College Football Handicapping Articles

NCAA Football Betting Odds: Week 10 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 11/2/2018

The first College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night, and there weren't any huge surprises but certainly there will be some disappointed coaches in places like Columbus, Orlando and Morgantown. Clearly, the big winner was the SEC with Alabama at No. 1 (shocker), LSU at No. 3, Georgia at No. 6, Kentucky at No. 9 and Florida at No. 11.

Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 10/31/2018

It's Week 10 in the Big Ten Conference, and we have two huge games on tap for you. The first game is No. 14 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan, and the second game is No. 3 Notre Dame at Big Ten West-leading Northwestern. These two games not only have serious conference implications but also College Football Playoff implications. As a neutral fan, these are the kind of games you love to watch. They will offer plenty of excitement and drama, and we should be treated to exceptional football.

NCAA Football Betting Odds: Week 9 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 10/26/2018

On the Opening Line Report story Monday, I wrote about how no FBS team had gone winless against the spread this decade - sadly, I didn't really have the time to research if one had done so ever. Connecticut had been the only team yet to cover this season but did last weekend in a close loss to South Florida.

Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 10/24/2018

The Big Ten conference is in a world of hurt this year. Not only did the conference's only playoff contender stumble last week, the conference's only Heisman hopeful fell as well. Dwayne Haskins had a performance last week that looks impressive if we go off stats alone. He threw for 470 yards and two touchdowns while also throwing a pick. However, the reality of the matter is that the Ohio State signal caller was far from his best.

NCAA Football Betting Odds: Week 8 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 10/19/2018

LeBron James is obviously one of the greatest players in NBA history, but he's also a visionary of sorts. He has taught his fellow stars how to control the narrative and decide for yourself where you want to go play. James kept signing one-year deals with the Cleveland Cavaliers with a player option in the second year just in case of injury. Kevin Durant has started to do that too. Stars have all the leverage in the NBA.

Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 10/17/2018

By now I'm sure we are all aware that NCAA players don't get paid to play and that any acceptance of benefits such as cars, money, meals, or anything else could result in that player being suspended. So, when college players who are NFL Draft quality decided to forgo any remaining eligibility they have in the NCAA to declare for the draft and turn pro, why is it that we always question their decisions? We did so when Christian McCaffrey decided to forgo his team's bowl game in order to focus on the upcoming NFL Draft.

NCAA Football Betting Odds: Week 7 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 10/12/2018

Let me preface this by saying that, like most Americans, I like as much scoring as possible in my sporting events. That said, I believe the most entertaining college football game this weekend will not be from a Power 5 conference but from the American Athletic with No. 10 Central Florida putting the nation's longest winning streak on the line at Memphis.

Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 10/9/2018

While the Top 4 teams in the AP Top 25 Poll remain unchanged heading into Week 7 of the college football season, we do have some notable jumps and drops to speak about. Firstly, hats off to Texas for circling the wagons and pushing their record to 5-1 after downing Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown. With that win, the Longhorns shot up the rankings and jumped to No. 9 from their previous spot of No. 19.

NCAA Football Betting Odds: Week 6 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 10/5/2018

The College Football Playoff was created to appease the Power 5 conferences and, presumably, to assume that a conference champion from four of those five would reach the College Football Playoff. And that was the case until last year when the SEC got two in and the Pac-12 and Big 12 were both left out. This year? We could see as few as two conferences represented: two teams from the SEC, one from either the Big Ten or ACC and Notre Dame.

Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 10/2/2018

If Ohio State and Penn State were to play each other for 10 weeks straight, I don't think anyone would have a problem with that or get bored of the same matchup. On Saturday, No. 4 Ohio State traveled to No. 9 Penn State and snuck away with a 27-26 win to keep their undefeated season intact and give them the inside track to the Big Ten Title game and a spot in the College Football Playoff. It was a great game, to say the least. Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley set the Penn State single-game record with 461 total yards, including 175 yards rushing.

