Take the Money and Run | Week 6

After a slow start in Week 3 and an off week in Week 4, I came back strong in Week 5 with a 2-1-1 record against the spread, and my upset pick of Washington (+7) against Stanford was an outright winner. Clemson covered (Wut?), South Carolina pushed, but if you waited until game day to place that bet some shops had that line as low as 19.5, which I actually took quickly, but since I listed it on here at -21, we'll call it a push. Louisville failed to cover, which was the only loss of the week. Lets hope we can continue the hot betting this week and keep the money train rolling.

Upset Special

Utah State at BYU (+7)

We Auburn fans are quite aware of what Utah State is capable of doing, although, the Aggies are snake bitten at times. BYU has one of the better defenses in college football, but its offense is equally as bad. Quarterback Riley Nelson has been benched in favor of Taysom Hill, who did more damage with his legs against Hawaii than he did with his arm. BYU did score 47 points against Hawaii, but Warriors' defense is probably the worst in college football. On the flip side, Utah State's offense is very potent, led by sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton, who was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week after his performance against UNLV -- he threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns. The Aggie defense has been acceptable all year and should be able to slow down the BYU offense, which is very one dimensional. I'm not quite confident to pick Utah State as an outright winner, because they are so snake bitten, but I do like them getting the seven points. BYU 21 Utah State 20.

Thanks for the Free Money, Vegas

I haven't done any totals in the first two weeks of Take the Money and Run, but I do like a total this week. I'm not "officially" picking Clemson this week. Even though the Tigers did cover last week, betting on Clemson is like playing with matches near an open flame ... and your money is soaked in gasoline. I do like Clemson to cover the 10 points against Georgia Tech, but it's still Clemson.

West Virginia at Texas (o/u 74)

This total opened up at 75 and has been bet down by the public, which is exactly why I'm taking the over. Well, that and the fact that both these defenses have struggled at times, and the offenses have pretty much done what they've wanted. Both teams have scored over 65 points this year, and Geno Smith is putting up numbers you couldn't even dream of putting up in NCAA '13. These defenses have no shot at stopping the opposition, and I expect these offenses to score almost at will. Texas has some talent on defense and could provide some resistance, but I just don't see Geno Smith and Dana Holgorsen being slowed down enough to stay under this total. Texas 49 West Virginia 45.

Michigan at Purdue (+3)

The Wolverines travel to Purdue this weekend as three-point favorites, and they have been very underwhelming this year. Meanwhile, Purdue has been pretty solid all year and could very well end up winning the Big Ten. Denard Robinson has struggled all year with the turnovers, and he's making a road start this week against a decent Boilermaker defense. I could see Purdue winning this game straight up and Michigan continuing its downward spiral. A couple Denard Robinson turnovers will doom the Wolverines once again. Purdue 27 Michigan 21.

Texas A&M (-12) at Ole Miss

Texas A&M is coming off a complete shellacking of Arkansas, and even though Ole Miss lost by 19 points to Alabama, the Rebels were much more competitive than most people expected. But Ole Miss still struggles mightily on defense, and Texas A&M, led by Johnny Manziel, has been potent all year. Ole Miss will score some points, but just like when the Rebels played Texas, the defense will eventually wear down, and Texas A&M will pull away late. Look for the first half to be competitive, but Manziel and A&M will open it up down the stretch. Hugh Freeze has Ole Miss playing better than most thought possible, but the Rebels just aren't quite there yet -- at least not there enough to stay competitive throughout the whole game against top competition. Texas A&M 49 Ole Miss 28