College football predictions: JD PicKell gives picks for top Week 7 games

Get ready for more college football predictions for the biggest games of Week 7 of the 2024 season as On3’s JD PicKell gave us the must-watch games.

There are some big headliners but some absurd lines. Still here at On3, no one will shy away from making picks even with lines that might make you look twice.

PicKell broke down the biggest games of the weekend on The Hard Count and made his predictions. Let’s dive in.

Ohio State (-3.5) at Oregon

PicKell: “Who is Oregon man, because … it’s been a very, very public discussion as to what was expected of them in the preseason, and what they’ve been to this point in the year, those first two games, man, it was like, I don’t know. Maybe Oregon’s got some potato allergy none of us know about because they struggle against teams in Idaho. Against Idaho, it looked very, very lackluster in their first game of the season. You say, ‘Okay, first game of this season,’ chalk it up to them just kind of figuring things out on the fly. Okay, cool. Next game: Boise State, another team from Idaho takes them down to the wire. Takes a last second field goal for Oregon to win that football game

“So concern starts to grow. We’re gonna (give them) credit, the last three games they’ve been rolling. Destroyed Oregon State, dismantled, Michigan State, dismantled UCLA, not necessarily in that order. This is a chance now I think for Oregon to make a statement to who they are in 2024.”

Oregon must stop the run in this game, containing Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. That’s a big key. On the flip side, Will Howard has a huge task ahead of him, playing on the road and trying to establish himself as a big time player for Ohio State. He’s going to have to make some big plays, per PicKell, to be the difference.

PicKell is going with Ohio State to win the game on the road and the Buckeyes will cover the spread. This is potentially only Round 1 of this matchup.

Texas (-14.5) vs. Oklahoma

PicKell: “This rivalry now has an SEC sticker on it. I think that’s a good thing, not that it matters that much. I don’t think it impacts the rivalry, per se, but I will say this game has always had the highest amount of passion … This is one of those games you sign up for as a college football fan, right? Those two logos should be a little bit more of a crisp October. I don’t know if it’ll be that way in Texas necessarily, but it’s crisp October for us watching here in Nashville. 

“The beautiful part about college football is when you have these logos together or any rivalry game, you have to kind of take common sense with a grain of salt, because common sense is telling you, ‘hey, Texas, they should roll, two touchdown favorite, Oklahoma’s playing a true freshman quarterback like they should roll, right?’ I don’t know. I don’t know. History would tell us that this game, regardless of what either team has done to this point in the year, it’s going to have more than a puncher’s chance.”

The biggest question for Texas is whether Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning will start this game. Not that it would drastically change Texas’ chances to beat Oklahoma of course. It looks like Ewers is slated to return from injury.

On the other hand, Oklahoma is starting true freshman Michael Hawkins. A big spot for the young buck. Overall, it’s hard for PicKell to pick against the Longhorns here. However, he’s not going to touch the spread. 14.5 is a “sucker bet,” as he put it. But if you want to bet the moneyline, go ahead and take the Longhorns. For what it’s worth, PicKell picked Texas 33-20, close to that spread!

Kansas State (-4.5) at Colorado

PicKell: “I can’t figure out the Big 12 right now. Like preseason, we had Texas Tech as a team in the Big 12 title game. Right now, Texas Tech is undefeated. BYU is also undefeated, speaking to both those teams in the context of conference play. So we’re on the same page there. Like Colorado, they don’t have a loss in Big 12 play. Kansas State, they got one loss in Big 12 play. So I think we start to get a little more information on where this conference is going to end up at. Spoiler alert, I think it’s going to be ‘Hunger Games’ kind of style the rest of the way here. I don’t think you get more than one Big 12 team in the College Football Playoff. 

“So with that being said, man, if you’re Colorado, this is your chance. And we’ve kind of said the same thing about Colorado the last couple of weeks. They go out there, we say, ‘Hey, it’s your chance Colorado. Make a statement. Win the game. Make a statement.’ And so now I think the test has worked up to this point to where Colorado again, no losses in Big 12 play, you got a team coming in there that I think is actually, if you made me pick today I think Kansas State is the best team in the Big 12.”

PicKell took Kansas State to win the game but Colorado to cover. He can see the Buffaloes hanging around but the Wildcats win this one 30-27. He was crafty is his prediction, just so the Colorado fans don’t come after him!

A win for Colorado means Deion Sanders and crew are a legit Big 12 contender This is the game to make a statement, per PicKell.

Ole Miss (-2.5) at LSU

PicKell: “This game should be treated like a playoff game, if you’re an LSU fan, should be a playoff atmosphere. Should bring playoff level juice. Why? Because you got one loss. You still got to play Bama. Still have a lot left in front of you. You drop this game to Ole Miss, you don’t feel great about your chances to play in the postseason. All right, you’re at home. Defend home turf, is what I think the messaging would be internally at LSU. 

“Now for Ole Miss, LSU remembers this game. LSU remembers your team and your fans storming the field after you beat them last year. We talk a lot about Ole Miss and Ole Miss talks a lot about their professional mindset, who you keep hearing ‘pro mindset, be a pro.’ That’s what Ole Miss is really kind of built their culture on. If you want to have a professional mindset. This is going to be the biggest test we’ve seen for Ole Miss to this point.”

Whoever can minimize field goals and end up getting touchdowns in the red zone will ultimately win. It might sound simple, but it’s about capitalizing on your opportunities.

PicKell is going with Ole Miss to win this one on the road, 28-21. With that, the Rebels will also cover on the road. A bold pick, but Ole Miss gets back on the right track.

Penn State (-4.5) at USC

PicKell: “USC man, back is against the wall. Okay, back is very much so against the wall. The Minnesota game. Say what you want about the end of that game and the spot, it is what it is. They called it a touchdown, got in the end zone, took the loss. If you want to have a chance to still make the College Football Playoff, got to have this one. Got to have this one, because three losses, you’re out. 10-2, but with a win over a top five Penn State, and win the rest of the way … I’m just saying now for USC like, ‘Hey, we’re in fight or flight mode a little bit here, baby.’ And I think all the folks in LA know that. 

“Penn State, they are emerging from the carnage of this past weekend, number four team in America. Like, if you’re Penn State, you’re like, okay, cool. Like, yeah, I guess we’re the number four team in America. Like, you’re not apologizing for it. But they’ve definitely benefited from a lot of the madness that went on across the landscape last week and really the last two weekends. But Georgia losing, they don’t apologize for it … I think if they’re able to beat USC, you’re staring down the barrel of, I guess, Ohio State being your toughest test but outside of that, you feel pretty good about yourself if you’re Penn State.”

PicKell mentioned how USC is more likely to win a shootout in this one. So if you score into the 30s, you’re forcing Penn State to keep up with the Trojans.

On the flip side, keep it simple. Keep it on the ground Penn State! PicKell mentioned how this will be the most aggressive game called by Lincoln Riley to date, at least this year. This is USC’s last stand.

Penn State is definitely more aggressive and more physical based on recent weeks. PicKell said that’s the difference as the Nittany Lions will win in the range of 31-23, covering the spread as well.