College Football Handicapping Articles

2011 Florida State Seminoles Predictions and College Football Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 8/16/2011

You may not find a more chic pick for a program set to join – or in this case rejoin – the elite of college football than with Florida State. With all due respect to the legendary Bobby Bowden, it appears the best thing FSU officials did was to gently push Bowden aside following the 2009 season. Last year, under Jimbo Fisher, the Noles won 10 games for the first time since the 2003 season. They played in only their second ACC title game, pretty well getting thumped by Virginia Tech, but then solidly beat SEC East champion South Carolina in the Chick-fil-A-Bowl.

2011 Miami Hurricanes Football Predictions and ACC Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 8/16/2011

Despite being in the most fertile recruiting area in the country, the University of Miami somehow hasn’t been in a BCS bowl since beating Florida State in the Orange Bowl after the 2003 season and hasn’t even won its division in the ACC since arriving in that conference in 2004. Last season the Hurricanes were the preseason ACC favorites thanks largely to having the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class in 2008 under Randy Shannon.

2011 MAC Football Predictions and Futures Odds
by Darin Zank - 8/16/2011

The 13-team Mid-American Conference may provide nonconference fodder for some of the bigger boys around college football, but it has also been the home recently to some pretty good league races and crazy conference championship games. A great example is last year when the previously downtrodden Miami Redhawks, who went went 1-7 in the MAC the previous season, rebounded to go 7-1 and win the East Division, then, as 18-point underdogs, they scored a touchdown with 30 seconds left to upset Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship Game.

Doc’s Weekly Big Ten Predictions Report: Season Preview
by Doc - 8/16/2011

The Big Ten has a new look in 2011 with the addition of the Nebraska Cornhuskers into the Conference. This was a big addition to the Big Ten, as Nebraska has a huge national following and this will tune more people into the Big Ten Network. It will also allow the 12 teams to be divided equally into two six-team divisions and the two winners will be able to battle one another in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship and a berth in the BCS.

2011 Big Ten Football Predictions and Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 8/12/2011

It’s the dawn of a new day in the Big Ten. The new 12-team conference will welcome in a new, division-based structure and will have the conference’s inaugural championship game to look forward to. However, given the disastrous offseason at Ohio State and the continued rebuilding at Michigan there is a power vacuum at the top of the Big Ten that we haven’t seen in ages.

College Football Handicapping: Studs and Duds Against the Spread
by T.O. Whenham - 8/12/2011

College football is just around the corner, and I for one can’t wait. As we get close to the season I can’t help but look back at what happened last year to see what it can teach us about the coming season and help with our college football handicapping. One good place to look is at performance against the spread. Can the best ATS teams last year continue to shine this year? Are the teams that were the cruelest to bettors last year going to continue to burn money this year? Here’s a look at the best and worst of last year:

2011 Pac-12 Football Predictions and Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 8/10/2011

Maybe now the Left Coast will get some love. The Pac-10 is no more, choosing instead to swell its ranks to 12 teams, institute a new divisional system, and implement a championship game that should keep this conference in the news well into December. It is a pretty heady time in the Pac-12. And with new promise and potential comes new expectations.

2011 South Florida Bulls Football Predictions and Big East Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 8/10/2011

The South Florida football program is a bit maddening. For the past handful of years, the Bulls have always been considered a Big East contender, but something always seems to get in their way – usually themselves. This is one of those programs that wins a game or two each year that it probably shouldn’t (at Miami last year, FSU the year before) and loses one it shouldn’t (Syracuse at home last year). Thus, USF usually ends up in some second-tier bowl because its fans don’t travel well. It will probably be more of the same this year as the Big East media picked USF to finish third in the conference.

2011 SEC Football Predictions and Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 8/8/2011

It’s rare to ever describe a college football conference as a dynasty. But after five straight BCS National Championships (and six of eight titles) the SEC has established itself as a monolith on the NCAA football landscape. This year the SEC will again attempt to impose its will on the rest of the country.

2011 ACC Football Predictions and Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 8/8/2011

Where have all the quarterbacks gone in the ACC? Last season the likes of Christian Ponder, Ty Taylor and Russell Wilson led a group of ACC signal callers that rivaled any conference in the country. But thanks to graduation and defection the ACC is now staring one of the most inexperienced crops of quarterbacks in the nation.

