College Football Handicapping Articles

Iowa Hawkeyes Odds to Win the 2015 College Football National Championship
by Alan Matthews - 8/18/2014

If you type the words "most overpaid college football coaches" into Google or the search engine of your choice, I'm fairly confident that Kirk Ferentz's name will feature prominently. It's hard to believe that Ferentz has been at Iowa since 1999, and he did turn around a program that nosedived under Hayden Fry.

2014 Michigan State Spartans Odds to Win the Big Ten with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/18/2014

Michigan’s State 2013 season was nothing short of amazing. The Spartans only loss came early in the year at Notre Dame by a score of 17-13. Michigan State outplayed Notre Dame in that game, and they likely would have won if it weren’t for a couple of very questionable pass interference calls. The Spartans didn’t let that keep them down for long, though.

2014 Wisconsin Badgers Odds to Win the Big Ten with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/18/2014

The Wisconsin Badgers went 9-4 in Gary Andersen’s first season at the helm last year. Three of Wisconsin’s four losses were by a touchdown or less, and the fourth was a 10-point loss in an evenly-played game against South Carolina in the bowl game. The Badgers were led by an amazing rushing attack and a terrific defense. The defense returns just three starters, and one of their two rushing stars is gone.

2014 Nebraska Cornhuskers Odds to Win the Big Ten with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/18/2014

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have won at least nine games in each of Bo Pelini’s six years at the helm of the program. On the other hand, Nebraska hasn’t lost less than four games in any of those years. This is a Nebraska fan base with extremely high expectations, and Pelini’s teams have been good, but they have fallen short of the expectations of many. Nebraska was ranked in the Top 10 in eight out of nine years between 1993 and 2001, but they have had trouble reaching that level of excellence in recent years.

2014 Michigan Wolverines Odds to Win the Big Ten with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/18/2014

The Michigan Wolverines went 11-2 in Brady Hoke’s first season at the helm. Expectations starting rising as Hoke was seen as the guy who could get Michigan football back to the pinnacle of the sport. The past two seasons haven’t gone as expected. The Wolverines slipped to 8-5 in 2012. In 2013, Michigan went 7-6 and only 3-5 inside the Big Ten Conference. Last year’s team narrowly avoided upsets at the hands of both Akron and Connecticut. They lost five of their last six games overall.

2014 Iowa Hawkeyes Odds to Win the Big Ten with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/18/2014

The Iowa Hawkeyes are one of the toughest teams in college football to predict on a year-to-year basis. One year Kirk Ferentz is one of the hottest coaching prospects in the nation, and the next year Hawkeyes fans are upset with him. It seems this Iowa team greatly exceeds expectations when almost nothing is expected of them. They are also known to disappoint in a big way when many expect them to be good.

Stanford Cardinal Odds to Win the 2015 College Football National Championship
by Alan Matthews - 8/15/2014

I don't mean this to sound like Stanford has a bunch of one-star recruits, but considering how tough the academic standards are at the school (ask Northwestern what that's like), has any coach in college football accomplished as much with in more challenging circumstances the past three seasons than David Shaw? And I include his ability to recruit.

Louisville Cardinals Odds to Win the 2015 College Football National Championship
by Alan Matthews - 8/15/2014

Louisville has long had a tremendous basketball program, but even 15 years ago the team was still a football afterthought. That changed when Bobby Petrino took over the program in 2003 when it was still in Conference USA. He turned U of L into a force almost immediately, highlighted by a 12-1 record and Big East title in 2006 when Louisville played in its first BCS bowl, an Orange Bowl victory against Wake Forest.

2014 Kansas State Wildcats Odds to Win the Big 12 with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/15/2014

There might not be a more difficult team to write a preview about on an annual basis than the Kansas State Wildcats with Bill Snyder at the helm. There are two reasons for that one. First of all, no one does a better job bringing in junior college transfers who can help the team right away. Secondly, there isn’t a coach in the country better at getting the most out of what appears to be ordinary talent than Snyder.

2014 Oklahoma State Cowboys Odds to Win the Big 12 with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/15/2014

The Oklahoma State Cowboys started 10-1 before losing their last two games in difficult fashion in 2013. They were beaten at home by Oklahoma and outlasted by Missouri in the Cotton Bowl despite outgaining Missouri by almost 100 yards. Still, the Cowboys had a very nice season where they showed quality balance on both sides of the football. Their 49-17 win at home over Baylor was the highlight of the season for this team.

