2018 – Bettors World

Wake Forest College Football Betting Preview

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

2018

Wake Forest

College Football

Betting Preview

Wake Forest has become relevant under Dave Clawson and that also means higher expectations. After an 8-5 record that finished with a bowl win over Texas A&M, the Demon Deacons are expecting more of the same even with a new quarterback. This team won through an offense that scored 33.7 points per Game and will need to reach close to those levels to have a shot at eight wins again. The spring odds have them as the fifth-best team in the ACC Atlantic division, just behind Louisville with +35000 odds (at 5Dimes Sportsbook) to win the National Championship.

Kendall Hinton was the talk of the spring as he’s the guy that’s expected to take over at quarterback for John Wolford. Hinton has limited experience even in his Fourth year with the team. He redshirted in 2016 after a major injury with his busiest season being 2015 when he threw 179 passes. He showed his mobility in the spring Game, but lacked accuracy and went 5-of-17 for 21 yards. If Hinton can’t come close to what Wolford provided, this team could take a step back. But to help, all starters return up front to go with top running back Matt Colburn (754 yards, 6 TDs). Behind this line, Hinton and Colburn should put up close to the same numbers and Wolford last season. Top receiver Greg Dortch (722 yards, 9 TDs) is back from injury and will need to help Hinton as much as possible along with SCotty Washington (711 yards).

The defensive side was somewhat of a weakness last season even allowing only 26.3 points per Game allow. The Deacons still gave up a ton of yards, more than 250 through the air and 191 on the ground per Game. Things will have to change in both aspects in coordinator Jay Sawvel’s second season. On the ends, Carlos Basham and Chris Calhoun are set for bigger roles and both will be needed to produce. Linebacker may be the biggest question for the group with Justin Strnad moving into a starting role and expected to be the best of the bunch. To help the front seven, everyone in the secondary is back so those numbers should improve with Amari Henderson and Essang Bassey leading at cornerback.

Most of the season will come down to quarterback, but Hinton should get two wins under his belt before getting to ACC play. It also helps that Wake has five-straight home Games after traveling to Tulane in the opener. There’s a decent chance the Demon Deacons open with a 4-2 record or better with the expected losses coming to Notre Dame and Clemson. Things get a bit tougher with three difficult road Games, but home against Syracuse and Pitt should turn into wins. This team may not be as potent as a year ago, but the Schedule is friendly enough to reach eight wins in the regular season. That may be best-case scenario, especially with Hinton leading the offense, but behind the experienced line, seven regular season wins can be expected for Wake.

2018 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Football Schedule

Aug. 30 at Tulane

Sept. 8 vs. Towson

Sept. 13 vs. Boston College

Sept. 22 vs. Notre Dame

Sept. 29 vs. Rice

Oct. 6 vs. Clemson

Oct. 20 at Florida State

Oct. 27 at Louisville

Nov. 3 vs. Syracuse

Nov. 8 at NC State

Nov. 17 vs. Pittsburgh

Nov. 24 at Duke

Auburn vs. Ole Miss CFB Pick

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

Auburn

vs.

Ole Miss

College Football

Pick

10/20/18

Auburn was ranked as a top-10 team for half of the early season, but coming off back-to-back losses, suddenly finds itself not even in the rankings. It’ll be hard to trust the Tigers, even against an Ole Miss team that is still somewhat of a mystery. The Tigers were -4 point road favorites with an over/under of 62.5 as of Tuesday at YOUWAGER..

Things haven’t gone to plan in the last two Games for Auburn, losing at Mississippi State and then surprisingly to Tennessee last weekend. The loss to LSU could have been forgiven, but the other two, not so much. Ole Miss is still a bit unknown, as it was blown out in its two toughest Games (Alabama, LSU), yet beat a decent Texas Tech team in the opener and most recently came back to defeat Arkansas. Auburn controlled this matchup last year by winning on both lines of scrimmage and that led to a 326-83 discrepancy in rushing yards. To win on the road, Auburn will have to do that again.

