Betting B1G: All eyes on massive Ohio State showdown at Penn State

I’m sending my tab from last week’s college football picks over to Oregon coach Mario Cristobal. He owes me that much after the stunt he pulled during his team’s collapse Saturday night.

I’m not bitter, though. Definitely not. Bad beats happen all the time in gambling. I’ll get over this in no time at all.

It just may not happen this week. Actually, it definitely won’t happen this week. All you have to do is check out my pick for this week’s Oregon game to see that.

Another 2-4 week for me — though it should have been 3-3 if not for Cristobal’s incompetence — which drops my season record to 10-14 against the spread. Austin is faring much better than I am so far. I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it. I’m yet to have a winning week, but I’m confident that will change soon. And by soon I mean this week.

Outside of Ohio State-Penn State, this week’s Big Ten slate is, well, not great. There are some intriguing matchups elsewhere around the country, however, so let’s get right into the college football picks.

All lines for college football picks via Bovada as of Thursday evening.

No. 12 West Virginia at No. 25 Texas Tech

When: 12 p.m. Saturday
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium (Lubbock, Texas)
Line: West Virginia -4
The Pick: Stop me if you’ve heard this before: I’m expecting a shootout in this Big 12 matchup.

Texas Tech (surprisingly?) showed an ability to get stops last week in its 41-17 blowout of Oklahoma State. Was that a fluke or did the Red Raiders actually figure some things out? I tend to lean more toward the former, and with Will Grier and a potent offense coming to town, I like the Mountaineers to cover here despite this game being in Lubbock.

No. 14 Michigan at Northwestern

When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Ryan Field (Evanston, Ill.)
Line: Michigan -14.5
The Pick: Again, I’m taking the road favorite. Northwestern has been quite disappointing early on this season, and the Wildcats are coming off a loss to Akron.

I’m still a bit hesitant to bet on Michigan’s offense, but defense always travels and the Wolverines have one of the best in the country. Now without star tailback Jeremy Larkin, Northwestern will have an even more difficult time moving the ball. This game may be close for a bit, but I think Michigan wears Northwestern down as the game goes along and wins by more than two touchdowns.

No. 7 Stanford at No. 8 Notre Dame

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)
Line: Notre Dame -5.5
The Pick: This is a really tough game for me to peg. I’m not a big believer in either of these teams, to be honest.

I’ve bet against Stanford twice this season and lost both times, and the Cardinal — though they play a fairly boring style of football — are 3-1 against the spread. Notre Dame’s offense got some life injected into it last week with Ian Book at quarterback. Was that a one-time spark or is it for real? Hard to say at this point.

I’m waiting for a Bryce Love breakout game, too. It hasn’t really happened yet, and it will be difficult against a pretty good Notre Dame defense.

This game feels like it will be a mildly ugly, fairly low-scoring contest. With that in mind, I’m going to take the points here and go with the Cardinal.

No. 20 BYU at No. 11 Washington

When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Husky Stadium (Seattle, Wash.)
Line: Washington -17
The Pick: Washington isn’t exactly a team that blows people out. The Cougars are a solid team and getting 17 points. BYU is 5-0 against the spread on the road in its last five games. Washington wins, but BYU covers.

No. 19 Oregon at No. 24 Cal

When: 10:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: California Memorial Stadium (Berkeley, Calif.)
Line: Oregon -3
The Pick: I refuse to pick Oregon the rest of the year after last week’s stunt. I hope the Ducks lose every game the rest of the way. Go Cal.

No. 4 Ohio State at No. 9 Penn State

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Beaver Stadium (State College, Pa.)
Line: Ohio State -4
The Pick:  If I were actually betting on this game, I’d feel more confident betting the over (70) than with the spread. Alas, that’s not why we are here.

Both offenses are going to move the ball and score points in this one. There are likely to be some fireworks.

I have a bit more confidence in the Ohio State defense to get a few stops than I do Penn State’s. That’s why I’m once again picking the road favorite.