Big Game Hunting: Isn’t this why Sam Hartman went to Notre Dame? Cue the ‘W’ at Clemson

Look, what do you want from me?

OK, that probably wasn’t the best crack at an apology. Let me try again.

I’m sorry.

After eight straight college football Saturdays without a losing record against the spread in this column, your old pal here went down like a house of cards in Week 9. Spit the bit. Blew the deal. Chucked the bucket. Is that last one even an expression? It ought to be. Anyway, I went 0-6.

Did I tell you it was a good idea to risk Junior’s college fund on my picks? No, that’s on you. But now I don’t sound very sorry at all.

A fresh start beckons, so let’s get to it. Note: Now that they’re out, we’ll use the College Football Playoff rankings from here on in.

WEEK 10 PICKS

No. 15 Notre Dame (-3) at Clemson (11 a.m., ABC 7, 780-AM): Irish quarterback Ian Book got to experience beating Clemson — top-ranked Clemson, matter of fact — in 2020. QB Drew Pyne and the Irish knocked off the unbeaten Tigers in 2022. Is it Sam Hartman’s turn?

At Wake Forest, Hartman was 0-4 against Clemson. The first of those games was a 63-3 demolition. The last was a double-overtime classic in which Hartman threw for six touchdowns, to no avail. Man, he made Wake better. But now — finally — Hartman actually has the better team around him, with the Irish at 7-2 and the Tigers an offensively challenged 4-4.

“We’re approaching this game like we’re playing Clemson,” Hartman said, “and we know that with that is a history of winning, a history of a really good program.”

Right, right, but it’s his turn. Mom and Dad’s, too; they live in South Carolina. Irish, 27-20.

Iowa (-5) at Northwestern (2:30 p.m., Peacock, 720-AM): The Hawkeyes (6-2) have the bottom-ranked offense in the country. The Big Ten’s next-worst offense belongs to the Wildcats (4-4). That’s why the over/under is a hilarious 29½, the lowest on record in college football. Never has a football game been better suited for a baseball stadium. First to three runs wins at Wrigley Field?

“I wasn’t aware of [the over/under],” Wildcats interim coach David Braun said. “We don’t pay attention to that. I think this group has all the extra motivation that it needs.”

The Hawkeyes have all the extra defense they need. ’Cats go down swinging in the bottom of the ninth, 16-9.

Illinois (+2) at Minnesota (2:30 p.m., BTN, 890-AM): The deeply disappointing Illini (3-5) were off last week after coughing up what absolutely should have been a win against Wisconsin in Week 8. Have they successfully found the restart button? The Gophers (5-3) are in a four-way tie atop the Big Ten West at 3-2, perhaps the nicest thing that could be said about a team that has failed the eye test in many regards.

“We’ve made it to November where it matters,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said, “and what we do with that is up to us.”

Is it, though? Bret Bielema was 7-0 against Minnesota as coach at Wisconsin and is 2-0 against them at Illinois. The big lug might as well make it a 10-spot. Illini, 23-19.

Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images

No. 12 Missouri (+15½) at No. 2 Georgia (2:30 p.m., CBS 2): The Tigers still kick themselves for losing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and the game last year against the Bulldogs, but it also has been one of their main sources of motivation as they’ve surged to a 7-1 start. If they can protect QB Brady Cook in the rematch — a tall order — he can find superstar receiver Luther Burden III for the big strikes that were missing in last year’s contest. If, if, right? Will the Bulldogs (8-0) ever lose? Georgia again, 34-24.

No. 5 Washington (-3) at No. 20 USC (6:30 p.m., ABC 7): The Huskies are 8-0, but they’ve been in serious danger of losing each of their last three games — and two of those games were against Arizona State and Stanford (combined records: 2-9). The Trojans (7-2) have been under duress against every opponent with a pulse. Toss a Michael Penix Jr.-vs.-Caleb Williams QB duel onto that pile of nuttiness and, glory be, what unreal fun. Huskies, 38-33. 

No. 14 LSU (+3) at No. 8 Alabama (6:45 p.m., CBS 2): There are other QBs receiving more hype, but LSU’s Jayden Daniels has played the best football of anybody. Can Alabama (7-1) stop the Tigers (6-2) — the No. 1 scoring team in the country — from blowing up the Bryant-Denny scoreboard? Then again, isn’t Brian Kelly’s defense so utterly terrible that it’s a hopeless cause? Roll Tide, 41-31.

My favorite favorite: Nebraska (-3) at Michigan State (11 a.m., FS1): If the Huskers (5-3) had held on and won like they should have in the season opener at Minnesota — anyone who watched saw they were the better team — they’d be alone in first in the Big Ten West. They just might end up there anyway.

My favorite underdog: No. 22 Oklahoma State (+6) vs. No. 9 Oklahoma (2:30 p.m., ABC 7): If you’ve never been to a “Bedlam” game, you don’t know what you’ve missed. Also, it’s too dang late to find out. Cowboys (6-2) give the Sooners (7-1) a parting gift — a shiny new “L” — before the Sooners mosey off to the SEC.

Last week: 3-3 straight-up, 0-6 — oof — against the spread.

Season to date: 48-21 straight-up, 35-30-4 against the spread.