2011 Big East Football Predictions and Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 8/3/2011

The Big East is the best conference in college football. And not only is it the best, but it has been the best over the course of the last decade. Granted, they are also the nation’s smallest conference. This year, once again, they don’t have any true 2011 national title contenders. They don’t even come close to the championship bling of the SEC. They can’t match the reverential hype of the Big Ten.

2011 WAC Football Predictions and Western Athletic Conference Odds
by Darin Zank - 8/3/2011

The Western Athletic Conference fought off its reputation as the Boise State-and-the-rest conference to place two teams in the top 11 in the final BCS rankings last year. Unfortunately for WAC fans, this conference is going through some changes, which makes that feat highly unlikely this season. Perennial power Boise State has left for the Mountain West, and three of its better programs have announced they will leave the conference after this season. So as this season approaches the long-term future of the WAC is uncertain.

2011 Big 12 Football Predictions and Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 8/2/2011

Victims of the Great College Football Realignment of 2010, the Big 12 will begin this season looking like a college student making a Walk of Shame across the quad after a Friday night of debauchery. The conference was ravaged by the Pac-10 (now the Pac-12) and will play without Nebraska and Colorado. And as a result the entire makeup of the Big 12 has changed.

College Football Odds: Top Games of the Season
by T.O. Whenham - 8/2/2011

Sportsbooks are releasing lines for college football games earlier and earlier these days. 5Dimes already has lines listed for key games to be played on every weekend of the upcoming season — even though the start of the season is still a month away. There are all sorts of dangers in these college football odds for bettors who are more emotional than analytical given all of the unknowns involved in the bets. For astute college football handicappers,

College Football Predictions: Head-to-Head Props
by T.O. Whenham - 8/2/2011

Some of the more interesting college football props or future bets that are available right now — and there are plenty to choose from at all the different sportsbooks — are the head-to-head matchups available at 5Dimes. The winner of each of the matchups will be the team that ends the season with the most points in the final USA Today poll of the season. It’s a very interesting way to look at how different teams stack up, and there is some intriguing value to be found. There are about 20 different matchups available. Here are six of the most interesting:

College Football: Hardest Teams To Get a Handle On
by T.O. Whenham - 8/2/2011

When you look forward to the upcoming college football season at this point in the summer, the teams in major conferences fall into a couple of categories. There are those that are easy to predict — you feel like you know what they are capable of and what to expect from them. They could be good or they could be bad, but they aren’t likely to be very surprising.

2011 Texas Longhorns Football Predictions and Big 12 Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/29/2011

“What the hell just happened?” That had to about sum up the feeling around the 2010 Texas Longhorns. I’m sure that is exactly the phrase that was uttered when they were beaten by 22 at home – as 15-point favorites – to a terrible UCLA team last September. And when they lost by a touchdown at home – as 20-point favorites – to Iowa State.

2011 Michigan State Spartans Football Predictions and Big Ten Odds
by Alan Matthews - 7/29/2011

It’s hard to know whether Michigan State has climbed into the elite of the Big Ten or whether last year was partly smoke and mirrors. The Spartans finished in a three-way tie for the conference title, but they were bumped from a BCS bowl because they were lower in the BCS standings than both Wisconsin and Ohio State. Therefore, MSU got sent to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.

2011 Syracuse Orange Football Predictions and Big East Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/29/2011

It wasn’t long ago that eight wins and a bowl win over a BCS school were the standard fare for Syracuse fans. But after four long, cold years at the depths of the college football outhouse, last year’s 8-5 mark and Pinstripe Bowl win over Kansas State felt like order was being restored for one of the proudest, most accomplished college programs in the Northeast.

College Football Preseason Awards
by T.O. Whenham - 7/29/2011

It’s the time of year when journalists and experts compile their lists of the best teams, players, and coaches in the major conferences of college football. It’s a great way for avid college football fans to pass some time and get into some arguments while anxiously awaiting the start of the season. It seems like a good way to pass the time, so here’s my shot at it: