Below are a trio of picks I like this weekend. As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below. You can also ask me any questions or follow me on Twitter @Smithers513. Good luck!

Tulsa @ Louisiana Tech +3.5

I’m going to be on Louisiana Tech for a couple of reasons. Tulsa has been a major disappointment this season, after being a popular pick to be a contender in the C-USA. The Golden Hurricanes find themselves at 2-8 and only a couple of games away from ending this miserable season. Their lone win since September 7^th (think about that) was a win at UTEP, who is a bottom 15 team in the FBS this year. Now they are supposed to go on the road and lay more than a field goal to a team fighting for bowl eligibility? At first I wondered why this number was off, but after digging a little deeper it’s easy to spot that Tulsa has been poorly lined all year, which is supported by their 2-8 record against the number thus far. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not eluding to Louisiana Tech being some kind of juggernaut, but sitting at 4-6 with two games left and a chance at bowl eligibility, I have to think that they put up their best effort of the season on Saturday. This is their Senior Day, and with a win, they will be at 5-6 and have a winnable game at UTSA next week to close out the season. I don’t have any real X’s and O’s logic behind backing LaTech or any kind of statistical evidence to point to, but the spot is brutal for Tulsa and fantastic for Tulsa. I’ll take the 3.5 points in what I think is a live dog and outright winner.

Louisiana Monroe +3.5 @ South Alabama

I’m going to play a similar scenario as Louisiana Tech with Louisiana Monroe against South Alabama. The Warhawks are 5-5 and coming off a bye week as they head to face South Alabama who just got spanked at Navy last week by 4 TD’s. The season has probably been a bit of a disappointment for ULM, finding themselves at 5-5 with two games remaining. South Alabama has been a bit of a pleasant surprise this year, but I think reality has started to settle in on the Jaguars at 3-6, currently in the midst of a 3 game losing streak. South Alabama has made lots of improvement from a team that struggled mightily last year, but I don’t think they are equipped to handle the role of a favorite, only covering once this year as a favorite, which was against a decimated KentState squad. ULM has Louisiana Lafayette next week on the road, which they will likely be a two score underdog in. I think the boys down in Monroe know that if they want to go bowling, they need to get a win against a South Alabama team that is on a slide. I’ll take the points with a desperate Warhawk side.

UMass @ Central Michigan -10

I’m going to stay with the angle here and play a team fighting for bowl eligibility in Central Michigan. The Chippewas are 4-6, but have UMass and Eastern Michigan left at home and should be favored by double digits over Eastern Michigan next week. UMass is a bad football team through and through, and they have packed it in for the year. The Minutemen are coming off a 3 game homestand which saw them lose two games by a point each, and also getting routed by Northern Illinois. Last week, UMass lost to Akron 14-13 at home and I think that zapped any remaining life out of them for their trip to CMU. The Chippewas have only played one home game in the last two months. Think about that. CMU should be up for this game big time, coming home to some home cooking, with a real solid chance at being bowl eligible within their grasps that will start with a double digit victory over a lifeless UMass team.