Throughout the entire season this year in NCAA college football, it’s felt like we haven’t had that many big games. However, it appears that this weekend is going to change that with a huge slate on tap for us.
On the schedule in Week 7 includes a multitude of contests that features ranked teams taking on other ranked competition, and this includes two games that has undefeated schools squaring off. So with that being said, we’re going to have major changes in the College Football Playoff picture after Saturday, as well as the races for all of the conference championships. Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
For the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers, they’ll be facing off against some solid opposition after having a bye week last week, so it’ll be interesting to see if they get caught off guard or not. With the Crimson Tide, they’re looking to work out the final remaining kinks on defense heading into the final stretch of games before we get into championship season. As far as the Tigers are concerned, they’re just trying to maintain their superiority as the defending national champions. With that being said, the two powers could send a message to the rest of the country, a message of power and dominance.
With that being said, let’s get into some of Week 7’s biggest games to bet on across the landscape of NCAA college football, along with my predictions for each. (And this includes the entire Top 25 schedule.) After you read and get your advice from me, you can then place your bet(s) over at one of the top football betting sites.
I’m honestly stunned that the oddsmakers have the Oklahoma Sooners as a -10.5 point favorite, and with that being the case, I’m certainly taking the Texas Longhorns to cover the spread. When you look at the numbers, Texas head coach Tom Herman is fantastic as an underdog, especially when you want to talk about against the spread, but that’s not even the biggest factor. In the past five games in this rivalry at the Cotton Bowl, all five have been decided by 10 points or less.
As far as the outright victory is concerned though, I’ll go ahead and ride with the favorite Oklahoma on that one, and honestly, I probably would have a different opinion if the Longhorns’ secondary wasn’t beat up and injured. There’s certainly been some struggles with their passing defense this season, allowing an average of 325 yards-per-game. On the offensive side, there’s not much problems there with plenty of potency, and I think that keeps them in this game. But again, that defense of theirs is going to let them down, especially against Oklahoma’s fiery offense. Sooners win by a touchdown in a classic western shootout.
The narrative going into this game is that Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Brandon Peters is apparently gunning for revenge in this game, this mainly due to him being a former member of the Michigan Wolverines. With that being said though, we don’t even know if Peters is going to be good enough to go this week after being taken out by the Minnesota Golden Golphers with an injury. Not only is Peters hurt either, but let’s be honest, the Wolverines are the flat-out better team in this contest. Also consider this: The last time that Illinois played a top 50 defense this season (Minnesota last week), they would be held 18 points under their average for scoring. Well, with Michigan, the Fighting Illini get the luxury (sarcasm) of facing off against a top 10 defense this go around. With that being said, expect a full shut-down from the Wolverines defense and some potency on offense to be able to get them a three touchdown win.
These two schools mirror each other in a lot of different ways. Both of them are huge on the defensive side of the ball, and on offense, they like to overpower the opposition using their rushing attack. Expect to see a lot of Wisconsin Badgers’ Jack Coan this week and for us to truly see what kind of quarterback he is, because the Michigan State Spartans are going to be very aggressive at trying to shut down Jonathan Taylor and limit his effectiveness on the ground. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not taking the Spartans for the upset or anything, but I’m certainly taking them to cover the spread with their defense. Give me the Badgers for the victory in a low-scoring and tight affair.
This game is massively important for the Washington State Cougars, who have started the season 0-2 in conference action. The Cougars are currently riding a two-game losing streak, and the last time they would suffer three straight losses, it would happen back in 2014. So not only does Washington State have their place in the conference at stake, but they also have records at stake for them as well.
As far as this matchup itself, both the Cougars and Arizona State Sun Devils are coming off of a bye week, and with the Sun Devils being at home, you would think that the game would ride in their favor, especially with WSU on two straight losses. However, that stretch could also provide motivation and a chip on a shoulder for the Cougars. I guess it all just depends on how you look at it. But here’s why I have to side with Washington State for the victory: ASU is ranked No. 65 in the national rankings when it comes to passing yards allowed-per-game, and I think the Cougars will certainly take advantage. And not just that, but I have a hard time seeing Washington State lose three straight games. I’m not seeing it. WSU wins.
