Lowell's Locks: Week Eleven

With only a few weeks remaining in the regular season, the Locks find themselves in an unfamiliar position; an under .500 record. However, all is not lost. There is still time to bounce back.

Ohio State handled Penn State late, Oregon rocked Michigan, and Georgia pulled away from Florida to mark three wins last week. Pittsburgh got obliterated by SMU, South Carolina crushed Texas A&M, and Louisville shocked Clemson for my three losses.

South Carolina remains an enigma for this prognosticator, and while Clemson had been a reliable cover for a stretch of games, they’ve now fallen short a few weeks in a row. It’s time to change some things up.

Saturday, November 9^th

No.3 Georgia (-2.5) at No.16 Ole Miss:

Georgia played one pretty bad half of football against Alabama earlier this season, which they simply could not recover from. Other than that, when they’ve needed to, they’ve been able to pull themselves out of the fire. This is a good trait to have this week because there will be plenty of opportunity to get burned against this Ole Miss squad. The Rebels are one of the more talented teams in the country, and at home, I expect them to give the Bulldogs an absolute battle. Can Georgia pull itself out of the fire once again? We’ll find out. I lean towards them getting burned.

Lowell’s Lock: Ole Miss covers +2.5

Michigan at No.8 Indiana (-14):

It’s hard to believe, but Indiana is part of the Big Ten’s upper class, while Michigan has been relegated to fighting for its bowl life. The offense just isn’t working for Michigan, and while the defense is still talented, it will not be able to hold up against this Indiana attack all game. This one gets opened up in the second half.

Lowell’s Lock: Indiana covers -14

No.25 Army (-2.5) at North Texas:

Both of these teams can create explosive plays on offense (how weird is it to say that about Army?). However, the North Texas defense is pretty bad, particularly on the ground, where they give up nearly 180 yards per game. That’s bad news against Army, who, far and away, leads the country in rushing. The Black Knights should be able to control the tempo of this game to their liking and limit the Mean Green offense.

Lowell’s Lock: Army covers -2.5

No.20 Colorado (-4.5) at Texas Tech:

All indications are that this should be a high-scoring affair in Lubbock. The Buffaloes have finally found a groove, being carried by their explosive passing game. That shouldn’t change this week. Neither of these teams is elite defensively, but Colorado seems to get the stops when it matters. I’m betting on the Buffs to stay hot.

Lowell’s Lock: Colorado covers -4.5

South Carolina (-6) at Vanderbilt:

South Carolina has found a formula that works. Get after the quarterback, run the football, don’t make mistakes. While the Vanderbilt offense has been explosive at times, it has been significantly less so since that shocking game at Alabama. The formula will hold up again as the Gamecocks use their fierce front to force some turnovers and set themselves up for a couple of easy scores.

Lowell’s Lock: South Carolina covers -6

No.23 Clemson (-6.5) at Virginia Tech:

There is no more margin of error for the Tigers. They already need to win out and get some help to make the ACC championship and have a shot at the playoffs, and a loss here will bring about a bevy of questions in Tiger Town. The Hokies are a little banged up, but some of what they do well on offense are things that the Tigers have struggled against defensively (namely, running the ball). This is not going to be an easy game in Lane Stadium. I think the Tigers will have a bounceback game here offensively, but it’s hard to imagine all the defensive issues being suddenly fixed in one week.

Score Prediction: 31-27 Clemson

Lowell’s Lock: Virginia Tech covers +6.5