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College Football Betting and Handicapping: Best ATS Teams Against the Point Spread

by Victor Ryan - 10/18/2016

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Sefo Liufau

The college football season has passed the midway point, making this a good time to check in on which teams have excelled against the spread and those that have struggled. Through Week 7, there remains just one team in FBS with an undefeated record against the spread: Colorado. In coach Mike MacIntyre's fourth season in Boulder, the resurgent Buffaloes have gone 5-2 straight up and a perfect 7-0 against the number. They are coming off a 40-16 shellacking of Arizona State as an 11-point favorite last Saturday.

Colorado has been fueled by one of the country's most balanced offenses. QB Sefo Liufau, who returned last week after missing two games with injury, and RB Phillip Lindsay (107 carries, 614 YDS, 9 TD's) have helped the Buffs average 300.4 yards per game through the air and 214.9 rushing yards. This week Colorado opened as a 2.5-point road underdog against Stanford, but the number has since fallen to 2.0.

Best College Football Teams Against the Spread

Colorado (5-2 SU, 7-0 ATS; ATS Streak: 7W)

Eastern Michigan (5-2 SU, 6-1 ATS; ATS Streak: 5W)

Temple (4-3 SU, 6-1 ATS; ATS Streak: 6W)

Western Michigan (7-0 SU, 6-1 ATS; ATS Streak: 1W)

Wisconsin (4-2 SU, 6-1 ATS; ATS Streak: 3W)

Auburn (4-2 SU, 5-1 ATS; ATS Streak: 3W)

North Carolina State (4-2 SU, 5-1 ATS; ATS Streak: 4W)

The MAC is well-represented as both Eastern Michigan Eagles and Western Michigan Broncos have but a single ATS loss on the ledger. They will meet this week in a conference showdown, so something will have to give ATS-wise. The Broncos have been installed as a heavy 23.5-point home favorite in that one.

Western Michigan has climbed to No. 20 in the AP poll thanks to an undefeated straight up start in which they've outscored opponents by an average of 44.3 to 17.6. RB Jarvion Franklin (135 carries, 795 YDS, 6 TD's) spearheads one of the country's top running games (265.6 YPG), and WR Corey Davis (44 REC, 652 YDS, 10 TD's) has been a scoring machine on the outside.

Eastern Michigan has tallied two straight up wins as an underdog this season, which includes last week against Ohio. The Broncos went on the road and knocked off the Bobcats 27-20 as a seven-point road underdog to stay a game back of Western Michigan in the MAC West division.

Temple has reeled off six-straight ATS wins since a season-opening 28-13 loss to Army as a 14-point home favorite. The Owls have covers against Penn State and Memphis, both on the road, and last week they stormed back to stun Central Florida 26-25 as four-point road underdog. Temple will again play the role of underdog this week as South Florida (6-1 SU, 5-2 ATS) comes to town as a 6.5-point favorite.

Worst College Football Teams Against the Spread

Oregon (2-4 SU, 0-5-1 ATS; ATS Streak: 3L)

Arizona (2-5 SU, 1-6 ATS; ATS Streak: 3L)

Florida Atlantic (1-6 SU, 1-6 ATS; ATS Streak: 1W)

Nevada (3-4 SU, 1-6 ATS; ATS Streak: 4L)

Michigan State (2-4 SU, 1-5 ATS; ATS Streak: 4L)

Georgia Southern (3-3 SU, 1-5 ATS; ATS Streak: 4L)

Cincinnati (3-3 SU, 1-5 ATS; ATS Streak: 4L)

Western Kentucky (4-3 SU, 1-5-1 ATS; ATS Streak: 6L)

TCU (4-2 SU, 1-5-1 ATS; ATS Streak: 2L)

It's a Pac-12 exacta at the top of this dubious list, as wayward Oregon and Arizona both race towards the bottom of the Pac 12. Mark Helfrich in Eugene and Rich Rodriguez in Tucson are confirmed busts at this point and likely to be seeking employment at year's end, but the question for bettors is just how far these ships will sink in the interim?

The Ducks have lost four straight since starting the season 2-0, which includes an embarrassing 70-21 home loss to Washington two weeks ago. The problems are numerous at Oregon, but you can start with a defense that's allowed 41.8 PPG and passing game that's lacked any consistency. After receiving a much-needed bye last week, Oregon travels to take on California as a 2.5-point road underdog.

It appears the wheels have finally come off in Arizona. Since playing nationally-ranked Washington tough in late September, the Wildcats have gotten progressively worse each game. Last week, Arizona was absolutely hammered by USC at home 48-14. How bad have things gotten? Injuries at quarterback forced the Wildcats to start a 17-year-old freshman, Khalil Tate, who was expected to redshirt. Tate was badly overmatched, as you might expect. He had more turnovers (one INT, one fumble) than completions (one) in the first-half before giving way to reserve tight end Matt Morin. Yeah, things are ugly in the desert. Arizona has a bye this week and will next host Stanford.

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