Who Will Cover: Week 3 College Football Picks

Image via Complex Original

Five-for-five? Yup, you read that right, we pitched a perfect game last week in our first round of college football picks. This week the games are much more competitive and the picking becomes tougher. We've got the Thursday night game at 8:00 between LSU and Mississippi State, Saturday's 12 o'clock Auburn vs. Clemson matchup, Michigan State vs. Notre Dame at 3:30, and the Scandal Bowl (a.k.a. Ohio State vs. Miami) at 7. We cap it off with the primetime tilt with national title implications between Oklahoma and Florida State at 8 o'clock. You might hold off on the big money this weekend, but if you're itching to put make some small plays down, Complex has you covered.

Last Week (5-0)

Overall (5-0)

All spreads are from Covers and could change prior to gametime. Follow me on Twitter (@nrestivo) to get my insights during all the games I picked this weekend. Good luck to all.

LSU @ Mississippi St. (Thursday, 8:00, ESPN)

Spread: Mississippi St. (+3)

The dreaded Thursday night game—the favored team goes on the road into a hostile environment and loses. The short week and lack of preparation might point to taking Mississippi State, but to quote Lee Corso, not so fast my friends. Mississippi State just had a battle against Auburn at Auburn, while LSU cruised at home against Northwestern State. You can't tell me that Les Miles wasn't overlooking NW St. a little bit. Regardless, the LSU starters were out at the half and rested up while MSU was battling until the last snap to eventually lose to Auburn—an Auburn team that was the home dog. The LSU defense will prove too much against State's rushing attack, and the LSU offense will give just enough to pull out the win in Starkville. A lot of the public will go with Mississippi State since the trends of last year say to go with the home dog, but LSU will win handily.

Auburn @ Clemson (Saturday, 12:00, ABC)

Spread: Clemson (-3)

This could be a potential trap game for Auburn considering their down to the wire goal line stand last week against Mississippi State. But the Clemson Tigers aren't exactly world beaters after giving up 27 points in squeaking out a win against Wofford last weekend. Now a real offense that is beginning to find itself without Cam Newton rolls into Death Valley. Clemson's defense is young and so is their red shirt quarterback, who hasn't seen competition like he will this Saturday. Auburn has won the last 14 games against Clemson, however the last two meetings have been decided on the last play. Take Auburn as the dog, and if you can, buy half a point to ensure victory.   

Michigan St. @ Notre Dame (Saturday, 3:30, NBC)

Spread: Notre Dame (-4.5)

Sparty invades South Bend Saturday afternoon in what should be a competitive game. Michael Floyd is averaging 156 yards a game for Notre Dame and if they plan to have any success against the Spartans the Irish will have to get Floyd at least ten touches. As far as the rest of the Notre Dame team, turnovers have been the issue, and the turnover bug is still infecting the Notre Dame offense—it's something that once it starts, becomes mental. Michigan State comes into this game after rolling over two inferior opponents and always play the Irish competitively no matter their record. B.J. Cunningham is one of the best receivers in the country and the Irish must be aware of him at all times. Michigan State will score early thanks to their balanced attack, take the crowd out of the game and put away the Irish in South Bend.

Ohio State @ Miami (Saturday, 7:30, ESPN)

Spread: Miami (-2.5)

If you're looking to make money, then stay far away from this game. Both teams have plenty of holes to fill and when backups mix with starters the result is always unpredictable. One bright spot for The U is the return of their quarterback Jacory Harris—which can be a catch-22 for Miami and their fans. Harris puts great touch on the ball and can find open receivers, but sometimes he looks confused by different coverages and throws too many interceptions. The Buckeyes will be missing running back Dan Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, offensive lineman Mike Adams and defensive lineman Solomon due to the memorobilia scandal. Defensive end Nathan Harris will also be out due to injury, so the Buckeyes defensive line may be a little thin. In this case, going with a dog should prove to win money since both teams are so evenly matched and Miami's home crowd is never much of a factor. Ohio State is the play.

Oklahoma @ Florida State (Saturday, 8:00, ABC)

Spread: Florida State (+3)

The winner of this game immediately becomes the early season national title frontrunner, while the loser will be left to try to fight their way from the back of the pack. Oklahoma's Landry Jones is in Heisman form, and looks almost as good as Sam Bradford did back in his Heisman days. Jones has a full concept of the offense and where to go on hot reads. This will be the first time Florida State's Redshirt Junior quarterback E.J. Manuel starts in a game that has drawn this much hype and it will be interesting to see how he fares against some of the nation's best compeition. The Seminoles are a year away from greatness especially with their excellent recruiting class they just brought in. Last year Florida State traveled to Oklahoma and lost by thirty points. The Sooners won't cruise by that much this time, but they will win. Oklahoma by 13.