2016 – Bettors World

Arkansas – Miss State Free Pick against the Spread

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

Arkansas

vs.

Mississippi State

College Football Pick

11/19/16

Both Arkansas and Mississippi State have shown they can be good at times, but most of their season has been marred by inconsistency. The Bulldogs need to win their final two Games to make a bowl appearance, but they are favorites in this one, at -2.5.

Bookmakers didn’t really know what to do with this Game, due to what these teams have done this season. Mississippi State has been bad most of the way, losing to South Alabama and Kentucky, while allowing 41 points to Samford. But then that random win over Texas A&M is still on the Schedule and this is their first home Game since that win.

Arkansas is similarly hard to predict. The Hogs have a couple nice wins against Ole Miss and Florida, but their blowouts against Auburn and LSU leave a lot to be desired. So what is it going to be for this team? Will the one that beats quality opponents show up, or the one that gets blown out?

Last year’s meeting between these teams was also unpredictable with the Bulldogs winning a crazy 51-50 Game that ended with a blocked 29-yard field goal. Neither defense showed up in that Game and that could easily happen again. The quarterbacks on each team went for seven touchdowns apiece, and while there are new guys under center, both can put up big numbers.

Most of Nick Fitzgerald’s ability was seen in the win over Texas A&M. The Mississippi State quarterback started things quickly with a 74-yard run and finished with 182 rushing yards to his name. He’s not a great passer, which is why this team is inconsistent, but his ability on the ground makes this offense dynamic. Fitzgerald leads the team with 854 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. The problem is that Aeris Williams is their top running back with just 402 yards.

Fitzgerald will likely have another big Game against this Arkansas defense. However, the reason the Razorbacks struggled against Auburn and LSU was because both teams played solid defense and ran through them. Mississippi State can do neither of those things, which immediately gives Arkansas the edge. Fitzgerald will get his, but will that be enough?

The Bulldogs haven’t done many positive things this season defensively so a big Game for Hogs quarterback Austin Allen should be expected. Allen’s numbers were much better earlier in the year, but a lot of that has had to do with tougher competition. Allen has just two touchdowns and Four interceptions in the last three Games against Auburn, Florida and LSU. Needless to say, the MSU defense is not at those levels. against A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss, Allen managed eight touchdowns, which shows his potential.

against this defense, Allen could easily have success and toss for another three or so touchdowns with 300-plus yards. To help, running back Rawleigh Williams III should also see plenty of holes. Williams is averaging 5.2 yards per carry and has seen most of his success against weaker defenses a la Mississippi State.

The Razorbacks are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 road Games, but 2-5 ATS in their last seven overall. The Bulldogs are 6-2 ATS in their last eight following an ATS loss and also 2-5 ATS in their last seven overall. The over has hit in seven of the last nine meetings between these schools with Mississippi State 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings played at home.

Our Pick – Arkansas +2.5

BYU – Arizona Football Pick

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

BYU

vs.

Arizona

College Football Pick

Current Odds

9/3/16

The Arizona Wildcats and BYU Cougars will kick of their 2016 college football season on Saturday September 3rd in a Game that will be played at a neutral site, University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, AZ. The Game kicks off at 10:30pm est. and can be seen on FOX Sports-1. The Wildcats are currently a -1 point favorite at 5 dimes sportsbook with a total of 62.5.

One interesting tidbit for this Game is that the Game takes place just 130 miles from the University of Arizona Campus, yet BYU has sold more tickets! So much for any perceived home field advantage for the Wildcats!

Plenty of question marks for both teams coming into the 2016 season. For Arizona, this was a 7-6 team a year ago that needed a win over New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl to secure a winning season. Per usual, the Wildcats had no trouble moving the ball and putting points on the board in 2016. They were held to 3 points by Washington and held to 17 by Stanford. In every other Game last year, they pretty much lit up the scoreboard.

Of course, the problem with the Wildcats was on the defensive side of the ball, where THEY were lit up pretty much on a weekly basis. They brought in coordinator Marcel Yates from Boise State and it’s safe to say Yates has his work cut out for him. 4 of their 6 losses were by 15 points or more, so just a slight improvement won’t cut it. You can read Our Arizona Wildcats season preview here.

