The picks are in. HP is now 26-24 on the season and I’m going for my 5th week in a row of going 5-5 (season total 21-22).

HP’s picks:

Clemson (-10.5) vs. Georgia Tech

Northwestern (+2.5) at Penn State

Texas A&M (-13) at Mississippi

Washington (+24) at Oregon

Georgia (+1.5) at South Carolina

West Virginia (+7) at Texas

Iowa State (+7) at TCU

Michigan (-3) at Purdue

Southern Miss (+10) vs. Boise State

Miami (+14) at Notre Dame

Now mine:

Michigan State (-15.5) at Indiana

Boston College (-8) at Army

Northwestern (+2.5) at Penn State

TCU (-7) vs Iowa State

Oklahoma (-4) @ Texas Tech

Florida (+3) vs LSU

Michigan (-3) at Purdue

Georgia (+1.5) at South Carolina

Florida State (-16.5) at NC State

West Virginia (+7) at Texas

Another week, another batch of picks on Heisman Pundit. HP stumbled last week going 3-7 for a season total of 20-20. I went 5-5 for the third week in a row bringing my season total to 16-17. Off we go, quick and dirty.

HP first:

BYU -25 vs. Hawaii

Clemson -7 at BC

UCLA -20 at Colorado

Oregon -31.5 at WSU

Texas -3 at Oklahoma State

West Virginia vs. Baylor (83 OVER)

FSU (-17.5) at USF

Georgia (-14) vs. Tennessee

Michigan State (-3) vs. Ohio State

Miami (-3) vs. NC State

Now mine:

Nevada -11 at Texas State

Clemson -7 at Boston College

Ohio State +3 at Michigan State

Georgia -14 vs. Tennessee

UCLA -20 at Colorado

TCU -17 at SMU

Oregon -31 @ Washington State

Ohio -24 at UMass

SJSU -2.5 at Navy

California +1 vs Arizona State

Through three weeks HP is 17-13 while I’m middling at 11-12. Here are the 10 games that we see as the best plays of the week.

My picks first:

West Virginia -25.5 vs. Maryland — Geno Smith will leave this game with more incompletions than touchdowns but it will be close.

Mountaineers 48, Terrapins 14

Penn State -7 vs. Temple — A must win if Penn State hopes to get even five wins this season.

Nittany Lions 28, Owls 17

LSU -20 at Auburn — Auburn is going to have a tough time scoring against LSU’s defense. Frazier is going to have more than a hail mary in his arsenal against the Bayou Tigers.

LSU Tigers 35, Auburn Tigers 7

Georgia -14 vs. Vanderbilt — The Bulldogs have started games slowly but steamroll in the second half. Expect more of the same.

Bulldogs 41, Commodores 21

Kansas State +14.5 at Oklahoma — It will take a miracle for the Wildcats to win this game but it will only take Collin Klein to keep it close.

Sooners 38, Wildcats 28

Clemson +14.5 at FSU — Call it an upset if you want but I think Clemson wins this game outright and easily.

Tigers 38, Seminoles 28

Clemson at FSU OVER 55 — See above.

Syracuse -1 at Minnesota — Ryan Nassib throws all over the Gophers and finally matches his great numbers with a win over an FBS team.

Orange 31, Gophers 17

Tennessee -33 vs Akron — The Volunteers take out their Gator induced frustration on hapless Akron

Volunteers 53, Zips 17

Arkansas -9 vs Rutgers — The Razorbacks get back on track in Tyler Wilson’s return

Razorbacks 21, Scarlet Knights 10

Now HP’s picks:

Baylor (-8) vs. Louisiana-Monroe — The post-RG3 era continues to go smoothly as Nick Florence has another big game and the Bears keep the upset-minded Redhawks at bay.

Baylor 38, ULM 28

Clemson (+14) at Florida State — The Tigers beat FSU last year with pretty much the same personnel in place. This once comes down to coaching and I give Clemson the edge.

Clemson 22, Florida State 17

West Virginia vs. Maryland (OVER 59 points) — I think both teams should get their fair share of points and beat the total, with Geno Smith having another fine outing for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia 45, Maryland 21

Arizona at Oregon (OVER 79 points) — I’m expecting upwards of 170 total plays in this game. Enough of them will end up in touchdowns for the total to be easily surpassed.

Oregon 56, Arizona 31

LSU (-21) at Auburn — The Bayou Bengals should have no problem pounding Auburn relentlessly on the ground and I expect Kiehl Frazier to be worth at least two or three turnovers.

LSU 42, Auburn 17

Missouri (+10.5) at South Carolina — I think this ends up being an ugly game, but with Mizzou getting its first SEC win in an upset.

Missouri 24, South Carolina 17

Michigan (+6) at Notre Dame — Denard Robinson continues to torment the Irish and leads another late-game comeback and the Wolverines squeak by.

Michigan 31, Notre Dame 27

Syracuse (-1) at Minnesota — I think Ryan Nassib should have a field day while Minnesota will really miss Marqueis Gray.