The problem for Auburn is that its rushing attack is nowhere near as good with 4.1 yards per carry as a team behind JaTarvious Whitlow, who is leading the way with 456 yards. That’s almost a full yard less per carry for this group and it doesn’t help that quarterback Jarrett Stidham is completing more than a yard less per attempt at 7.04 with just seven touchdowns. The only reason this group could turn things around is because Ole Miss has one of the worst defenses in the country giving up 500 yards per contest with more than 200 of those coming on the ground. And as long as Auburn can run the ball it should be fine, but is that something to bet on after losing at home to Tennessee?

Auburn’s defense also hasn’t been as good as projected and while it’s allowing only 16.6 points per Game, just gave up 30 points at home to Tennessee. The Tigers will need to match what they did in last year’s 44-23 win, holding the Ole Miss rush down and then only allowing garbage yards to quarterback Jordan Ta’amu. The issue is that the Rebels actually have a decent ground Game led by SCottie Phillips, who leads an attack that’s going for 5.7 yards per carry. Even without recently injured wide out D.K. Metcalf, Ta’amu still has A.J. Brown and DaMarkus Lodge to work with and they will allow the offense to move the ball at a minimum. Ta’amu is throwing for more than 10 yards per attempt and passed for more than 330 yards against every defense other than Alabama and LSU’s.

A stout running Game has been the difference between these teams the last two years, but so far it’s been Ole Miss that’s rushing the ball better. Throw in a weaker Auburn defense and the Rebs are in a solid position for an upset.

The Tigers haven’t covered in their last six against a team with a winning record and are 1-4 ATS in their last five in SEC play. The Rebels are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 at home and 2-8 ATS in their last 10 following a straight-up win. Auburn is 4-0-1 ATS in the last five meetings between these schools and the over has hit in seven of the last nine.

Our Pick – Ole Miss +4

Clemson vs. Texas AM Pick

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

Clemson

vs.

Texas A&M

College Football

Pick

9/8/18

In just the second week of the season, the Clemson and Texas A&M Game could tell us how the year will go, at least in terms of the CFP. Both teams looked great in their openers, but neither opponent provided much resistance. Jimbo Fisher is looking to make a statement in his first year at A&M and a win over Clemson would do just that. Still, the Tigers are large -12.5 road favorites with an over/under of 54.5 points at YOUWAGER Sportsbook.

There’s no reason to doubt Clemson, especially against a team that was only 7-6 a year ago. Fisher brings a big name to College Station, but there’s still work to be done if the Aggies want to make some noise in the SEC. Clemson’s biggest problem is still deciding on a starting quarterback. Kelly Bryant started the opener and looked fine, but Trevor LAwrence came on and had three touchdowns on only 15 pass attempts, though Bryant also had a 35-yard touchdown run. The competition will continue in this Game and that may not matter against this defense. A&M held down Northwestern State, but it also allowed more than 30 points per Game last year. The lone reason to consider the Aggies is that they are at home and they battled with Alabama in this situation a year ago.

Per usual, Clemson has tools at every spot on offense and that should shine through unless A&M’s defense took another step over the summer. No matter who is at quarterback, Clemson should move the ball consistently with a stout line and playmakers in the backfield led by Travis Etienne.

To have a chance, the Aggies need to put points on the board against one of the best defenses in the country. Kellen Mond was great last week, but he gets a completely different test in this one. Towards the end of Mond’s time as QB last season, he was struggling to complete passes and finished with just a 51.5% completion rate. Surprisingly, two of his better Games came against South Carolina and Alabama. A&M will likely focus on getting Trayveon Williams going on the ground after he ran for 240 yards in the first Game. The main reason this offense struggled to find consistency last year was because the running Game wasn’t doing anything as Williams finished with less than 800 yards, worse than the 1,057 yards in 2016. Williams ran for 203 yards in the 2017 opener and then passed 100 yards only one more time. If Williams can’t find room against a line that features NFL talent at every spot, A&M will have to rely on Mond.

