College Football Handicapping Articles

2017 Big Ten Football Betting Preview: Odds and Expert Wagering Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 8/30/2017

The 2017-18 college football season is already five games old, which means it's time for my second annual Big Ten preview report. The Big Ten was one of, if not the most, competitive conference last year from top to bottom (not including Rutgers). The Big Ten had as many as four teams in the Top 10 at several points during last season, with Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin leading the way.

2017 Pac-12 Football Predictions with Betting Odds and Expert Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 8/29/2017

Perpetually underrated, the Pac-12 enters the season with a pair of national title contenders (USC, Washington), a proven powerhouse that is a sleeper threat to make the College Football Playoffs (Stanford), and a load of potential spoilers that have the talent and coaching to make a surprise run (Oregon, Washington State, UCLA). I feel that the Pac-12 North is the best division in college football (edging out the ACC Atlantic) and I think this league will have one of the most competitive and entertaining conference races in the nation.

NCAA Football Betting Advice: Fading the Top 25 Weekly Free Picks
by Aaron Smith - 8/29/2017

We're back with another season of the Fading the Top 25 Weekly free picks article. College football season kicking off is one of the best times of the year for sports fans and bettors alike. While Alabama is a clear favorite to win it all this year, there are plenty of teams who have a chance and it should be an exciting season.

NCAA Football Predictions: Week 1 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 8/28/2017

Welcome to my first Opening Line Report of the new college football season! Yes, I'm aware that the season technically kicked off this past Saturday, but there were only five games and all pretty lame matchups, so we'll just call that Week 0. Barring something unforeseen - If I win the Powerball or something, I'm on a tropical island by the next morning -- I'll be here every Monday to look ahead to the coming week's matchups.

2017 Big Ten Football Predictions with Betting Odds and Expert Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 8/28/2017

Here's how good the Big Ten was last year: the team that represented them in the College Football Playoff didn't even win their division. Ohio State lost a tiebreaker to Penn State in the Big Ten East and watched the Nittany Lions use an amazing comeback to take down No. 6 Wisconsin in the league championship game. And when the dust settled on the season, the Big Ten finished with four teams in the final Top 10 rankings, more than any league in the country.

Texas A&M Aggies Odds to win SEC with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/27/2017

Remember when Kevin Sumlin was a genius? It wasn't too long ago. He was going to go to the NFL and have his pick of jobs. Or become Emperor of the Universe and solve all of the world's problems. But now he can't do too much right. His last three seasons with the Aggies have been perfectly ordinary - 8-5 each time, with three or four conference wins. Each year he starts strong, stumbles, and finishes with a whimper.

North Carolina Tar Heels Odds to win ACC with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/27/2017

Butch Davis recruited like crazy and didn't have much to show for it. His Tar Heels never broke through. Now Larry Fedora enters his sixth year at UNC, and he had his breakthrough two years ago - the Tar Heels rolled to 11-3 after going unbeaten in conference play and wound up ranked 15th in the final poll of the season. That's about as high as it gets for a program like North Carolina. They couldn't really sustain it last year, but it wasn't a disaster, either. And now we get to see what Fedora is really made of.

San Diego State Aztecs Odds to win the Mountain West Conference with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/27/2017

The Aztecs must be feeling like they smell or something. Last year they shared Qualcomm Stadium with the Chargers and the Poinsettia Bowl. Now the Chargers have moved up the road to Carson, and the bowl game folded. At least San Diego State won't have to compete as hard for attention, I guess. And it's a pretty good time for sad San Diego football fans to shift their attention to the Aztecs. They are coming into the season as two-time defending Mountain West Conference champions - not an easy crown to win in that eternally-challenging conference. Winning it wasn't easy, but defending that title a second time will be even tougher.

2017 SEC Football Predictions with Betting Odds and Expert Analysis
by Robert Ferringo - 8/25/2017

The best and worst thing that ever happened to the SEC was their outstanding run from 2008-2012, in which they won five straight National Championships. That period helped establish the false media narrative (fake news!) that the SEC was some otherworldly football conference playing at a level that was beyond the realm of normal men.

Arkansas Razorbacks Odds to win SEC with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/25/2017

There are coaches in college football that are easy to root for. They are inspiring, run programs effectively, and make you want to crawl off your couch and go into battle with them. They might not coach a team that you are a big fan of, but when they play you find yourself cheering for them anyway.

North Carolina State Wolfpack Odds to win ACC with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/25/2017

Head coach Dave Doeren worked miracles in his two year at Northern Illinois, going 23-4 and making the Orange Bowl the second year. So when he came to the ACC in 2013 expectations were high. And he has improved a NC State team that was in pretty rough shape when he took over. The problem, though, is that improvement has been slow and has yet to show up dramatically in the standings. Five years is as much as a guy is going to get at most programs without a breakthrough, so Doeren really needs to make some meaningful progress or he'll be the former head coach of the Wolfpack. The team has the pieces to improve. However, will it all be enough?