BYU’s season was a bit more successful than their opponents, going 9-4 and exhibiting much more consistency on both sides of the ball than Arizona, albeit against a slightly less difficult Schedule. While BYU returns a very healthy number of starters on both sides of the ball, including two very good QB’s, they aren’t without some big question marks heading into this season. Specifically, long time coach Bronco Mendenhall, who had the 2nd most wins in BYU history and never had a losing season, is gone and now at the University of Virginia. Kalani Sitake takes over as head coach, his first crack at running the whole show.

Not only is there a new head coach for BYU, but also new offensive and defensive coordinators. For the offense, it’s former Heisman winner Ty Detmer who will run the offense and also coach the QB’s. Detmers coaching experience? Head coach at St. Andrew’s Episcopal High SChool. The defensive coordinator is Ilaisa Tuiaki, who has been on the coaching staff at a couple of well known programs, but never as defensive coordinator. He will also be changing the defensive scheme to a 4-3. You can read Our BYU season preview here.

From a predictive standpoint, this Game becomes a crapshoot as a result of the coaching changes and additions for both teams, but particularly for BYU. For the Cougars, you’ve got a head coach, an offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator with no experience in those roles. They have a tall task on their hands on a HUGE stage.

If all of the pieces to these two teams were intact and moving forward this season, we would definitely lean towards BYU in this spot mostly due to their having the better defense. In fact, Our model agrees and has BYU on top by 5 to 9 points. again, this is using last years data and assuming all things would remain the same. We know that’s not the case.

As a result, we’re going to side with Arizona here with the feeling being that this Game will be won from the sidelines with Rich Rodriguez and his staff likely outcoaching the newcomers at BYU. Arizona -1

Stanford – Oregon College Football Pick with Analysis

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

Stanford

vs.

Oregon

College Football Pick

11/12/16

There was a day when these two teams fought annually for the Pac-12 North title, but those days are long gone. Stanford comes in already with three losses, while Oregon has lost six of its last seven and is just fighting to reach a bowl Game at this point. The Cardinal still opened as just -3 point road favorites at 5Dimes Sportsbook.

It was only a year ago that these teams faced off in a shootout, with both at the top of the Conference standings. The Ducks surprisingly came out on front in a 38-36 win aided by a balanced attack and a defense that kept Christian McCaffrey mostly in check.

This time around, things may look a bit different. For starters, the Cardinal are averaging less than 20 points per Game. While they have won their last two, that’s not saying much against Arizona and Oregon State at this point. They couldn’t surpass five points against Colorado and totaled just 22 points against the state of Washington in two Games.

Oregon’s issue is a little different. The Ducks can Scorejust fine, but their defense is one of the worst in the country, giving up 42.6 points per Game. Even in their lone Pac-12 win, they gave up 35 points to Arizona State. This Game will be the ultimate test of two opposite teams, offense against defense.

Stanford has scored enough the last couple Games with Keller Chryst at quarterback. While they have 60 points in those Games, Chryst hasn’t been asked to do much, throwing for just 164 yards total in the two Games and he’s completing less than 50% of his passes on the season. He hasn’t looked much better than Ryan Burns, if at all. The wins have just been a result of going against weaker teams.

The only way the Cardinal can win this Game is through McCaffrey and that’s probably all they need in this Game. He ran for 199 yards against Oregon State and 169 at Arizona before that so expect another similar outing for him. If McCaffrey is stopped for below five yards per carry, Stanford will have trouble finding the end zone. But there’s no reason to believe the Ducks can stop him.

To win this Game, Oregon has to consistently move the ball against a good defense. So far, they’ve been blown out against anyone that has a half decent defense, USC and Washington included.

Quarterback Justin Herbert went off against weaker defenses, but at USC last Game, he threw for 162 yards and only one touchdown. For the Ducks to have a shot, everything will fall to the running Game.

Royce Freeman hasn’t really gotten much going, which is a problem, as he hasn’t topped 50 yards in the last Four Games. If he or Tony Brooks-James can’t find room, there will be problems scoring again.

And while the Cardinal aren’t as good this year, their defense is still up there with the best of them in the Pac-12.