I’m taking a bit of a risk with this being the Alabama Crimson Tide and everything, but I love for the Texas A&M Aggies to be able to cover the spread in this game — big spreads haven’t been safe with the Crimson Tide all season long. You have to give the Aggies their respect as well, nobody in the SEC West has been able to play Bama as tight as A&M has since their entry into the league, and this includes the LSU Tigers. Yeah, you have the 2014 game that you could throw at me where the Tide rolled all over the Aggies by a 54-0 score, but for the most part, Texas A&M has challenged Alabama over the years. With this season, despite his flaws, Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond does have the potential to challenge the Crimson Tide, both in the air and on the ground — Bama’s passing defense hasn’t been the best, either. Of course, Alabama wins this game to stay undefeated, but I do like Texas A&M to stay the distance to cover the spread.
A piece of advice for the undefeated Penn State Nittany Lions this weekend: Be careful. Be very, very careful. The only reason why I think the Iowa Hawkeyes aren’t getting the benefit of the doubt here from the oddsmakers is because of that dismal game against the Michigan Wolverines at Ann Arbor. But remember, this is still a team that is sitting at 4-1 overall on the season, and on top of that, they’re at home at Kinnick Stadium. Also to defend their loss against the Wolverines, the Hawkeyes were absolutely excellent on defense. Nobody saw senior quarterback Nate Stanley’s performance coming, even if the game was on the road. If that wasn’t the case, Iowa would have easily won that game — coulda, shoulda, woulda though.
With that being said, I think the Hawkeyes will have a bit of a chip on their shoulders this weekend, and Stanley will be looking for redemption. With all of the circumstances, I have no choice but to take Iowa for the upset. Sure, the Nittany Lions have the more talented offense, but I love Kirk Ferentz to out-scheme James Franklin in a prime-time setting in Iowa. Hawkeyes by a hair.
First off, I just want to say: If this game was in Los Angeles, I would certainly be rocking with the USC Trojans to win this game for the upset. With that being said, I like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to be the victors for two reasons: 1. Well, they’re home at South Bend. And 2. Notre Dame has a perfect opportunity to get a huge win and make themselves look flashy to the poll voters. Yeah, this may not be the same Trojans from the Pete Carroll era, but the Fighting Irish can still lock down an impressive rivalry win in the eyes of the right people. As far as the spread is concerned, I think this is one of the surest bets to make as far as the favorite team being able to cover. I’ll go ahead and place a wager on that. I look for Ian Book to ball out in this game, and if he does, and he should, Notre Dame should cover and win by two touchdowns.
Wow, a No. 5 team as a 13-point favorite over a No. 7 team? That’s pretty hefty right there. I do agree, however, that the LSU Tigers are the better team, and this is especially true considering the game is at Baton Rouge. No debate there, but my problem lies with the spread in this game, I have a problem seeing the Tigers take out the Florida Gators by two touchdowns. I mean, come on, this is a battle between two top 10 teams in the SEC conference. I’m expecting a close (kind of) game in this one for the most part. But yeah, I get what the oddsmakers are saying, I’ll take LSU for the victory as well — the offense is just way too good. Though, I think Florida keeps things in check as effective as possible with their defense to avoid heading into blowout territory. Regardless though, the Tigers get the win at home.
BETTING PREDICTION: Virginia Cavaliers 28, Miami-FL Hurricanes 24
BETTING PREDICTION: Oregon Ducks 45, Colorado Buffaloes 17
BETTING PREDICTION: Memphis Tigers 37, Temple Owls 34
BETTING PREDICTION: Georgia Bulldogs 48, South Carolina Gamecocks 21
BETTING PREDICTION: Cincinnati Bearcats 38, Houston Cougars 21
BETTING PREDICTION: Clemson Tigers 52, Florida State Seminoles 14
BETTING PREDICTION: Baylor Bears 41, Texas Tech Red Raiders 27
BETTING PREDICTION: Wake Forest Demon Deacons 42, Louisville Cardinals 23
BETTING PREDICTION: Utah Utes 43, Oregon State Beavers 17
BETTING PREDICTION: Boise State Broncos 38, Hawaii Warriors 21
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