The Tigers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 non-Conference Games and 7-3-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record. The Aggies have covered their last Four non-Conference Games and are 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight at home. This will be a tricky test for Dabo Swinney and company, but a dominant defense should lead the way in the end.

Our Pick – Clemson -12.5

Georgia vs. Alabama Free Pick

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

Georgia

vs.

Alabama

National Championship

1/8/18

SEC fans are loving life with Georgia and Alabama facing off in the National Championship Game. While it should be a fun, competitive Game, some are turned off that this is more or less another SEC title Game. But if these teams didn’t come out of the SEC, there would be no arguing about whether they deserved to be here. The Crimson Tide opened as -4.5 point favorites at 5Dimes Sportsbook.

It’s been an impressive second season for Kirby Smart at Georgia, taking the Bulldogs from eight wins to the Championship. Not many thought they’d be here after escaping past Notre Dame in the early season, but after running through the SEC East, it was only a matter of a time. The only blip on the Schedule is the trip to Auburn that didn’t end up mattering as they beat the Tigers 28-7 on a neutral field. Georgia needed two overtimes against Oklahoma, but grabbed the win on the back of 317 rushing yards on 9.3 yards per carry.

For Alabama, this was always expected, even after losing 26-14 at Auburn in the regular season finale. The Tide had trouble late in the season, but still managed close wins against A&M, LSU and Miss. State. They maybe didn’t have the toughest Schedule, but you can’t fault ‘Bama that Florida State lost its starting QB in the opener and had trouble reaching six wins (even if they were the ones to injure Deondre Francois). In the semis, Alabama won through its defense stopping Kelly Bryant and Clemson from getting anything going and that’s what will need to be the case in this Game.

All signs point to this matchup being similar to the Alabama-Clemson Game than the Georgia-Oklahoma one. For starters, both defenses rank near the top in terms of almost every defensive stat. Alabama allows 11.5 points per Game while Georgia is at 13.2. Both have better rush defenses, but at times have been questionable against the pass. The Tide were slightly better in that aspect allowing 2.8 yards per carry with the Bulldogs allowed 3.5. After Georgia gave up 242 rushing yards to the Sooners in the semifinals, that’s where Alabama will attack.

The team that wins in the trenches should win the Game. The Tide will use its combo of Damien Harris (983 yards, 11 TDs) and Bo SCarbrough (573 yards, 8 TDs), as well as quarterback Jalen Hurts (808 yards, 8 TDs) getting his fair share of carries in the option. Hurts has rarely beat opposing defenses in the air this season and there’s no reason to bet on him to do that in this Game. Even against Clemson, most of his 16 completed passes were short screens and he only ended up with 120 passing yards. When Alabama isn’t dominant on the ground, it usually has trouble moving the ball and the only reason it won by 18 points against Clemson was because of a couple turnovers. Otherwise, the Tide managed just 3.4 yards per carry.

The question is if Georgia’s defense can step up to that same level. The Bulldogs were run over by Auburn in the first meeting and then contained them in the SEC title Game. Oklahoma ran easily against them as well, although most of that came in the first half when the Sooners dropped 31 points. The problem for Georgia is that Alabama hasn’t really allowed anyone to run on them this season. Even in the loss to Auburn, the Tigers managed just 3.4 yards per carry.

That’s an issue because Georgia also has a run-first offense between Nick Chubb (1,320 yards, 15 TDs) and Sony Michel (1,129 yards, 16 TDs). Chubb and Michel have been unstoppable for most of the season, but if those two can’t get going, there’s no telling what this offense will look like. They were contained in the Auburn loss and Jake Fromm couldn’t do enough to keep that Game competitive. In this huge spot, the freshman quarterback will be extremely hard to trust, even after back-to-back big wins. If the running Game doesn’t work, everything will be on Fromm to win this Game for Georgia and that’s a tall ask against the Alabama defense. His main priority may simply be to not turn it over after Kelly Bryant cost Clemson in their loss.

