College Football Picks Against The Spread Afternoon October 17

There are 48 games to play on Saturday this weekend after one on Tuesday, three on Thursday, and four on Friday. It’s a little lighter Saturday slate, but there are still plenty of picks to make! 17 of them make up the afternoon games. Here they are, picked against the spread!

I need a good week since last week wasn’t all that great. It wasn’t as bad as I expected considering how poorly I did in pick em, but it still leaves something to be desired.

In case you don’t know what I do here, I pick every college football game of the season. Against the spread. Trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds! I take the average of the odds from all of the Vegas casinos. I then round to the nearest half. There will be no ties here. Ties are for the other football (soccer).

In case you missed how the point scale works, here is a brief rundown:

5. A lock. I am comfortable making a sizable wager on this game.

4. Very confident. Not quite a lock, but I am comfortable making a decent sized wager on it.

3. Middle of the road. Good enough that I would make a small wager on it.

2. Could go either way. So much so that I wouldn’t bet on it.

1. Stay away from these.

Take note that any games that involve 1-AA teams will NOT be picked. There simply is not enough information to get an accurate spread.

All of the picks for the Saturday games will be up at least two hours before the noon kickoffs for those of you parlayers out there!

Here are the rest of the picks, in case you missed any:

Thursday-Friday
Noon

Here are my college football picks against the spread afternoon October 17:

Northern Illinois(-15.5) at Miami(OH)(2): The Huskies have the talent to cover this, but it’s tough to do in a road game. Oh well, give me NIU.

Akron at Bowling Green(-10.5)(4): Too low. Bowling Green’s offense will eat them alive!

Georgia State at Ball State(-13.5)(1): Yuck! Do I have to pick one? The home team, I guess. Even though the road teams have done better overall….

Kent State at Massachusetts(-6.5)(3): This looks a little too low. Kent’s defense is decent, but Frohnapfel and Tajae Sharpe might play in the NFL one day. Give me UMass.

Air Force(-3.5) at Colorado State(3): This line opened even. Now it has slipped maybe a little too far. Nah, I’ve watched Colorado State enough this year to know that isn’t the truth. Give me Air Force.

Idaho at Troy(-11.5)(1): Really? I doubt Idaho is this bad. Give me the Vandals. This could be the ugliest game of the year. Yes, even worse than FIU-UCF.

Virginia Tech at Miami(FL)(-3.5)(4): This looks way low. The Hokie defense has not been very good this year, and Miami has looked decent most of the time. Give me the Hurricanes at home.

(10)Alabama(-3.5) at (9)Texas A&M(2): I think this stays within a field goal either way. I picked A&M in pick em, so give me the Aggies here too. Even if they lose, it’s going to be really close.

Syracuse at Virginia(-7.5)(2): After seeing how horrible the Orange looked last week, I have to go with Virginia here.

(19)Oklahoma(-4.5) at Kansas State(5): I have 15 years of history to back up this pick. The Sooners are 31-0 after a regular season loss since 2000. They just don’t lose two in a row. Not even with the average teams we had in 2005 and 2008. Give me Oklahoma.

Rutgers at Indiana(-5.5)(2): This pick would have been a lot easier without Leonte Carroo. Carroo lit up the Spartans. Indiana’s defense has not been very good at all. Then again, Nate Sudfeld is back, and Rutgers’ secondary is shot. Give me the Hoosiers.

(7)Michigan State at (12)Michigan(-6.5)(2): This looks like too many. I see a 14-13 game or a 17-13 game. Michigan wins, but I don’t think they cover.

Nebraska at Minnesota(-2.5)(5): This line actually opened with Nebraska favored! Minnesota beat the Cornhuskers in Lincoln last year when Nebraska had a better team than it does now. The nightmare season for Nebraska continues here. The Gophers aren’t capable of blowing anyone out – not even the worst pass defense in the country – but they should win by 7 or so.

Charlotte at Old Dominion(-5.5)(4): Too low. Charlotte has been blown out by everybody. That likely won’t change here.

Vanderbilt at South Carolina(-2.5)(3): This line has plummeted. The Gamecocks are a little bit lost right now with the flooding that ravaged the state and Steve Spurrier stepping down. They played fairly well against LSU. If they play like that again, they won’t have much of a problem beating Vanderbilt. Give me the Gamecocks.

Oregon State at Washington State(-7.5)(3): Will the Cougars have hangover from the biggest win of the Mike Leach era? Maybe, but that won’t help Oregon State’s pass defense enough. Give me the Leaches.

Nevada(-6.5) at Wyoming(5): Wyoming is 0-6 for a reason. The Wolfpack took down Buffalo on the road, and they are a much better team than Wyoming. Nevada by double digits.

Stay tuned for the last of the picks against the spread. They will be up in plenty of time for you to make parlays!

Next: ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 7

College Football Picks Against The Spread Afternoon October 17

By Mike Marteny | Oct 17, 2015

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