Latest / Game Day Collective / Notre Dame vs BYU, Ohio State vs Indiana | College Football Week 7 Picks & Predictions 2026

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Notre Dame vs BYU, Ohio State vs Indiana | College Football Week 7 Picks & Predictions 2026 · Game Day Collective

• Game Day Collective and Game Day Collective on 2026 10 15 at 18.23.53: Notre Dame has been rolling, but can BYU be the one to finally stop them? Can Indiana shut down Jeremiah Smith and Ohio State? And is Nebraska catching organ at the right time? We're going to talk about all of this and much more. I'm Josh Mahler, alongside Wyatt Zhang here on the Game Day Collective College football show presented by Outlier, the sports betting research platform that helps you compare odds, analyze trends, and value across the market. Click the link down in the description below to try for free. For 30 days. again, that's three thirty days completely free by clicking the link down in the description below to try out Outlier. Don't make another sports bet without trying Outlier, the presenting sponsor here at Game Day Collective. Wyatt, we've got a lot to get to. welcome in live, everybody. I know it took us a little while to get live, all kinds of issues. That seems to be the case whenever you're trying to go live and get things going right now. But Wyatt, week seven, man, I feel like there's a lot of games that kind of under the radar games, but then there's a ton of them that you just look at and it feels like this might be the tightest week so far. It's but it was like one of the hardest weeks to really pin down teams. And I feel like along the way it's kind of gotten that way. But looking outside of our game of the week that we're going to talk about with Notre Dame BYU, which I think is a huge one, you know, which which matchup or which team are you looking at feeling like this is a big week for here going into week seven? I feel like the old Miss Missouri game. is a huge, huge game for both teams because both teams are like you have Trinidad Chambless, Ole's quarterback, you Austin Simmons, the former Ole Miss quarterback. Two teams right on the edge of the college football playoff. Two teams that both have a loss, sitting there like, hey, you know what? Two one loss teams going after it. That game, I mean, you're gonna have two offenses that are the one some of the most explosive offenses in the country. I think that game alone this week was one of my favorite games to break down on my show. I think it's gonna be potentially the game of the week. I mean that you could turn on the game in the fourth quarter and it could easily be forty-five forty-two just as easily as any other game could be this week. I think it's gonna be one of if not the best games this week. Yeah, that's a fun one. I know th I mean, we we we're gonna talk about Nebraska and Oregon a little bit too later on. That's one that I'm I'm excited about just looking at it. I feel like Nebraska's just in this spot right now where You really need this one. For for Oregon, obviously you need it to get on back on track for the obvious reasons, but for Nebraska, it's deeper. you know, like this stems back several years, really ever since you fired Bo Pellini and moved on to Mike Riley for God knows why. And it just seems like this curse is carrying along with Nebraska and they need to get the monkey off their back. And they face a tough matchup because Oregon's in a tough spot. They just lost a game, they really didn't want to lose. And they lost it in a fashion that just like tells you we beat ourselves. And so both you know, Oregon really needs a bounce back here and Nebraska really needs a win to finally get this curse off their back. But man, let's jump into it because we've got a lot to get to. We're gonna get to our upsets, our you know, upset alerts, I guess, locks of the week, pr predictions and the pick'em and all kinds of stuff here on the Game Day Collective College Football Show. Make sure to jump in the live chat if you're watching us live, if you're not watching us live or if you are regardless, make sure to hit that like button, hit that subscribe button, and do one quick favor for us because we're trying to grow these live shows. We want to do more with them, do things like live call-in shows and so much more. so share it with a friend, share it out on social media, share it to people who you think will enjoy college football specifically for this show, and college sports in general. just share, share the channel with them and share this show to get us going. Pop us off in the in the live chat as well. But Let's jump into it. Wyatt, you want to start us off with your upset alert of the week? Yeah, I'll start you off. I got Florida, Texas. This is a game that has two teams coming off of a loss. Florida's coming off two losses. Two teams that did not want to lose last week. They did not see that in the cards. They did lose. You have Florida, who is a two loss team. If they want to make the college ball playoff, it starts with a win here. You still got to play Georgia. You cannot lose this game. And if you're Texas, You have to show that you are s still a top team this year because the way you played against Oklahoma doesn't show us anything that you're a contender for the national championship. It made us think, at least in me in my opinion, it made me think Texas isn't as good as people thought. And I I was never super high on Texas. I had him ranked number one because of the win against Ohio State. But other than that, Texas didn't look great. They need the win. Florida needs the win. And I like Florida. again, we'll we'll break down this game and predict it, but I like Florida If their run game gets going, they probably win this matchup. Like Florida, you look in the season, their losses are South Carolina, Missouri. You can look at the rushing yards, they're not good. If you look at the wins, Ole Miss, Auburn, rushing yards are through the roof. So if Florida gets this run game going, that opens up the pass game with Aaron Philo, it gets Florida in not obvious passing situations, which if that happens, Texas is going to take full advantage. So I think that Both teams need this badly. But I think Florida being hungry, John Summerall is the coach that I would be most confident in to get a win in this spot. So I think Florida has a good chance to upset Texas. And this line as of like an hour ago moved to Florida minus eleven or plus eleven and a half. So I would even take them plus eleven and a half. I mean, I love that pick. Yeah, yeah, and and moving in the direction that you want them to. So you know, I I I like this matchup and and like you said, it's two Teams that didn't expect to lose last week, two teams that really thought that they had a win going into it. Texas has really owned the Red River rivalry the last few years. And and really it seems like even further back than that, it just feels like they've c gained momentum on that game. and Oklahoma looked bad this year so far. What was funny is earlier on in the season for that Oklahoma Texas game is that we I I think that preseason I had heard several. I know Jake Crane kind of made this comparison. I'm trying to think of who else I might have heard. I think maybe Josh Pate. some of the people in the media were talking about this game. Like, what if we get into this game and Texas is sitting at two losses? No one really talked about what if Oklahoma comes into this situation with two losses. And so there you go. Tex Texas not able to to overcome against their rival who they've owned so far here in the last few years. and and then Florida losing to a South Carolina game that seems like dead in the rights. so yeah, very fun one. Definitely an upset alert, no doubt. let's go on. I guess my upset alert. I went to kind of a little bit of one that like isn't really on the radar. I was trying to find one and this one just really popped out on paper to me. UMass, the UMass Minutemen, these are this is a team that you know, I think that they've got a really credible path to winning this game. and I I think that it ultimately comes down to efficient drives and and being clean with the ball. And it it's going to come down to their kicking game more than anything. I I think you you look right now, the quarterback position's kind of the biggest caveat right now for UMass. They've they've kind of dwindled down to their third string. The first string might be back. So that's kind of a a big question mark for me. but you know, looking right now, they've already won a difficult road game. They started off the season in week one, surprised everybody as like twenty or thirty-point underdogs against Rutgers, end up coming out to win that game, won thirty-seven to twenty-one on the road. and so you know, it doesn't really give them any kind of advantage or anything, but you look at it and it just proves that they're able to do it. and so I like that. I think that really put UMass on the map for a lot of people. I kind of thought that after that they'd really roll on and keep on going and and end up, you know, going undefeated this season. They lost last week in a in a tough matchup that they'd really like to have back. but one thing with UMass that I look at is they really are they're they're really efficient at getting points when they reach scoring position. They're 16 of 17 In red zone possessions. So, you know, and that's 10 touchdowns out of those 17 attempts. So really good efficiency when they get down into the red zone. So again, it's going to be being efficient, getting down in there. And at times you're going to have to settle for a field goal and and rely on your kicking team, which their kicker, I I think that he that's kind of where it leans into is that that could really be the deciding factor in this game. I do think this is gonna be a close game. I was surprised to see that UMass was an underdog to Buffalo. Not just a not just a a Buffalo an underdog to Buffalo, but I also thought that they they being a a touchdown underdog was was really big. So I like this one. I think that that the big thing for for UMass looking into it, I think just being able to protect your quarterback, whoever that is in there right now, cause still kind of a question mark for UMass, keep it within a a possession and and you can close this thing out because I think they've got an offense good enough. You look back at this last this last week, Logan, I'm gonna probably probably butcher this last name, but Anagawa, he led them to a ninety-one yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes of that 20 to 19 loss. So they ended up losing the the the ball game, but he drove them down there in a really big way and I believe he's their third string quarterback. So being able to rely on your on your third string guy like that to go down and do that, it it kind of provides some some