The Crimson Tide are 5-1 ATS in their last six neutral-site Games, but 1-4 ATS vs. a team with a winning record and 1-5 ATS in their last six Games against SEC teams. The Bulldogs have covered in their last Four Games, are 6-2 ATS vs. a team with a winning record and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 against the SEC. In this matchup, the over is 5-1 in the last six meetings and the underdog has covered in the last Four.

Our Pick – All of Our numbers, including Our model, say Alabama is the better team by a nose. In fact, Our numbers have Alabama by 4 to 6 points, suggesting the oddsmakers have this one right.

One interesting thing we noticed is that at a sportsbook known for it’s “square” or recreational clientel, the line actually went from an opener of -4.5 up to -5. Whereas, at a couple of books that have no problem with “sharp” or wiseguy action, the line opened at -4.5 and dipped to -3.5.

This Game, like any close Game, will be decided by mistakes and turnovers. Now, to be clear, this is NOT a strong play for us. We have had a tremendous Key Release season hitting 65% (very rare) and this Game won’t be includedas a Key Release.

But we do like Georgia in ths Game. No, we don’t have any numerical handicapping edge, which is what we look for, it’s actually nothing more than a feeling that this is simply Georgia’s time. We’ve felt that way about this team for most of the year and it led to Georgia being Our highest rated Key Release of the year last week.

In fact, with Georgia down 31-17 at the half last week, there was little doubt in Our mind that they would come back and eventually win. It’s simply their year, and who better to lead them to a National Title than former Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. Georgia +4.5

Kent College Football Betting Preview

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

2018

Kent

College Football

Betting Preview

Kent State needed to make a change after last year’s 2-10 record, its fifth-straight campaign with Four wins or less. And so, the Golden Flashes brought in Sean Lewis, the former offensive assistant for Dino Babers at Syracuse and Bowling Green. Lewis has a long way to go with his new team and that’s seen in the odds with an over/under of 2.5 wins and the worst odds to win the MAC at +12500 (at 5Dimes Sportsbook).

Kent State has to improve in almost every area, the main one being at quarterback after it scored just 12.8 points per Game last year. Lewis brings an up-tempo attack that spreads things out and improvement is almost guaranteed. JUCO transfer and former Auburn player Woody Barrett was the favorite to win the quarterback job over the summer, but he’s competing with a few other guys. There’s no telling how that will play out, but Barrett, a dual-threat QB is the closest to winning the competition. The new quarterback has to work behind a line that allowed 47 sacks last year and returns three starters with no seniors. At the least, most of the skill players return from running back Justin Rankin (490 rushing yards, 311 receiving yards) and impact freshman Isaac Vance to receivers Trey Harrell (324 yards) and Mike Carrigan (281 yards). This passing offense managed just 122 yards per Game last year so the numbers aren’t big for returning starters.

While Lewis brings in a new offense, the defense is still a question after allowing 35 points per Game. New coordinator Tom Kaufman also comes from the Babers coaching tree, although spent last year at Chattanooga. This job could end up being more difficult than on offense as the defense is focused on a new 3-4 scheme that creates turnovers. That could also lead to a lot of big plays allowed. All-MAC linebacker Jim Jones is back for his senior season and will aim for 100 tackles this year. There are five underclassmen expected in the starting lineup, which says a lot about the overhaul. There is some experience on the line to go with three returning starters in the secondary, but those guys need to improve.

