The Stanford Cardinal (5-3 SU, 4-4 ATS) visit the Washington Huskies (6-3 SU, 2-7 ATS) on Saturday at Husky Stadium. The home team is trending in this series, covering four straight, but Washington has been burning money all season getting the point spread win in just two of their nine contests. Read who Loot is suggesting as one of his strongest college football picks of the weekend.
In PAC-12 football betting we have the UCLA Bruins (2-6 SU, 3-5 ATS) vs. the Oregon Ducks (5-3 SU, 2-6 ATS). The betting lines opened with the Ducks as a big -8.5 home favorite with the total on the board at 57.5 points. CFB handicapper Loot Levinson had broken down the match ups and current trends and angles to come up with hopefully a winning point spread prediction on the game.
The Colorado Buffaloes (5-3 SU, 5-3 ATS) visit the Arizona Wildcats (4-5 SU, 5-4 ATS) in Week 10 college football action. The oddsmakers have the host Wildcats as a -3 spread favorite over the Buffaloes with an O/U line of 57.5 to 58/5 depending on where you play. Colorado looks to turn it around after opening the season 5-0 they’ve dropped three straight. Arizona got back on track with a nice 44-15 win over Oregon where they had more rushing yards than the Ducks had total offense.
The San Francisco defense certainly has its issues. We saw that just last week when it was on their dime where Arizona rookie quarterback Josh Rosen showed the first signs that he’s a real prospect—throwing a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to beat the 49ers. Still, they’re on the rise and should be getting better. Oakland has a pretty good quarterback and some nice weapons like Jared Cook and Doug Martin, who had 72 yards filling in for Lynch for the first game. But with Richard Sherman back, blossoming youngsters like DE Solomon Thomas, S Jaquiski Tartt (questionable), LB Rueben Foster (questionable), and others, the 49ers’ defense can do damage. Sports betting sites have the Niners at -3.5. Can that defense carry the Niners to a cover? Loot has your NFL free pick!
We see an identity starting to form on the Seattle offense. Wilson is a fine quarterback, a real dual-threat guy in an era where that term is overused. Aerially, Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett are still a big part of the air-game, but we see guys like David Moore, Nick Vannett, and first-year Seahawk Dickson now getting involved. Chris Carson was over 100 yards on the ground, while Mike Davis combines for a nice 1-2 punch. Their run-game looks as good as it has since the glory days of Beast-Mode. Making it all come together is a line that has been playing a lot better. Can this Seahawks offense make up for the Seahawks’ defensive issues?
With Trubisky, Jordan Howard, and Tarik Cohen, the Bears have fostered a meaningful run-attack. Through the air, Cohen, Taylor Gabriel, and surging TE Trey Burton are all bunched up between 325-329 yards receiving, with Allen Robinson (questionable) not far behind. Against an average Jets’ run-defense and a secondary that isn’t very rigid, this could be a spot for the Chicago offense to thrive. Loot Levinson gives his top reasons for picking the Bears to win by a TD!
Two teams on an upward swing take to the field on Sunday in Detroit when the Lions host the Seahawks at Ford Field. Both squads have won three of their last four but the Seahawks have looked better with their only loss being to the Rams by two points. The NFL odds board has the Lions as a small -3 favorite on the point spread line with the total posted at 49 on most sites.
The Colts broke off a a four game losing skid straight up and against the spread with a 37-5 pasting of the Bills at home. The offensive line is getting healthier for Indianapolis and the Raiders defense hasn’t been a strength without Mack. Loot Levinson isn’t worried about laying points on road and you he thinks that you shouldn’t be either.
We have seen many different manifestations of Oregon, both in terms of their strengths and weaknesses on the field, in addition to their overall level of energy. With the Ducks, it can flip right in the middle of a game. Against Stanford, they were shot out of a cannon, only to wane and let Stanford stage an unlikely comeback to win the game. Against Washington State last week, it was the opposite dynamic, with the Ducks looking like mummies in the first half, before turning on the juice in the second half. Which Oregon shows up on Saturday. LL has his free college football prediction.
Washington is still among the class of the conference. But we do see some troubling patterns. In their two biggest games of the season, they came up short. There is this everlasting dull vibe about them. On one hand, they have that stifling defense with all those sterling defensive backs, along with an offense with a 4-year starter in QB Jake Browning and RB Myles Gaskin, On the other hand they’ve gotten worse over time in terms of bottom-line production. Does this Huskies team have enough to cover an 11, and at some betting sites, a 12 point spread? Loot has his doubts.