The Cardinal are 6-1 ATS in their last seven road Games, but 1-4 ATS in their last five Conference Games. The Ducks are 1-4-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record and 1-5 ATS in their last six home Games.

Our Pick – Stanford -3

Texas State College Football Betting Preview

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

2016

Texas State

College Football

Betting Preview

After back-to-back six-plus-win seasons, Texas State was a team on the rise since joining FBS in 2012. But, 2015 didn’t go to plan as the Bobcats struggled to three wins. And so, head coach Everett Withers was brought aboard to lead the team. Withers comes from James Madison, but was also North Carolina head coach back in 2011.

ACCording to Withers, every spot on the depth chart is up for grabs and that means starting quarterback where Tyler Jones led most of the way last year. Jones finished with a mediocre 14 TDs and 10 INTs, while completing 58.4% of his passes. His numbers were a tad better in 2014 when he was also the starter. Unfortunately for Jones, he still has to beat out graduate transfer Eddie Printz from Missouri and a redshirt freshman for the job.

Running back is a similar question with Tyler Siudzinski (290 yards) being the top returnee, although that doesn’t mean much. Receiver is also a toss up with Demun Mercer (235 yards) the top returnee. New coordinator Brett Elliott (who also came from JMU) said they’ll remain an up-tempo attack, so it’ll be interesting to see how that works with a list of new starters. The offensive line does return three senior starters, but will those guys even start?

Defensively, Texas State was a mess last year, allowing 39.2 points per Game. Not much returns from that group, but they’ll be working in a new 3-4 scheme anyway. There are a few seniors to work with at each level, but it’s not guaranteed any of them will get the start. Corner Brandon McDowell and safety Damani Alexcee should give the secondary some experience. Elsewhere, linebacker could be entirely new with only one senior in the two-deep, Teron Fitzgerald.

Part of Texas State’s struggles last year had to do with a difficult Schedule. Unfortunately, the Bobcats will likely lose their first three Games of the year unless they make major immediate improvements. There will be plenty of opportunities for them to get Sun Belt wins, most notably in back-to-back Games against Monroe and LAfayette. Home Games against Idaho and Troy also top that list, and those are sandwiched by a road Game at NMSU.

It’s hard to see the Bobcats getting back to that six-win mark this year and making a bowl Game. They have the worst odds by far at 5Dimes to win the Conference if that says anything. With so many new faces and questions across the team, Withers has his hands full. Three or Four wins seem most likely for this team unless the defense can take a major step up.

2016 Texas State Bobcats Football Schedule

Sept. 3 at Ohio
Sept. 17 at Arkansas
Sept. 24 vs. Houston
Oct. 1 vs. Incarnate Word
Oct. 8 at Georgia State
Oct. 15 at Louisiana-Monroe
Oct. 22 vs. Louisiana-LAfayette
Nov. 5 at Appalachian State
Nov. 12 vs. Idaho
Nov. 19 at New Mexico State
Nov. 26 vs. Troy
Dec. 3 vs. Arkansas State

USC College Football Betting Preview

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

2016

USC Trojans

College Football

Betting Preview

USC wasn’t great last year, but the Trojans still somehow won the Pac-12 South. However, they were gashed by Stanford in the title Game and then lost to Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl to finish with an 8-6 overall record. With Clay Helton fully in charge, things are expected to be a bit better and more consistent, but he still needs to find out who his quarterback will be in the opener against Alabama.

For the latest PAC-12 Odds, check in with Our TOP 3 Rated sportsbooks: 5 dimes, betonline and Intertops.

With Cody Kessler gone, Max Browne was expected to step in and become the immediate starter at quarterback, but that wasn’t the case as he got plenty of competition from Sam Darnold. The battle still wasn’t decided after spring and that decision will loom all summer with Alabama in the waiting. The good news is that every other relevant piece returns to the offense, beginning with every starter on an offensive line that has two All-Conference performers at tackle. That’s good news for the new QB, as well as the returning running backs.

Justin Davis (902 yards, 7 TDs) and Ronald Jones (987 yards, 8 TDs) are one of the top backfield duos in the conference, and even country and both could reach 1,000 yards this year if they both continue to split carries. Receiver is a similar situation with JuJu Smith-SChuster (89 receptions, 1,454 yards, 10 TDs) returning to go with Steven Mitchell and Darreus Rogers. Needless to say, the Trojans are loaded on offense. They just need to find a quarterback.

