William Burns

(#158) SMU Mustangs | ATS | .

Wake Forest has not only surprised me. But, it's surprised quite a lot of the College Football community this season. Even though I now know that the Demon Deacons are for real, they have gotten quite lucky with different circumstances and scheduling in my eyes this season. This will be its first real test in over a month and playing a team like Merrimack last week could definitely have them feeling a bit overconfident at the moment.

SMU is no slouch. The Mustangs are really well coached and have a fantastic QB in Kevin Jennings who has been able to take care of the football for the most part of this year. Playing at home, where they are 6-0 this season, I expect to see the best version of the Mustangs on Saturday. This should be an electric game. But, I'll take SMU plus a point any day of the week here with the home field.

Burns' Prediction: 33-27 SMU.

(#132) West Virginia Mountaineers | ATS | .

Kansas has been able to keep games pretty close this season. However, it hasn't resulted in many wins for the Jayhawks. They currently stand at 3-6 this season and must win out in order to play in a bowl game. I don't believe that they will be doing so, with this road matchup here this weekend and their remaining schedule.

I won with West Virginia last week in their thrilling cover against Texas Tech and I'm back with the Mountaineers this weekend. They are playing really well, despite not having the greatest of defenses this year Moneyline is also an option if you don't want to lay the points. But, either way, expect the Mountaineers offense to be way too much for the Jayhawks on Saturday.

Burns' Prediction: 44-28 WVU.

(#207) USC Trojans | ATS | .

Considering how Indiana's played this season, there's no doubt in my mind that USC can win this game. I've been a big Trojans fan throughout the season as I love Jayden Maiava's game. That being said, Southern California still has its backs against the wall with two losses. A win here would definitely see the Trojans into the playoffs if they can keep winning to finish the year.

The Hoosiers, on the other hand, can probably afford to drop one more game. They are not winning games convincingly whatsoever, winning their last three games all by a touchdown or less. Ohio State did beat Indiana in the middle of those three wins too. Yes, Indiana had the luxury of not playing last week. But, so did the Trojans. Both teams will be prepared and I'm expecting a defensive battle. I will predict a small win for Indiana. But, don't be shocked if the Trojans pull off the upset.

Burns' Prediction: 20-17 Indiana.

(#191) California Golden Bears @ (#192) Virginia Cavaliers | OVER | .

I did expect California to be much better than it's been this season at the start of the campaign. That being said, a win here could propel the Golden Bears with some confidence to finish the season. Cal has been blown out though over its past three games, allowing 131 points over those games. The Golden Bears did get a bye last week, which could help the offense get going. But, on the road, I'm not expecting the defense to improve too much.

Virginia's looking for a game like this to get back on track itself. The Cavaliers have been a bit of a disappointment themselves this season with a 4-5 record through nine games. With a hard game at Virginia Tech to finish the season, UVA is definitely going to want to win both these next two games to clinch a bowl game at the very least. UVA just allowed 51 points in its last game too though. With both teams off bye weeks, I expect the offenses to be well prepared for this football game. Play on the "over."

Burns' Prediction: 34-27 Virginia.

(#217) Jacksonville State Gamecocks | ATS | .

Jacksonville State might be on the road this afternoon. However, the Gamecocks have been one of the best teams in the Conference-USA throughout this season and bring in a six game winning streak into this game (5-0 record in conference play.) With three games remaining, the Gamecocks will want to leave absolutely no doubt and march their way into the conference title game against Liberty. That should definitely occur after a big win this weekend.

Western Kentucky just simply hasn't been great, especially lately. The Hilltoppers were on the road last weekend. However, they still managed to allow 51 points to Middle Tennessee in a double digit loss. WKU's defensive numbers are quite dreadful, allowing 36.6 PPG now this season. With not much to play for anymore (expected losses this week & next @Liberty) there's no real reason why to think that the Hilltoppers can keep this one close. I'm expecting another double digit Gamecocks victory.

Burns' Prediction: 37-20 Jacksonville State.