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Three Luzerne County offices impacted by employee coronavirus cases

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Central Court shut down due to possible Covid exposure

By RALPH D. RUSSO 
 This Saturday, Indiana will play at Ohio State and Clemson will visit Florida State.
 One of these games is a matchup of ranked teams that will go a long way toward deciding a division title. The other carries a 35-point spread.
 As three-time national champion Florida State limps toward its worst season in 45 years, No. 9 Indiana will try to pull off the biggest upset of the season against No. 3 Ohio State.
 The Hoosiers are in the midst of what could be their best season since 1967, the last time they went to the Rose Bowl. That 1968 New Year's Day game against No. 1 USC was also the only time Indiana football has ever played in a game matching two top-10 teams.
 Meanwhile, Florida State's fall has turned what for years was the Atlantic Coast Conference's biggest game into mismatch.
 For six straight seasons (2011-16), Clemson and Florida State played with both . Each time, the winner went on to win the Atlantic Division and then the conference championship. 
 The last three seasons, the Seminoles haven't stood a chance, losing by an average of 32 points.
 The good news for Florida State is that basketball season starts next week and the Seminoles, who finished No. 4 in the tournament-less last season, 
 Indiana hoops is unranked. Strange year.
 The picks:
 THURSDAY
 Tulane (plus 6 1/2) at No. 25 Tulsa
 Golden Hurricane last played as a ranked team in 2008, going 1-2 that season ... TULSA 27-23.
 SATURDAY 
 Kentucky (plus 31) at No. 1 Alabama
 Wildcats play slow on offense and limit big plays on defense so maybe they can stay within shouting distance for a while ... ALABAMA 38-13. 
 No. 9 Indiana (plus 20 1/2) at No. 3 Ohio State
 Hoosiers have already snapped a 24-game losing streak to Michigan. They have lost 25 in a row to the Buckeyes ... OHIO STATE 45-21. 
 No. 4 Clemson (minus 35) at Florida State
 Trevor Lawrence is back for the Tigers, trying to make up for lost time in the Heisman race ... CLEMSON 49-12.
 No. 6 Florida (minus 31 1/2) at Vanderbilt
 Seems like a game for Gators QB Kyle Trask to pad his stats, but aren't they all these days? ... FLORIDA 56-21. 
 No. 7 Cincinnati (minus 6 1/2) at UCF
 Biggest test yet for the Bearcats' stingy defense; the Knights are averaging 619 yards per game ... CINCINNATI 38-35.
 North Alabama (plus 47 1/2) at No. 8 BYU
 Bad timing: If the Cougars had this date open, they might have been able to get a game with idle Colorado out of the Pac-12 ... BYU 63-10.
 No. 10 Wisconsin (minus 7 1/2) at No. 19 Northwestern
 Wildcats tend to give the Badgers fits; Or is it Fitz? ... WISCONSIN 24-20.
 UCLA (plus 13 1/2) at No. 11 Oregon
 Coach Chip Kelly's second visit to Eugene to face his old team; first one was a 21-point loss ... OREGON 45-24.
 Mississippi State (plus 25) at No. 13 Georgia
 There have been hints QB J.T. Daniels is ready to make his Georgia debut ... GEORGIA 31-7.
 No. 14 Oklahoma State (plus 7) at No. 18 Oklahoma
 They call it Bedlam but the final result tends to be predictable; Sooners have won 15 of 17 ... OKLAHOMA 34-29.
 Appalachian State (plus 5 1/2) at No. 15 Coastal Carolina
 For first place in the Sun Belt East ... APPALACHIAN STATE 28-24.
 Kansas State (plus 11) at No. 17 Iowa State
 Cyclones are 5-1 in conference — any conference — for the first time ... IOWA STATE 30-17.
 No. 20 USC (minus 3) at Utah
 Utes have yet to play this season, but they have won three straight against the Trojans in Salt Lake City ... USC 28-21.
 No. 21 Liberty (plus 3 1/2) at North Carolina State
 Flames already have more ACC victories (two) than Florida State (one) ... LIBERTY 28-24. 
 Tennessee (plus 11) at No. 23 Auburn
 Vols are guessing and hoping at quarterback right now ... AUBURN 27-13. 
 TWITTER REQUESTS
 LSU (minus 2 1/2) at Arkansas — @SurlyGabe
 Razorbacks were a six-touchdown underdog to the Tigers just last year ... LSU 35-31.
 San Diego State (pick) at Nevada — @GaryWCE
 Mountain West unbeatens get the SEC's afternoon slot on CBS after Ole Miss-No. 5 Texas A&M was postponed ... NEVADA 28-24.
 Washington State (plus 1 1/2) at Stanford — @jonthecoug
 Cardinal looking to avoid first 0-3 start since they went 1-11 in 2006 ... STANFORD 30-27.
 Virginia Tech (minus 3) at Pittsburgh — @TK_on_the_Coast
 Panthers ranked No. 1 in FBS in sacks (38) and the Hokies are tied for second (30) ... VIRGINIA TECH 28-21.
 ___
 Record
 Last week: 12-4 straight; 8-8 against the spread.
 Season: 108-44 straight; 71-79-1 against the spread.
 ___
 Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/
 ___
 More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

College Football Picks: Indiana's big chance; FSU's big fall