College Football Handicapping Articles

2011 Auburn Tigers Football Predictions and SEC Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 7/7/2011

At the end of the 2010 college football season, it was the Auburn Tigers who were crowned BCS National Champions. It was Auburn’s first national title since 1954. The chants of “War Eagle” were heard all over the country after Auburn beat Oregon in the BCS Championship Game. The Tigers went 14-0 as they were led by Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

2011 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Football Predictions and ACC Futures Odds
by David Schwab - 7/7/2011

A mid-season three-game slide derailed a promising 2010 season for Georgia Tech, leading to a 6-6 regular season record overall and a 4-4 record in ACC play. Part of the unexpected downturn was an injury to quarterback Joshua Nesbitt that ground the Yellow Jackets’ high-powered offense to a halt. They finished the year ranked first in the nation in rushing yards per game, but 71st in scoring with just 26 points a game. The season ended on a sour note with a 14-7 loss to Air Force in the Independence Bowl.

2011 Colorado Buffaloes Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Darin Zank - 7/7/2011

The Colorado Buffaloes thought they had a chance last year to break out of their recent funk and maybe make a run at a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game, or at least make a bowl. Colorado had 17 starters back, including almost the entire offense, so improvement from going 3-9 the season previous was expected.

2011 Mississippi State Bulldogs Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 7/7/2011

The last time we saw the Bulldogs they were blasting Michigan, 52-14, in the Gator Bowl and chasing Rich Rodriguez out of Ann Arbor. That seems like an eternity ago, but nobody around college football is about to forget that the Bulldogs vaulted themselves back into the national spotlight with their nine-win season and bowl win.

2011 Oregon State Beavers Football Predictions and Pac-12 Futures Odds
by David Schwab - 7/7/2011

The Pac-10 expanded to the PAC-12 with the addition of Colorado and Utah this past offseason, so Oregon State is now in the newly formed North Division with the likes of Stanford and Oregon. The primary goal for the Beavers this season will to get back to their winning ways after posting a 5-7 season and failing to qualify for a bowl in 2010. Even more disturbing was the fact they lost four of their last five games, including a 38-0 whitewash at the hands of the Cardinal and a 37-20 loss to the in-state rival Oregon.

2011 North Carolina Tar Heels Football Predictions and ACC Futures Odds
by David Schwab - 7/6/2011

North Carolina is already ahead of the game this season after last year was plagued with multiple player suspensions due to off-field academic improprieties. The loss of several key starters led to a 0-2 start and a disappointing 4-4 record in ACC play for a Tar Heel team that was touted in the preseason as one of the best in the conference. They were able to salvage a 8-5 record overall after beating Tennessee 30-27 in overtime in the Music City Bowl, but never really came close to living up to all the expectations.

2011 Utah Utes Football Predictions and Pac-12 Futures Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/6/2011

After several frustrating years toiling on the fringes, the Utah Utes have finally made it to the big time. That is, of course, if you still consider the Pac-10 (and now the Pac-12) to be part of the ‘big time’. The Utes are now playing for a guaranteed BCS spot if they win their conference, and they are good enough that you can’t entirely rule out the possibility that they will get it.

2011 Tennessee Volunteers Football Predictions and SEC Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 7/6/2011

The Tennessee football program has taken an absolute nosedive in the last three years. Between 1989 and 2007 Tennessee won at least eight games in 18 out of 19 years. In the three years since, the team has gone a combined 18-20. Everyone knew Derek Dooley was in for a long season in his first year at Tennessee in 2010. The Volunteers were actually a little more competitive than most thought, and the team definitely played hard for their first-year coach. While Dooley was given a pass by most in his first year at Tennessee, fans in Knoxville aren’t very patient, and they are certainly expecting much better things in the near future.

2011 Kentucky Wildcats Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 7/6/2011

It’s natural to think of Kentucky as a basketball school, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon. However, Joker Phillips is doing his best to put the football program on the map. Excitement has been gradually building, and fans are hoping Kentucky can capitalize on a relatively weak SEC East in 2011. Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee aren’t nearly as powerful as normal, which leaves a little bit extra room for a team like Kentucky to make a surprising run.