The same can’t be said about the defense where coordinator Clancy Pendergast takes over once again after spending a couple years with the 49ers in the NFL. He hopes to return the unit to levels last seen when he was there in 2013, but it’ll be tough.

The Trojans have plenty of options to work with, but return no starters along the line so there’ll be a lot of inexperience and young faces. The other units look much better, though, so if the line can be mediocre, that might be enough. At linebacker, Cam Smith returns after injuring his knee late last year and he’ll roam the middle with Osa Masina on his weak side. The secondary will probably be the best unit with Adoree’ Jackson focusing on that end of the field combined with fellow cornerback Iman Marshall. Safety is plenty deep as well with two returning starters.

The problem for the Trojans is that their Schedule is ridiculously hard. They open with a Game down in Arlington against Alabama and then host a tough Utah State team a week later. To complete their non-Conference slate, USC hosts Notre Dame in the season finale. But that’s not where it ends with five road Games in Pac-12 play, including back-to-back tests at Stanford and Utah in the end of September. Another road back-to-back in November against Washington and UCLA will be tough.

The Trojans are favored to win the South again and have an over/under around the 9-win mark (under 9.5 -270 at 5Dimes) and reaching above that total will be difficult with a new quarterback and young defensive line. USC might be more experienced, but another eight-win season may be in the cards for the Trojans.

2016 USC Trojans Football Schedule

Sept. 3 vs. Alabama (AT&T Stadium)
Sept. 10 vs. Utah State
Sept. 17 at Stanford
Sept. 23 at Utah
Oct. 1 vs. Arizona State
Oct. 8 vs. Colorado
Oct. 15 at Arizona
Oct. 27 vs. California
Nov. 5 vs. Oregon
Nov. 12 at Washington
Nov. 19 at UCLA
Nov. 26 vs. Notre Dame

Auburn – Ole Miss Free College Football Pick against the Spread

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

Auburn

vs.

Ole Miss

College Football Pick

10/29/16

The bookmakers weren’t completely fooled by Auburn’s huge win last weekend over Arkansas, but the Tigers can’t be taken for granted at this point, now on a winning streak after losing two of their first three Games. That said, they opened as just -2.5 point favorites at Ole Miss (now -3) as seen at 5 Dimes Sportsbook.

Everything went Auburn’s way last weekend against Arkansas, winning 56-3, which further verified how good Gus Malzahn is coming off a week of rest. Along the way, the Tigers ran for a ridiculous 543 yards and seven touchdowns. Once an afterthought, this team may be the last one to give Alabama a run for its money in the regular season finale.

On the other side, Ole Miss comes into this Game having lost two straight and sporting a losing 3-4 record. The Rebels were still ranked going into the Game at LSU, but that’s gone. That said, it’s hard to fault this team for its losses, falling to Florida State and Alabama early on and recently losing on the road to Arkansas and LSU. Things don’t get an easier for them in this Game.

When these teams met last year, it was a back-and-forth battle with the Rebels scoring the Game-securing touchdown in the final quarter. But even with a questionable offense in 2015, Auburn still gave Ole Miss a run for their money. Now, with a solid one-two punch in the backfield and more experience under center, the Tigers look like a legitimate team.

The problem for the Rebels is that they haven’t played great defense this season, most recently letting LSU run for 311 yards against them last weekend. And that’s where this Tigers offense steps in with Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson both averaging more than five yards per carry and six touchdowns a piece. Maybe the worst part for Ole Miss is that Johnson missed the last Game, yet Auburn still ran for 500-plus yards as a team. If that’s the case, quarterback Sean White won’t have to do too much and that’s exactly how they want it.

If the Rebs can’t stop this offense, it could be another similar result for them like the last two Games. Chad Kelly may be the best quarterback in the conference, but he can’t do it all for this team and that’s why they lost the last two Games. Yet again, Kelly faces a tough defense with the Tigers having allowed more than 20 points just once this season.

