College Football Picks Against The Spread Afternoon October 7, 2017

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 Afternoon October 7, 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.

I cannot be responsible for you losing any of your worldly possessions, significant others, or limbs to a loan shark. This is for entertainment purposes only! I am a simple person. I cannot have that on my conscience.

There are 58 games this weekend with only Indiana stepping out of the FBS ranks this weekend. That leaves me 57 games to pick, the most of the season so far. 21 games kick off between 3:30 and 6 pm eastern. This is the big part of the day, so let’s get to it!

FAYETTEVILLE, AR – SEPTEMBER 30: Tyler Rogers #17 of the New Mexico State Aggies runs the ball during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Aggies 42-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

(23)West Virginia at (8)TCU(-13.5)(1): Wow. So much for the matchup of two ranked teams getting respect. I know that TCU just doesn’t lose at home as a top ten team. I know that. However, I think the Mountaineers could put a scare into them here. TCU by ten.

(13)Miami(FL)(-2.5) at Florida State(5): I know that Florida State has won seven straight in the series and that the game is in Tallahassee. The advantages end there for Florida State. There is not one unit for the Seminoles that is way ahead of Miami. James Blackman will get there at some point, but not yet. Miami by double digits.

(21)Notre Dame(-14.5) at North Carolina(3): I don’t really like that half, but I like North Carolina’s “defense” even less. Give me the Irish.

LSU at (21)Florida(-1.5)(4): This line has plummeted with the news that Derrius Guice will play. Am I alone in not thinking that matters? Florida’s run defense has been outstanding all year, and LSU can’t move the ball any other way. Florida isn’t capable of blowing anyone out, but they are much like Wisconsin in that they can win by ten and make it feel like 30. Give me the Gators.

Minnesota at Purdue(-3.5)(3): I’m done making excuses for Minnesota. They have been hurt by injuries, but who hasn’t? I don’t like the half, but I like the way Purdue has played. Give me the Boilers at home.

New Mexico State at Appalachian State(-13.5)(4): Uh, no. The Aggies barely got covered by Arkansas, and that is the only team that covered him. No way the Mountaineers win this by two touchdowns. I’ll take New Mexico State I wouldn’t all that surprised if they won outright.

Ball State at Akron(-6.5)(4): Why is this line falling? Ball State is still missing their starting quarterback and starting running back, and Akron is a solid team. The Cardinals have been outscored 88-24 in two games with James Gilbert and Riley Neal out. Akron wins big!

Air Force at Navy(-7.5)(2): The battles for the Commander-In-Chief trophy are always hotly contested. I don’t like that half, and quite honestly, I wouldn’t bet this game anyway. However, Navy is tough at home. I’ll still go Navy, but I’m not that confident in it.

Kent State at Northern Illinois(-23.5)(1): This is a dangerous looking line. That is a ton of points. Northern Illinois is 4-0 against the spread this season, but their offense still has not scored more than 28 points against a FBS defense. That means they would have to only allow a field goal to Kent to cover. Kent is sad, but I still don’t think NIU covers this.

Western Michigan(-6.5) at Buffalo(2): This line is down almost three points so far. I know that WMU doesn’t have as strong of a team as last yer, but they aren’t really down either. They shut out the Bulls in a Kalamazoo snowstorm with GameDay in town last year. Buffalo wants revenge, but I don’t think they get it. Give me the Broncos.

Maryland (10)Ohio State(-30.5)(2): Every fiber of me says this is too many. I would feel much more comfortable if Tyrell Pigrome or Kasim Hill were healthy, but Maryland is fairly similar to the Indiana team that hung with them for all but ten minutes. I’ll take Maryland and hope the defense comes up with a couple of big plays.

Oregon State at (14)USC(-33.5)(2): Let’s get this out of the way: Oregon State is lousy. They are easily the worst team in the PAC 12 and wouldn’t even win the Mountain West or the Sun Belt this year. However, I don’t trust this USC offense with a regressing Sam Darnold to cover this. I’ll take the Beavers.

Arkansas(-2.5) at South Carolina(2): I don’t really like this line. However, South Carolina is still adjusting to life without Deebo Samuel. Give me the Piggies.

Louisiana Tech(-10.5) at UAB(2): You know, I’m not really on board with this. Louisiana Tech is nowhere near as explosive as they were last year, and this offense stuck itself in a 3rd and 93 situation this year. That should tell you that the Bulldogs are largely a bumbling mess. I don’t think UAB wins outright, but they should be able to hang around. I’ll take the Blazers.

Colorado State(-8.5) at Utah State(1): Both of these teams are trending upwards right now. Utah State’s offense has finally got going, and Colorado State hung with Alabama a lot longer than anyone expected. I’ll take the Rams, but I’m not confident about it.

Louisiana at Idaho(-6.5)(1): Wow, I didn’t expect Idaho to be favored. The Vandals look a lot better since the embarrassing loss to UNLV a month ago. I’ll go ahead and take them at home.

Marshall(-14.5) at Charlotte(3): The Herd are actually 4-0 against the spread this year. It’s about to be 5-0. This line is too low. I can see the herd winning by at least three touchdowns. They beat Cincinnati in Nippert Stadium by more than this! Marshall wins BIG.

Florida Atlantic(-4.5) at Old Dominion(2): I don’t like this line at all. The Owls have steadily improved under Lane Kiffin, and Ray Lawry is still out for ODU. I’ll take FAU.

Army(-12.5) at Rice(1): That is quite a few points for an option offense. Army has been a double digit favorite against two FBS teams so far this year. They didn’t cover either of them. I have to think that changes. Rice has been outscored 93-20 in the last three games.

Georgia State at Coastal Carolina(EVEN)(1): I feel comfortable taking the Chanticleers at home judging by what I’ve seen from them so far. Even Vegas doesn’t know what to do with this line. It has swung to as many as three points for either team since it opened.

Next: ESPN College Pick em Picks Week 6

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