College Football Handicapping Articles

Georgia Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 7/27/2016

Since 2001 we haven't had to think much about the Georgia Bulldogs and what to expect from them. Under Mark Richt we knew they were going to be prepared and stocked with good players and that they would always be dangerous. Unfortunately, we also always knew that they were prone to a frustrating gaffe or two or to find another way to fall just short of expectations.

Houston Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 7/27/2016

The Houston Cougars have been coached by both Art Briles and Kevin Sumlin, and both guys have used the program as a springboard to bigger places. In his first season in town, Tom Herman delivered notice that he intends to outdo both of those guys. Last season the former Ohio State assistant went 12-1 in the regular season to claim the first conference title for the team in a decade and then they beat up on Florida State in their bowl game to finish the season ranked eighth overall. It couldn't really have gone better for him.

TCU Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 7/27/2016

Gary Patterson and the TCU Horned Frogs entered the season last year expected by many to win the Big 12. They dealt with crippling injuries throughout the season, though, and fell short - though their 11-2 record, with the only losses coming at Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, is a long way from embarrassing. Now Patterson has to deal with roster turnover on offense like few other teams in the country have to face.

Louisville Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 7/27/2016

We can ask ourselves endlessly why in the world Bobby Petrino is again coaching the Louisville Cardinals - or any program in college football, for that matter. The sad but simple truth, though, is that you don't need class to win, and at this level Petrino really knows how to win. Besides, that's old news. Petrino is in his third year back at Louisville, and after seasons with nine and eight wins, this is the time when he should - and really needs to - take a big step forward and prove that he can make the ACC more than a two-team league.

Iowa Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 7/27/2016

Heading into last season, it was pretty easy to make the case that Kirk Ferentz needed to go as head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Heck, I made that case three years earlier. Their season last year showed us how hard it is to know just what is going on in college football - which is what makes the sport great.

Dalvin Cook Odds to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy with Expert Picks
by Dave Schwab - 7/27/2016

Florida State running back Dalvin Cook finished seventh in last year's final Heisman Trophy voting with just 79 total points, but he is being touted as a solid contender to win this year's award as college football's top player in the nation. MyBookie has the junior back pretty high on its current Heisman Trophy futures list at +900 betting odds to win, and there could be some solid value in that number if everything falls into place.

2016 Houston Cougars Football Predictions and Season Win Total Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/27/2016

Tom Herman's Houston Cougars were a revelation in 2015, with the ex-Ohio State offensive coordinator and rookie head coach leading UH to a 13-1 record. Houston won American Athletic Conference regular-season and conference titles and wrapped the season up with a blowout win over Florida State in the Peach Bowl. Houston finished the year ranked No. 8 in the country.

2016 Navy Midshipmen Football Predictions and Season Win Total Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/27/2016

The 2015 campaign was as good as it gets for the Midshipmen. Navy won 11 games and finished in the Top 25, was a major factor in the program's first-ever season in a conference, slammed Pittsburgh in a bowl game, swept the other service academies (including a 14th straight win over Army) and watched quarterback Keenan Reynolds become college football's all-time rushing leader.

2016 Tulane Green Wave Football Predictions and Season Win Total Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/27/2016

Man, Willie Fritz has a lot of work to do. Fritz was able to field an exceedingly competitive team at Georgia Southern the past two seasons while helping usher the Eagles program into the FCS. But Fritz was building on what Jeff Monken had built at Georgia Southern, with both coaches utilizing the triple-option offense.

Washington Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 7/27/2016

The time is now for Chris Petersen. He is in his third year at the helm of the Washington Huskies. He has been incredibly patient, reloading the largely empty cabinets and playing freshman early and often even when it didn't give him his best short-term chance at success.

College Football Week 1 Opening Lines: Interesting Odds on the Early Board
by Trevor Whenham - 7/26/2016

We're still more than a month away from the start of the college football season. I don't know about you, but I am really getting excited. It's too early to get really serious about handicapping the first week of games - teams haven't even started practicing yet. BetOnline has odds set for many of the Week 1 games, though, so it doesn't hurt to take a look at what stands out - and what might change once the public jumps on board.