Syracuse 35, Minnesota 23

Kansas State (+15.5) at Oklahoma — I don’t know if K-State will win, but I think this spread is too large. Collin Klein will find a way to keep it close and maybe pull off the upset.

Oklahoma 31, Kansas State 28

Nevada (-7) at Hawaii — The Warriors are in no position to stop the Pistol’s run game. The Wolfpack score early and often and run away with it.

Nevada 45, Hawaii 27

Last week we had a rough go of it on our picks. HP went 4-6 (for a total of 11-9) while I went 4-5 with the Florida State game being taken off the board (for a total of 6-7). Lets get into this weeks games.

HP is up first:

Northwestern -3.5 vs. Boston College – BC won’t be able to handle the football stylings of Venric Mark and Kain Colter.
NW 27, BC 17

Texas A&M -13 at SMU – Johnny Manziel spurs the Aggies to an easy win.
A&M 42, SMU 21

USC -9 at Stanford – The Trojans finally beat Stanford, huge games for Marqise Lee and  Robert Woods.
USC 45, Stanford 24

Texas -10 at Mississippi – The Longhorns roll over the Rebs with a powerful rushing attack.
Texas 35, Ole Miss 17

BYU -3.5 at Utah – BYU’s tough, physical defense puts the clamps on the Utes.
BYU 24, Utah 12

Minnesota -3 vs. Western Michigan – Marqueis Gray with another big day and the Gophers win easily.
Minnesota 31, WMU 17

Tennessee -3 vs. Florida – Tyler Bray gets the job done and Florida offense plays sloppy.
Tennessee 28, Florida 17

UCLA -17.5 vs. Houston – Brett Hundley and Johnathan Franklin won’t be stopped by the hapless Cougar defense.
UCLA 52, Houston 34

Utah State +14 at Wisconsin – The Badgers are due for a breakout, but it won’t come at the expense of Chuckie.
Wisconsin 27, Utah State 20

TCU -21 at Kansas – Case Pachall has a fine day and the Horned Frogs give Charlie Weis a tight squeeze.
TCU 48, Kansas 20

Now for my picks:

TCU -21 at Kansas — The Horned Frogs wish every conference game could be this easy.
Horned Frogs 36, Jayhawks 14

Boise State -20.5 vs. Miami (OH) — The Bronco’s still have an outside shot at a BCS bowl but to get one they need to demolish everyone from here on out.
Broncos 55, RedHawks 20

LSU -42.5 vs. Idaho — Idaho is no Washington (and we saw what happened to Washington).
Tigers 49, Vandals 0

Northwestern -3.5 at Boston College — This is my third consecutive week taking NW. I’m 1-1 right now, BC  will help me go 2-1.
Wildcats 28, Eagles 21

Michigan State -5.5 vs. Notre Dame — The Spartans are the Big 10′s last hope for a natty bid. This game goes a long way to showing they’re legit.
Spartans 31, Irish 26

UCLA -17 vs. Houston — I’m not sure how good UCLA is but i’m confident I know how bad Houston is.
Bruins 45, Cougars 20

Ohio -6.5 at Marshall — The Bobcats have a real possibility  of going undefeated and Marshall won’t stand in their way.
Bobcats 21, Thundering Herd 10

Virginia Tech -10 at Pittsburgh — This line blows my mind. I would taken the Hokies -21.
Hokies 42, Panthers 10

Kansas State -28 vs. North Texas — Collin Klein for two passing and three rushing touchdowns. He could cover the spread on his own.
Wildcats 59, Mean Green 21

Arizona State +6 at Missouri (Upset Special) — Can the Sun Devils keep the Pac-12 upset train rolling? No, but I didn’t want to go a perfect 10-10 and embarrass HP.
Sun Devils 16, Tigers 7

Normally HP and I would add our picks to the end of our weekend previews, but we want to see how we stack up against each other head to head. We are each going to do our 10 picks but make sure that at least a few are head to head. HP (who is 7-3 after week one) is up first.

Michigan -21 vs. Air Force — The Wolverines bounce back with the return of Fitz Toussaint. Denard Robinson gets back on track and Michigan rolls.
Michigan 42, Air Force 17

Clemson -27.5 vs. Ball State — The Clemson offensive juggernaut won’t be slowed down by BSU. Another big game for Andre Ellington.
Clemson 52, Ball State 20

Georgia -2 at Mizzou — Aaron Murray outduels James Franklin and the young Georgia backfield comes through.
Georgia 27, Missouri 20

Washington +24 at LSU — This seems like too many points for a Washington team that has the weapons to score quick. Kenny Hilliard has another huge game, but this one is closer than expected.
LSU 35, Washington 21

Northwestern +3.5 vs. Vanderbilt — The Commodores experience first hand the playmaking ability of Kain Colter and Venric Mark. They won’t be able to handle it.
Northwestern 24, Vanderbilt 20

Arizona +10.5 vs. Oklahoma State — An offensive showdown, but Wes Lunt struggles down the stretch and Arizona pulls off the upset at the end.
Arizona 42, Oklahoma State 38