encouragement, some some momentum for your team and some some faith, you know. And so I think that UMass being an underdog in this game is is a fun one. but being an underdog t by a whole touchdown, why I I I feel like this is this is a pretty big one for UMass. I think they can they can pull it off. I I think they can win this one outright. but for sure at least kind of put Buffalo on upside alert. Mm-hmm. You're right. I think UMass has been an interesting team this year, like you said. Yeah, they took they beat Rutgers and you know, UMass is a team that I believe was 0 and 12 last year. Yeah. And this year, they're doing a lot better. So I think that UMass, if they could pull out this win, would be just incredible for their season. Yeah, yeah. And I'm looking forward to it. that's one of those those like small G6 team like squ t matchups that I look at. And like I said, I was just looking through and I was like, I don't want to pick something that's just like right out there at you. And so I saw this and I was like, wow, how are they an underdog? And I'm looking into the matchup. I can understand where Vegas is going with it. I see the path to being a touchdown underdog, but I like I like UMass in this one. I like them to to fight back and even pull off the upset. All right, let's go on to our lock of the week. I'll I'll start us off here with a lock. I feel pretty confident that this Ohio State Indiana game, which we will break down a little bit deeper here later on. I have I have a lot of faith that this is gonna be a defensive battle for the most part. I think it's gonna be a lower scoring game. Not by a ton. I don't think it's gonna smash the under, but it's it's definitely gonna hit the under, in my opinion. I look at this game, I think when you look at Indiana's pressure, I I think it's got enough to kind of interrupt that that passing attack, passing attack that Ohio State has. They've had a lot of really good interior pressure, being able to explode through the middle and get back there and and disrupt quarterbacks. You saw that quite a bit where Anthony Calandria, he was able to create in those situations, but I don't think Julian Saiyan's quite as mobile. He is he is mobile. He's able to to move out of the pocket and and make some things happen with his legs. And he's shown that here in the recent weeks. But you look at Ohio State, they rank in seventh overall in in the entire country in scoring defense. IU fifth overall in scoring defense. I use this is the number one and number two team in the Big Ten in scoring defenses. So I think that both offenses, they're gonna kind of face these longer, difficult drives. Trying to get down, it's gonna be a lot like what we saw in the Big Ten championship a season ago. and I the way I I see this game, I don't think that either team and their identity is much different. And so I I think that Indiana's got enough skill to be able to slow down and and slow down Jeremiah Smith to a to a point as much as you can. and I think that they're gonna be able to at least if they can't slow down Jeremiah Smith, which I think is kind of a crazy task. then I do think that they're gonna be able to disrupt Julian Saiyan, disrupt that passing game, get some pressure back there and and get some things going. So the thing about these two teams that makes me worry about my lock is how explosive each of them can be in the running game or the passing game. But why I like I like the under there, under fifty and a half is what I'm locking it in at. Yeah, I would have to say I'm completely opposite in this game. I think it's gonna be a shootout. I mean, you look at Jeremiah Smith. Like when I s when you say Indiana limiting Jeremiah Smith, that's probably still 150 yards. Like in my opinion, that is eliminating him. I don't see this game being less than like twenty-five points each. I just feel that each team has the offense and that is just it just going to score points. I mean, you look at Andrew Mar or Andrew Marsh, that guy is a playmaker. They what four explosive plays against Indiana and they won that game. That's all they needed was four explosive plays. And they won, they put 20 points on the board. That's doable against Ohio State. They're you know, may say that their defense is number two in scoring defenses. I don't think that their defense pound for pound is one of the best in the country. I like these offenses better than I like these defenses. I mean, Ohio State, their run game is good enough to, you know, put some pressure on Indiana and make them have to choose because if you drop your safeties back and you b don't blitz your linebackers and you try to cover Jeremiah Smith. He's gonna get his yards. He's gonna have over a hundred yards in this game. I'd be shocked if he didn't. but if you start to do that, Bo Jackson, Isaiah West, like those guys can hurt you on the ground. And I think the the way this game sets up, in my opinion, would be kind of the opposite. I see this game as more of a shootout than more of a back and forth defensive battle. But for my lock of the week, I I went to the Big 12 for my lock of the week. I went with Baylor. Minus six versus TCU. The fact that it's under a touchdown was my like deciding factor. I'm like, okay, I'm I'm taking this one. Baylor, in my opinion, is a team that lost in week number one. And it's like you didn't see them for a while. They kind of went off the radar. You're like, I I don't even think I've watched a Baylor game since well, I've watched I guess I'd say it, I've watched condensed games, but I haven't watched a live Baylor football game since they played Auburn. I gotta say, Baylor's winning. They're four and one right now. DJ Lagway looks good. And I believe that they're the better team here by far. TCU's coming into this game. Jaden Craig has not been what he should have been this year at quarterback for TCU. They're two and three. You have Baylor who crushed I forget who they played last week. It might have been Arizona State. They put like fifty-five on them. So Baylor, in my opinion, is the caliber team that's probably gonna win this game if I had to throw a prediction. I'm gonna go like thirty-one to like seventeen. I think Baylor wins this game by way more than six points. I think they throw the kitchen sink at TCU like they did last week versus I believe Arizona State. I see Baylor getting a huge win. Yeah, and I was just now looking it up too. I pulled it up and the line even moved down for you, letting half a point. So it's sitting a minus five and a half now. It's crazy how much they they move nowadays. I feel like Yeah, I feel like they didn't used to move as much as they do now. But just the the algorithm or whatever they have put in place to kind of you know condense these points, man, that's why Vegas makes me nervous. that's why you've got to bet responsibly. So if if you are tailing any of our bets, make sure that you're being responsible with it. Don't don't go out there and and you know, bet bet your mortgage or anything like that. Let's let's be smart, let's be responsible. But let us know down in the comments below. what your lock of the week is. What bet are you just feeling like, man? Like this, if I was a betting man, even if you're not a betting man, if I was a betting man, this is where I would place it. This feels like a sure hit to me. Let us know in the comments below. Again, make sure to hit that like button, hit that subscribe button. It helps us know for sh for one, the like button helps us know you know, where you're at and everything. It also helps us keep on growing. But you know, of course, subscribing helps us grow here. Of course, if you're watching live, make sure to share this this stream. Make sure to share the video. put it out there, share it with a friend, share it on social media, whatever you can do to help us keep on getting the word out. All right, let's go on to the game of the week. This is a big one. I think I I mean, I I I don't know. I don't I don't think I have seen enough people talking about this game. I think that this is one that I look at the spread, I think that the spread kind of doesn't tell you anything about this game. I think that this is a much different game than what if you were looking at it on paper. you would you would really lean heavily Notre Dame. I think this is gonna be a tough game. You and I were to kinda talking about this last week when I said, what what time is this game? it's 7 30 Eastern, which is let's see, I'd be five thirty mountain time out there. But y you know, starting up at you know it's an evening game. They they're gonna be you know all all jacked up on on chocolate milk out there in Provo and and ready to roll. I d I see this game going much different than I think some people may. And I know that Notre Dame has been rolling. I I really like this Notre Dame team and what they've put together this this season so far. But a night game in Provo is much different. it's it's mu much more difficult than people give it credit for. And Notre Dame's gonna find out. I think this this might be thinking back, I'm trying to think of who all Notre Dame has faced. This might I think this has to be the toughest game on their schedule so far up to this point. They will face Miami later on. But, you know, this is this is going to be a a tight one. What's that? I said it is. They've played Wisconsin and North Carolina. It's it's got to be the best game. Yeah. So I mean North Carolina gave them fits. Why why can't BYU? you know, I I think that this one is going to be kind of BYU. It's going to come down to whether BYU can can create just enough offense. You know, they don't have LJ Martin and it's it's it's defense kind of makes it makes Notre Dame in this this game, I think it's going to have to make Notre Dame earn their points by grinding it down and kind of playing old school Notre Dame football. That's what I think this is going to come down to. You look at these two teams and what they bring to the table. You know, I I think right now LJ Martin, BYU's running back, and also they've got a linebacker, Isaiah Glasger, who are both out in this game. So those are two key key players. And so that I think that's what kind of causes the line to move. A little bit towards Notre Dame, but BYU is just a bunch of grown men out there. and so I I don't really care too much about those those two guys being out, I think that this should be a a pretty tough matchup. but let's start off with looking at Notre Dame's offense against BYU's defense. I think this is going to be a big story here in in this game. I guess with this one, with Notre Dame's offense, do you think that that they need a big rushing performance or do you think that They just need just enough success to help CJ Carr out and and let him do his thing. I don't think they have to have a rushing dominant offense. I think CJ Carr's maybe the best