I felt pretty good about going 11-8-1 last week. I called a few nice upsets and missed a couple by a single point. My glaring mistake was picking against TCU (oops). My record is now 85-71-3 on the season.
I haven’t heard much about the weather being a huge issue this weekend. It is supposed to be the 40’s in the Midwest, so if any Southern teams have to do some traveling, it could be a shock to their system, but it’s nothing that would deter production.
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 (November 1st, 2014), and picked some smaller conference games as well. Enjoy!
Auburn at Mississippi (-2) – My pick is Ole Miss Rebels
I really thought Ole Miss was going to beat LSU in the Bayou last week. It was a defensive war. Ole Miss might not have been ready to have a target on their backs on the road. They are now getting the other team’s best shot. LSU’s home crowd was nuts. Oxford will return the favor when Auburn comes into town. The Tigers were able to come out of nowhere last season to win the BCS, but can they get passed Mississippi’s staunch defense? They will be without Denzel Nkemdiche, but I don’t see that being a huge issue. This game will be close. Ole Miss should squeak by with a field goal win.
Oklahoma State at Kansas State (-14.5) – My pick is Kansas State Wildcats
I went into this game thinking I might be picking Oklahoma State in this contest. After a rough stretch, I thought maybe they were due for a bounce back game. Well, the more and more I watch OSU QB Daxx Garman, the more I want to just throw my wallet at Kansas State. I’d rather take a shot with KSU QB Jake Waters confusing OSU’s defense. This game will be close to the betting line, but I’m picking KSU to cover.
Stanford at Oregon (-7.5) – My pick is Oregon Ducks
After Oregon was upset by Arizona, they didn’t over-correct and make big changes. Arizona just had their number. They were more prepared and took advantage of Oregon possibly overlooking them. The Ducks have won three straight and scoring 42+ points in each game (and covering the spread in each game). Stanford are 4-4 ATS and I’ve missed on them more times than I’ve hit. They looked good against Oregon State, but many other PAC-12 teams have looked just as good against them. I’m going safe and picking the Ducks.
Arizona at UCLA (-6.5) – My pick is Arizona Wildcats
I would have a much better win-loss record this year if I just stayed away from UCLA.They are 1-7 ATS and I think I’ve picked them most weeks. I just fell in love with Brett Hundley and jumped on the bandwagon hype. Could this be the week the market corrects itself? I don’t see it, especially since they are still favored by nearly a touchdown. I can’t let myself pick UCLA again. I’m confidently taking the points.
TCU at West Virginia (+6) – My pick is TCU Horned Frogs
West Virginia is another team I’ve been in love with that hasn’t completely panned out. After beating Maryland, they failed to cover three weeks in a row before upsetting Baylor. I’m going to ride the hot hand and pick TCU (7-0 ATS). How can you NOT pick a team that scored 82 points against a mid-tier conference foe? TCU for the win and cover.
Indiana at Michigan (-7) – My pick is Indiana Hoosiers
Michigan and Indiana first played each other in 1900 and have played a total of 62 games against each other. Michigan is 53-9 in those games. IU hasn’t beaten Michigan since 1987 and haven’t won in The Big House since 1967. Indiana has a pretty good team and it’s time to take advantage of a Michigan program while they are down. This game means more to IU than it does Michigan. The Wolverines offense is piss poor and their defense won’t be able to catch IU running back Tevin Coleman. I’m taking the points and possibly laying a few jellybeans on the moneyline.
Duke at Pittsburgh (-3.5) – My pick is Duke Blue Devils
I’ve done well when I’ve picked Duke this season (4-2-1 ATS). This game (at best) should be a pick’em. This is a real head-scratcher that Pitt is actually favored. They aren’t a very good home team (2-3). Unless someone points out the exact reason why Pitt is getting action, I’m hitting hard on Duke.
Virginia at Georgia Tech (-3.5) – My pick is Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech has a gimmicky offense that teams have trouble duplicating in practice. Virginia has lost to Georgia Tech the last two seasons by double-digits. The Yellow Jackets ran for 400 yards in each of those games. I don’t see UVA drastically fixing their past errors. I’m picking Tech to cover.
Florida at Georgia (-13.5) – My pick is Georgia Bulldogs
Florida stinks. I’ve been saying it all season. They have gotten by the last two years on their reputation alone. You can usually find value in their betting lines, even though the Gators are still technically a very public team. The bettors who bet with their blue/orange hearts, instead of their eyes, have been taken to the cleaners by the Will Muschamp era. The Bulldogs will cover between the hedges.
Western Michigan at Miami (OH) (+6.5) – My pick is Western Michigan Broncos
This is where we pick an under-the-radar smaller conference game. Western Michigan and Miami (OH) have both been kind to bettors. Western Michigan is 7-1 ATS and Miami is 6-3 ATS (despite a real-life record of 2-7). Miami haven’t won many games, but have been able to keep them close. Western Michigan is on a roll and are 4-0 ATS in their last four road games. I’m picking the Broncos to cover by a touchdown.
QUICK HITS
Wisconsin at Rutgers (pk) – My pick is Wisconsin
North Carolina at Miami (-15) – My pick is North Carolina
Houston at South Florida (+9.5) – My pick is Houston
Arkansas at Mississippi State (-11) – My pick is Arkansas
Tennessee at South Carolina (-7) – My pick is Tennessee
Illinois at Ohio State (-29) – My pick is Illinois
Notre Dame at Navy (+14.5) – My pick is Navy
Cincinnati at Tulane (+4.5) – My pick is Cincinnati
Northwestern at Iowa (-4) – My pick is Iowa
Boston College at Virginia Tech (-3) – My pick is Boston College
*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.