College Football Picks for Week 6

Look at these records! Everyone is a college football expert.

Season records: Koster 29-19; Giuffra 26-22; Phillips 26-22; McKeone 27-21

Iowa (+5) at Michigan

McKeone: I'm not nearly as suspicious of this line as my colleague Kyle. Michigan has not looked good against non-Rutgers opponets, while Iowa certainly has. The Big House won't be rocking after this. Iowa 30, Michigan 20

Koster: I've been looking at this line trying to figure out where the fishy smell of a seaport loading dock is originating. The Wolverines were ruined by Wisconsin, a burly Big Ten West foe. A 52-0 win over Rutgers doesn't erase that. Nate Stanley is a first-round talent for the Hawkeyes, who aren't easily blown out. It just doesn't make sense. Five points for a team that has looked better in all phases than the opponent. Too good to be true. Michigan 27, Iowa 17

Giuffra: Don't overthink it. Vegas gets things wrong occasionally. PS: The last two times these teams have faced off, Iowa won., though they were at Iowa and came in 2013 and 2016. Iowa 20, Michigan 17

Phillips: Michigan is likely the "better" team, but Iowa has been playing well and the Wolverines are 1-3-0 against the spread this year. I'm taking Iowa in a nail-biter. Iowa 21, Michigan 20

Auburn (-2.5) at Florida

McKeone: My boy Bo Nix has done nothing but prove me right this year. He keeps it going this week to establish Auburn as one of the teams to beat in the country with a tough road win. Auburn 38, Florida 27

Koster: Auburn has shown up in the big moment this year. Going into the Swamp will be a tall Trask, but a ground-and-pound attack will take the home crowd out of it a bit. The Tigers are either high on the hog or sleeping out in the guest house while the divorce goes through and it changes on a yearly basis. This season feels like a good one on The Plains. Auburn 31, Florida 23

Giuffra: Florida has yet to face a tough opponent this year, unless you count Miami and Kentucky among the elite of college football. Auburn is battle-tested. I hate picking against a home underdog, but I'll stick with what I've seen. Auburn 28, Florida 24

Phillips: The legend of Bo Nix continues to grow. Auburn is 5-0-0 ATS. That trend continues in Gainesville. Auburn 34, Florida 28

Pittsburgh (+6) at Duke

McKeone: As I bask in the glory of being the only person to pick Duke last week, I double down, especially if Nick Patti has to start again. Duke 40, Pitt 28

Koster: The Panthers defy all explanation. One week they're taking Penn State to the brink on the road. Then they're knocking off UCF. Then comes almost blowing a home game against Delaware. Way too wild to trust. Give me a David Cutcliffe gameplan and friendly confines. Duke 41, Pitt 20

Giuffra: Pitt looked good in its one road game this year against Penn State. It also demolished Duke at home last year. Teams change, players change, tradition remains. Pitt > Duke at football. Pitt 27, Duke 25

Phillips: Not sure how this game made it onto the docket but sure, let's pick it. Duke has been surprising all season, and is averaging 33.5 points per game, meanwhile Pittsburgh is running an offense disturbingly similar to the one my middle school team ran back in 1994. I'm taking Duke after they boat-raced Virginia Tech in Blacksburg over the weekend. Duke 42, Pitt 20

UCF (-5) at Cincinnati

McKeone: UCF knows the quest for a national title ended with the heart-breaking loss to Pitt, and it'll be hard to muster the same kind of energy they've held for the last two years. Cinci uses home-field advantage to their... advantage. Cincinnati 28, UCF 27

Koster: The Bearcats took down Marshall by 38 points on the road. The Knights destroyed UConn by 35. One of these was far more impressive. With the national title out of the picture, we're backing on the self-appointed champions to struggle a bit. UCF 25, Cincinnati 21

Giuffra: It'll be interesting to see how interested UCF remains without a perfect season to keep intact. It looked okay a week after losing to Pitt, but that was against UConn. The Bearcats already played Ohio State, so UCF isn't scaring anyone here. Still, I like their high-scoring ways. UCF 42, Cincinnati 35

Phillips: UCF bounced back nicely from its shocking loss to Pitt by hammering UConn. This will be a big tougher, going up against a solid Bearcats team in Cincy. Sorry, I'm still riding with the Knights, who can score points as well as anyone in the nation. UCF 45, Cincinnati 31

Michigan State (+20) at Ohio State

McKeone: Ohio State remains a woodchipper that no defense has survived an encounter with, but the Spartan defense is good enough for MSU to cover the spread, even if they won't steal one against these Buckeyes at home. Ohio State 38, Michigan State 25