quarterback in college football at this point. He's performing great. He looks good in his games. Now, have they played anybody? No, but he looks good. And you look at the offense, you know, you got Jordan Fejon who has emerged as a wide receiver one at Notre Dame, but you have all these other athletes, Quincy Porter, Milan Graham, Jaden Greyhouse. You have all these athletes on Notre Dame at receiver that I think Notre Dame is going to utilize the run game, utilize the pass game, both to kind of help each other out. I see this game as Notre Dame scoring a lot offensively and Notre and BYU having to keep up. So I think that, like you said, they're not going to rely on a run game, but they will use it to their advantage to then, you know, open up the pass game. Because if you're BYU, you've got to figure out a way to cover both. Like you're not going to beat them because their run game can beat you, but also their pass game can beat you without the run game or without the pass game. Like one of them one of the parts of Notre Dame's offense can win without the other part. When you look at some other teams like BYU where I think losing L J Martin very limit it limits you a lot in what you can do in this game. So I think for BYU to win, it it's not necessarily that they have to shut down the run game. They gotta shut down it all, the entire Notre Dame offense if they want to have a shot in this game. Yeah. And and and With LJ Morton now, the big concern there is like now you've got Bear Ma Bear Bachmeyer who has legs and he can use them over on BYU's offense. But I I think the big problem is now do you rely too much on Bear Bachmeyer to to do his thing? because I I think you're gonna need some some production from the rest of of your running back room, whoever that might be. I know Tonga is one of the guys that comes out. he's he should be able to help out a little bit, but there haven't been any b anyone else. who has stepped up into the role that LJ Martin or Bear Bachmeyer have have been in the running game. And so it's a big question mark going into this. And you're going against an Notre Dame front who is very tough. they're gonna be able to slow your your rushing attack down if you're not using Bear Bach Bachmeyer in some really weird and and and unconventional ways, the way that they do with him. And I think that's why he's so successful is that they're not just running a typical QB draw and letting him run. He just finds ways to gash you with his feet. And so he's he's just that big linebacker build. He kind of runs like a fullback. And you know, I I of course we talked about this last week too. He he wears the fullback number too, so to kind of support that. But I think that for for BYU, the the big thing with them is that they do have just really big, I I mean physically big targets out at wide receiver that should be able to help them in the passing game against this Notre Dame defense. So I I think, you know d Do you think that BYU can they can they win this game if they have to rely too much on Bear Bachmeyer, or do you think they have to find a way to split that that load a little bit? They cannot rely on Bear Bachmeyer. You cannot, because you look at your team, he's your weapon. He's your guy. Notre Dame, you know, I don't know what's going on in the Notre Dame, you know, defensive, you know, meetings before practices and before this game. They are circling Bear Bachmeyer with LJ Martin out, that takes an entire half of your offense. Bear Bachmeyer is the guy Notre Dame is circling. I don't think you can win this game if you rely on Bear Bachmeyer to go out, make those hero plays, make those Heisman plays, not that he's a Heisman candidate. But you need those caliber plays to win this game from him. And it's Notre Dame. It's a top five team. It is a really good Notre Dame team. They are out for blood. It is leave no doubt. I do not believe that Notre Dame's gonna come in this game and be shocked by Bear Bachmeyer winning them this game. I think if BYU's gonna win, they have to pull something, you know, they have to pull something out of their pocket that Notre Dame did not see coming. That's the only way that I see BYU to win this game. I don't think they're gonna out physical Notre Dame. I don't think they're gonna outplay Notre Dame. You have to find little ways. Maybe you cause a a stupid fumble, a weird bounce on a punt, little things like that, that are ways that BYU's gonna win this game. You're not gonna beat Notre Dame in a traditional football game because they are miles better than you. Yeah, yeah. And it's it's a BYU team that's definitely got their their work cut out for them. but they're also one of those teams that I feel like I just always underestimate how big and tough they are. and and that's one thing that I know I've I've heard players talk about it whenever they go to Provo and just how much different that environment really is. You don't realize it until you get there. and so I think that's one thing that that definitely stands on their side. I the big thing with BYU on offense too is trying to finish out their drives. One thing that you saw last week against Iowa State, they had three fourth-down attempts that they were unable to convert. And two of those were down like near the goal line. So I they need to be able to finish out these drives. Finish him out all the way, would be ideal against Notre Dame because Notre Dame can put up numbers. I I do agree with you. I think CJ Carr is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. I he was my early, early pick for Heisman. I ended up sticking with him. And he's putting it up up enough numbers to be considered in that race right now. and so time will tell if yeah, I think he's been the most consistent and the most reliable in that Heisman race so far. It's just that he hasn't faced somebody like BYU or Here coming up, he's gonna have a a a matchup against Miami to be able to really prove it and to showcase that that Heisman ability. He hasn't had that marquee game to really showcase his ability and and his his Heisman moment, I suppose. But, you know, I I think that that, you know, those empty possessions though, going back to to empty possessions for BYU, I think it's gonna be way more detrimental against B Notre Dame than it was against Iowa State. They were able to handle business just fine there. So I think that it's going to be more of kind of an an unnecessary risk to even go for it on fourth down, especially if you're down there in the red zone, take your points and move on. And I think that's one thing that could tell the story in this game. because as as many times as BYU has been able to get down there, if they're not able to convert those fourth downs down there in the red zone where you could have just taken three, that could be the difference maker in a in a game like this. so you know, I think that that there's a lot to it. When you look at pass for victory, st let's start off with Notre Dame. What do you see pass for victory for Notre Dame going into this game? Pass for victory for Notre Dame. It's pretty simple. Play your style of football. Don't let BYU try to, you know, smuggle you into playing their style of football. Play your style. Do what you do. Like throw your touchdown, throw let CJ Carr throw his touchdowns. Let him have the ball. Let your running backs have the ball. Just let your playmakers run. Do not adjust the way you play. Do not play. I know this is gonna sound very rude to BYU, the fact that they're ranked eighth, but don't play down to your competition because BYU is not a better football team. Don't play down to their level. Play at the style that you play. Play as the number two team in the country, Notre Dame Fighting Irish. If you play like that and just play by like how you play, they will win this game by double digits, in my opinion. If you play Play to BYU's style and they take over the style of the game. And you get this weird, like I said, a a bounce of ball here, a a weird, you know, fumbled kickoff, or a weird fumbled punt, or just little things like that. That's gonna stab you in the back. And if you're Notre Dame, avoid those things. CJ Carr, 70% completely percentage, one interception, 16 touchdowns. Do that. Keep doing that. Like keep the ball in Notre Dame's hands and Your defense is good enough to stop BYU if you have those empty possessions. So, in my opinion, I think Notre Dame just has to play their style of football to win this game. Yeah, I I totally agree with you. I think that balanced football, you know, just you know, overall balanced game plan going into it. That's what Notre Dame does really well. That's something that they've been able been able to do a lot more of this season with CJ Carr. you know, second year starter now, finally got his feet wet last you know last year and really came out. That's why I was really high on him coming into the season because you you've now got a passing attack that's that's efficient, it's effective. you don't have to try too hard to get it working. And you still have that traditional run game that you can lean on when you need it most. So that balanced offense is is really gonna be big for them. And y you said it too. I think avoiding turnovers is is probably the biggest key for me. looking at Notre Dame in this game because what I think happens, and history if history repeats itself, which I don't think necessarily will in this game, Notre Dame has been known to try to come into these games and try to maybe force something that doesn't need to be forced. And that's why they lose to teams that they shouldn't lose to. I think a few years back they lost to NIU. who was it last year that they lost to that they shouldn't have lost to do you remember? I was trying remember. AM and Miami in the two games. Yeah, that's right. They s they they started off slow in that one. So maybe maybe they could have they could have won those, but maybe not necessarily ones that they shouldn't have have lost. But you know, there have been several times where I feel like Notre Dame loses games where they shouldn't. And I think that this this is a game, a perfect sc scenario of a game that they shouldn't lose. But They they try too hard. They they do something that is unconventional for them, not playing their game, like you said, and and you know, causing themselves to turn the ball over, giving giving BYU a short field, BYU is able to capitalize. And now BYU has momentum. They're in this game, they're doing something big with it. So I I think that's really big. And for for BYU, I just think that that they have to get in there to win this game. I think the biggest thing for them is to somehow find a way in that defensive front to compl to disrupt CJ Carr. And I think it's gonna be difficult against this Notre Dame offensive line. Very good offensive line. and CJ Carr is also just very good at staying