College Football Handicapping and Betting: Hardest Top 25 Teams to Analyze
by Trevor Whenham - 7/26/2016

As July prepares to turn into August, I start to get itchy for the start of the college football season. I don't worry about specific games and matchups yet - that comes later. What I am interested in now is forming the basic opinions of teams that will start to guide my decision making going forward. Often times it's pretty straightforward - Florida State will be really good this year, for example, while Kansas will be awful, and I didn't have to fire up too much brainpower to come to either conclusion.

Christian McCaffrey Odds to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy with Expert Picks
by Dave Schwab - 7/26/2016

A quick look at MyBookie's updated betting odds to win this season's Heisman Trophy as the top college football player in the nation reveals that last season's runner-up Christian McCaffrey has been listed as a close +500 third-favorite behind LSU running back Leonard Fournette (+300) and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson (+450). The Stanford junior was second in the voting last year to Alabama running back Derrick Henry with 1,539 points verses Henry's 1,832 points in one of the closest Heisman votes in recent memory. Watson was actually third on that short list with 1,165 points, and Fournette came in sixth with 110 points.

2016 Cincinnati Bearcats Football Predictions and Season Win Total Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/26/2016

Tommy Tuberville looks to continue his destruction of one of the most underrated and undervalued football programs in the country. Cincinnati is a team that, prior to Tuberville's hiring in 2013, had gone 65-26 over a seven-year stretch while serving as a springboard for Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly and Butch Jones.

2016 Connecticut Huskies Football Predictions and Season Win Total Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/26/2016

I cannot fathom how a college football team can average less than 18 points per game for an entire season. Not in the way the sport is presently constituted, where teams seemingly fall out of bed and score 35 points and 51-45 shootouts are the rule rather than the exception.

Ole Miss Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 7/26/2016

Perhaps the most interesting thing to speculate about concerning this season for the Ole Miss Rebels is whether the wins will ultimately count in history. There is so much turmoil and scandal surrounding this team that any punishment possible could conceivably come down. There is also the possibility that head coach Hugh Freeze could face a suspension at some point this season - a first for a coach since the rules were changed and coaches can now be suspended for NCAA violations under their watch.

LSU Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 7/25/2016

Les Miles has averaged 10 wins per season in his 11 years at the helm at LSU, though he has failed to reach that level the last two years, with eight wins two years back followed by nine last year. Expectations are very high this year, and if he wants to comfortably be able to coach this team until he decides he is done then he'll be very interested in getting back to that 10-win level - and hopefully beyond it. The team is only four seasons removed from their last national title game appearance, but they have looked a bit like a tiger missing a tooth or two and a couple of claws since then.

Notre Dame Odds to win the College Football National Championship with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 7/25/2016

There is an exercise I have to do every year when I am evaluating Notre Dame. I have to ignore the uniforms the players are going to wear and evaluate this team as if they played in Kalamazoo or Wichita or somewhere obscure. Because of the aura surrounding this team you have to do that or else you can get swept up in the inevitable hype and optimism surrounding perhaps the most national program we have.

2016 Central Florida Golden Knights Football Predictions and Season Win Total Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/25/2016

Here is, without a doubt, a 100 percent guaranteed prediction for this upcoming college football season: Central Florida is going to have a much better season in 2016 than they did in 2015. That prediction is without question a certainty mainly because things can't possibly go much worse than last year for the Golden Knights. Central Florida, which just two years ago was beating Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl to wrap up a 12-1 season, went 0-12 last year.

Deshaun Watson Odds to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy with Expert Picks
by Dave Schwab - 7/25/2016

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson is coming off a season to remember heading into his third year with the Tigers. He helped lead his team to the College Football Playoff Championship Game against Alabama, and in the process he finished third in the final voting for the 2015 Heisman Trophy behind Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey.