We’re now five weeks into the college football season, and a few teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack.
Alabama and Georgia look untouchable, while Ohio State just got a huge conference win over a tough Penn State squad. When you see that ’Bama is going on the road in the SEC and is favored by a whopping 35 points, you begin to see how overwhelming Nick Saban’s group is.
But I’ve noticed that the Crimson Tide have failed to cover in each of the last two weeks as massive favorites, despite playing well and winning convincingly. So while I don’t have near enough confidence to wager against the top-ranked team in the nation, backing them isn’t exactly my favorite play of the week.
However, I have browsed through the best college football betting sites, scouring for any prices I think I can take advantage of. It appears that SportsBetting.ag has some favorable odds, not to mention a few games that are catching my eye.
Take a look below, and perhaps you’ll want to jump on board with some of my picks.
I really like this UCF squad, and bettors should, too. If you have been tagging along Josh Heupel’s team so far this season, then you have been able to enjoy the fact that the Knights are a perfect 5-0 against the spread (ATS) up to this point.
I don’t want to jinx anything, but I thought I’d point that out to all of you who like knowing tidbits like that.
Well, I got another tidbit for you.
SMU opened the year at North Texas and got romped by 23. They followed that up with a 30-point loss at home to TCU before dropping to the Michigan Wolverines 45-20.
Fortunately, the Mustangs were able to sneak by Navy (31-30) and finally get into the win column, and they added another victory last week, albeit versus a school called Houston Baptist University.
Now Southern Methodist has to travel to Spectrum Stadium in Orlando where the fans will be going berserk.
And remember, folks – this is the same Central Florida team that went undefeated last year yet was left out of the College Football Playoff.
This team knows they can put a lot of pressure on the selection committee by continuing to steam through their competition.
Central Florida ranks 3rd in the entire FBS in yards per game, averaging a remarkable 583 yards per contest. The Knights are extremely balanced thanks to the steady play of quarterback McKenzie Milton, not to mention that they have an abundance of determined running backs to rotate through.
Now take into account that SMU is allowing 38 points per game and will now play a road game against a hungry team with an explosive offense.
Not only do I think UCF dominates this one, but I think they stomp all over SMU en route to staying unblemished.
The Massachusetts football team has been in the news as of late, but unfortunately, it’s not for any reasons they would have liked.
UMass head coach Mark Whipple has been suspended by his university for this week’s game due to his inexplicable comments in which he made an extremely poor word choice when complaining about the officiating.
Not that the Minutemen needed any more distractions, but now they’ll have to play this game under the direction of Ed Pinkham, who typically serves as the defensive coordinator.
Considering that UMass is allowing the 5th most points per game (42.7) in all of college football, I’d say that Massachusetts has their hands full this Saturday.
Although they are undefeated, HC Charlie Strong likely hasn’t been overjoyed with exactly how South Florida have arrived here.
I suspect the week off gave this program time to tighten things up, and a game against a depleted UMass team is the perfect opportunity to kick things into gear.
Look for Blake Barnett and the Bulls to get out in front early and stay well ahead of the Minutemen in this one.
Those of you who live on the east coast probably won’t be up for this one. It actually won’t kick off until 11:59 pm EST on Saturday night, so perhaps some of you will be fast asleep before these teams even hit the field.
But when you awaken on Sunday, the Rainbow Warriors should have already done all the damage they need for those who bet on Hawai’i to cover. QB Cole McDonald has already thrown for 2,100 yards and 24 touchdowns, both leading all Division I quarterbacks.
Case in point- perhaps you’ll want to stay up for this one because this Hawai’i offense is worth losing sleep over.
The team is averaging 42 points/game and is about as spread out and high-flying as any you’ll see. Wyoming has already faced a pair of high-octane offenses in Missouri and Boise State, and the Cowboys allowed 40 and 34 points respectively.
The Rainbow Warriors defense is by no means full of ball-hawkers and premier tacklers, but let’s take a closer look at who they’ll be facing.
Tyler Vander Waal is completing just 54.4% of his passes and averages a lowly 160.4 passing yards per game.
While Wyoming does have multiple capable running backs, I just don’t see them scoring enough points throughout this game to stay close enough to make the Rainbow Warriors nervous.
I imagine that John Ursua is going to have another electrifying game, as the junior wideout is leading the nation in just about every important receiving statistic.
With 771 yards and 12 touchdowns through 6 games, Ursua has a chance to end the year with some eye-popping numbers.
All in all, Hawai’i should be amped up in front of their fans and ready to perform at a high level. That means they’ll have no issues moving the chains all night long- and well into the wee hours of Sunday morning!
Looking at this just on the surface level, I understand where the public would want to lean. Michigan State is ranked in the top 20 and is perennially a very tough team.
On the flip side, Northwestern is struggling at 1-3 and is more known for their outstanding academics than producing a powerhouse football team.
So naturally, the easy pick would be to take Michigan State here and just move on, right?
Well, not so fast. Take a look.
Michigan State opened the year with a 7-point victory over Utah State before falling to Arizona State by a field goal.
A two-touchdown victory over Indiana and an 11-point win over Central Michigan has this team somewhat back on track, but it’s clear that the Spartans have been unable to “put away” any of their four opponents.
Northwestern is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, but if you look at how they performed against the Wolverines this past weekend, it appears that NW could be turning the corner. The Wildcats actually led Michigan 17-0 in the second quarter before letting the game slowly slip away.
College football expert Jerry Palm picked this game as his “upset of the week,” and I could certainly see it happening.
However, I’d much rather take the 11-point cushion here and hope that my premonition of this being a closely-contested game plays out.
Did any of those matchups pique your interest?
If not, I’m sure you can find some spreads on SportsBetting.ag that will jump out at you.
Perhaps you have your heart set on watching the “Red River Showdown” this Saturday at the Cotton Bowl. When Texas and Oklahoma clash Saturday afternoon in Dallas, it promises to be an exhilarating game.
Maybe you have a hunch that the Sooners will have a hard time dealing with the Longhorns pass rush? Or maybe you feel like Kyler Murray exposes the secondary and leads OU to a double-digit win?
Either way, placing even a small wager on that battle might be worth your time just to spice the action up even more.
Florida and LSU meet in Gainesville in a top-25 duel, as do the Fighting Irish and Hokies in Blacksburg Saturday night.
The point is, the college football schedule this Saturday is appetizing enough to make anyone’s mouth water. Place a few bets, and enjoy the action. My guess is you won’t be disappointed.
The post Betting Picks for College Football Games in Week 6 of NCAA Football 2018 appeared first on GamblingSites.com.
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