The opening Schedule could get ugly for Kent State with Four of the first five Games on the road. That’ll likely lead to only one non-Conference win again with the September trip to Ball State being a battle between the worst projected teams in the conference. To reach three wins and hit the over, the Golden Flashes need to find two Conference wins on the slate with home Games against Akron and EMU being the best bets, as well as the early Ball State meeting. Otherwise, it’s going to be tough for this defense to completely turn around and have the offense scoring consistently with a new quarterback and system. The Flashes will improve at some point under Lewis, but the first year will be difficult as expected.

2018 Kent State Golden Flashes Football Schedule

Sept. 1 at Illinois

Sept. 8 vs. Howard

Sept. 15 at Penn State

Sept. 22 at Ole Miss

Sept. 29 at Ball State

Oct. 6 vs. Ohio

Oct. 13 at Miami (OH)

Oct. 20 vs. Akron

Oct. 30 at Bowling Green

Nov. 6 at Buffalo

Nov. 15 vs. Toledo

Nov. 23 vs. Eastern Michigan

Michigan St vs. Penn State CFB Pick

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

Michigan State

vs.

Penn State

College Football

Free Pick

10/13/18

Penn State saw its CFP hopes dashed when it lost to Michigan State last year, but now it would like some revenge, though MSU doesn’t have any CFP desires at this point. Even better for the Nittany Lions is they’re coming off a bye after falling to Ohio State a couple weeks ago. Playing at home, the Lions were large -13.5 point favorites with an over/under of 55.5 as of Tuesday at 5Dimes Sportsbook.

This spread is large but it kind of makes sense combining MSU’s struggles with PSU’s ability to Scoreand that it should be fully rested coming into this Game. The Spartans won this matchup last year on the arm of Brian Lewerke and he’s been far from reaching those types of levels this season. That’s led to a lot of close and disappointing wins or losses as a favorite for Michigan State. This should be the perfect Game for Trace McSorley to go off, assuming he doesn’t have three interceptions like he did against this defense last year.

McSorley also threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns in last year’s loss, but the turnovers cost him. He’s going against a secondary that’s getting torched in every Game, allowing 305 passing yards per contest and they haven’t exactly played an elite quarterback yet. McSorley is only completing 52.9% of his passes this year, but that may not matter against this defense. The main hope for MSU is that McSorley’s 50% completion rate continues, otherwise it could be a long day similar to 2016 when Penn won 45-12 at home. The Spartans still can’t be completely overlooked because their defensive line is one of the best in the country, allowing a ridiculous 34 rushing yards per Game. If Miles Sanders and McSorley are both held in check running the ball, there’s no telling what the offense can do. Sure, McSorley will put up yards and get the offense to 30 points, but will that be enough to cover?

PSU’s main issue on the defensive end has been stopping the run, but conveniently that’s MSU’s weakness. Battling through injuries to top running back LJ SCott and numerous offensive linemen, the Spartans are averaging 3.4 yards per carry with no one at more than 147 rushing yards. For them to pull an upset in this Game, everything will have to change. Otherwise, Lewerke just hasn’t been good enough to put the team on his back and drop 30 points on the board. Due to lackluster play calling, Lewerke has just six touchdowns and six interceptions this year, far behind last year’s 20 TDs. His yards per attempt is up to 7.68, but that doesn’t matter if they can’t put the ball in the end zone.

There are statistical reasons to take both sides in this Game, but Michigan State also has the impossible task of hosting Michigan the following weekend. There’s no reason for MSU to look ahead as a large underdog, yet it’s a rivalry Game so it’s at least logical.

The Spartans are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 following an ATS loss, but 3-8 ATS in their last 11 road Games. The Nittany Lions have covered in their last seven home Games vs. a team with a winning road record and are 12-3-2 ATS in their last 17 overall at home. The over is 15-3-1 in the last 19 meetings between these schools and the favorite is 6-1 ATS in the last seven.