Kelly has fallen off a bit lately and that’s most because Ole Miss doesn’t have much of a run Game outside of him. Running back Akeem Judd has just 80 yards the past two Games, while Kelly is near 150. The difference for the Rebels is that they’re at home, but will that matter against another good defense, especially if they can’t stop Auburn from gashing them with their running Game?

The Tigers are 4-1 ATS in their last five road Games and 8-2 ATS vs. a team with a losing record, although Ole Miss isn’t a typical losing team. The Rebels are 18-7-1 ATS in their last 26 home Games and 5-1 ATS in their last six home Games vs. a team with a winning road record. That includes their home cover against Alabama earlier this season.

Our Pick – Ranking college football defenses using yards per point, Auburn has the #1 defense in the land 7 Games into the season. That’s impressive and isn’t a fluke. Numbers may lie after just a few Games, but numbers don’t like 7 Games in.

Revenge is a powerful motivator in college ball, providing the team has the means to get that revenge. Auburn has the means. Auburn -3

Central Florida Michigan Football Pick

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

Central Florida

vs.

Michigan

Free

College Football Pick

9/10/16

Nothing was too surprising in the first Game for either of these teams. While UCF didn’t even get a win last year, they came out and dominated South Carolina State last weekend. Of course, that doesn’t mean a whole lot as now they get to travel to Michigan. The Wolverines are the bigger story here who came into the season with tons of hype and lived up to it in a 60-point win over Hawaii. They opened as a -34.5 point favorite at the first sportsbook to post their lines each week betonline.

A question for Michigan going into the year was at quarterback and it looks like sophomore Wilton Speight is getting the call. While he threw an interception in his first pass against Hawaii, he still managed to go 10-of-13 for 145 yards. With Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh to throw to, Speight has the tools around him to match what Jake Rudock did a year ago. The bigger question will be if the Wolverines can keep up the ground Game. They went for 306 rushing yards and Four touchdowns against the Rainbow Warriors, but Hawaii might have the worst run defense in the country. That said, UCF was terrible in every facet of the Game last year and it’s still unknown just how good/bad they are after an easy opener.

Either way, Michigan figures to take a similar approach to this Game, using the ground Game to control things with Speight passing here and there.

The biggest thing for the Knights in trying to cover this Game will be scoring. It looks like Michigan’s defense will once again be dominant against weaker teams, similar to last year. After Hawaii dropped 31 points against California in the opener, they only managed three points against the Wolverines.

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As for the Knights, it can’t be forgotten that their new head coach is SCott Frost, who is the former Oregon offensive coordinator. Justin Holman at least has plenty of experience at quarterback, although his numbers are still questionable at best. He went just 14-of-28 in their 38-0 win. In addition, UCF could only muster 3.7 yards per carry.

Most bettors will be on the Wolverines in this Game, simply assuming they could get another Game in which Michigan scores 50 points and allows single digits. Under Jim Harbaugh, Michigan is a highly popular team on a national scale and that will remain so throughout most of the early season without much resistance in the Schedule.

With most of Michigan’s offensive line intact from 2015, expect the Wolverines to use the ground Game to control most of their early Games. And that will apparently include a bevy of running backs from De’Veon Smith and Ty Isaac to Chris Evans, who actually led the team with 112 yards and two TDs in the first Game.

UCF got off to a nice start, but traveling to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines could go exactly the opposite for them. Covering this Game will come down to what Holman can do in his third season as starter and in SCott Frost’s offense.

Our Pick – UCF returns a healthy 8 starters on each side of the ball and while they were 0-12 a year ago, their early season results saw them hold Stanford and South Carolina to 31 points. We’ll go against all those Wolverine bettors as we think UCF keeps this within the spot. Central Florida +35

Alabama – USC Free College Football Pick against the Spread

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

Alabama

vs.

USC

Week 1

College Footbal Pick

9/3/16

Alabama closed last season in the biggest Game of the year and they’ll open 2016 with the biggest Game of the first weekend, taking on USC at AT&T Stadium. The Trojans were hoping to bounce back from a mostly disappointing season in Cody Kessler’s senior year, finishing 8-6, but a neutral-site Game against ‘Bama isn’t exactly the best way to recover. The Crimson Tide are favored, as expected, by -10.5 points at 5 Dimes Sportsbook.