calm, finding time in the pocket, finding time outside of the pocket if he needs it. but I think for them they're gonna have to disrupt him and disrupt his rhythm, get him to force something, get him to to throw a ball where he shouldn't. you know. if you can s explode in there, just get a few sacks and get him get him out of his comfort zone, you've got the home field advantage to do it. So I think that's big for BYU. what do you have what do you have for BYU in their pass, the victory? Make it ugly. Make it like a a weird game, like a one-star watchability game. Like don't you do not want this game to be like a classic football game. Make it ugly. Make it dirty. Make it where there's a a combined six turnovers. Like that is how BYU wins this game. They're not gonna beat them straight up, as I said. It's the literally BYU's path to victory is the exact opposite of Notre Dame. Do not play traditional football. Play ugly. Like I'm telling you, like they have to force turnovers. They have to force Notre Dame into, you know, weird downs, third and long. Like, that's how you win this game. There's there's no, Barry Bachmeyer win it for us. There's none of that. You have to make this game ugly. And if you do that, then you start to get a chance. And if you have a chance in the fourth quarter, if your BYU, that's all you ask for, is a chance in the fourth quarter. If you go into the fourth quarter and it's thirty to seventeen It's over. Like it's over. But if you go in the fourth quarter and it's, I don't know, thirty twenty-one, thirty twenty-four, and you're like, hey, we got a chance. We got a chance. That's what BYU needs to do. Make this game ugly. Make it like, you know, like similar to Oregon UCLA. Make it like 1715. That's how BYU wins this game. Yeah, it's gonna be a fun one. I think that night games and Provo are a lot more fun than I think they typically get credit for. so really looking forward to this game and this matchup. Let's go on to our after dark game of the week. This week was easy for me, man. I I typically have to dig in and really have to find a good like G6 matchup. This week we've got a power four matchup. It's two teams that, like I said a moment ago, it's two teams that really need this win. It's you know, an organ game, an organ team that needs the win for this season and what it means to them to just bounce back after kind of an ugly start to their season. They shouldn't have been close with Boise State. They shouldn't have lost to Oklahoma State. They shouldn't have had seven turnovers and a big loss to UCLA. But here we are with the two losses on the season. Your season's over if if you if you lose one more right now. We can talk about what it would be in the future. when and since there's a 2014 playoff coming very soon. But we won't we won't talk on that. I digress. Let's let's talk about that on another day. But you know, for Oregon right now. This is a make or break game. You need this win. Nine and three can get you into the playoffs. Do we think that they're going to make it to the playoffs nine and three after the losses that they've had? No. For Nebraska, the the path is set ahead of you. Where if you're able to win this one, for one, it's huge for the program. Like I said a moment ago, it just seems like there's this curse that follows Nebraska around. They can't get over the hump. They can't beat a ranked team. This is basically a ranked team. They're not ranked. and they don't deserve to be in the top twenty five, but this is a ranked talent team. you know, if you look at the talent on Oregon's roster to be able to come away with this win, this is a big one for Nebraska. Now, obviously, you don't get to put it on your on your record and say, check, we beat a we beat a ranked team finally, but you still get to say we went into Eugene. We handled a team who is actually more talented than us on paper. although you look at the stats this year, and I should have had this pulled up. to be able to show we might be able to show it later on whenever we get to our pick'em. But when you look at Nebraska and and their stats on paper, how many stats that they actually succeed over Oregon in, where they have the upper edge, is quite incredible when you look at it this year. This is a different Nebraska team. And like I said, this rides on so much more than just what is there for this season. This rides on what is there for this program going forward. You win this game and I'm I I I mean I'm I'm kind of being very optimistic for for Nebraska, but if you win this game, you're on your way to a 10 win season and and there's there's nothing to really stop you. And that is incredible for Nebraska. You win this game, you have 10 wins on this season looking at you, you hold your own destiny for that. let's see, they're all they're only five and one, right? So I mean, realistically they could go eleven and one, but I think there's probably another loss in there that Aha State. Yeah, I mean you've got yeah, you've got a you've got Ohio State. they beat Indiana. They've got USC on the schedule, which I think you can no, they don't even have USC. There's Washington coming up and there's Iowa. Those are your two toughest matchups outside of Ohio State. So 10 and 2 is on the table, and and I think it's very much very feasible right there, staring at you in the in the face if you can come away with this one. So this is absolutely huge for Nebraska. why I think that this is a bigger a a bigger game for Nebraska than it is Oregon, just because like I said, I think this is more for the program than it is just for the season alone. Yeah, for you I totally agree with what you're saying there with that Nebraska kind of needs this win as a program win, but Oregon also needs this win as like a like a non panic win. If you lose this game, like you're full panic mode. You're what's happening? Dan Lanning, what what is going on? You know, people will start to question Dan Lanning and Oregon. It it it wouldn't be good and and I think that for Oregon to win this matchup would be massive for them to say, Hey, we still have a chance, even though we play Ohio State, 'cause you lose this game, you're not beating Ohio State. So you'll you'll drop that game. You're staring at an eight and four season, and that is not what you want after you know, shooting for the national championship this year. Like I did in the in the off season, I did what like defining success for certain teams. Oreg was national championship game. Them and Texas were my two teams that had to get to the championship game to consider it a success, because they've done everything but that, and they have probably not going to get it there this year. I don't think you're being Ohio State. So you're probably not making the college ball playoff, even if you definitely not, if you lose to Nebraska. So Nebraska needs it for a program, but Oregon needs it like this season. And I feel like it's worse. Like if Nebraska loses this game close, it's not a a bad thing for Nebraska. Like people They're like, you know, this is what happens at Nebraska. Like, we're used to this. This is fine. At least we were competitive this year, and that's a step in the forward. Because, you know, there's a saying that I love that Joel Clatt uses all the time. He said, You have to you you start by losing big before you lose small, and then you win small, and then you win big. I think Nebraska's in the lose small situation right now. Next year you can start to win small. Maybe you're on the other side of that Indiana game. Maybe you're you're beat Oregon by three points. I think those are the steps that Nebraska needs to take. You were in the lose big. This past year wasn't great, but this year you're losing small. You barely lost to Indiana. Can you barely lose to Oregon? And maybe let's say Oregon squeaks out a win but they don't cover. Those are those are steps forward for Nebraska. If you're Oregon and you lose this game, that is a huge jump backwards. So I feel like it's more detrimental to Oregon if you lose this game than it is for Nebraska. I feel like based on that statement, you haven't watched enough Nebraska football here in the last five years because Nebraska has been in the lose small category for a long time, it seems. Well, if you look at Wisconsin, they're in the same thing. Wisconsin under Luke Fickle, he has done nothing up until this season. Now you see them start to lose small s and win small, like against Penn State. They won small. So I feel like Nebraska and Wisconsin are kind of in the same boat. Wisconsin Nebraska's a better football team, but I feel like they're in like the win lose small, which means they're taking steps forward. I think they might be able to win small next year. I I think that they're actually a team that if they don't just completely jump past the win small, then they're just never going to get out of this hump. This is a the it's the type of team that I feel like their jump is going to be, Holy cow, how are we just winning big all of a sudden? And and like I there is no in between for them. But it does seem like a curse that can't be broken. But I promise you, Nebraska fans, if you can come away with this one It feels like that curse is finally starting to fade. And so it it it definitely already feels that way to me from the outside looking in, but I understand where Nebraska fans are coming from. and so this is a tough one. This is a lot of fun. I do think that this is interesting too, because you have Dylan Riola who could be starting this game. I don't know what the outlook is for Dante Moore as of right now. What's that? I believe Brock Thomas is the lean right now to start. Yeah. Okay, so they're probably not going towards Dylan Riola then, huh? and for smart reasons. not only did he have an atrocious game last week, but you add all the emotion coming into this game. Do you really want that on there? But nonetheless, he will be on the roster. And if Brock Thomas doesn't have a a great you know, start to this game, you very well could see Dylan Riola come in. That is if Dante Moore remains out, because I don't know, I he was supposed to have possibly been back last week. And then they didn't put him in, which I think was the right move. but then you know, now this week it's just as as if he was never gonna come back last week at all. So interesting to see what ends up playing out there, but nonetheless, a very fun one. And this one starts at ten thirty Eastern. So is that is that right? Or was it ten thirty central? I think it was ten thirty central. What is that? It's ten thirty eastern. Okay, yeah. So yeah, this is gonna be a fun game. Fun matchup. You're gonna to stay up very late for that one. That's why we had it down as our Game Day Collective after dark game of the week. very big for Oregon on the season, huge for Nebraska on the season, but very big for their program. Getting