Utah Utes Odds to win the Pac-12 with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/25/2017

There are some things that just don't make any sense in the world of college football coaching. Total mysteries. For the longest time the biggest mystery was why Chris Petersen stayed at Boise State for as long as he did. Or why Gary Patterson has never left TCU. The biggest current question, though, is why someone hasn't emptied a sizable bank account to lure Kyle Whittingham out of Utah. The guy has been a coaching machine there for 13 years now, consistently overperforming against expectations even as a poor cousin in the Pac-12.

UCLA Bruins Odds to win the Pac-12 with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/24/2017

I grew up where I still live - western Canada. College football isn't particularly big here. Not much outside of hockey is. I landed on my Michigan fandom early and randomly. At my first real job I met one of the few other college football fans in Calgary. We remain friends, bonded by that connection. The problem, though, is that the poor bugger landed on being a random UCLA fan as randomly as I landed on Michigan. And he is as loyal to his adopted team than I am. Poor bastard.

College Football First Week Lines with Expert Analysis and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/24/2017

The college football season gets underway on Aug. 26 with four games, but don't be fooled - nothing actually matters until the next week. As I sit and write this we are a week away from the first games and nine days away from the best games. It's early enough, then, that the public isn't paying a lot of attention yet. It's a good time, then, to look at the numbers that are posted for any interesting value (odds are from BetOnline, and all games take place on Saturday, Sept. 2 with the exception of the last one, which is on Sunday, Sept. 3):

2017 NCAA Football Season Win Totals Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/24/2017

We looked at college football win totals soon after they came out in the spring. As we sit here on the dawn of the season, though, we know more, and we can at least theoretically make a more accurate search for value. That's the theory, anyway. We'll draw from the numbers posted at BetOnline as we look for the few to consider and the many to avoid:

NCAA Football Betting Advice: Off-the-Radar Quarterbacks to Bet On
by Trevor Whenham - 8/24/2017

Every year in college football there are quarterbacks that no one is talking about at the start of the season that define the season, and the betting success, of their team by the end of the year. Josh Allen of Wyoming, for example, was an unknown guy who had played one drive before missing the rest of 2015 with an injury at the start of last year, and now he goes into this season as a prospective first overall pick in the next year's draft - and would likely have been a Top 10 pick last year if he had opted for the draft. He's far from alone - Johnny Manziel went from a three-star recruit that Texas, his dream school, didn't want to Heisman winner as a redshirt freshman. And on and on. The more of these types of guys we can pick out before the season starts, the better the chances we have of finding solid betting success.

Michigan State Spartans Odds to win the Big Ten with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/24/2017

As a Michigan fan, I obviously don't love Michigan State. I like to hate them. Lately, though, I feel myself pitying them more, and it's tough to hate someone you pity. I'll find a way, but it won't be easy. Last year they started the season ranked, climbed as high as eighth, and wound up 3-9. It really takes something for any major conference team to go 3-9, never mind one that goes into the season seen as a viable contender.

Colorado Buffaloes Odds to win the Pac-12 with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/24/2017

It was a dream regular season for the Buffaloes last year. Coming off a 4-9 season in 2015, including 1-8 in the Pac-12, no one expected too much of the program. Few would have seen them getting even close to .500 in the conference, never mind the division winning 8-1 record they did amass. It was a heck of a season. And now some big changes - in both personnel and coaching - face the team. Now coach Mike MacIntyre, a very good coach in his fifth year with the program, has to prove that he can keep the program moving forward despite those changes.

Wyoming Cowboys Odds to win the Mountain West Conference with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 8/23/2017

Sports are weird sometimes. Josh Allen, Wyoming's quarterback, could likely have been a Top 10 pick in the draft last year - probably the second QB off the board after Mitch Trubisky - if he had opted to go into the draft. Instead, he chose to stay for one more year in Wyoming. He has a prototypical NFL QB build but far from the prototypical path to the top of the draft. He had no interest in high school so headed to Junior College.

College Football Betting: Handicapping Advice for Neutral-Site Games
by Trevor Whenham - 8/18/2017

The first couple weeks of the college football season are glorious, above all else, because they exist after a long time without the greatest of sports. Beyond that, though, what makes them somewhat unique is that they are littered with neutral-site games - a phenomenon much more rare later in the season. Most of the neutral-site games are cash grabs and gimmicks, but they exist, and they are usually pretty good matchups that we need and want to pay attention to as bettors.