2018 – Week 10 Picks - Jacknife Sports

With nearly half the top 25 losing last week, the picks were correspondingly mediocre. Only Allan managed to stay at .500 and above on his picks. Travis had another poor week as he is fading fast in the standings. (Travis - 6-9 SU, 5-9-1 ATS. Allan - 8-7, 7-7-1. Kyle - 7-8, 5-9-1.)

The first College Football Playoff rankings came out and for once there doesn't seem to be much outrage. Alabama, Clemson, and Notre Dame are all in the top 4 as expected. The only debate going in really was how high LSU would be. They have 1 loss so far but have played a very tough schedule. And the point is moot after this week as Alabama and LSU play each other. Alabama is a huge favorite in the game, as they should be. But they have only beaten 1 top 30 team so far (per Jeff Sagarin's ratings). LSU has beaten 4 top 30 teams (most in the nation) and 1 top 10 team to date. Not saying that means Alabama will lose, but LSU has the chops to knock them off.

You know who has beaten the second most top 30 teams in the nation? That would be Northwestern with 3 such victories. And look at who they take on this week, #3 Notre Dame. Northwestern flies under the radar like they do every year. They are marching towards 8-9 victories like they do every year. Only this year, they are in control of the Big 10 west and making a little bit of noise nationally. They are a hard team to get a read on because even though they have 3 top 30 wins, they have also lost 3 games including one to Akron. Which Northwestern team will show up this week?

There are other nice matchups this week as well. Georgia and Kentucky are playing for the SEC east crown this week. Kentucky has vaulted into the top 10 of the first CFP rankings. Pretty lofty grounds for the program. Can they keep their dream season rolling? Penn State travels to the Big House to take on Michigan where one would have to assume Michigan would jump into the top 4 of the Playoff discussion with a win. That is if Georgia doesn't leap over them if they beat Kentucky. BC takes on VA Tech as the Hokies need a win to keep pace with arch rival Virginia in their ACC division race. Washington State has to take on a Cal team that is coming off a victory over Washington. Utah has to go on the the road against Arizona State to keep their stranglehold on the PAC 12 south. And West Virginia travels to Texas which is pretty close to being a Big 12 championship semifinal. The Mountaineers though have a tough closing schedule as they have to play TCU, Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma to close out the season.

It should be a great first weekend in November.