over it and and and trying to beat a big team like this could be very huge for them. And like you said, too, even with a close loss here for Nebraska, you still feel very good about nine wins season, which eight wins felt like a win this year for Nebraska. and so I I think that, you know, eight wins is like all right, we're If you could beat Iowa at the end of the year, that's a ranked win because Iowa will be ranked. Yeah, most likely, unless Iowa implodes. But yeah, most likely. and so yeah, I just I think that this is a Nebraska team that if you're able to get to that nine wins, feeling really good. And so winning this one, man, to have ten wins staring at you in the face, you better not end with seven after that. But nonetheless, it's gonna be a fun one. I'm very excited. But why let's get to our pick I didn't update the the graphic there because I just looked down at that. I'm pretty sure we both went five and three last week. I was looking at it earlier. and so I think we both went five and three. You might have actually went six and two. I just can't remember for sure, but that one needs to be updated there. So don't pay attention to the screen. We had a bad week five. Week six was a little bit better overall as a collective. Do you have yours pulled up to see what you went through? I'm looking for it. I it'll take a little bit here. Yeah, let me know if if you end up seeing yours. But We'll jump over and get started with it. in our week seven pick of course you can always join in. Drop your picks down in the comments below. If you're watching live, drop in the live chat. Jump over to the YouTube or Facebook live stream and just jump it and drop it down in the the chat. We'll we'll give you a little bit of shout-out and everything. But let's get into it starting off with the first one. And we actually have the wrong one popping up on the screen right away. So how about that? let's go to this one. That's the where the one we're supposed to be on. we've got Mississippi. I was eight and last eight and were you really? I believe so. Huh. I didn't I must have been looking at the wrong list then. So I th yeah, I think it they're all green check marks. must be. you might be looking at the at the main page there. You have to look at your picks. I I did I'll I'll I'll I'll keep looking at that. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, 'cause I think you had Missouri, you had Nebraska. You switched to the North Carolina one. Kansas State you would have had wrong. you got UCLA. Three wrong. Texas was wrong. Yeah, so five and three. I believe s I believe no, I was two three wrong. Yeah, three. There we Okay, so it was five and three. Okay. Five. Yeah, I I thought so. I thought I looked at it earlier. Thought I had it right. Thought so, but I also didn't update it on the screen, so how do I know? anyways, going on. Mississippi State LSU. L SU is a pretty big favorite in this one. Two touchdowns. favored by two touchdowns and fourteen and a half is what we're locking it in at Man, I I think that this is one that's really interesting. Mississippi State had a bye week last week, right? I believe so, yes. So you have Mississippi State coming off of bye week and right before that a disappointing loss to Alabama. and you know, coming into this game where they feel like they really need it to get right, and it comes in Baton Rouge. we talked about this with Texas AM. You don't get right in Baton Rouge. The good thing is this is an early game. This is a noon kickoff game. so you don't have as rowdy of an atmosphere, and that's just true about LSU. That's why a lot of the marquee matchups have to be nighttime games for LSU because it's like there is no environment like Baton Rouge at night, Death Valley at night, is incredible. Looking at Camario Taylor, man, 1400 passing yards on the season, 17 touchdowns, four interceptions. I think two of those or three of those, two of those came in the Alabama game. I believe two, yeah. And so, you know, look looking at him, and then of course you got Sam Levitt, who's been throwing you know, pretty Pretty good when it comes to yardage, but eight interceptions on the season for him. This is a quarterback battle that'll be very interesting. and with LSU right now, interesting enough, they're with outwit weeks and they also don't have trade as greens. So a couple of guys that could really help Mississippi State being able to capitalize if those two guys do not play in this in this one. So Mississippi State, I think that the their ability to kind of extend plays, able to score. should be able to keep them in this game. And I think that this spread is a little bit disrespectful. I'll start us off. I think LSU wins this one still. I don't think that they can cover that 14 and a half point spread though. So I'm picking Mississippi State to cover the spread. So in the pick'em, give me Mississippi State. But I'm going to pick this one LSU 31 Mississippi State 24. I think LSU is going to be able to generate enough and be able to kind of Cause some you know, be able to go out there and have some sustained drives. I just don't think they're gonna have as high of a scoring game, you know, at least comparatively, to be able to run away with this thing by 14 or 15 points. So give me LSU to win this one. Mississippi, I like this team a lot. And I, you know, as an Oklahoma guy, I really wish they would just win this one and feel a high going into next week because they host Oklahoma next week, I believe. So, but nonetheless, I think they drop this one. Being able to keep it close though with a higher scoring offense, you know, an offense that can create. So give me LSU to win this one 31-24. Yeah. when I look at this game, the first thing I look at is home field for LSU. If you've looked at LSU throughout the year, they have been way better at home. They're an entire different team at home. You look at their record at home, they beat Clemson by fifty at home. They beat AM by thirty at home. On the road, they lose to Ole Miss by eight, and they lose To who did they play last week? Kentucky by one. That one was on the road as well. So they're way better at home. They have yet to lose this week or this year on the at home. They're 0 2 on the road. So I sit here right now and think, okay, they're at home. Mississippi State's coming off of the bye week, but before that was the Alabama loss. You have Camario Taylor who's coming off of an injury. He's still getting better. He's not 100%, you know, what. What do we get from him? Do we get a 100% Camario Taylor or do we not? I'm leaning towards we we don't. But if we can get like an 80% Camario Taylor, that helps. But if you look at Mississippi State's team, I don't think they have the talent to it's similar to BYU. If you take away LJ Martin or Barry Balkmeyer, if you take away Camario Taylor, you don't have a ton left. And LSU coming off of that loss, they're two losses. Lane Kiffin is probably the most PO'd guy in the entire United States at this point. He is gonna want this win more than anything else. And he needs it. He needs it to keep his playoff hopes alive. So when I look at this matchup without Camario Taylor playing his best football, because I believe he'll be you know, still somewhat injured, I I think Sam Levitt has kind of found a a new version of himself, a more pocket presence version of himself. And I think we saw that against AM. And even you look at the Kentucky game. They put 34 on Kentucky. Like that's that's really solid. Now it's the defense. It's Blake Baker. He's the best defensive coordinator along with Bryant Haynes in the country. Those two guys are amazing. I think that Blake Baker, i I think he'll start to figure this out and figure this defense out. Witweeks, as you said, I believe you said he was coming back. I think that's massive. That right there, that's your leader of your team coming back for the defensive side. So I think that's another, you know, just piece layer of icing on the cake for LSU. So give me LSU minus 14 and a half and give me them to win 35 to 14. I think that their defense is going to be hungry and I think their offense is going to keep doing what they've been doing. And give me LSU to win this matchup. Yeah. And so you're picking them to cover the spread too, right? Yes. Man. Yeah. So it'd be a big, big win for them too. I think that this is a a tough Mississippi State offense. to completely outscore. But you do bring up a good point. there's probably some some something to be to be said about Camario Taylor coming back from you know being banged up and so I'm sure that will affect him and so being not not being one hundred percent in this game definitely does does affect him. And I was looking Witweeks should not be back in this game. It's at least right now he's he's listed as out. So I know I was looking into that earlier. So I was just double checking making sure that that didn't so yeah you've got trade as green, big tight end target, Whit Weeks. Trade as Green's big, yeah. So yeah, I think that that with those two guys out, that's that's pretty big for LSG. That's the only reason why I think that could it could be closer. But you do bring up a good point again with their home record and what they've done this year at home. So it'll be very, very fun game to watch, nonetheless. Another fun SEC matchup. Going on to another SEC matchup, Florida, Texas. You brought this one up a moment ago. Two teams that really need this bad. and I don't know, I feel like it's hard for me to pick who needs this game more because Florida, man, the way that they started their season, they would really like to have this on back with a couple of losses. And you brought up their rushing attack here in these last two losses against Missouri, not even not even able to get 50 rushing yards up on the board. I think only like 120 last week against South Carolina. So, you know, they lost 45 to 17 against Missouri. 