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Spread Options: Dr. Saturday's Week 9 picks against the spread
Keep on keeping on with the fading of our picks. We went 3-7 last week for a total record of 29-47-4. Brutal. If we’re terrible in Week 9 we’re going with an opposite week in Week 10.
Appalachian State at Georgia Southern (OVER 44.5), 7:30 p.m. ET THURSDAY: The Mountaineers are on a four-game winning streak after the shellacking to Miami at home. Georgia Southern broke a three-game losing streak at New Mexico State last week with a 22-19 win. We’re going with the over in this game thinking that Georgia Southern will break Appalachian State’s rush defense. App State is giving up just 124 yards a game on the ground.
Kentucky (+5) at Missouri, Noon ET: What does Vegas know that this Missouri alum doesn’t? The Tigers defense took a big hit against Middle Tennessee State, giving up 51 points and losing two of its best defenders for the season. The SEC East is still so much of a cluster that the Wildcats are a game out of first with Tennessee and Georgia yet to go while Missouri is the league’s only winless team in conference play.
Penn State at Purdue (+13.5), Noon ET: We’re going to find out if the interim coach boost for Purdue is real. The Boilermakers hung with Nebraska for a half before the Huskers pulled away in the second half. Though it wasn’t a blowout. With a Penn State team still on a high after beating Ohio State, it’s not too crazy to see Purdue giving the Nittany Lions a scare.
West Virginia at Oklahoma State (UNDER 65), Noon ET: These two teams are pretty familiar with each other given West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen’s time at Oklahoma State. West Virginia is giving up nearly 4.2 yards per carry on defense, but the Cowboys don’t have a strong enough run game to exploit it. The Mountaineers should remain undefeated in a relatively low-scoring Big 12 contest.
Texas Tech at TCU (OVER 86.5), 3:30 p.m. ET: TCU’s defense is not what it once was and Texas Tech’s defense is what it’s always been. There’s probably a better likelihood of Dr. Saturday being named best political blog in the country than there is of this game finishing 10-7. The winning team will be the first one to get three defensive stops. Man, that sounds depressing.
Miami (-2) at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. ET: How is Miami going to rebound after three-straight losses? The Hurricanes have fallen to North Carolina and Virginia Tech after losing to Florida State while Notre Dame can only afford to lose one more game before a bowl game is out of the question in 2016. We’re rolling with stability at the quarterback position and that means Miami and Brad Kaaya over Notre Dame’s roller coaster offense.
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SMU (+3) at Tulane, 4 p.m. ET: OK SMU, time to show that the win over Houston was a turning point. With both teams at 3-4, the winner of this game may get to a bowl game while the other sits on the sidelines. Our shared love of Whataburger with SMU coach Chad Morris is our main reason for taking SMU. It’s not like any other logical reasons have worked this year.
Kansas at Oklahoma (UNDER 67.5), 7 p.m. ET: We haven’t had much luck betting against Kansas this year and the line is 40 points in Oklahoma’s favor. The Sooners should win this game easily, but 40 points is a lot for a conference game and a 55-10 Oklahoma win still hits the under.
Nebraska at Wisconsin (OVER 43), 7 p.m. ET: Nebraska is getting nine points, a big number for an undefeated team halfway through the season. But the Badgers are the Huskers’ stiffest test to date. Both teams are in the top 15 in scoring defense, so we’re using reverse logic here and banking on a relative shootout.
Stanford (-5.5) at Arizona, 11 p.m. ET: Is Keller Chryst the answer for Stanford at quarterback? Chryst is getting his first start of the season Saturday and Stanford is hoping he can open up the run game for Christian McCaffrey. The star running back has averaged under five yards a carry in his last three games and hasn’t scored a touchdown since the second game of the season vs. USC.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
