NCAAF: Cincinnati (-3.5) @ Indiana $$
This is the biggest game of the year for the Bearcats and I expect them to take full advantage of their opportunity by winning against Indiana and again next week against Notre Dame. If there is any chance for an FCS team to make the BCS playoff, this is the year.
There is a real opportunity this year with a couple of key teams already losing, notably Clemson and Ohio State. Georgia and Alabama will play in the SEC Championship so one of those two will lose at least one game as well. There is a real chance that Cincinnati could be one of only two or three undefeated teams in the NCAFF. In that scenario, it would be very difficult for the committee to keep them out of the tournament.
What that means is the Bearcats will have this Indiana game circled all season as it represents the biggest inter-conference game of the season, a ranked Big 10 team. You can be sure they will be giving maximum effort and the coaching staff will have been scheming for this game all summer.
The Hoosiers, on the other hand, are overrated in my opinion. They played badly against Iowa with Michael Penix throwing for only 14 completions and 3 interceptions. The couldn’t run the ball either with just 77 yards on 31 carries. The season doesn’t get any easier here against the tough Bearcat defence and they could struggle again.
Winning road games in the Big 10 is not an easy task, but I expect Cincinnati to get the job done today and I will make it my first double play of the NCAAF season.
NCAAF: Virginia Tech (+2.5) @ W Virginia $
This game opened at (-3) for the Mountaineers, but has been bet down to (-2), but there are still some hooks out there to be found.
The Hookies had a real strong outing in week 1 beating up a ranked UNC team with their defence looking impressive. They got a lot of pressure on Tar Hill QB Sam Howell in that game, sacking him 6 times and getting 5 pass deflections. This game could play put in a similar manner.
The Mountaineers have played just one big 5 conference game so far on the road against Maryland. The running attack for the WVirginia managed only 48 yards on 21 carries. QB Jarret Doege didn’t have a good game either putting up a couple interceptions. He managed 277, but needed 40 pass attempts to get that. If he has to drop back that many times again this week, it may be a difficult day as he can expect to have a lot of pressure on him and mistake may result.
I like the Hookies to win this game outright.
NCAAF: BYU (+3.5) Vs Arizona ST $
The Cougars beat their rivals from Utah for the first time in 9 years last week by dominating the line of scrimmage. 231 yards rushing on 46 attempts is a major punch in the mouth. It was a huge win for the program and I expect them to play another another strong game this week.
They stay at home in the Pac-12 this week against a very fast Sun Devils team. The Cougars should stay with the same game plan of a heavy run attack setting up their play action passing for Jaren Hall. If they can find success running the ball again this week, they can control the pace of the game and slow down the ASU offence.
I like getting the +3.5 in this spot as it could be a close game in the fourth quarter.
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