Our Pick – Penn State -13.5

Northern Illinois College Football Betting Preview

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

2018

Northern Illinois

College Football

Betting Preview

Northern Illinois was in the hunt for the MAC’s West division all last season, but a couple late road losses led to an 8-5 record with six wins in Conference play. The Huskies should again contend for the division, although with a rough non-Conference slate, aren’t guaranteed six wins or a bowl Game. They have the second-best odds to win the Conference at +320 (at 5Dimes Sportsbook) with an over/under of 6.5 wins.

There won’t be many changes from last year’s team that wasn’t weak in any area on the field. The key is sophomore quarterback Marcus Childers, who won the position last season and led the offense to some big Games. He went on to finish with 15 passing touchdowns with 454 rushing yards and five more TDs on the ground, although his 6.03 yards per attempt still needs some work. That should be possible behind one of the best offensive lines in the Conference led by left tackle Max SCharping, who looks headed to the NFL. The running Game will need to improve outside of Childers with Marcus Jones (347 yards) and Tre Harbison (231 yards) the two returnees in the backfield. Childers gets a couple of his top receivers back between Spencer Tears (461 yards) and D.J. Brown (342 yards) so that shouldn’t be a worry.

The defense was actually the better group last year holding opponents to 22 points per Game and with most of the key pieces back, shouldn’t drop off. The biggest name from this group is All-American defensive end Sutton Smith, who had a ridiculous 14 sacks last year. Senior Josh Corcoran should get less attention on the other side and be in for a nice season. The linebacking corps is a bit unknown with none of them returning starters, although Kyle Pugh returns from injury. The secondary was the weakest spot in the defense last season, but is filtered with experience in two seniors at corner and two juniors at safety.

All signs point to NIU being just as good if not better than a year ago and that should lead to another competitive campaign in the West division. The problem for the Huskies is a brutal non-Conference slate that features trips to Iowa, FSU and BYU in addition to hosting Utah. If they lose all Four of those, six wins are needed in MAC play for a bowl Game and that should be attainable as long as they can steal road Games against weaker teams in the conference. The important contests will be home against Ohio and Toledo with the finale at Western Michigan possibly being for a division title. The offense should be better behind an experienced line and the defense has enough pieces to stay relevant so the over 6.5 will be possible. The problem lies in the Schedule where the Huskies may not win a non-Conference Game.

2018 Northern Illinois Huskies Football Schedule

Sept. 1 at Iowa

Sept. 8 vs. Utah

Sept. 15 vs. Central Michigan

Sept. 22 at Florida State

Sept. 29 at Eastern Michigan

Oct. 6 at Ball State

Oct. 13 vs. Ohio

Oct. 27 at BYU

Nov. 1 at Akron

Nov. 7 vs. Toledo

Nov. 14 vs. Miami (OH)

Nov. 20 at Western Michigan

Outback Bowl Pick

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

OUtback Bowl

South Carolina

vs.

Michigan

1/1/18

Both of these teams got a better bowl than expected and that could lead to a dull Game. In fact, the last time neither school in the OUtback Bowl was ranked in the AP Poll was back in the 2010 season. The hope is that this one will be closer than the last two in which the Big Ten scored a total of nine points between Northwestern and Iowa. This time around, the Big Ten is favored with Michigan an -8 point favorite at 5Dimes Sportsbook.

This spread only keeps growing because Michigan is a more popular team. There’s a reason why the Wolverines have some of the best odds to win the National Championship entering every season with Jim Harbaugh as head coach. But yet again, Harbaugh’s team struggled against its best opponents and that left the team with Four losses. While they had quarterback questions all season, the hope is that Ole Miss QB Shea Patterson can come in for 2018 and make an impact. Unfortunately for UM fans, he can’t play yet.

South Carolina had a more impressive season even while finishing with the same record. Not much was expected from the Gamecocks and yet they still managed to finish second in the SEC East. Of course, that comes with a caveat in an extremely down year for the division. Wins over Arkansas, Tennessee and Florida don’t mean much, especially with a home loss to Kentucky and one-point win over Louisiana Tech on the Schedule. South Carolina played great defense, but its ineffective offense left them with 20 total points scored against two elite defenses late in the season (Georgia, Clemson). The problem is that Michigan’s defense is almost as good as those two, which means another 10-point Game could be in store for the Gamecocks.