38 to 19 to South Carolina at home. Absolutely embarrassing for this Florida team after the start that they had to the season. Being able to take out take down Ole Miss. that was a huge game for them. So looking right now in SEC play, the Gators have allowed 37 and a half points per game in SEC play. Right now, quarterback Aaron Filo also dealing with a little bit of a shoulder related availability concern. I think he should be fine. I think he'll still play, but To your point with Camario Taylor, I'd make the same point with with Aaron Philo. If he's not really fully able to to you know jump into this game, you know, one hundred percent, I am interested to see you know, what that that means for for Aaron Philo in this game. So right now I think that with with Arch Manning coming off of that that Red River loss, and really feeling like it was all his fault, right? You know, he had two picks that felt like it sealed the that game. you you can look at that that those those two picks and feel like if you take those two out, Oklahoma's not in this game at all. And so really wanting a bounce back from him. And again, a Texas team who felt like they could have and should have won that Red River matchup. So I like Texas to win this one. I like Texas to cover that spread. I am picking my score to be very close to that spread. I'm gonna pick Texas twenty eight, Florida sixteen. I think that those those recent defensive struggles will make this Texas offense look a little bit better than they really are. and so, you know, give me, give me Texas's defense to hold Florida down, not allow them to do much down there in DKR. and so give me Texas to cover the spread and win this one big. Yeah, I I look at Florida and like you said, Aaron Filo being banged up and Tramell Jones potentially getting a start. Tremel Jones is I think that that quarterback position at Florida is not the most important thing for me. It's Jaden Baugh and and Duke. Clark at the running back spot. Those are the two guys that have to get going in this game. Cause you look at Florida, as I said earlier, their losses, South Carolina, Missouri, you look at the rushing yards, they're not good. They are really not good in the Missouri game. Jaden Baugh, twelve carries, thirteen yards. If Jaden Baugh gets going in this matchup, I truly believe that Florida can outright beat Texas. 'Cause you watched this game last year, and what outcome do we get? We got Florida over Texas. I I truly believe. That if Forda plays just good enough at the quarterback position, not great, we don't even need Tremel Jones or a banged up Aaron Philo to play great. Give us can you give us 200 yards passing? Can you give us a touchdown and no interceptions? That's it. We don't need you to 250 and three touchdowns, just 200 and a touchdown. Can we get that? So that opens up the run game to where Jane Baugh, if we could have 200 passing yards, 200 rushing yards, 400 total yards for It's not a ton. It it's a good amount. I think if you get that, even 180 on the ground, I think Florida can win this game. Now Florida's secondary, a little weak. That's probably the weak point of their defense. But Arch Manning's not taking advantage of anyone this year. He throws those great passes like the post route to Cam Coleman. You see those plays, and it's like, man, that was a a a beautifully layered pass. But he doesn't do that every time. He has the bad plays against Oklahoma, the two picks the entire first three quarters against Ohio State. Like those are still things that happen. He has yet to play a complete game this year. I don't even know if I've yet to see him play a complete game in his career yet at Texas, to where he goes out and has a and I'm talking like a a powerful team. We've seen him play against Texas State. But like I want to see him go out and win a game against a good opponent by him winning Texas the game, not by, the rushing game helped him out. Cam Coleman made these incredible, you know, plays after the after catch. I want to see Arch Manning play good and I haven't seen it yet. So with that being said, I can't trust Texas if I haven't seen it yet. It's similar to, you know, like you're not gonna take it. I'm not gonna take a team just from guessing what they might do. I'm gonna take the team by going off of what I've seen. In Florida, I've seen them run the ball really well. I've seen them beat Ole Miss by 30 points. Like that's still on their resume. So for me, I like Florida to cover. I don't like them to win. Give me Texas to win twenty-seven twenty-four. Give me Florida plus the points. I think it's going to come down to a field goal. You know, whether Texas hits the game winner or whatever happens, I think that Texas gets the win. But I do think that Florida will go in there and put up a heck of a fight. And even if they lose by 10 points, that's still that's still inside the spread. So it's moved to eleven right now. So give me Florida. plus ten and a half or eleven, whatever we want to go with. I think Ford is going to keep this game within a field goal. Yeah, yeah. I like I like Texas. You so far we're we're against each other on both of our picks. I like Texas to cover the spread. I like Mississippi State to cover the spread. You like L S U and you like Florida. so yeah, just really fun so far to look through and and see see where we go down with it. I I I think when when you you look at this matchup too, it's gonna come down to Texas's Texas' ability to stop and slow down Florida. Like you said, they're they're they're running, their their rushing attack is is the biggest one. and so yeah, I think that that's huge. All right. looking on to Ohio State, Indiana, this has been called and and at first I was like, well, come on, not really, but I I looked back and I was like, yeah, none of these big games are in Bloomington. This is Indiana's biggest. Home matchup in Bloomington in program history. and I don't know how you argue against that. Very fun matchup. You've got Jeremiah Smith. So if I were to read you off these these stats, 48 receptions, 916 yards, 11 touchdowns, you would tell me, wow, that's a really good season. And then I would fire back with, no, that's only half a season for a wide receiver. And you'd say, What? And your jaw would hit the floor. I'm telling you that this is only half a season for Jeremiah Smith. Julian Saiyan, extremely efficient to start the season. 71.2% on his completions, 17 touchdowns, only two interceptions. And I'm I know for sure one of them was last week. it was just like a really wet, gross game. It was all weather. so you know, just you know, overall, really efficient, really effective. Josh Hoover's also been on on point. The biggest concern with me about Indiana coming into this season, the only reason why I was a little lower on Indiana. Than some people were everyone saying, they deserve to be number one. They're gonna go on and win the national championship again. I just stepped back and I said, Josh Hoover shows a lot of potential. He's a very good player and shows a lot of big playability, but he has a turnover issue. Can Signetti work that out of him? In my previous experience in watching quarterbacks, they don't usually work that out of him. Josh Hoover's completely worked that out of him. 17 touchdowns. No interceptions so far throughout the season. he's been very protective of that football, not allowing other teams to get his hands on it. So I like Indiana to be able to pressure Ohio State, get in there and and break through that protection. I like Indiana to keep this one close. I just look at that three and a half right now. And I honestly think that Ohio State, man, outside of Georgia, I think Ohio State is the best team in the nation. They had a bad quarter, a bad half against Texas. That lost them the game, and I think they made a lot of stupid mistakes to lose that. I think that Ohio State is one of the best. I think they're able to win this one more comfortably. give me Ohio State like 28-20, maybe 24-20, man. Just barely cover the spread. I don't know. I don't think they're gonna win by much. I think they'll only win by about a touchdown or a little less. but give me Ohio State to win this game and barely cover the spread. Indiana, that's still a really good outcome for you, but I just s worry about this. pick because I hate picking against Signetti. I agree. It's I feel like I always am wrong when I pick against Kurt Signetti. But in this matchup, I look at Ohio State's offense and it is so good. You have Jeremiah Smith who's going off for 200 a game. But I think if you limit Jeremiah Smith if you're Indiana, I think they will. But that's the thing. Limiting Jeremiah Smith, like I said earlier, that's like still 150 yards. Like that's a limited day from Jeremiah Smith. Last year in the Big Ten championship, I believe he had Around a hundred and forty-ish yards and they won. Indiana won, even with Jeremiah Smith you know, quote unquote going off. I I think that the run game for Ohio State has improved this year. I think you know, getting Bo Jackson another year in under his belt, getting Isaiah West still on the team, Legend Bay is still there. I I really like this Ohio State offense. They are a very multi-dimensional offense. They can run, they can pass. You can shut down either one. They'll use the other one. Now the run game isn't super explosive. I think they need to, you know, get that run game going to where they can break off some explosive runs. But, you know, when you look at it, it's like, do they need that necessarily? You have so many receivers. You have so many running backs. I think you just gotta play your game. For Indiana, they had four explosive plays against Nebraska, and that's all they needed to win. Like, other than that, they didn't really do anything against them and they scored twenty. So I look at this matchup, and in my opinion, I think it's the opposite of what it was last year. I think this is a higher scoring game because I I see both teams' identity and their identity at this point. I feel like his offense, Josh Hoover, has not he's thrown what? Has he thrown a pick yet this year? I don't even think he's thrown a pick. Yeah, zero picks. It's incredible. It's that's literally incredible to go from a I don't even know what, at least twelve picks last year. I think he had a lot of phone. Twelve or fourteen last year. Yeah, twelve or fourteen. So I think Josh Hoover has grown up as a quarterback and matured as a quarterback to where I think he he can match up with Julian Sain. Is he better? You know, talent for talent. Maybe not, but he can move. He can he can run. I think this this is matching up as a higher scoring game. So for my prediction, I will take Ohio State to win. I'm going to take Ohio State to win thirty one to twenty for I believe that that they are just the slightly better team. I think both teams make the college ball playoff, but I think in this case, Ohio State gets the massive win. And if you played this game on a neutral field, the spread would probably be around Ohio State minus six. If you played it at home, they'd probably be a seven and a half point favorite. But in this matchup, I like Ohio State to get it to get the win. So give me Ohio State plus or minus three and a half. Yeah. I I the only reason why I I differ from you is that I just see these two defenses And I know what they're capable of. I think Nebraska was able to slow Indiana down last week. I don't think Nebraska's defense is as good as Ohio State's. and I I also think that Kurt Signetti is just so good in these big time matchups, that I trust this one being lower scoring. I do think Jeremiah Smith still goes off for 125, 130 yards, whatever. but I think this is the type of game against this team, against g against this Indiana team. I think that this is the type of game that Jeremiah Smith actually needs