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College Football Picks Against The Spread Afternoon October 24

By Mike Marteny

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There are 54 games that make up week 8 of the college football season. 18 of them make up the afternoon slate on Saturday. Want all of the winners picked? You can find that just about anywhere. Want them all picked against the spread? Well, you have come to the right place!

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.

My season mark is 183-181 so far. I am still above .500, but my goal was 55%. I am still a little short of that.

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 college football picks against the spread afternoon October 24:

(19)Toledo(-14.5) at Massachusetts(2): There is a good chance that this game turns into a shootout. If it does, UMass will score enough to stay close. Then again, the Minutemen got blasted by Bowling Green. I hate the half, but I will still take Toledo.

Central Michigan(-7.5) at Ball State(3): The Jar of Cardinals (shout out to you GBV fans out there) were terrible last week. I have to take Central Michigan.

Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois(-27.5)(3): Ugh. EMU is awful on defense, but this is a big line. Then again, NIU might not treat it as a practice. Give me the Huskies at home.

Virginia at North Carolina(-17.5)(2): Is Virginia really this bad? Maybe. Probably even. But I hate that half. Give me Virginia because of it.

Texas Tech at (17)Oklahoma(-14.5)(4): Too many. The Sooners are getting entirely too much credit for dominating a Kansas State team that can’t throw. They had a receiver behind the defense three separate times in that game but didn’t have a QB that could throw accurately enough to get the ball there. Patrick Mahomes can. He can also run the ball. The Sooners have a better chance at losing this game than by winning by more than two touchdowns. Give me Texas Tech.

Ohio(-2.5) at Buffalo(4): I don’t trust the Bulls at all. This looks too low. Give me Ohio.

Middle Tennessee State at Louisiana Tech(-7.5)(4): The Bulldog offense held their own against a pretty good Mississippi State defense. They shouldn’t have much of a problem here even if Kenneth Dixon is out. Give me La Tech. However, I will add this caveat: my confidence points go down to three if Dixon doesn’t play.

North Texas at Marshall(-29.5)(4): Too many. North Texas looked much better with a new head coach, and they had only been under his influence for a week. They moved the ball some on offense to take pressure off the defense. Also, Marshall is not an elite offense. Give me the (somewhat) Mean Green.

Wisconsin(-6.5) at Illinois(4): Too low. Even if Clement doesn’t play, Illinois still is not consistent enough on offense to get to Wisconsin’s defense. Badgers by double digits.

Penn State(-6.5) at Maryland(3): Penn State has a back who can pick up chunks of yards going against a defense that gives up huge chunks of yards. Hackenberg should be good enough to exploit the defense, but I wouldn’t bet on it. But for less than a touchdown, I am comfortable taking Barkley to do it on his own. Give me Penn State.

Indiana at (7)Michigan State(-16.5)(3): Too many. The Spartans didn’t beat a spread until last weekend. Indiana’s defense is bad, but I’m not entirely sure that Michigan State is good enough on offense to cover this. That and the Spartan defense isn’t nearly as strong, specifically against the pass, as they have been during their recent dominant stretch. I don’t think Indiana can pull the upset, but they should stay within 10-14 points.

(23)Duke at Virginia Tech(-3.5)(4): Am I the only one that doesn’t think Tech can pull the upset this year? They have a full blown QB controversy because neither option is really a good option. They lost to ECU, Pitt, and Miami. Duke is a similar team to Pitt with a little less offensive firepower. Duke straight up.

Tennessee at (8)Alabama(-14.5)(2): If Tennessee plays a really good game they can stay close, but I don’t really see that happening. They haven’t been able to yet. I knocked this down a couple of points because of that half. I strongly feel that Bama wins by 13 or 14, but I simply can’t take Tennessee. The only way to hedge the bet is to lessen the wager. Give me the Tide.

Kansas at (14)Oklahoma State(-34.5)(3): Too many. Oklahoma State is not Baylor or TCU. Or Texas Tech for that matter, a team that Kansas held to 30 points total. Give me the Jayhawks.

Washington State at Arizona(-7.5)(3): I wouldn’t be surprised if Washington State pulled the upset. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Cougars get blown out. That said, Washington State seems to finally be hitting their stride under Mike Leach. I think they show it here with a spirited performance and keep it close. Give me the Cougars. They did sweep the state of Oregon, after all.

Missouri(-2.5) at Vanderbilt(4): Bad offense, meet worse offense. This will be another defensive battle, and possibly even another 9-6 game. Even if it is, Missouri still covers. Give me the Tigers.

SMU at South Florida(-12.5)(1): Is USF’s defense really that improved? We will find out here. You will also notice that I am not convinced just yet. Give me the Bulls though for one point.

Hawaii at Nevada(-7.5)(3): I don’t buy this one for a minute. UNLV beat the Wolfpack in Reno, and they are likely worse than Hawaii. The Warriors definitely keep it within a touchdown. Give me Hawaii.

Stay tuned for the late picks!

Next: ESPN College Pick Em PIcks Week 8?

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