College Football picks against the spread Championship week

IRVING, TX – OCTOBER 16: A detail view of the College Football Playoff logo shown during a press conference on October 16, 2013 in Irving, Texas. Condoleezza Rice, Stanford University professor and former United States Secretary of State, was chosen to serve as one of the 13 members that will select four teams to compete in the first playoff at the end of the 2014 season. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

College Football picks against the spread Championship week

Championship week is finally here! It has been a very entertaining college football season, and as usual, not nearly long enough. I was not all that great last week in the largest week of the year, sliding back under .500 on the week. Can I get back on track with a truncated week?

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For those of you that are new to this, I pick every college football game every week. Not a top five. Not a top ten. All of them. Big deal, right? Lots of people make picks. Well, I do them all against the spread! I take the odds of each game and average them out at all the Vegas casinos and round to the nearest half. There will be no ties here. Ties are for the other football.

I also assign a point value based on the confidence I have in each pick. 1 means that I have little to no confidence. 5 is one I would place a decent wager on. I keep track of my record and my points back from year to year. I went 400-75 last season and ended up with 31 points in my point bank. I am aiming for 55% this year. It’s harder than it looks! A below average week has me sliding back towards .500 on the season at 365-359. I also lost some more points last week. I now have only three betting points on the season and 34 in my point bank overall.

As we all well know, this is not an exact science. Due to the volatile nature of betting in general, this is for entertainment purposes only! I cannot be responsible for the loss of money, possessions, spouses, or limbs because of my picks. I can’t have that on my conscious.

Let’s start with the two games tonight!

Northern Illinois vs. Buffalo(-3.5) at Detroit(3):

Buffalo is sliding lately, otherwise I would have more on this, especially with the way NIU looked last week against Western Michigan. This game is out of the elements, which can only help the explosiveness and big play ability of Buffalo. I’ll take the Bulls.

(17)Utah vs. (11)Washington(-4.5) at Santa Clara(2):

I get this line. I really do. Utah has been hampered by injuries to their two biggest stars, but they have barely missed a beat. This defense is still really good, and Washington’s has really only played one good game. That was last week in a blizzard in Pullman. Give me Utah straight up.

MIAMI, FL – NOVEMBER 24: Omari Cobb #31 of the Marshall Thundering Herd returns an interception for a touchdown in the first half against the FIU Golden Panthers at Ricardo Silva Stadium on November 24, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

(14)Texas vs. (5)Oklahoma(-8.5) at Jerry World(3):

With this defense, Oklahoma isn’t capable of blowing anyone out. For those of you that like defense, look away. This is going to be another high scoring game, but this isn’t at the Cotton Bowl and isn’t during the State Fair. Ol’ Tex isn’t looming in the background. Oklahoma figured something out in that fourth quarter to avoid a blowout in the Red River Shootout. I think that carries over. If Oklahoma doesn’t win this, they don’t qualify as a good team. You can’t beat a good team twice in one season. The Big 12 couldn’t have planned this better. This was the whole reason that the conference wanted the CCG back in the first place. For those of you crying for aan expanded playoff…this is a playoff game without cheapening the regular season! I still expect a close game. This is too many. Oklahoma wins, but doesn’t cover.

Louisiana at Appalachian State(-16.5)(4):

Honestly, this looks low. The real Sun Belt Championship was last week when the Mountaineers handled Troy at home. Appalachian State makes it official here.

East Carolina at North Carolina State(-23.5)(2):

This is a nice bowl scrimmage for the Wolfpack. Give me NC State.

Akron at South Carolina(-29.5)(3)

What? What did I miss? I know Akron is in the tank, but when did South Carolina get out? If there were any justice in this crazy college football world, Akron would be playing Iowa State like originally planned, but so it goes. This is an experience for Akron, and no, they aren’t getting covered. Give me the Zips.

Marshall at Virginia Tech(-3.5)(4):

Oh, keep thinking like this. Go ahead. Marshall has never had a chance to completely destroy the season of their rival. Sure, these two teams play early in the season, but that’s the thing. It’s always early when the loser has a chance to recover. There is on such luxury here. Marshall has a chance that they will likely never have again. They can keep Virginia Tech out of a bowl game. That’s powerful motivation. I think Marshall pulls this off. Herd straight up!

UAB at Middle Tennessee State(-1.5)(3):

I’m not sure why this line is falling. MTSU just beat the Blazers by 24 on this very same field last weekend. I get it. The intensity may not be there. The confidence should be though. This is closer, but MTSU still wins by a touchdown.

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Stanford(-2.5) at California(1):

I’m glad that they still found a way to play this game. It just wouldn’t be the same if they didn’t. This is going to be another great one in the series, but I expect the Cal defense to hold tough at home. Give me the Bears.

Memphis at (8)Central Florida(-3.5)(3):

I said it earlier this week. I was going to pick Memphis anyway because UCF’s run defense is frighteningly bad. Most teams have had to throw to try and keep up, but without Milton, the UCF offense takes a hit. Darrell Henderson is going to have a monster game and a backup or two may as well. Memphis straight up.

(1)Alabama(-12.5) vs. (4)Georgia at Atlanta(4):

Yes, this game is in Georgia, but Atlanta may as well be Tuscaloosa East. Atlanta is about the same distance between campuses, just like Dallas is for Oklahoma and Texas. Just because it’s in the state of one of the teams doesn’t mean that it’s a decided advantage. This game is being handicapped like it is. I’ll make this simple: LSU beat Georgia. Alabama shut out LSU in a Death Valley night game. Alabama’s lowest margin of victory on the season is 22 points. This is low. Give me the Tide.

(25)Fresno State at (22)Boise State(EVEN)(2):

Wow, I didn’t expect this to be a pick line. I figured Fresno would get three or four points. This isn’t really a big deal since I like Fresno here anyway. The Bulldogs lost by a touchdown on the Smurf Turf earlier this year. I think they get revenge here.

(2)Clemson(-27.5) vs. Pittsburgh at Charlotte(2):

My only fear here is that Clemson gets bored. Either that or Dabo starts saving players for a game that actually means something. This is one of the most overmatched CCG’s I’ve ever seen. Clemson wins, and ends up leading by more than this, but I don’t think they cover. They are going to save the players for the playoff about mid way through the third quarter. I’ll take Pitt. If this were a regular season game where Clemson would keep the players in, they may win by 40.

(21)Northwestern vs. (6)Ohio State(-14.5) at Indianapolis(5):

Get real. Who has beaten Northwestern by more than two touchdowns? No one. Not even Duke with Thorson out (it was exactly two touchdowns). Northwestern’s defense is too good to let this game get out of hand. Even if Ohio State does manage to win this, I doubt it’s by double digits. This is an easy bet for Northwestern.

Next. ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 14. dark

With only a 14 game week, I suppose I was pretty close to what I’ve done most of the season as far as betting goes. I only have one one point bet. I have four twos and five threes, which is normal. I have three fours and even one five pointer, and yes, it’s a conference championship game. Stay tuned for the Saturday DraftKings picks as well as all of the NBA and NFL DFS content you can handle!