Fansided

College Football Picks Against The Spread Early October 31

By Mike Marteny

facebooktwitterreddit

16 of the 52 games this weekend are played early Saturday afternoon. Want them picked? You can find that anywhere. Want them picked against the spread? Now that is a little more tricky!

More from College Football Odds

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.

I had a pretty good week last week, bringing my season totals to 212-207 against the spread and +1 in my points system. Here are my college football picks against the spread October 31!

Here are the picks from Thursday and Friday in case you missed them!

Western Kentucky(-23.5) at Old Dominion(5): Way too low. The Hilltoppers have not missed a beat since losing Tyler Higbee. There are so many weapons on that offense that losing one of them isn’t going to stop the team. It didn’t when Jared Dangerfield went down. It didn’t when Leon Allen went out in the first game. The Monarchs have been smoked by nearly everyone. That continues here. Want a practical reason? ODU is 0-7 against the spread. Florida International beat them by more than this last week!

Central Florida at Cincinnati(-26.5)(2): I am still baffled by the WKU line. Now I am even more baffled. Cincinnati is likely capable of covering this. They beat up on a pretty good UConn defense last week. Give me Cincinnati at home.

South Florida at Navy(-7.5)(3): This line has plummeted since opening at -12. I get that USF’s defense is good, but Navy is a good offensive team as well. I just think Navy ends up wearing them down. I don’t like the half, and if I were to wait around to pick these, I may get it at 6.5. I would feel a lot better about it there. This week I don’t have the luxury of doing that. I will still take Navy though.

Illinois at Penn State(-4.5)(4): This looks low. The Illini have had trouble moving the ball. That is not good for a team playing in Happy Valley. Penn State can finally move the ball some with Saquon Barkley in the backfield. Give me Penn State at home.

Nebraska(-10.5) at Purdue(3): I don’t buy this. Purdue like to throw. Nebraska just relinquished the title of worst pass defense in FBS last week (they are now 126th). Even if Purdue loses, they keep this under double digits. Give me the Boilermakers.

Rutgers at Wisconsin(-20.5)(2): Wisconsin is not capable of blowing anyone out. More than 20 points qualifies as a blowout. Give me Rutgers.

(19)Mississippi(-7.5) at Auburn(4): This is low. The Rebels stymied a pretty good Texas A&M offense. I would not call Auburn’s offense pretty good. Peyton Barber is going to have problems running against this front, and the Tigers are operating with a freshman QB. Rebels by double digits.

South Carolina at Texas A&M(-16.5)(4): The Gamecock offense is a mess. I just don’t see them keeping up here. Aggies roll.

Syracuse at (17)Florida State(-20.5)(3): Call me crazy, but I don’t think Florida State covers this. The Orange are 5-2 against the spread. That is more than I can say for the Seminoles. Besides, it’s Halloween. You can’t pick against Orange on Halloween!

Virginia Tech(-2.5) at Boston College(2): I’ve been picking Boston College most of the year, and they aren’t failing me. Virginia Tech is having their worst year in decades. That said, they were able to move the ball against Duke. Give me BC at home, but I’m not all that sure about it.

Massachusetts at Ball State(-2.5)(5): Nope. UMass straight up, and it might not be close.

Central Michigan(-3.5) at Akron(1): Well, everything I pick with the Chippewas involved is wrong. Give me Akron out of spite.

UTEP at Southern Mississippi(-23.5)(2): This looks high after how UTEP looked last week, but I am not one to pick on the basis of one game. Give me Southern Miss and their entire body of work.

Georgia Tech(-5.5) at Virginia(4): How can you pick against Georgia Tech after how they looked last week? The same way you can pick against them for how they looked a month before that. That said, Virginia won’t be able to stop the run well enough to win this. Give me the Bees.

USC(-5.5) at California(5): Yes, USC has issues with pass defense, but they can’t hold a candle to Cal’s defensive ineptitude. USC by more than two touchdowns.

Colorado at (24)UCLA(-21.5)(2): Why is this line climbing? Probably because Colorado is still bad. Give me UCLA.

Stay tuned for the rest of the picks against the spread and some more FanDuel picks!

Next: ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 9

More from FanSided