This is the weekend of the college football season that everybody has been looking forward to since long before it began. Sure, a couple of the Big Games we expected aren't quite as big as anticipated over the summer, but others have emerged to take their place. There is no shortage of Big Games on the docket.
Which makes it a little more difficult to determine the "Games of the Week" for this column. So before you start yelling at me for leaving your team's "Big Game" out of it, let me explain my process. In a typical week, there usually aren't more than three that would qualify.
My usual tie-breaker in those scenarios is the rankings. The games with the highest-ranked teams get in. This week it's a bit different.
You see, the way this column usually works is I break down the big games to the best of my ability, and then the other four games in the column are the games I feel best about from a betting perspective. This week I chose the two "big games" I feel best about from a gambling perspective. So, no, this isn't about disrespecting your conference or your brand.
The Holy War between Utah and BYU, and Georgia vs. Ole Miss are top-10 matchups, but I'm not including them because I don't feel strongly about any aspect of those games from a betting perspective. But the top-15 game between LSU and the Alabama team damn near everybody thinks is overrated?
Oh yeah, I've got strong thoughts on that one, so it made the cut! No. 1 Miami at No. 11 Notre Dame: The announcement that Miami WR Malachi Toney suffered an ankle injury that will keep him out a while certainly turned this game on its head a few days before kickoff, but while it changed the direction I originally planned to go, it did not change my reasoning much. Clearly, Miami's offensive ceiling drops without Toney in the lineup.
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