It’s nothing new for Alabama this season. They have a lot of turnover, but are the AP preseason No. 1 team, even with questions at various positions. Most importantly, just two weeks before this Game, Nick Saban still hadn’t decided on a starting quarterback with Cooper Bateman, Blake Barnett and Jalen Hurts all in the competition. Usually, that hasn’t been a huge deal for the Tide, as their offensive line will be one of the best in the nation, led by dominant left tackle Cam Robinson. And sophomore running back Bo SCarbrough is the next ‘Bama running back in line to take the nation by storm.

But at receiver, the options are some of the best around with both Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart leading the way. The problem is that they have to get the ball. With a new quarterback in charge, it’s a wonder how much the Tide will be passing, especially in the first Game.

The Trojans have a good defense, but it’s nowhere near the level of what Alabama has produced. The Trojans allowed 40-plus points multiple times last year and have a mostly new front seven. Sure, the secondary is experienced, but how will they deal with the dominant Tide offensive line?

To keep up, it’s going to fall to new starting quarterback Max Browne, whose had limited experience at the collegiate level with just 19 pass attempts. That said, the Trojans have loads of talent surrounding the QB starting with RBs Justin Davis and Ronald Jones, who should be one of the best one-two duos in the country. Then Browne still has JuJu Smith-SChuster and Darreus Rogers in the receiving Game.

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Both of these teams have talent, obviously, as they constantly have the best recruiting classes. But Alabama is the only one putting those classes together for good use, as they’ve dominated college football for a while now. USC would like to get to that level, but inconsistent play has been a detriment to overall prospects.

New head coach Clay Helton would like the Trojans to get back to the Pac-12 title Game every year and compete on a national level with teams like Alabama. But that doesn’t happen overnight. And losing to teams like Wisconsin in bowl Games isn’t the best way to start that.

It’s hard to imagine a QB with only 19 College pass attempts having much success against a Nick Saban coached Alabama defense. But then again, it looks as though the Tide may have their own struggles on the offensive side of the ball early on.

This is the type of Game where we love to take a look at the underdog in the 1st quarter and 1st half. The adrenaline and motivational factors alone can make a tram better than they really are, albeit for a short time.

We think USC keeps this close in a Game that sees fewer points than most think. Below we have 4 recommendation.

USC +10.5

USC + 1st quarter

USC +1st Half

UNDER 54

BC – Georgia Tech Free College Football Pick against the Spread

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

Boston College

vs.

Georgia Tech

Week 1

College Footbal Pick

9/3/16

It’s not often a Conference Game gets played out-of-country, but here we are in Dublin. Boston College is coming off another down season with just three wins, zero in ACC play, while Georgia Tech had a down year themselves, also with three wins, but one big one in the ACC against Florida State. Maybe it’s not the best Game for the Irish to watch live, but they have no choice, and at the least, both teams should be better than in 2015. The Yellow Jackets are favored by -3.5 points at betonline Sportsbook.

For the favorite, there isn’t all much that’s new as the triple-option is still there as is quarterback Justin Thomas, who has held that role for two years. Things just didn’t happen for Georgia Tech last year, but as seen throughout the year, they competed with everyone on the Schedule, including top teams such as Notre Dame, UNC and FSU.

Thomas’ numbers dropped across the board in 2015 with his rating dropping more than 30 points. Most of that was due to injuries and a beat up offensive line. If they can stay a little healthier, Thomas should be back to his old ways with a crew of running backs that all got experience last season. Marcus Marshall leads the bunch, but Clinton Lynch and Isiah Willis are a couple other backs that saw time last year. This offense still scored 29.3 points per Game with all of the injuries, so just a little improvement will have them above the 30-point mark.

The last time these teams met it was 2012, so not much can be taken away, although the Yellow Jackets ran for 391 yards and Four touchdowns as a team in a 20-point win.

The Eagles actually had a really good defense last year, best in the ACC, holding teams to 15.3 points per Game, but the offense ultimately held them down. With a decent amount of returning starters, they should continue to remain competitive. However, they didn’t face the triple-option last season, so that could lead to some questions, although this could be one of the best defensive lines again in the ACC.

