College Football’s Rivalry Week Has Massive Playoff Implications

Welcome to The Slate, your home for college football picks at NESN.com. Here you can find our best bets to follow across (mostly) Saturdays in the fall. It’s Rivalry Week!

We don’t know if you’ve heard, but the best weekend in sports is upon us. It’s college football rivalry week!

The Game. The Iron Bowl. The Apple Cup. The Civil War. The game between Florida and Florida State that couldn’t come up with an interesting nickname. They’re all going to be played this weekend, and we’re dedicating our picks this week to what will be some of the most impactful college football games in recent memory.

Let’s stop wasting time and get into it, with all odds coming from DraftKings Sportsbook.

Oregon (-14) vs. Oregon State
(Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET on FOX)
This game would have been a lot more interesting if Oregon State hadn’t lost two of its last four, but nevertheless, we are here.

Oregon is playing for its season in this one, needing a victory to cash its ticket for a rematch with Washington in the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game. The Beavers are going to do everything in their power to stop that, as this might just be the final “Civil War” for a while as the Ducks head for the Big Ten in 2024. This one is personal, and we’re rolling with the home dog.

The Pick: Oregon State +14

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Michigan (-3.5) vs. Ohio State
(Saturday, 12 p.m. ET on FOX)
There are few better games than “The Game.”

We mentioned Oregon-Oregon State being personal, but there’s no game more personal than Michigan-Ohio State, with the Wolverines’ recent scandal being tied back to the Buckeyes by some who want to add fuel to the fire. This matchup has been decided by fewer than one score just one time in the last eight matchups. We think that trend continues, but it’ll be the away team that secures a victory this time.

(The author might be biased, but who’s to say?)

The Pick: Ohio State +3.5

Alabama (-14.5) at Auburn
(Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS)
We’ll be quick here.

Auburn lost to New Mexico State by 21 points last weekend. Alabama is rolling right now. We’re rolling with the Tide here.

The Pick: Alabama -14.5

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Washington (-16.5) vs. Washington State
(Saturday, 4 p.m. ET on FOX)

This is another pretty simple one. Washington’s offense has steamrolled people, while the Washington State defense has given up more than 35 points on five separate occasions.

The Pick: Over 68.5

Florida State (-6.5) at Florida
(Saturday, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN)

These two teams are backing into this contest, each missing their starting quarterback. Florida State stud Jordan Travis went down last weekend, which knocked the Seminoles out of the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time this season.

They’ll need a convincing win to jump back in, and we believe they can get it against an on-and-off Florida squad.

The Pick: Florida State -6.5

Season Record: 34-26