The Wolverines allow just over 18 points per Game and rank as a top-10 defense in the country giving up 3.6 yards per carry. South Carolina’s offense hasn’t done many things right this season from averaging 4.0 yards per carry to Jake Bentley throwing just 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Running back Rico Dowdle is set to return from injury for this one, but that shouldn’t change much with A.J. Turner and Ty’Son Williams still there to receive carries. It’s hard to see those guys finding much room after they struggled against any decent defense this season. The way for South Carolina to cover is through Bentley and he’s thrown seven interceptions in the last Four Games. When asked to do more, he simply hasn’t done enough.

Of course, there’s a chance South Carolina holds Michigan to less than 20 points, as well. The Gamecocks aren’t as good on the defensive side, but still allow 3.9 yards per carry and have the tools to thwart a Michigan offense that’s had quarterback issues all season. For this one, Brandon Peters is set to start, who didn’t play against Ohio State due to a concussion. Peters hasn’t thrown an interception yet, but he also hasn’t attempted more than 18 passes in a Game and his three wins came against Rutgers, Minnesota and Maryland. But the fact that he hasn’t thrown an interception is the most important thing. The Wolverines will still try and run the ball as much as possible between Karan Higdon, Chris Evans and Ty Isaac, who is returning from injury. Those guys have had good seasons, but also a lot of those numbers were accrued against bad defenses.

South Carolina, which has seen numerous high-powered running attacks this season, can at least put up some resistance in this Game. If that’s the case, the cover potential will definitely be there with the spread up to eight points.

The Wolverines are 2-6-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record and 1-4 ATS in their last five non-Conference Games. The Gamecocks have covered in their last five at a neutral site, but are 2-6 ATS in their last eight out of conference.

Our Pick – South Carolina +7.5

Stanford vs. Cal College Football Pick

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

Stanford

Cal

College Football

Pick

ATS Trends

12/1/18

The season wouldn’t be complete without a Stanford and Cal Game so this one will be played when most championship Games are going on. ReScheduled because of the wildfires, this matchup doesn’t have a ton of meaning, only to decide which team will get the better bowl Game as both have the same records. The Cardinal were -3 point road favorites with an over/under of 48.5 as of Wednesday.

Even with the same records, these teams have had mostly different seasons. Stanford was thought to compete for the Pac-12 title, and while it started 4-0, it was clear this team didn’t have enough, getting blown out by the likes of Notre Dame and Utah. It’s a little different for Cal because it didn’t have hopes for anything following a five-win season, but now it could be looking at eight wins.

The Golden Bears almost won this Game last year on the road in a 17-14 loss and that was when Stanford had a better team. They let Bryce Love run over them for 101 yards, but Cal ended up winning the battle on the ground and had 5.5 yards per carry in the loss.

That rushing Game will be important because quarterback Chase Garbers isn’t beating many teams with his arm. He hasn’t thrown for more than 153 yards in the last Four Games, yet is averaging 4.5 yards per carry, which meshes well with top running back Patrick LAird. Those two have been enough to get huge wins over teams like Washington and USC because Cal surprisingly has one of the best defenses in the conference.

It’s been a complete overhaul for the defense that was annually one of the worst in the country, but the Golden Bears are allowing just 21.1 points and 319 total yards per Game. Stanford doesn’t have a bad offense, made evident in the last few Games, but it’s also not an elite group because scoring more than 40 points on Oregon State and UCLA doesn’t mean too much.

