Last week, I went 13-12 against the spread during Week 6 of the college football season.
We have some huge games on the schedule this week. Alabama hopes to have QB Bryce Young back this weekend as they travel to face Tennessee. The Volunteers are playing as good as any team in the country. I can’t wait to watch that game on Saturday.
Will Kentucky QB Will Levis be healthy enough to play against Mississippi State?
We at ‘America’s White Boy’ pick 25 college football games against the spread in Week 7 of the 2022-23 NCAA Football season (October 15th, 2022).
Penn State at Michigan (-6.5) – My pick is Michigan Wolverines
Penn State is 5-0 outright and 3-2 against the spread this season. They are coming off a 17-7 home win over Northwestern. The Nittany Lions drained the clock and only allowed Northwestern to have the ball for 22 1/2 minutes. Penn State’s backfield did just enough to keep drives going. They averaged around four yards per carry. Michigan is 6-0 outright and 3-3 against the spread. They are coming off a 31-10 road win over Indiana. Wolverines QB J.J. McCarthy had his best game of the season by eclipsing the 300-yard mark against the Hoosiers. Michigan’s defense has a big advantage against Penn State. They will be the reason they win and cover at home.
Alabama at Tennessee (+7) – My pick is Tennessee Volunteers
Alabama is 6-0 outright and 4-2 against the spread this season. They are coming off a 24-20 home win over Texas A&M. It was a close win with backup QB Jalen Milroe struggling at times. He doesn’t have the passing ability as QB Bryce Young. It looks like Young will most likely start on Saturday as he’s been practicing this week. They will need him to keep up with the Volts. Tennessee is 5-0 outright and 4-1 against the spread this season. They are coming off a 40-13 road win over LSU. They have a balanced offensive attack, which helps QB Hendon Hooker keep the defenses guessing. They should be able to hang with Alabama. The Crimson Tide will most likely win, but they should keep it close, so I’m taking the points.
Oklahoma State at TCU (-4) – My pick is Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State is 5-0 outright and 3-2 against the spread. They are coming off a 41-31 home win over Texas Tech. OSU QB Spencer Sanders was inconsistent as he only completed 22 of 45 passing attempts. He didn’t have much of a running game going and they needed a late touchdown to pull ahead by two scores. I worry about Sanders in big games, as he has laid a few eggs against ranked teams in the past. TCU is 5-0 outright and 4-0-1 against the spread this season. They are coming off a 38-31 road win over Kansas. QB Max Duggan threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Their defense didn’t play well against Kansas backup QB Jason Bean. I would have to have seen the backup struggle, but TCU allowed him to throw four touchdown passes. I worry the TCU defense won’t be able to stop many Oklahoma State drives this Saturday. The Cowboys smoked them last year and I could see OSU winning outright again, so I’m taking the points.
NC State at Syracuse (-3.5) – My pick is NC State Wolfpack
NC State is 5-1 outright and 2-4 against the spread. They are coming off a 19-17 home win over Florida State. They were close to losing the game, but FSU QB Jordan Travis threw an errant pass that turned into an interception in the final minute. The Wolfpack’s defense was the reason they won that game. NC State QB Devin Leary only completed 10 of 21 passing attempts for 130 yards. Syracuse is 5-0 outright and 4-1 against the spread this season. They are coming off a 59-0 home win over Wagner. It was a cupcake opponent and not much can be gleaned from the victory. They’ve had a rather easy schedule so far, but it’s still impressive that they appear to be bowl-bound after a few rough seasons. Syracuse is a bit overrated at the moment and I don’t think they will cover at home, so I’m taking the points.
Clemson at Florida State (+3.5) – My pick is Clemson Tigers
Clemson is 6-0 outright and 3-3 against the spread. They are coming off a 31-3 road win over Boston College. Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei has played better of late, but it was also an easy stretch of their schedule. He threw three touchdown passes and also led his team in rushing yards. He will need another good outing this week to cover. Florida State is 4-2 outright and the Seminoles have the same record against the spread. They are coming off a 19-17 road loss to NC State. FSU QB Jordan Travis needs a little more help. He’s trying to do too much and it’s leading to a lot of bad passes. He won’t be able to get away with that against Clemson’s secondary. I’m taking Clemson to cover on the road.
