I can't help but believe that karma is a real thing. I've been here every week giving you picks for the college football weekend with a simple goal in mind.

I've wanted to Make America Rich Again.

As a simple college football writer, there aren't many avenues available to me in order to accomplish this goal. The only one I had was making picks every single week, giving you good advice so you could go out there and put your hard-earned cash on the line to make even more without having to work nearly as hard for it. Last season, I did a very good job of this.

This year, however, had been a bit of a struggle, one I've documented every week in this column. But even with the struggles, I never stopped. Week after week, I came here trying to Make America Rich Again, doing all the work necessary behind it. Not for myself, but for you.

And last week, I received the reward of the 5-1 week we desperately needed, and knowing that if you listened to me, you were the benefit of a financial windfall.

Not only did we go 5-1 on the week, but we hit the Hail Mary Parlay as well. So it was a prosperous week, and we're going to have another one this week.

Games of the Week

No. 12 Florida State (+3.5) vs. No. 3 Clemson: I wish I had some kind of amazing statistic or trend to share with you to support this pick, but the truth is I don't have one. Honestly, if this wasn't one of the biggest games of the weekend, I wouldn't even be including it in Pick Six, but it is, and I am.

When it comes to picking games, sometimes you have a bunch of data and trends you can use to help come to a decision, and sometimes you just have an inkling. Your gut is telling you something, and more often than not, you're better off listening to it. This is one of those times.

Clemson is a good team, but I don't know if it's really the third-best team in the country. I think Clemson's ranking is based more on the fact that we all expected it to be good before the season began, and it hasn't lost, so it remains here. The win over Louisville was impressive, of course, but even that was by the skin of its teeth, and Deshaun Watson -- as well as the entire offense -- just seems a bit off this year. Enough that I don't know if I'm really willing to trust it as a favorite on the road against a team as talented as Florida State.

Now, the Seminoles have certainly had their share of problems this season, particularly on defense. I just think that the bye week will have done that unit a lot of good. So I don't know if Florida State is going to win this game and throw the ACC into chaos, but I have a feeling it's going to be a lot closer than many -- Clemson is receiving most of the public's confidence in both our Twitter poll and in Vegas -- seem to believe, so I'm going to take the points. And I'll take Florida State outright just because chaos is always more fun. Florida State 27, Clemson 24

Twitter Poll: Clemson -3.5 (72 percent)

No. 7 Nebraska (+8) at No. 11 Wisconsin: The Badgers have been terrific against the number this season, there's no getting around that. They're 6-1 against the spread -- including a 3-1 mark at home -- and a 4-0 mark thus far in conference play. So to pick against them here is a daunting task, but I'm doing it anyway.

Part of the reasoning behind it is that Nebraska hasn't exactly been bad itself. It's 4-2-1 overall, but that includes a 2-0 mark on the road where it was favored. Now it's on the road getting points, and doing so against a team with a fantastic defense, but also an offense that's difficult to put a lot of confidence in.

In four conference games, Wisconsin is averaging 5.05 yards per play and 19.3 points per game. Nationally, those numbers would rank 99th and 106th. Nebraska, while not having a defense as good as that of Wisconsin, has been above average defensively; in conference play, it's allowing only 3.55 yards per carry in the run game. So I believe the Huskers can slow down Corey Clement enough to make Alex Hornibrook beat them, and I just don't have enough faith in Hornibrook yet that I'm willing to lay eight points here. I do think Wisconsin wins, though. Wisconsin 23, Nebraska 17

Twitter Poll: Nebraska +8 (57 percent)

Lock of the Week

Eastern Michigan (-7) vs. Miami (Ohio): Everybody has that dream at some point in their life where they're either at school or at work, standing in front of all their peers giving a speech or presentation, and they look down to suddenly realize they're naked or in their underwear. For the longest time, I would have told you that I would rather be in that situation than making Eastern Michigan my Lock of the Week, but here we are. Eastern Michigan has been a bad football team for a long time, but this year it's not just 5-3 overall but 7-1 ATS overall and 3-0 ATS at home. It has also covered six straight. I believe that trend continues this week as it faces a Miami team that has won two straight but has done so against against a couple of bad teams. Eastern Michigan 28, Miami (OH) 17

Underdog of the Week

Michigan State (+24) vs. No. 2 Michigan: This is a principle play more than anything, very much along the lines of what caused me to make Penn State (+19.5) my Lock of the Week against Ohio State last week. Now, I don't think Michigan State is going to pull an upset against Michigan, because unlike Penn State, the Spartans haven't even looked like a decent football team this season. That being said, this is still Michigan State's Super Bowl. This is a team that entered the season thinking it could win another Big Ten title but now sits here at 2-5 with nothing to play for except the possibility of going to a lower-tier bowl game. Sure, Michigan will want to beat its rival -- particularly after the way last year's game ended -- but it also has its mind on bigger and better things. For Michigan State, this is the season, and the motivation alone will ensure that Sparty covers this spread. Michigan 35, Michigan State 17

Over/Under of the Week

No. 24 Penn State at Purdue (Under 56.5): I just don't trust these two teams to score enough points here to reach the over, which seems like a simple enough reason to take the under, doesn't it? Helping this feeling is the fact that Penn State is coming off a huge win against Ohio State last week, and I can't help but believe there's going to be some kind of letdown. Not enough of one where I think Purdue can pull off an upset, but one that will only help ensure the under comes through. Penn State 27, Purdue 14

Hail Mary Parlay of the Week

If you aren't familiar with the HMP, a quick refresher: It's essentially a three-game parlay, but you only bet one game at a time. If the first game wins, you use the winnings on the next game, and so on. It's a play that won't come through most of the time (though it has twice this season, including last week), but when it does, it pays off nicely.

Friday night: San Diego State (-6) at Utah State

Saturday morning: Boston College at NC State (Under 49.5)

Saturday night: New Mexico at Hawaii (Over 65.5)

Last Week 2016 Overall
Games of the Week 1-1 8-8
Lock of the Week 1-0 4-4
Underdog of the Week 1-0 6-2
Over/Under of the Week 1-0 5-3
Hail Mary Parlay 1-0 2-6
Overall 5-1 25-23
Twitter Picks 0-2 7-9