But even without Bryce Love running over opposing defenders, Stanford has done enough to average 30 points per Game. Love still only went for 3.9 yards per carry in last week’s win against UCLA and the team is at just 3.8 ypc for the season, which could be problematic. There’s a good chance Love struggles to do any better in this Game since Cal’s defense is allowing just 3.6 ypc, similar numbers to Washington, who held Stanford to 77 yards on 23 carries. Of course, quarterback K.J. Costello can’t go unmentioned because he’s been the best player on the offense, slinging 8.71 yards per attempt with 28 touchdowns and 11 picks. With monster target JJ Arcega-Whiteside (14 TDs) leading the receiving core, opposing corners have had issues stopping these two.

The only way Cal can win is if the defense limits Love and doesn’t let Costello carve them up in the secondary. The Cal defense is on an incredible run that saw them hold UW, WSU and USC allow below 20 points and could easily do that to Stanford. That being the case, there’s at least a chance for an upset, especially at home, breaking Stanford’s eight-Game winning streak in the series.

The Cardinal are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven road Games and 7-3 ATS against a team with a winning record. The Golden Bears have covered their last five and are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 home Games. The favorite is 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings and the road team is 7-2 ATS in the last nine.

Our Pick – Cal +3

Tulsa College Football Betting Preview

Bettors World — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:12:00 +0000

2018

Tulsa

College Football

Betting Preview

Tulsa took a massive fall in Philip Montgomery’s third season in charge, partly due to a new quarterback situation with the other half of it being a porous defense. The Golden Hurricane finished at just 2-10 with one Conference win and while better things are expected, a bowl is still unlikely in 2018. Their early over/under at 5Dimes Sportsbook was sitting at Four wins with slightly more money on the over to go with long +10000 odds to win the AAC.

The only reason Tulsa can hit the over this year is because of the offense, which at least has two experienced starters in LUke Skipper (3 TDs, 4 INTs, 4 rush TDs) and Chad President (3 TDs, 2 INTs, 9 rush TDs), who is returning from an ACL injury. Skipper expects to start the season, but there’s a decent chance President returns at some point as long as he’s healthy. Top running back D’Angelo Brewer is gone, but the line still has some studs in Tyler Bowling and Chandler Miller and that could lead to another solid year on the ground after going for close to 250 yards per Game. Shamari Books (687 yards, 10 TDs, 5.8 ypc) will likely see the majority of touches and could push 1,500 yards, similar to Brewer last year. The hope is that either Skipper or President is better as a passer because the tools are there. Both Justin Hobbs (55 receptions) and Keenen Johnson (44 rec.) return at wide out and will be a big help in improving the passing Game. Even if that doesn’t happen, Tulsa should still move the ball consistently behind the line.

The problem is that the defense was destroyed in every Game last season, allowing 37.5 points and more than 525 yards per contest. There are glaring issues everywhere even if some of their best players return, including safety McKinley Whitfield and linebackers Diamon Cannon and Cooper Edmiston. Making matters worse is that only one starter is back on the line, although it can be argued that new faces are needed from a group that allowed 265 rushing yards per Game. There’s more experience in this group than a year ago, but turning that experience into improvement isn’t guaranteed.

If the Hurricane want to reach Four wins, they’ll need to win both early home Games against Arkansas schools as the other three on the road will be difficult. The good news is that Tulane and UConn come to Tulsa, and those are the other two likely wins for this team. To hit the over, the Hurricane need better quarterback play and a better overall defense. If that happens, stealing a Game at Temple or Houston isn’t out of the cards, but the other possible win is the Game against SMU in the season finale. If all goes well, that will be for a bowl Game.

2018 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Schedule

Sept. 1 vs. Central Arkansas

Sept. 8 at Texas

Sept. 15 vs. Arkansas State

Sept. 20 at Temple

Oct. 4 at Houston

Oct. 12 vs. South Florida

Oct. 20 at Arkansas

Oct. 27 vs. Tulane

Nov. 3 vs. Connecticut

Nov. 10 at Memphis

Nov. 17 at Navy

Nov. 24 vs. SMU