College Football Betting Preview: Week 10 picks

Each week during the college football season, theScore's Dane Belbeck will handicap the board and offer up a pack of picks.

Season record

Last week's picks: 2-4
Gold/Silver/Bronze: 17-8-2
Other: 16-11
Twitter picks: 5-3
Overall: 39-22-2

Wake Forest at Notre Dame (-13.5)

Notre Dame has rebounded drastically from its terrible 4-8 season last year, and one of the main reasons has been defensive coordinator Mike Elko. The ex-Wake Forest assistant faces his former team this weekend when the Demon Deacons come to South Bend. The Fighting Irish haven't just reinvented themselves on defense, as the offense's new focus on the rushing game has it ranked fifth nationally with 319 yards on the ground per game. Wake Forest won't be able to slow that attack, and the Irish will roll. Notre Dame 35, Wake Forest 13

Texas (+6.5) at TCU

As we've stated many times, when Tom Herman is an underdog, put the money on Texas. Herman continued his remarkable run against the spread as an underdog with a close loss to Oklahoma State two weeks ago, and he now sits 8-0 in that scenario as a head coach. Texas heads to TCU as 6.5-point underdogs this week, while the Horned Frogs are coming off their first loss of the season at Iowa State. Until Herman shows otherwise, continue to roll with Texas to cover as an underdog. TCU 27, Texas 24

Iowa State at West Virginia (-2)

It wasn't pretty for West Virginia in Morgantown last Saturday, but the Mountaineers will get back on track this weekend against upstart Iowa State. While the Cyclones are riding one of the best runs in program history, Will Grier is too good of a quarterback to have two bad games in a row. The Cyclones have already punched massively above their weight with two wins over top-five opponents this season, but are due for a letdown with a tough road test here. The Mountaineers get up early and run away in the later stages for a big win. West Virginia 35, Iowa State 27

Other games of note

Northwestern at Nebraska (+1.5)

It's been a tough season for Nebraska, as evidenced by the program being slight home underdogs to a 5-3 Northwestern team. The Cornhuskers' season in Big Ten play has been defined by blowout losses to top-10 teams while handling their business against everyone else. Expect that to continue this week against a Wildcats team due for a letdown after an emotional overtime win against Michigan State. Mike Riley cools his hot seat slightly in front of a packed house with a victory. Nebraska 27, Northwestern 23

Florida (+3.5) at Missouri

Florida was absolutely terrible in October, but with embattled coach Jim McElwain now gone, it's a good bet the Gators will rally around interim frontman Randy Shannon. The offense is a nightmare, but with Missouri's 99th-ranked rush defense on tap, the Gators should be able to move the ball enough on the road. The defense steps up for Shannon and Florida emerges victorious in its first post-McElwain game. Florida 24, Missouri 17

Illinois at Purdue (-14)

The shine on Jeff Brohm and Purdue has certainly rubbed off with three straight losses after a 3-2 start, but the Boilermakers will get back on track with a home win over lowly Illinois on Saturday. Purdue's offense has struggled in recent weeks after an explosive start, but the Fighting Illini rank 83rd in the country in scoring defense. What's worse is that Illinois is a dismal 122nd in the country in scoring offense. It's hard to see anything other than a runaway Boilermakers win in this Big Ten affair. Purdue 37, Illinois 14