College Football Picks

We haven’t even seen the first playoff rankings yet but College Football Week 5 will have a big impact on who will be in that final four. Penn State welcomes Ohio State to town this weekend and the implications of this game can’t be overstated. Sportsbooks have OSU as small road favorites. Ted Walker breaks the game down and offers his football pick.

If you didn’t think the arrival of Chip Kelly would solve all of UCLA’s problems, did you think they would be this bad out of the gate? The week off might have afforded them a chance to get their act together, but it’s hard to remember such a weak Bruins’ football team, even though they’ve been stinking it up the last few seasons. Loot Levinson looks at UCLA vs Colorado and the odds Chip gets his first W.

Jay Horne makes his case for taking the Miami Hurricanes Thursday night when they host the North Carolina Tar Heels and an -18 point spread. Jay looks at the line, the quarterback controversy in Miami as well as the defenses.

Jay Horne breaks down Alabama vs Louisiana-Lafayette and the sportsbook’s 49 point massive line. Bama bettors may be concerned that Nick Saban pulls his starters before they have a chance to step on the corpse and rack up 50 points. Jay looks at that possibility as well as how much Crimson Tide damage to expect in the first half. Is Tagovailoa and company the value pick?

Going by their records and last week’s results, you could assume there’s not a lot to separate these two teams. Their paths to this spot, however, have been very different. Oregon benefits from opening the first month of their season at home. This is the fourth of four straight games at Autzen to open 2018. And while Oregon was beating Bowling Green and Portland State, Stanford was beating a good San Diego State team and then easily downing USC. Sportsbooks have Stanford -2 here on the road. Mr. Levinson breaks down the potential play.

The Arkansas Razorbacks have a bit of a problem at the quarterback position. In last week’s game against North Texas, three Razorback quarterbacks combined for six interceptions in the awful loss at home. That sets up nicely for Auburn to rebound from their loss to LSU. But does it set up well enough to cover 30.5 points? Bryan Bash makes his pick.

Washington held Utah to 7 points on Saturday showing how good their defense can be. Over the last few years, they’ve become a top defense in the world of college ball. All the DBs in the NFL who played here over the last few years show that and this year looks to follow the same pattern. Loot looks at both defenses and the sportsbook’s line to make a total pick.

Saturday, September 25th, 2018 the #13 West Virginia Mountaineers will host their Big 12 foes the Kansas State Wildcats at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. Keith Franks has a pick and game breakdown!

The Georgia Bulldogs will take their number 2 ranking on the road this week when they go into Columbia, Missouri for a showdown with the Missouri Tigers. The spread is currently Missouri -14. Jay Horne analyzes the game and shares his selection.

Last week I warned everyone that despite being nearly a double digit underdogs LSU was very capable of going into the Plains and upsetting Auburn with an outright victory. Low and behold…here we are. This week LSU also has a hefty -20 spread. Jay analyzes this game and makes his football selection.

Another year, another reload and another Clemson team that has the talent to contend for the National Title once again. That seems to be the way things are down in South Carolina. That hasn’t spelled success for Clemson bettors. The Tigers failed to cover the spread in 3 straight weeks. Jay Horne feels that trend will change this weekend.

It’s a battle of big name ranked football schools yet the spread is still completely lopsided at 24.5 in favor of the Tide. Jay Horne breaks down the game and focuses on the defensive matchup.

Wisconsin was shocked by BYU in Madison last week, marking the first non-conference loss at home for the Badgers in 15 years. The Cougars went head-to-head with Wisconsin’s strengths – something I suggested would doom BYU – and won. The -3 spread suggests sportsbooks and the public think Wisconsin lost their swag but is Iowa only a field goal worse? Ted Walker takes a look.

The Washington State Cougars are off to a 3-0 start after running over the Eastern Washington Eagles last Saturday 59-24. The Cougs are currently winning games by an average of 29 points per contest. Neither team expects a margin like that on Friday. USC is favored by 4.5 points.

Central Florida has allowed just 17 points on the season. It’s hard to say what that means with the opponents being really weak. Maybe it means the opponents have been really weak? But, they started last season the same way and the offenses figured them out a bit as the year went on. Is it too early for Florida Atlantic to break this year’s D? Loot Levinson takes a look and gives his football pick.

The Illini have a one advantage they may use to keep this contest close, their rushing offense. Penn State’s defense gives up 148.3 yards per game on the ground (68th nationally). This helps a team whose running game has produced 244.3 yards per (23rd nationally). Is this enough for Illinois to keep the game within 28? Mike Mann gives his opinion and his college football pick.