eight to twelve catches in order to get to that that 100 yard mark. I think that it's going to be a lot more preventing him. And I say slowing him down in the sense that, like, what is slowing Jeremiah Smith down? It's like under 150 yards. That's what it seems like. So I think that Ohio State's also been smart enough not to rely so much on him. You saw that last week, where he only had four receptions. and even in that Iowa game, I could tell they spread the rock around a lot more. can they keep on doing that? Can they lean on that running game, which I agree with you is so much more improved this year. and Ohio State's concern this year has been the offensive line. Can Indiana get in there and create pressure? Can they get in there and make stop some runs without having to stock stack the box? I think that's possible with this Indiana defense. That's the only reason why I lean under. And so we differ on that one, but both teams also have been really good on third down, over forty five percent on the season. That's pretty solid. numbers. So it's going to be interesting to see. So I I could see this going one way or another. Extremely low scoring, like I don't know, thirteen to sixteen kind of game. Or I could see this going like 35 to you know, I don't know, 35, 42 or something. I could see it going either way. But yeah, it's it's going to be really interesting to watch this game. It's going to be a fun one, a huge one for the Indiana Hoosiers as they get into it. Again, make sure to hit that like button, hit that subscribe button. if you're watching anywhere other than YouTube, it does help us on the YouTube channel to keep on growing over there. And so subscribe on there. and so that way we can keep on growing here at Game Day Collective. let's go on to our game four in the pick'em, and this is Alabama at Tennessee, a game that is always one to mark on your calendars, one that you've always got to tune in for. The Alabama Crimson Tide opened up as I guess I'm not sure what they opened up as, but we're locking it in. At seven and a half. I guess we had eight and a half on our locks. but we're we're going seven and a half now. that's what it says on the screen. So we look at Alabama in this game. I think w I mean I'm gonna start off with Tennessee. They're the home team. I'm gonna start off with them. Deshaun Bishop, six hundred and seventy-eight rushing yards so far in the season, eight touchdowns. He's averaged over six yards per carry. so that running game is definitely there. It's it's one that Josh Heipel A lot of people like I don't know. I it's like people who don't really pay attention to the the nitty-gritty of college football the way that you and I might. They they look at a a high scoring Tennessee offense, a Josh Hypole offense, and think, Air raid, they throw the ball a lot. No, he runs the ball efficiently, effectively, and sets up those big explosive pass plays. His passing is not nearly as as you know prominent on his his offenses. So this is a very fun game. you know, yeah, you got Ryan Coleman will Ryan Coleman Williams. Hate that he changed the last name because it's so tricky for me to keep it, yeah, keep it straight. But I love the reasoning. he's out for this game. He's not going to be playing as of right now, at least. Seems like those those availability reports change a lot, especially in big matchups like this. But I think that for the deciding factor in this game, can Alabama slow Deshaun Bishop down? I think that this defense has shown glimmers. They've shown a lot of ability to do some really good things. They've also shown that they're able to you know allow big explosive plays. I think that's where Tennessee can keep themselves in this game. Although I think that that Alabama is ticked off after last week, a heartbreak loss in a way that I think you could probably point fingers, but we won't go there. And I think that this is an Alabama team that's pissed off, ready to roll into this week. And wanting to take down their rival in a big way on the road. Give me Alabama to win this one comfortably. Give me Alabama 34, Tennessee 20. I just haven't been super convinced about Tennessee, although this is a rivalry game that can get that can swing either way any year. Yeah, I think that Alabama has been playing incredible, even though they lost to Georgia. Alabama this year, like I don't know. Do they just seem different to you than they were the last two years under Calen DeBoer? They sure do. They just seem like Yeah, they seem like a different, like there's a different mojo about them. Like their their play style's a little different. They seem like more of I don't even want to use the words, not a Nick Saban Alabama, but they seem more of like a Alabama that you fear. That's like you do not want to play them. As as in last year, it's like, okay, we gotta play Alabama, but you know, it's like they're just gonna be a tough team to play. This year's Alabama, it's like No, you do not want to play Alabama. It's similar to Georgia, like how Georgia's been the last few years. You don't want to play them. You do not want to play Alabama. Like they are kind of back to that somewhat status of being that scary, you know, you know, a logo. Like you do not want to play that team. And I think they're getting back to that. But in this matchup, love this rivalry, third Saturday in October. I I think Tennessee going with George McIntyre is not the play. Now, here's my thing. I will throw this out there. To bench and start quarterbacks, just keep doing that is going to mess your quarterback up. It is going to mess your quarterback. His mindset, I mean, if you keep bringing them like there's teams that play multiple quarterbacks in a game. Well, you know, like a guy will play this role. Like Texas Tech tried to do with Tommy Castellanos and Will Hammond. You're you're gonna mess your quarterbacks up. They don't get a rhythm, you're gonna screw them up. You you're not gonna have a a guy that can just go out there and just play the game, feel the rhythm of the game. When he's getting pulled out every other week. Like you can't keep doing that. So I see why they're going with George McIntyre, but I do not believe that this gives them the better shot to win. So with Tennessee, I I I sit here and I try to find a way for them to win. Like I'm like, okay, well, maybe the run game gets going. Maybe Alabama makes some mistakes. I'm trying. Like I'm I really sat here and I tried to think, is there a way for Tennessee to win? Is it home field? Is it in Knoxville? Like, how do they win this? I came to the same conclusion, Alabama's gonna win and cover. I I just don't see a path for Tennessee right now. So gimme Alabama to win this twenty eight to seventeen. They're gonna win by eleven. It could be even more. Like I think there's a point where this game is out of hand, honestly, in the fourth quarter. But gimme Alabama to win and cover, probably with ease. I like the maturity that I've seen from Keelon Russell too. So that's that's something that I think really has me leaning Alabama pretty heavy in this one. All right, let's go to the great state of Oklahoma. Kentucky at Oklahoma. Kentucky just repeatedly finds ways to win competitive SEC games right now. And this new Kentucky regime has got them going. I think that you you got the Red River results for Oklahoma. I think that it it it's shown that this defense is fired up and w ready and willing to do whatever it takes to win games. and they're for real. they they felt disrespected. By the way that they lost to Georgia, knowing that they did everything they could in their their power and they they came out and had a big game. a special teams touchdown on a punt re punt block in the end zone and a pick six, and then of course that interception at the end of the game to win that one, a lot of of big things. But the core question still re revolves around this Oklahoma team. Does the offense have enough to score and and and get something going? and you know, I think that's what what concerns Oklahoma fans and even college football fans around the country about Oklahoma is their offense is still atrocious. It still can't really do a whole lot. It was clean last week. And if they clean up mistakes, they proved to you what they can do. They can take down the number one team in the nation. I do think that I lean Oklahoma winning this game. It is in Norman. It's a nighttime in go Norman. Brent Venables knows how to get his players on the right mindset after a big win. You look at what he said immediately Following that game in a in a an interview on the field, quickly jumped on to we've got a great Kentucky team coming into Norman next week. And the press conference afterwards again mentions a great Kentucky team coming into Norman. Looking forward to that g that matchup, knowing that you can't overlook at this Kentucky team. And it is very much so a great Kentucky team going into Norman. So I do lean Oklahoma, but I think they're favored too much in this game. let's see, we we have them at sorry, I never even Had the the graphic pop up. Yeah, so we have them at six and a half, seven points as what we had it locked in at. so yeah, right about the same. I don't think they win by a touchdown anymore. I think Oklahoma wins it really close. You saw how they won it in the Red River last week by a walk-off field goal. Give me Oklahoma. I'm just gonna make this one kind of an ugly looking score. I'm gonna pick Oklahoma twenty-four, Kentucky twenty-three, although I could see it being lower scoring than that than that if Oklahoma wins. I don't think Oklahoma's gonna be able to score twenty-four a whole lot this season. so yeah, give me Oklahoma twenty-four, twenty-three in this one. Yeah, I believe that Kentucky has been playing great this year and that they're gonna continue to play great. They look like a solid football team. Kenny Minchie right now is dialing up eleven touchdowns to one interception. That is phenomenal. That's similar to how CJ Carr was fifteen to one ratio. That's exactly what you want from a quarterback, and he's a younger quarterback too. That is great. Also, CJ Baxter, former Texas running back. 484, eight touchdowns. He's averaging a little over a touchdown again or about a touchdown a game. So I believe that this Kentucky offense with Will Stein, the guy is a great coach. He has got Kentucky flying high, similar to UCLA. Two teams that are just in rarefied air. I like Kentucky to keep their, you know, Cinderella story alive, if you will. But on the Oklahoma side, to make a case for Oklahoma, their defense is really good. Their defense is one of, if not the best in the country. They know how to stop the run. They know how to stop the pass. They don't have a problem with one or the other. They know how to stop either one. This is a very well rounded defense. My only concern is offense. John Mateer, yes, they won