To win this Game, and to cover, Boston College will need help on the offensive side where Kentucky transfer Patrick Towles steps in as the new quarterback. While he had his issues at Kentucky (9 TDs, 14 INTs in 2015), he should be a step above what the Eagles had last season when they combined for eight TDs and nine INTs with Four different QBs. The main thing to help BC is that the offensive line will be better, or at least that’s the thought with three returning starters. Along with that, running back Jon Hilliman returns from a broken foot and is looking to bounce back to his 860 yards and 13 TDs from 2014.

On the other side, Georgia Tech had the opposite problem a year ago, with a mediocre defense that always failed against better teams.

But as said before, these teams are better than their three-win records from last season and if they reach that number again, it would definitely be disappointing. But at least for the fans of Ireland, they’ll get a competitive Game, albeit likely low-scoring.

Considering how many close Games Boston College lost last year, taking Georgia Tech by more than three points doesn’t seem like a good way to go. The Eagles defense remains solid and should keep this Game tight.

Our Pick – Boston College +3.5

Citrus Bowl Pick

Bettors World — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:57:00 +0000

Citrus Bowl

Florida

vs.

Michigan

1/1/16

Michigan is one of the few Big Ten favorites this bowl season, and surprisingly it’s against an SEC team. Unsurprisingly, it’s against a Florida team that hasn’t played a good Game in two months. Playing in the Citrus Bowl, the Gators are a lot closer proximity wise, but that shouldn’t be a huge factor as the Wolverines travel well. The Wolverines opened as a -4 point favorite at 5 Dimes Sportsbook.

Florida started the season great with a 6-0 record, but that quickly disappeared once quarterback Will Grier was suspended for the season. Treon Harris came in and they lost three Games the rest of the way, including a couple double-digit losses to close the season. OUtside of big wins against Ole Miss and Georgia, the Gators weren’t all that impressive. They struggled against East Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and even Florida Atlantic. That’s almost half their Schedule.

The same can’t be said about Michigan, who dismantled multiple opponents, including a stretch of three-straight shutouts early in the season. The Wolverines lost focus a bit after falling to Michigan State in the middle of the year, but they still managed close with wins at Minnesota and Indiana.

This Game will likely be low scoring and it’s hard to see this Florida offense scoring more than 20 points. Michigan did slip up in the second half of the year, but this is still an elite defense, while the Gators scored 26.5 points per Game.

Starting with quarterback Treon Harris, the Gators are not a threat to pass the ball. If Harris is forced to, it may not be a good result against one of the best secondaries in the country. Harris is completing just 51.9% of his passes on the year for 9 TDs and 5 INTs. As long as Michigan doesn’t jump to an early lead, running back Kelvin Taylor should see around 25 carries. The Wolverines have been giving up big Games to running backs, so that’s the one chance this offense has to succeed. Before the Alabama Game, Taylor ran for 100 yards in three straight Games.

Florida’s defense was its strong suit en route to 10 wins this year and it’ll be how they win this Game.

Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock has improved throughout the season, but he hasn’t really had a good Game against a good defense yet. Facing Rutgers and Indiana isn’t close to what he’ll see in the Gators. Still, Rudock is better than Harris and has able wide outs in Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson, who combined for 1,349 yards and 13 touchdowns. The problem with this offense is that they haven’t been as good running the ball as expected. Running back De’Veon Smith has just 644 yards and six touchdowns to lead the team.

Because of a weak ground Game, that should keep the Gators around. But on the other end of that, the Wolverines won nine Games this year, with eight of those coming by at least seven points and six of them by double digits. Once this team finds a weakness, they attack it and if Florida’s offense can’t run the ball, it will be trouble again for the Gators.

The Wolverines have only covered two of their last six Games, while the over has hit six straight times for them in Games on the turf. The Gators have covered in five straight neutral-site Games.

Our Pick – Both teams field a very good defense. However, the Gators offense leaves a lot to be desired. They rank 119th in rushing yards and 103rd in points scored. Not the kind of numbers you’d prefer when playing the 9th ranked defense in terms of points allowed.

When we use only the last 7 Games worth of data with Our model, we come up with a 7 point Wolverine win. That sounds about right to us. Michigan -4