Mississippi State at Kentucky (+4.5) – My pick is Kentucky Wildcats
Mississippi State is 5-1 outright and 4-1-1 against the spread this season. They are coming off a 40-17 home win over the K.J. Jefferson-less Arkansas squad. MSU QB Will Rogers had another marvelous game by throwing 395 yards threw the air with three touchdowns. They will need their defense to step up this week. Kentucky is 4-2 outright and the Wildcats have the same record against the spread. They are coming off a 24-14 home loss to South Carolina. It was the second-straight loss and both were without starting QB Will Levis. It appears that Levis is now healthy enough to suit up against Mississippi State. This has the makings of a shoot-out, and now that Levis is back, they will be able to hang, so i’m taking the points.
North Carolina at Duke (+7) – My pick is North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina is 5-1 outright and 4-2 against the spread. They are coming off a 27-24 road win over Miami (FL). They have bounced back since losing in Notre Dame a couple weeks ago. They use a lot of faces in the backfield and they need them to do more with their touches. Against the Hurricanes, they ran the ball 43 times and only gained 161 yards. They squeaked out a few third downs, but they weren’t consistent on the ground. Duke is 4-2 outright and 3-3 against the spread. They are coming off a 23-20 overtime road loss to Georgia Tech. I don’t like the way they are playing against bad teams. I thought Duke would be a middling ACC team, but I think they are battling to the basement. I’m taking North Carolina to cover on the road.
USC at Utah (-3.5) – My pick is USC Trojans
USC is 6-0 outright and 4-2 against the spread this season. They are coming off a 30-14 home win over Washington State. It was close game until halftime, as the Trojans shut them out in the second-half. USC QB Caleb Williams hasn’t been very accurate, but you can’t nitpick too much as they currently sit undefeated. He will need to be a little more consistent against the ranked teams in the Pac-12. Utah is 4-2 outright and the Utes have the same record against the spread this season. They are coming off a 42-32 road loss to UCLA. Utah’s defense sold them out as UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson had one of his better games of the year and RB Zach Charbonnet averaged nearly ten yards per attempt. I think USC’s offense will caught Utah’s defense to struggle. I’m taking the points in this game.
LSU at Florida (-2.5) – My pick is Florida Gators
LSU is 4-2 outright and 3-3 against the spread this season. They are coming off a 40-13 home loss to Tennessee. It was clear early on that LSU was out-matched on both sides of the ball. There was only so much LSU QB Jayden Daniels could do last week. Florida is 4-2 outright and 3-3 against the spread. They are coming off a 24-17 home win over Missouri. Florida’s running game will be the key going forward as I’m down on Florida QB Anthony Richardson. He will show flashes of throwing ability, but he’s too inconsistent. If Florida can keep the ball on the ground and convert third downs, they should cover this game at home.
Connecticut at Ball State (-9.5) – My pick is Connecticut Huskies
This is the section where we pick a smaller conference game. Connecticut is 3-4 outright and 5-2 against the spread. They are coming off a 33-12 road win over Florida International. It was their second outright win in-a-row. The Huskies need to run the ball if they hope to keep any game close. Their quarterback doesn’t have much of an arm. Ball State is 3-3 outright and the Cardinals have the same record against the spread. They are coming off a 17-16 road win over Central Michigan. Ball State was down early on in that game, but they rode the back of RB Carson Steele to get the outright win. They don’t have the kind of offense that can extend leads and their defense leaves a lot on the table. I’m taking the points in this game.
QUICK HITS
Baylor at West Virginia (+3) – My pick is Baylor
Old Dominion at Coastal Carolina (-12.5) – My pick is Coastal Carolina
Minnesota at Illinois (+6.5) – My pick is Illinois
Auburn at Ole Miss (-14.5) – My pick is Auburn
Arkansas at BYU (+1.5) – My pick is Arkansas
Maryland at Indiana (+11.5) – My pick is Maryland
Louisiana Tech at North Texas (-6.5) – My pick is North Texas
Utah State at Colorado State (+11) – My pick is Colorado State
Memphis at East Carolina (-5) – My pick is Memphis
New Mexico at New Mexico State (+6.5) – My pick is New Mexico
BONUS PICKS!
Central Michigan at Akron (+13.5) – My pick is Akron
Buffalo at Massachusetts (+16.5) – My pick is Buffalo
Ohio at Western Michigan (+1.5) – My pick is Ohio
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan (-2.5) – My pick is Eastern Michigan
James Madison at Georgia Southern (+12) – My pick is James Madison
Sweetbob’s college football picks against the spread record in previous seasons:
2013: 134-79-8
2014: 148-118-4
2015: 149-118-3
2016: 196-145-6
2017: 183-159-13
2018: 177-157-6
2019: 187-141-8
2020: 170-160-5
2021: 167-151-8
2022: 82-65-3
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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.