Football expert Phil Steele is the owner and publisher of Phil Steele’s College Football Preview, regarded as the college football bible. Get in-depth coverage of college and pro football 24/7/365 at PhilSteele.com and follow him on Twitter @philsteele042.
MINNESOTA (-2¹/₂) over Penn State: The Minnesota coaching staff has done a phenomenal job with all the distractions it has had to deal with. The reason the staff, void of head coach Jerry Kill on the sidelines, has been able to pull three straight upsets — all as an underdog of seven points or more — is the majority of them have been together since 1999 at Southern Illinois. The Gophers defense has stepped up its performance, allowing less than 350 yards per game in three of the last four games, and now they are back at home, where they held Nebraska to a season low 328 yards. Penn State true freshman QB Christian Hackenberg has struggled in his two Big 10 road games, averaging just 54 percent completions, and the team has lost both by a combined 69 points. Minnesota wins its fourth straight conference game for the first time since 1973!
ARIZONA (+1) over Ucla: Las Vegas simply has the wrong team favored in this game. For the third time in four weeks, UCLA is on the road, where it has been outgained by 59 yards per game. Arizona, which is outgaining foes at home by 102 ypg, is playing before an excited home crowd seeing their Wildcats for only the second time since Sept. 14. Comparing what these teams have done in the last four weeks makes the Arizona choice even stronger. In that span, the Bruins have played a more difficult schedule, but have been outgained by 57 ypg while the Wildcats are outgaining their opponents by 113 ypg. Arizona gets revenge for a 56-point loss last season in Pasadena.
LAST WEEK: 2-0
SEASON: 9-10-1