SATURDAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL SELECTIONS
$$$$$$ Take #119 Clemson (-8) over Maryland (7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 16)
This is my college football Game of the Month.
Right now the Tigers are as hot as any team in the country and they are the best team in the ACC. They are a very hot team and they have covered the spread in four straight games. This team won by 20 points at Virginia Tech two weeks ago so they aren't afraid of going on the road. And this Maryland team is still struggling with the transition to a new coaching staff. My sources tell me that the team does not like Randy Edsall's approach and a lot of players are very frustrated. That could have something to do with the benching of Danny O'Brien last week and now the Terps have a quarterback controversy on their hands. Maryland's only win in the last month came against FCS team Towson. And Maryland was even outgained in that game. The Terps don't have the offense to keep up with the explosive Tigers in this game and Clemson has an even bigger edge on the defensive side of the ball. Clemson won 31-7 in this matchup last year and they are a much stronger team this season. The Tigers have their focus set on that elusive ACC championship and they understand that they can't take any weeks off. They are a team that is on the rise and Maryland is a team that is still sliding back. I had this number closer to 13 and I think that the line value and the matchup here are just too good to pass up!

$$$ Take #103 USC (-3) over California (9 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 13)
I like the road Trojans in this game and I think that they are the much stronger team in this one. Cal has just had too many recruiting misses and the talent level here isn't what it has been. Quarterback Zach Maynard is banged up and has been ineffective for stretches over the past month. The visitor is 11-4 ATS in the last 15 meetings and USC has gone 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings in this series. The Trojans don't get to go to a bowl game this year so all of their energy and motivation has to go into these Rivalry games and in trying to win the Pac-12 South. They have won seven straight in this series and blew Cal out last year, jumping out to a 40-point lead before cruising. The Trojans should take care of business here and should win a low-scoring game tonight.

$$ Take #144 Oregon (-14) over Arizona State (10 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 16)
It is too easy for the public to jump on the points with Arizona State in this game. They are a ranked team and right now are the favorites in the Pac-12 South. So they should be able to play with Oregon, right? Wrong! Oregon is going to lay a big number on ASU in this game! Oregon is 5-1 in the last six meetings and the Sun Devils do not play well when they have to travel to the northern states in this conference (Oregon or Washington). ASU may be 5-1 right now but they are just 2-4 at the window and they have been big underachievers under Dennis Erickson. Oregon will be excited to have ESPN at this game and a national audience and their full talent will be on display. Oregon is 19-6-1 ATS as a double-digit favorite and they are 6-2 ATS in their last eight conference games.

$$$ Take #147 LSU (-17) over Tennessee (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 16)
Tennessee had to do everything it could not to get blown out by the Bulldogs at home last week. LSU is much better than Georgia and I think that the Tigers will be ready for a blowout in this game. Tennessee doesn't defend very well and if they get behind early then the LSU defense will take over. That is exactly what I see happening here. LSU only won 16-14 against Tennessee last year so they won't be taking them lightly. The Tigers have also won their last three games by an average of 28 points and just got done beating Florida by 30. I think that they will win this one by even more than that and Tennessee just isn't ready to compete at this level.