the game, but under 200 yards, no touchdowns in that matchup. So that concerns me a little bit is if he doesn't get going, or if if if the run game doesn't get going. I don't know if Oklahoma scores more than like 14 points. So in this matchup, I am going to take Kentucky minus what is that? Kentucky plus six and a half. I have. I guess I'll take Kentucky plus six seven and six and a half. It's all the same. Yeah. I will take Kentucky to win twenty-eight-21. I think they'll win right on the spread. I I just believe that they're a slightly better football team. I know they're going into Norman, but either way, I think that the high of beating Texas Is going to lead to a bit of a drop off. Now I know most of the letdown spots happen on the road. I think Kentucky's gonna get a win. I think Kentucky beating LSU, I know that's a a a huge win for them, and maybe you could say letdown for them on the road. Like that's prime example of a letdown spot for Kentucky. But I think Oklahoma it is going to play good, but I think Kentucky's gonna play just a little bit better to get the win. I like it. Yeah, it's gonna be a fun one there in Norman, Oklahoma. Let's go to the other Oklahoma team. Oklahoma State going down to Houston. Houston just coming off of a big road win for them. 35-16 over Kansas State. And they're averaging, man, like they're averaging a really good 40 points per game right now. Houston's looking really solid. And Wyatt, I I don't understand why you can't just jump on the Houston train and realize that this is a good football team. I really like what they're getting. Although at Oklahoma State, Drew Mestamaker is looking like the Drew Mestam maker that we originally thought would come out game one of of the 2026 season, looking solid. and and you really can't say anything bad about him since that first game against Tulsa. So right now, you look at at this matchup, I think that Houston's offensive balance for me gives them the edge in this game. It's at home. Give me Houston to win this one and Let's see, that's four and a half. So they they're covering the spread for me. I'm picking Houston to cover the spread in this pick. I'm giving Houston 34, Oklahoma State 28. I like Connor Wegman and this offense to get this one done. Yeah, I I've been there done that with Houston. I I dabbled in the Houston picking. I took them to beat Texas Tech. Was close, didn't quite work out. But in this matchup, man, Oklahoma State's a really good football team. Drew Mestonmaker is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. I think he might be a day one. Draft pick into the NFL. Oklahoma State's offense right now, 38.2 points per game, 521 yards per game, 199 rush yards per game. All these stats are just keep stacking on top of each other. I think Oklahoma State's the better team. I know they're playing, they're on the road in Houston, but still, I like Oklahoma State to win this matchup. Give me Oklahoma State plus 4.5, giving them to win 31 matchup. I think they win by one touchdown, and I think they bring it home. I think that Oklahoma State is going to be a team that will be in the Big 12 championship. They Texas Tech coming to town soon. Early prediction, I think they're going to win that game as well. But we'll talk about that one later. That Houston third down percentage is like crazy. Sixty two point seven percent right now. Like that's i it incredible. but Yeah, I I mean Oklahoma State is has proven me wrong so far up to this point. Well, I mean, I guess they've finally bounced back to prove me right because they were actually my breakout team of the year. I actually thought that this is what they would have done. It's just that they started off slow. And so I I I think that this Oklahoma State team is good. I I think they're gonna keep this one an interesting game. but I just I I do really like Houston. So and back to your point too, you you picked them to beat Texas Tech. They lost but that game by an inch. So, you know, you gotta you gotta give some leeway here. but no, I I I give you a hard time 'cause you were unwilling to pick last week. And now here we got him on the on the pick again. And we'll see. We'll see who comes out ahead on this one. All right. One more. This was also our one more before the game of the week. This was our after dark game of the week. You got Oregon as a seven and a half point favorite. has that line moved at all? I don't believe so. I don't think since we last checked. I believe it was eight and a half when it opened. and I'm pretty sure I saw it at eight and a half at one point. and then of course earlier today saw it at seven and a half. So regardless, this is a very fun one. Like I said, really huge for Nebraska. This is a game that is big for the Nebraska program as a whole. Really big for both teams' futures in this season. But of course, like you mentioned, I do agree. I think overall maybe bigger on the season for Oregon because they've got to get things right. And it's harder to get things right when you're on the road, which is exactly where Nebraska's at. It's gonna be a tough one for Nebraska to win this one, but I think that they're able to get it done. I think they overcome, they finally do what they need to do and beat a good team and they do it on the road in Odson Stadium. I just don't have any faith in Oregon, man. and it's hard for me to pick Nebraska in this matchup just because I I don't really I I don't really know what to think of Nebraska. you know, and and I always have a hard time picking them because I know what that curse is and what that looks like. But I like Nebraska to finally get past the hump. Look at those numbers and tell me that that's not just crazy to see with Nebraska having a better defense. Nebraska having a better overall offense, maybe not scoring offense, but an overall offense, a better overall defense, better on third downs than Oregon. Sitting at a 52% on third downs. This is a very good Nebraska team. I'm excited for them. I think that this is finally the team to get them over the hump and do what they need to do. They've got a great class of young guys coming in. They've got a lot of young guys that are on the roster right now that will be on the team next year. So I think a win in Eugene will be huge for Nebraska. Give me Nebraska to win this one. What was my score prediction? 2320, a gut-wrenching close one score game for Nebraska. To pull it out and and get the win. Yeah, like like you said, we we already broke this game down kind of earlier, so I'm gonna make this quick. But Nebraska, I think that this is their shot to get a a wounded duck. And you know, hey, Nebraska, as Will Compton said, maybe they'll go duck hunting this week. We'll see. I think they will. I think they're going to, you know, get the kill. And I think Nebraska's going to win this game. Give me them twenty seven twenty-four. Not necessarily calling walkoff field goal, but I think they'll win by a field goal. However that works. So give me Nebraska plus seven and a half. I don't know. Can they hit the field goal? I guess. That's that's the question. Maybe they lose it because they can't hit the field goal the way that they did it against Indiana. nonetheless, I like Indiana. I like Nebraska to cover the spread. So in the pick'em, that's all that matters. But yeah, I I like I like Nebraska to pull this one off. I like how we both have them by a field goal too. all right. Game of the week. This is gonna be a fun one out in Provo. We broke this one down a lot. Notre Dame's balance against BYU's run defense. They've got some stout guys over there. Are they able to do enough? Are they able to get anyone else to produce on offense? I do like BYU in this matchup. I think that they're able to do something in this matchup. I am going to cover the pick them to cover the 10 point spread. I think they keep this one close. Give me BYU 23, Notre Dame 30 for BYU to keep this one close out in Provo. Storming Mormons hopped up on chocolate milk and crumble cookie. We're keeping this thing alive and we're just gonna we're gonna make it a tough one for Notre Dame. They're gonna walk out of this feeling like they had to earn this win. Yeah, I I'm on the total other side. I think BYU without LJ Martin trying to put the game on Bear Bachmire. I don't think it's gonna work. I think Notre Dame, I mean, I have held them back in my top twenty five, you know, just being on the outside the top five at the sixth spot because they haven't played anybody. But I'm gonna be honest with you, they're a top five easily talent, probably top three talent roster. They are a very good team. That offense is going to be amazing. The run game, the pass game, CJ Carr fur gonna be a first round draft pick. I think Notre Dame's gonna win this game pretty easily. Give me Notre Dame minus ten and a half. Give me them to win thirty eight twenty one, but I could also easily see them win by more. I I'm on the total opposite side of of your thoughts on this game. I think Notre Dame is going to announce themselves as yay, we're here. We you know, leave no doubt. That is their, you know, that that is their I don't even know what the word would be. That's that's their motto going into the season was leave no doubt. And I think that they will leave no doubt in this matchup. Yeah, and I I totally see a scenario where that breaks out. I just feel like this is a weird one. Like the more that I started to think about this game, I feel like this is one where Notre Dame's gonna do stuff that they shouldn't be doing and and you know, shoot themselves in the foot. and I don't I don't know why I just have that weird gut feeling about this game. It's not that I think BYU's good enough to do it. It's just that I think that Notre Dame hasn't had that game yet. Maybe that maybe you call it against North Carolina where they kind of had that game, but they were able to come out ahead in that one. but I don't know. I just like there's some weird gut feeling that I'm getting about BYU just like they they don't belong in this game. Everyone's counting them out and they just find a way to maybe force Notre Dame to shoot themselves in the foot. but you know, I just I think this is gonna be a fun matchup there and Provo. nonetheless, man, it's a fun and very exciting week seven in college football. But that'll do it here on the Game Day Collective College Football Shooth show. Thank you very much for everyone who joined us live. If you're watching at all, whether it's live or after the fact, make sure to hit that like button, hit that subscribe button button, comment down below. and of course turn on your notifications as well on YouTube so that you know when we go live. Of course, nights like tonight we might go live a little bit later than we schedule, but that's okay. we're looking forward to Thursday night live shows here on out. 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