College Football Picks Against The Spread Late September 16, 2017
By Mike Marteny
College Football Picks Against The Spread Late September 16, 2017
I had a solid week in week 2 of the college football season. It got me out of the small week one hole, and has me much better off than I was last year. I didn’t get my first positive week until October last year. The strong finish has carried over so far.
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For those of you that are new here, I put myself out there every week. For the last six years, I have picked every single college football game. Sounds easy, right? I thought so too. So I have picked them all against the spread. That significantly increases the degree of difficulty.
I take the average of the odds from the six major Vegas casinos and round that to the nearest half point. There will be no ties here. Ties are for the other football.
Some sites will sell you top ten picks for a fee. Some will even give you a couple of free picks to lure you in. This is every game picked, all for free.
This contains the picks for FBS vs. FBS games only. It is too hard to get an accurate spread on games that involve 1-AA teams.
I will assign a point value “bet” on each game, between one and five points. That way you can see just how confident I am in each pick. Look for those at the end of each line. I am up 27 points after the first two weeks so far.
This is for entertainment purposes only! I cannot be responsible for you losing any of your worldly possessions, significant others, or limbs to a loan shark. I am a simple person. I cannot have that on my conscience.
We are down to 68 games this weekend, but only 54 of them are FBS vs. FBS matchups. I will split the Saturday slate up into early and late games. Unfortunately, we have three more games canceled or postponed because of Hurricane Irma. I will show the lines on those just in case they make them up later this year.
Colorado State at (1)Alabama(-28.5)(3): This is quite a few points, but this is about what Bama covers teams by. The Rams are solid, but so is Alabama’s third string Tide roll in this one.
(12)LSU(-7.5) at Mississippi State(4): The Bulldogs haven’t really run the ball well aside from Nick Fitzgerald, and they don’t have a big play receiver. This LSU team didn’t allow BYU to cross midfield. Think about that for a minute. This defense is relentless and unforgiving. I have to go with LSU.
Southern Mississippi(-6.5) at Louisiana-Monroe(3): I think that the Eagles are better than the Memphis team that had trouble with the Warhawks. I’ll take Southern Miss.
Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky(-6.5)(1): This is an interesting game. These teams played not one, but two games with over 100 combined points last season. I’m definitely taking the over on 63. Against the spread it becomes more difficult. I’ll take the Hilltoppers at home.
Oregon(-14.5) at Wyoming(3): This was supposed to be the year that Craig Bohl turned the Cowboys around. It hasn’t come to fruition yet. I don’t think it does here. Give me Oregon, though I don’t like that half.
Idaho at Western Michigan(-20.5)(3): Get this line for under three touchdowns while you can. It likely will be above that by kickoff, making it a much tougher bet. For this though, I’m comfortable with the Broncos.
Tulsa at Toledo(-8.5)(4): Uhhhh…..this is a big no. Toledo is a strong team, but they aren’t beating this Tulsa offense by two scores. Give me the Golden Hurricane.
Appalachian State(-22.5) at Texas State(1): Wow. That’s a lot for an option offense. However, Taylor Lamb is easily the best player on the field. I have to go with the Mountaineers.
Georgia State at Penn State(-37.5)(2): Wow. That is a ton of points. Penn State in a whiteout in Happy Valley? It seems possible, especially since I think the Panthers may get shut out. I’ll go with Penn State.
(18)Kansas State(-3.5)at Vanderbilt(3): This is going to be a tough game, and it will stay close, but not quite this close. I like the experience of the Wildcats on the road by a touchdown.
Kentucky at South Carolina(-5.5)(4): This line isn’t nearly high enough to deter me. I actually like the Gamecocks by double digits, so I am very comfortable with this line.
Bowling Green at Northwestern(-21.5)(2): Considering the way Northwestern has played so far, this is at least half a point too high. I’ll take the Falcons.
(3)Clemson(-2.5) at (14)Louisville(5): Doesn’t anyone else see what I see? Louisville has had all kinds of trouble protecting Lamar Jackson, and Clemson has possibly the best front four in the country. They ate Jarrett Stidham alive last week. They wont get to Jackson as much because of his great escapability, but Jackson can be forced into mistakes like he was late last season. Clemson by at least a touchdown.
Rice at Houston(-22.5)(2): Just another day at the office for the Cougars. Rice has not chance. Give me Houston.
Troy(-7.5) at New Mexico State(3): The Aggies have been spreadbusters so far this year. They are 2-0 against the spread, busting the lines by 29 points. This line does reflect that somewhat, but I’m not convinced that Troy can beat them at home by two scored. I’ll take the Aggies again. They have done me well this year so far.
Cincinnati at Miami(OH)(-4.5)(3): Oh, come on! The Bearcats aren’t this far down. Cincy straight up.
Arizona State at Texas Tech(-7.5)(4): The Sun Devils looked pretty bad at home last week. I don’t really know what we have in Texas Tech right now, but they dominated a solid Eastern Washington team. I’m not sure that Sparky could pull that off right now. Give me Tech.
Texas at (4)USC(-15.5)(3): This game is likely more interesting for the storyline than it will be on the field. However, Texas looked solid last week after laying an egg in the opener. The talking heads on ESPN are going to be disgustingly pleased with USC in this one, and they wont shut up about it unless someone beats them. SC gets revenge here.
Fresno State at (6)Washington(-32.5)(2): Ugh…..that’s a lot of points. Washington looked great against Montana, who may be better than Fresno, so I’ll take the Huskies.
San Jose State at Utah(-26.5)(1): Too many. Utah’s offense isn’t really built to blow teams out. That’s not to say that they aren’t capable, but they haven’t really hit their stride yet. Give me the Spartans.
(19)Stanford(-9.5) at San Diego State(2): That Stanford defense is going to make life difficult for the power run game of the Aztecs. However, the San Diego defense is not a bad unit themselves. I think this stays a one score game.
Mississippi(-3.5) at California(4): This looks like a pretty easy pick. Then again, both teams struggled last week. Ole Miss isn’t nearly what they were last year, but I don’t think Cal is as good as North Carolina made them look. Give me the Rebels.
There are 51 total games this week. I ended up with nine one pointes, 16 two pointers, 15 three pointers, six four pointers, and another five five pointers.
Next: ESPN College Pick em Picks Week 3
Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for the last of the picks of the week against the spread, and our daily picks for MLB. We also have NFL DFS picks for week 2 and picks for the EPL!