2014 TCU Horned Frogs Odds to Win the Big 12 with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/15/2014

The 2013 season was a major disappointment for the TCU Horned Frogs. This is a program that has been highly successful in recent years. The move to the Big 12 Conference in 2012 was a huge step up for TCU. Many wondered how this program would do in a much tougher conference. They were 7-6 in 2012, and it seemed they might transition in a decent way, but with last year’s 4-8 record, which included only two wins in the Big 12, there are certainly questions about the team heading into 2014.

2014 Oklahoma Sooners Odds to Win the Big 12 with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/14/2014

A wide view of the 2013 season for the Oklahoma Sooners shows an impressive 11-2 season. A closer look at the game-by-game numbers reveals an up-and-down team that did a lot of things well but also laid a couple of eggs. Oklahoma’s 36-20 loss to Texas was a complete beatdown. The Longhorns had 24 first downs to the Sooners 13 and rolled up 445 yards compared to Oklahoma’s 263. At that point, many were thinking that Oklahoma was in for a disappointing season.

2014 Baylor Bears Odds to Win the Big 12 with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/14/2014

The Baylor Bears had a tremendous 2013 season. Art Briles has done an amazing job changing the culture at this program. Before Briles was here, this team was a doormat on a yearly basis. How bad were they? Going into 2011, Baylor was 18-102 all-time in the Big 12 Conference. It’s truly stunning how quickly Briles has been able to get this Baylor program turned around.

2014 Texas Longhorns Odds to Win the Big 12 with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/14/2014

Mack Brown was the top man at Texas for 16 seasons. Brown took the team to 15 bowls, 158 wins, and a BCS National Championship in his time with the team. After a disappointing four-year stretch, Brown was pushed out as head coach. Enter Charlie Strong, who was an assistant at Florida under Urban Meyer, and more recently he led Louisville to a 37-15 record in four seasons.

NFL Handicapping: High Expectations Out of the Gate for Johnny Manziel
by Trevor Whenham - 8/14/2014

You know a story is out of control in the NFL when it is not even the middle of August yet and you are already completely sick of hearing about it. That is definitely the way with Johnny Manziel and his time in Cleveland.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Odds to Win the 2015 College Football National Championship
by Alan Matthews - 8/14/2014

The 2013 season was an interesting one for embattled Nebraska coach Bo Pelini. The Huskers thought they had a great shot to play in the Big Ten Championship Game entering the year, but the drama started in Week 1 when Nebraska had to escape a home upset bid by Wyoming. In Week 3, the Huskers were embarrassed at home by UCLA, 41-21, with the Bruins outscoring Nebraska 31-0 in the second half.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Odds to Win the 2015 College Football National Championship
by Alan Matthews - 8/12/2014

Might Notre Dame have returned to the BCS Championship Game last year if starting quarterback Everett Golson hadn't been expelled from school for academics? I would say no, but I do think the Irish might have reached a BCS bowl with Golson. As it was they finished 9-4 after playing for the national title in the 2012 season, Golson's first as a starter.

Arizona State Sun Devils Odds to Win the 2015 College Football National Championship
by Alan Matthews - 8/8/2014

When Arizona State hired Coach Todd Graham before the 2012 season, Graham's reputation wasn't great. Oh, everyone knew he could coach. But the guy bailed on the University of Pittsburgh after just one year. It made him look like a mercenary; simply always trying to find where the grass was greener. But now ASU fans aren't complaining.

Missouri Tigers Odds to Win the 2015 College Football National Championship
by Alan Matthews - 8/7/2014

We certainly will know after that Florida game whether Missouri has a shot to repeat as East Division champ. I don't see it happening. This team overachieved last year (just like Auburn) and will take a moderate step back.

2014 Oregon Ducks Odds to Win the Pac-12 with Picks & Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 8/4/2014

The Oregon Ducks went 11-2 last year. In their 11 wins, only their win over Oregon State (36-35) was by a margin of less than 21 points. Oregon absolutely demolished some very good teams last year. The problem was the Ducks once again slipped up against Stanford. That probably knocked them out of the title picture, but then Oregon was destroyed 42-16 as an 18-point favorite at Arizona in the second to last week of the regular season.