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College Football Picks Against The Spread Early September 30, 2017

ByMike Marteny|
ATHENS, GA - SEPTEMBER 23: Tyrique McGhee
ATHENS, GA - SEPTEMBER 23: Tyrique McGhee
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TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 7: The National Championship Trophy during the College Football Playoff National Championship Media Day on January 7, 2017 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

College Football Picks Against The Spread Early September 30, 2017

I had a solid week again in week 4 of the college football season. I am now 17 games above .500 on the season and 48 betting points to the good. Things are looking up, but there is a lot of college football left with conference play in full swing.

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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 just 54 games this weekend. Only one game features a 1-AA team, so that means I have 53 games to pick, and most of them are conference tilts. This is when things start to get interesting! 18 of those 53 kick off by 3:30 eastern. Let’s pick those first!

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HOUSTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 23: Kyle Postma #3 of the Houston Cougars throws against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the fourth quarter at TDECU Stadium on September 23, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Texas Tech Red Raiders won 27 to 24. (Photo by Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images)

Northwestern at (10)Wisconsin(-16.5)(3): The only really complete game that the Wildcats have played was against a bad Bowling Green team. Wisconsin rolls here.

(18)South Florida(-21.5) at East Carolina(3): The Pirates are a team that seems to get worn out by the second half. USF’s defense is better than it was early on, which is helping this offense reach it’s full potential. This line is down five already. If it gets down below three touchdowns by kickoff, I would feel more comfortable about it, but I’m still taking the Bulls now.

Vanderbilt at (21)Florida(-8.5)(2): I don’t like this line at all. I know Vandy isn’t as bad as Bama made them look, and I’m fairly sure that Florida can’t be a decent defensive team by more than a touchdown unless their defense does it for them. Florida wont lose this, but I don’t think they cover either.

Houston(-13.5) at Temple(5): What? Temple isn’t a lot better than the Rice team that Houston just wiped the field with. Houston might win by double this…..

New Mexico State at Arkansas(-16.5)(2): New Mexico State isn’t the pushover that they have been. They have a good quarterback and a very good running back in Larry Rose III. I kind of have the feeling that Arkansas is going to severely underestimate them. I don’t think the Aggies get covered here either.

Maryland at Minnesota(-12.5)(4): The Gophers have a strong defense and a capable offense. Without Pigrome, Maryland has struggled to consistently move the ball even against teams that don’t have much of a defense. The Gophers are going to shut them down here. Give me Minnesota.

Rice at Pittsburgh(-20.5)(1): An underachieving team without much of a defense against an overall bad team. Stay away from this line. Only bad things can come from betting this. I’m taking Rice because Pitt has not done one thing to impress me. They are 0-the spread this year, and that includes the opener against Youngstown State.

North Carolina at Georgia Tech(-9.5)(4): Yeah, this looks low. I’m not really sure why this line is dropping. Honestly, the Bees have looked better than North Carolina overall. Give me Tech at home.

Syracuse at North Carolina State(-13.5)(2): This is a dangerous looking line. The Wolfpack have the talent to cover this, but they don’t always play like it. I will lower the bet and go with the Wolfpack. I just can’t take Syracuse.

Central Michigan at Boston College(-10.5)(2): The Chippewas have burned me a couple of times. This actually looks kinda low for BC at home. I’ll take the Eagles.

Indiana at (4)Penn State(-18.5)(2): You know that I’m a big fan of what Penn State has done, but this is a pretty big line against a solid Indiana offense. That said, Ohio State ended up covering, so give me Penn State.

(7)Georgia(-8.5) at Tennessee(5): This line is WAY too low. Were the Vols looking ahead against UMass? Maybe. However, they didn’t look very good before that either. Georgia rolls here.

Florida State(-7.5) at Wake Forest(3): I don’t really buy this one. Florida State lost to NC State at home. I doubt they beat Wake on the road, let alone by more than one score. Give me Wake.

Ohio(-5.5) at Massachusetts(5): What am I missing? Ohio just beat a solid Eastern Michigan team on the road by more than this. UMass is 0-5 for a reason. Thank you Tennessee for making this line possible! Its a day to bet on Ohio! Bobcats roll!

Baylor at Kansas State(-14.5)(2): I do think that Baylor turned a corner last weekend, but I don’t think they can take that show on the road just yet. However, I’m not sure Kansas State is that much better. This offense will look much better against Baylor’s defense, but I really don’t like that half. Give me K-State, I guess.

UTEP at Army(-23.5)(1): That is a ton of points for an option offense to cover. UTEP is seriously bad, but Army controls the ball so well that they may only have four drives the entire game. I think I have to go with UTEP.

Navy(-7.5) at Tulsa(3): This line is the big mover of the week so far. It opened at -1.5 in some places. I see the reason for the jump, and I am actually on board with this one. Tulsa doesn’t have the offense to run with Navy like they did last year, and their defense isn’t any better. I’m going with Navy.

Buffalo(-7.5) at Kent State(3): This looks low, even on the road for the Bulls. Kent has been pretty awful this year. I don’t like the half, but I would be rather surprised if Kent stays within double digits.

Next: ESPN College Pick em Picks Week 5

Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for the last of the picks of the week against the spread, and our NFL DFS picks and picks for the EPL!