Koster: In 2015, the Spartans travelled to Columbus and slayed what was possibly Urban Meyer's most talented team with a backup quarterback. To this day, it remains one of the most improbable outcomes in the sport's recent history. Nothing that happens Saturday can ever take that from me. Ohio State 34, Michigan State 10

Giuffra: Michigan State scored 40 against Indiana last week. It gave up 31. At home. On the road against a team that's actually good on offense, how much are they going to give up? PS: OSU beat MSU by 20 last year, so this line seems spot on. Still. Ohio State 44, Michigan State 20

Phillips: Ohio State is playing as well as anyone in the country right now, and Michigan State just went down to the wire with Indiana. You can see where I'm going with this. The Buckeyes will roll. Ohio State 49, Michigan State 21

California (+18) at Oregon

McKeone: 18 seems like an awfully high spread for an Oregon offense that hasn't looked quite like the world-destroying unit we thought they could be before the year. Oregon 24, California 13

Koster: Everyone is off the Golden Bears train after stumbling to Arizona State. But this is a side that plays great defense and limits possession. With that in mind, it won't be easy for the Ducks. Oregon 28, California 14

Giuffra: Cal losing last week was so predictable I actually predicted it. Cal losing at Oregon is equally predictable as its lost the last two to the Ducks by 18 and 21 respectively. The home game was a 21-point win. History has a way of repeating itself, doesn't it. Oregon 34, California 14

Phillips: Cal has an insanely weak offense, but that defense is still really good. This will be far closer than that spread. Oregon 31, Cal 24

Oklahoma State (-8.5) at Texas Tech

McKeone: This will be another barn-burner, but despite Tech's bold defense-optional strategy, they'll steal a win at home. Texas Tech 49, Oklahoma State 42

Koster: Chuba Hubbard is the truth. The Cowboys running back has 938 rushing yards this year and is a ton of fun to watch. The Red Raiders' complete lack of interest on defense will once against prove problematic. Oklahoma State 50, Texas Tech 35

Giuffra: Hate picking against a home dog, as I've said, but Texas Tech has not impressed me this year, while Oklahoma State did in a narrow loss at Texas. Plus, Texas Tech embarrassed OSU at home last year, so I think there's some payback in store. Oklahoma State 38, Texas Tech 27

Phillips: Texas Tech has been terrible this season, and Oklahoma State is 5-0-0 against the spread. This could get ugly early thanks to Chuba Hubbard and that Cowboys offense. Oklahoma State 42, Texas Tech 31

Texas (-11.5) at West Virginia

McKeone: The week off will prove to be a boon for Texas. WVU's defense is good, but not good enough to cover. Texas 34, West Virginia 20

Koster: The Longhorns has a bye week to prepare for the trip out East and have superior talent. But the Mountaineers are holding opponents to 25 points/game this year, a Herculean feat in the Big 12. Closer than the experts think. Texas 40, West Virginia 37

Giuffra: The best thing Texas has done this year is keep things close against LSU. With a showdown against Oklahoma looming next week, Texas takes things easy this week. They get a W, but not a blowout. Texas 33, West Virginia 27

Phillips: Texas had a week off before this matchup and that'll help. The Longhorns haven't been super impressive this season, so I'm not loving a big spread on the road. They'll win but not by that number. Texas 35, West Virginia 31

Air Force (-2) at Navy

McKeone: Air Force has some impressive notches on their win belt, while Navy does not. Plus, airplanes can go where boats don't. Air Force 17, Navy 6

Koster: It's always a Spider-Man pointing at himself meme when two service academies play each other. The Falcons took it to Colorado and hung around with Boise and won't back down. Air Force 24, Navy 20

Giuffra: Air Force has won three-of-four in this series, including one at Navy. Not easy winning on the road in these rivalries, but the Falcons already beat Colorado on the road this year, so I'm convinced. Air Force 30, Navy 21

Phillips: My grandfather was a Naval Academy graduate, so he'd be extremely disappointed with this pick. Air Force 27, Navy 24

Georgia (-26) at Tennessee

Koster: No reason to be mean. Plenty of reason to be realistic. Georgia 51, Tennessee 10

McKeone: Yeah, I can't throw the Volunteers a bone here. Georgia 49, Tennessee 20

Giuffra: Georgia is superior in every facet of the game. Even if it does take it easy, its backups can outscore the Vols. Georgia 45, Tennessee 14

Phillips: Is it weird that my initial reaction was "that spread is a lot closer than I would make it." Give me a big Bulldogs win. Georgia 49, Tennessee 21