27-23.
LAST WEEK
20-5 straight; 15-10 vs. spread.
OVERALL
158-51; 103-99-3.
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