NCAA Football Betting Odds: Week 5 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 9/28/2018

My plan was to lead this story with a bigger preview of the No. 4 Ohio State at No. 9 Penn State showdown because I believe that's a de facto Big Ten East Division title game (sorry Michigan and Michigan State fans) and probably for a spot in the College Football Playoff as either OSU or PSU will beat the Big Ten West champion.

Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 9/25/2018

Are there still people out there who think Alabama is good enough to beat an NFL team? And by NFL team I mean the lower-level teams like the Browns or Bills or Raiders? If so, I understand your thought process. And I am a big fan of what Alabama has accomplished over the course of the last decade, including churning out NFL prospects at a staggering level.

NCAA Football Betting Odds: Week 4 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 9/21/2018

Obviously, the better a school recruits the better it should be on the field. There's a reason that Alabama and Ohio State are National Championship contenders each year: Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have no peers as recruiters and continually bring in five-star after five-star.

Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 9/18/2018

It should come as no surprise to see just one Big Ten team ranked inside the Top 10 of the AP Poll. That spot belongs to Ohio State, and rightfully so as they sit as the fourth-ranked team in the nation. The Big Ten has been one of the most competitive conferences for the last couple of years, but with Penn State struggling early (despite a 3-0 record) and a Wisconsin loss to BYU, the Big Ten is far from superior again this year.

NCAA Football Betting Odds: Week 3 Line Movements & Last-Minute News
by Alan Matthews - 9/14/2018

We are at the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season on the East Coast. Last year right around this time, Hurricane Irma blasted Florida and caused havoc with the college football (and one NFL game) schedule. Unfortunately, Hurricane Florence is doing the same in the Carolinas as that region is going to be dealing with Noah's Ark-type rainfall and storm surge.

Weekly Big Ten Football Betting Report: Expert Predictions and Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 9/4/2018

College football is back, and what a first weekend it was. There were several highlight-reel catches, a few bone-crushing hits, some awful play calling, and some upsets that are just too hilarious to take seriously. Looking at you Kansas. Oh, and you too Texas. We had Nick Saban losing his mind on a reporter after his team trounced Louisville and Braylon Edwards going off on a rant about how Michigan football is terrible. He's since been suspended by the Big Ten Network, but he did bring up some valid points.

College Football Betting Advice: Replacing Top-Tier QBs
by Trevor Whenham - 8/30/2018

College football is very much a quarterback-driven sport. A top quarterback can hide so many flaws for a team, and the absence of a top-tier QB can be a program killer. But no team can have a good situation forever, and the better a guy is the sooner he is going to leave for greener, and much more lucrative, pastures. Let's look at seven programs that lost high-profile quarterbacks in the NFL Draft this year and how they are working to replace them. Some will be sorely missed, and others quickly forgotten.

College Football Betting Advice: Handicapping Early-Season NCAA Mismatches
by Trevor Whenham - 8/24/2018

September in college football typically means nonconference games. And nonconference games often mean mismatches. Brutal mismatches. Major conference teams need games they can play without much risk of losing or doing costly damage that will impact them in conference play. Lesser teams see the big games as a road to a big payday. Losing to an Alabama or Clemson once a year can fund most of a smaller program. For handicappers, these games can be a bit of a headache. The spreads are massive, and the level of interest for the better teams is not always easy to determine.

Handicapping College Football Teams With NFL-Caliber QBs
by Trevor Whenham - 8/20/2018

I look at college football as the most interesting form of football available. It's just better - certainly more enjoyable than the NFL. But I know that that is not a universal belief. For a lot of people college exists primarily as a farm system for future NFL stars. I don't worry too much about what NFL guys are thinking about college players - for the most part their opinions don't matter much because they aren't very accurate until the Combine and the draft process really gets rolling.

Expert NCAA Handicapping Advice for College Football Neutral-Site Games
by Trevor Whenham - 8/18/2018

The opening couple of weeks of college football comes as a relief to fans and bettors dealing with a long case of withdrawal. But they bring plenty of handicapping challenges with them - new coaches, new QBs, and all sorts of other changes. And, uniquely, those first few weeks also include neutral-site games. These types of games are growing in frequency as stadiums that don't have a team of their own are willing to pay big money for games, and TV is looking for high-profile spectacles to launch their broadcast season.