UTEP +8.5 at Mississippi — UTEP took Oklahoma to the limit before folding. It will do the same against Ole Miss and might even get the upset.
Ole Miss 20, UTEP 17

Oregon -35 vs. Fresno State — The Ducks unleash another offensive onslaught and this time they get more defensive scores.
Oregon 59, Fresno State 21

Purdue vs. Notre Dame OVER 52 — I think both these teams score at will and that the Irish win solidly.
Notre Dame 41, Purdue 28

Toledo +2.5 at Wyoming — Both these teams acquitted themselves well in week one, but I like Toledo to pull the road upset.
Toledo 31, Wyoming 27

Now for my picks:

Utah -7.5 at Utah State — Utah wins this rivalry game a lot and by big margins. Utah State is better this year but so are the Utes.
Utes 38 Aggies 28

Kansas State -7 vs Miami (FL) — The Colin Klein bandwagon got off to a mediocre start last week but believe me it’s rolling. If BC can torch Miami through the air expect more of the same from Snyder and his boys. Kansas State wins this one going away.
Wildcats 42 Hurricanes 24

UCLA +5.5 vs Nebraska — 1st year college coach Jim Mora could make a lot of friends in Westwood with an upset against a huge national program like Nebraska. Will it happen? Probably not, but only because the Huskers kick a game winning field goal as time expires.
Huskers 24 Bruins 21

Georgia -2 at Missouri — Georgia figures out early that Murray doesn’t have to force throws to his all conference receivers. Missouri hangs around for a half but the final in this game looks closer than it really is.
Bulldogs 35 Tigers 28

Florida State -72 vs Savannah State – Savannah State will be worrying more about player safety than the score in this game. Savannah state showed that they can’t even stop FBS walk-ons so the Seminoles will end up covering this spread using them.
Seminoles 77 Tigers 3

Stanford -15 vs Duke — Stanford’s quarterback Josh Nunes looked less than stellar against a clearly inferior San Jose State last week, but Coach David Shaw will have Nunes, and the rest of the team, ready to perform come Saturday.
Cardinal 36 Blue Devils 14

Oklahoma State -10.5 at Arizona — The Cowboys got an extra week of practice and a scrimmage to prepare for the Wildcats. Not much can be drawn from their 84-0 win last week but it does mean 18 year old freshman quarterback Wes Lunt has one college game under his belt.
Cowboys 44 Wildcats 24

Virginia -10 vs Penn State — This is probably the last week the Nittany Lions get any benefit of the doubt from Vegas. The Cavaliers deliver a tough beatdown.
Cavaliers 35 Nittany Lions 7

Nevada PICK vs South Florida — Nevada has the trump card when it comes to early season match ups, great coaching. The Wolfpack win by a touchdown or more.
Wolfpack 28 Bulls 21

USC -26 at Syracuse — The Trojans will have a game plan in place to slow down Orange quarterback Ryan Nassib. Even if Nassib can stick around for a bit, the Orange can’t match USC’s firepower
Trojans 53 Orange 20

Time for the first round of picks against the spread here at HP. Remember, these are the 10 games I see as the best plays of the week. All lines this week courtesy of Bankrollsports.com. Picks are bolded.

UCLA (-16.5) at Rice — The Jim Mora Jr. Era gets off to a rousing start thanks to an opportunistic defense. Bruins 31, Rice 10.

Washington State at BYU (65 points) — I like for a lot of points to be scored in this one, but for BYU to have too much experience in the end. Take the OVER. BYU 42, WSU 28

San Jose State (+25.5) at Stanford — This has all the makings of a sluggish outing for Stanford and the Spartans are no slouch. Stanford wins, but it’s not easy. Stanford 27, San Jose State 17.

Northwestern (-2) at Syracuse — I like for Kain Colter to have a big game in this one and get Northwestern off to a good start on the season. Northwestern 28, Syracuse 20.

Illinois (-10) vs. Western Michigan — I think Nate Scheelhaase takes well to the new spread offense at Illinois and the Illini slow down Alex Carder just enough to get the cover. Illinois 38, WMU 26.

Clemson (-3.5) at Auburn — Even without Sammy Watkins, Clemson has too much firepower. Auburn is still working out its offense, so I like the ACC Tigers. Clemson 31, Auburn 17.

Michigan (+14) vs. Alabama — I think people are taking Michigan too lightly and overplaying Alabama as an invincible team. Michigan is not chopped liver and will be competitive in this one. Alabama 23, Michigan 20.

Arkansas State at Oregon (69 points) — Oregon alone should produce at least 50 points on this point total. And Arkansas State should be able to score, too, so take the OVER. Bet of the week. Oregon 59, Arkansas State 28.

Georgia Tech (+7.5) at Virginia Tech — It’s just so tough to prepare for the Georgia Tech offense and VTU still has some kinks to work out on its offense, so I see a tight game here. Virginia Tech 20, Georgia Tech 17.

Baylor  vs. SMU (58 points) — This should be another high-scoring affair, so take the OVER on this one, but I like the Bears to come out strong in the post-RG3 era. Baylor 48, SMU 31.