This season is becoming a broken record…but I don’t hate it. I ended the week with another 11-9 record (I can’t complain). I am now currently 64-53-2 on the season.
The weather is becoming colder and weather reports are becoming more and more important with each following week. Snow isn’t in the forecast, but sloppy rain could hamper a few games this weekend.
We were 134-79-8 against the spread betting on college football games last season. We hope to keep it going and help you guys out again this season.
We pick against the spread for all the big college football games on Saturday (October 18th, 2014), and picked some smaller conference games as well. Enjoy!
Baylor at West Virginia (+8.5) – My pick is Baylor Bears
Both of these high-scoring teams were unable to beat the spread last week. Baylor needed an improbable 4th quarter to win outright. It was a thing of beauty. This will be another high-scoring game. If Texas Tech’s Davis Webb can put up good numbers against West Virginia’s secondary, Baylor’s Bryce Petty should have another 400+ yard passing game. This line will be tight, but I think Baylor will barely beat the spread.
Georgia at Arkansas (+3.5) – My pick is Arkansas Razorbacks
I’ve been riding Arkansas for a few weeks and it has paid off. They play an old school style of offense that depends on the running game. Arkansas running back Jonathan Williams is one of the top running backs in the SEC. I would love to see Georgia’s Todd Gurley in this game, but I doubt he’s cleared in time. Arkansas will prevent the cover and possibly upset the Bulldogs on Saturday.
Texas A&M at Alabama (-11.5) – My pick is Texas A&M Aggies
Alabama is not the same powerhouse we are used to watching. They are having issues scoring. Blake Sims and T.J. Yeldon haven’t seemed to have good games at the same time. They have squeaked by and I don’t know if they will be able to hang with A&M’s offense. Kenny Hill has thrown five interceptions the last two games. He will need to take care of the ball better if A&M wants to win. This line opened up at -14, but has been bet down. I don’t think Alabama could cover a double-digit point spread at the moment. I’ll take the points.
Oklahoma State at TCU (-8) – My pick is TCU Horned Frogs
Oklahoma State’s 5-1 record is quite deceiving. Their Big 12 schedule has consisted of Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas…not exactly difficult. This is their first test in-conference. Their only test was a loss against Florida State. TCU can’t wait to get on the field. They want to smoke Oklahoma State and try to forget their late-game collapse against Baylor. This one could get ugly.
Notre Dame at Florida State (-10) – My pick is Notre Dame Fighting Irish
I don’t think anyone really thought this game would be THIS important. Notre Dame had an academic scandal which saw a handful of starters get suspended and Florida State has all the Jameis Winston off-the-field, jumping on tables and screaming stuff, drama. ND quarterback Everett Golson spent his year away from football doing the right things. He is clearly a better player and I think he has enough weapons to hang with Winston. This game will be close and I’ll take the points.
UCLA at California (+7) – My pick is California Bears
UCLA has been a money pit this season. They are 1-5 ATS and have lost their last two games outright. It’s a little odd that they finally get a running game going, but start losing? Paul Perkins have helped Brett Hundley, but UCLA’s defense wasn’t able to stop Oregon or Utah. They were down early and Hundley had to throw his way back. Cal has an explosive offense. I’ll take the points
Clemson at Boston College (+5) – My pick is Clemson Tigers
This line actually opened up at +8.5, but has been bet down by the public. They must have liked how BC played against NC State last week or remember their upset against USC last month. It could be the fact that Clemson’s starting quarterback Deshaun Watson is out with a broken hand. They had a streak of four-straight covers in a row before failing to cover by a point against Louisville on Saturday. Clemson will need to rely on senior Cole Stoudt to fill-in for Watson. This line could be tight, but I like for the Tigers to cover.
Georgia Tech at North Carolina (+2.5) – My pick is Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
North Carolina has the ability to score points, but they lack the ability to stop the other team. UNC definitely has a hard time stopping the rush. East Carolina out-rushed UNC on the ground by 200 yards. Georgia Tech will go into Chapel Hill and smoke the Tar Heels.
Missouri at Florida (-6) – My pick is Missouri Tigers
Why am I picking a team that couldn’t stop a Todd Gurley-less Georgia team? Well, Florida still has Jeff Driskel as their quarterback. I would normally stay away from both teams, but after last week’s shutout, there’s a lot of value in Missouri’s line. Maty Mauk will not have that bad of a game again. I’ll take the points.
Ball State at Central Michigan (-8) – My pick is Central Michigan Chippewas
This is where we pick an under-the-radar smaller conference game. I loved Ball State last year. I rode them nearly all season and it paid off. They haven’t done well against the spread this season and I’m calling for them to lose this week. Three Ball State football players attempted to pull off a ‘poo dollar’ prank at a local bar. As a former server and Ball State alumni, I do not condone this. That’s not the main reason why I’m picking Central Michigan. Ball State’s offense won’t be able to keep up. They lost too many played to the NFL/graduation last year and haven’t recovered.
QUICK HITS
Virginia at Duke (-2.5) – My pick is Duke
Kentucky at LSU (-9.5) – My pick is LSU
Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh (-1) – My pick is Virginia Tech
Iowa at Maryland (-4) – My pick is Maryland
Western Michigan at Bowling Green (-1.5) – My pick is Bowling Green
New Mexico at Air Force (-9.5) – My pick is Air Force
Cincinnati at SMU (+14.5) – My pick is Cincinnati
Michigan State at Indiana (+16.5) – My pick is Indiana
San Jose State at Wyoming (+1.5) – My pick is Wyoming
Tennessee at Mississippi (-16.5) – My pick is Ole Miss
*These picks are for entertainment purposes
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.