After a great Week 7, we went 2-3 in Week 8. While things did not go as planned, we will look to Halloween to give us better luck. Will Week 9 give us the third straight week of games being decided by kickers? We can only hope. This week, we turn to the AAC, a late night Pac-12 match-up, a cocktail party in Jacksonville and continue to ride with our friends at Clemson.
Take a look at our Halloween extravaganza with these five picks as treats for the coming weekend. Though we recommend all five games, we have ranked each pick by level of confidence. One is our lock of the week with five being the lowest of the five picks. OddsShark provides all the odds and are subject to change. Here are this week's five Halloween winners:
No. 5 Florida -3 Against Georgia
Records: Florida 6-1, Georgia 5-2
Last Week: Both teams are coming off a bye
Why Florida Covers: Georgia has lost two of their last three games. Their last game they struggled to beat a mediocre Missouri team. This may be a rivalry game, but Florida is the better team. The Gators played well in Baton Rouge against LSU despite being without quarterback Will Greer. Florida will continue to play well with Treon Harris at quarterback because they have one of the best defenses in the country. Look for Florida to take it to a struggling Georgia team in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
No. 4 UCF +27 Against Cincinnati
Records: UCF 0-8, Cincinnati 4-3
Last Week: UCF lost 59-10 to Houston, Cincinnati defeated UConn 37-13
Take the Points: UCF has looked uninspired throughout the season. Longtime coach George O'Leary retired and interim coach Danny Barrett will take over. Any time an underperforming team has a coaching change, it is good for at least a temporary uptick in play. We have seen this at USC and South Carolina. It is unlikely UCF challenges Cincinnati to win this game, but they will lose by less than 27 points as the coaching change provides some inspiration.
No. 3 Vanderbilt +11.5 Against Houston
Records: Vanderbilt 3-4, Houston 3-4
Last Week: Vanderblt won 10-3 against Missouri, Houston won 59-10 over UCF
Take the Points: Houston has benefited from playing the weaker half of the AAC in the early part of their schedule while Vanderbilt has the misfortune of playing in the SEC against more talented teams. Vanderbilt is coming off a nice win against Missouri and will take that momentum into Houston. The Commodores will keep this one close and have the potential to win outright. Take the points in this one.
No. 2 Clemson -10.5 Against NC State
Records: Clemson 7-0, NC State 5-2
Last Week: Clemson beat Miami 58-0, NC State beat Wake Forest 35-17
Why Clemson Covers: We have rolled with Clemson the past two weeks and it has been successful. The Tigers continue to feel like they are not taken seriously nationally, and it has helped lead to inspired play on the field. We'll continue to ride with DeShaun Watson and this red hot Clemson team as we take them to cover the spread this week against NC State.
No. 1 Washington State +12 Against Stanford
Records: Washington State 5-2, Stanford 6-1
Last Week: Washington State beat Arizona 45-42, Stanford beat Washington 31-14
Take the Points: A Halloween game in Pullman has all the makings of weird things happening. Stanford has played like the best team in the Pac-12, but Washington State is quietly having a good season. Luke Falk is playing well at quarterback and has the Cougars playing like a borderline Top 25 team. Look for this one to be closer than Vegas thinks and a nice way to end your Halloween evening.
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