2011 Stanford Cardinal Football Predictions and Pac-12 Futures Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/1/2011

Stanford is coming off a wildly impressive season that saw them finish with a dominating win over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Now we get to see if they can stay among the elite or if they were just a flash in the pan. It doesn’t hurt that they have the best quarterback in college football under center for them, but he’ll have to work with a new head coach after Jim Harbaugh couldn’t resist the lure of the NFL.

2011 Missouri Tigers Football Predictions and Big 12 Futures Odds
by Darin Zank - 6/29/2011

Over the course of the last half-decade, Missouri Tigers football has experienced some of the best success in program history. Three double-digit-victory seasons in the last four years, wins over Big 12 powers Nebraska and Oklahoma, and six straight bowl bids, including a Cotton Bowl romp over Arkansas a few years back. But the thing that's eluded Mizzou is big-time success, in the form of a conference championship or a BCS bowl bid.

2011 Boston College Eagles Football Predictions and ACC Futures Odds
by David Schwab - 6/29/2011

The Boston College Eagles found themselves 2-5 midway through the 2010 season and mired with injuries on both sides of the ball. However, they turned things around by grinding out a 16-10 win over Clemson that triggered five straight wins to finish the regular season at 7-5 overall and 4-4 in conference play. Unfortunately, the season ended on a sour note with a 20-13 loss to Nevada in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. The stage, though, has been set for continued success in the ACC Atlantic Division in 2011.

2011 Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 6/29/2011

For college football purists, it will certainly take some time getting used to seeing Nebraska being mentioned amongst the other Big Ten heavyweights. Cornhusker fans can only hope this deviation from tradition worked out better than the move to a West Coast offense under Bill Callahan seven years ago.

2011 South Carolina Gamecocks Football Predictions and SEC Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 6/29/2011

It may have taken longer than most people expected, but Steve Spurrier has brought this South Carolina team back to national prominence. The Gamecocks made it to the SEC Championship Game last season, where they were blasted by Auburn. Though the Gamecocks did take a step forward and win nine games last year, the finish of the season was less than impressive. After being throttled by Auburn, they were beaten 26-17 by Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

2011 Clemson Tigers Football Predictions and ACC Futures Odds
by David Schwab - 6/29/2011

The 2011 season could be make-or-break for the Clemson Tigers as the pressure is on for bigger and better things from a team that has underperformed in light of the actual talent it has. The past three seasons have yielded just one Atlantic Division title among expectations that the Tigers would be a legitimate contender for not just an ACC title, but a BCS title as well. Last season Clemson went in the wrong direction with a 6-6 regular season record overall and just four wins in the conference. The season ended with a 31-26 loss to South Florida in the Meineke Car Care Bowl to cap-off a disappointing year.

2011 NC State Wolfpack Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by David Schwab - 6/29/2011

North Carolina State had a breakthrough season in 2010 with a 9-4 record overall and a 5-3 record in the ACC. The Wolfpack ended the season on a high note with a 23-7 victory over West Virginia in the Champs Sports Bowl as a three-point underdog. This followed a 6-7 campaign in 2008 and an even more disappointing 5-7 record in 2009.

2011 Washington Huskies Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 6/27/2011

If the Pacific 10 Conference had added Utah and Colorado even a few years ago and split into two divisions as it is doing starting this fall, then the South would have seemed the much tougher division with Utah, Southern Cal and to a lesser extent even Arizona. But there’s little question that the North should be the stronger division this season with powerhouse Oregon and a resurgent Stanford program with the nation’s best quarterback in Andrew Luck having returned to school.

2011 UConn Huskies Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 6/27/2011

Was Connecticut’s 2010 season a success or a failure? The answer isn’t particularly clear. The Huskies went to the Fiesta Bowl, but they were drubbed by Oklahoma in that game, and they finished with an 8-5 record in an extremely weak Big East Conference. The team actually lost money by appearing in the Fiesta Bowl because they couldn’t sell their share of tickets to Huskies faithful. The 2010 season was definitely a strange one for UConn.

College Football Predictions: Futures Betting for BCS Conferences
by David Schwab - 6/21/2011

The 2011 college football season is a little more than two months away, but it’s not too early to start handicapping which teams have the best chance to win their respective conference and hopefully qualify for a shot at playing for a national title in the BCS Championship Game in early January. Here we will offer some college football predictions on futures betting for the BCS conferences.

2011 Florida Gators Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 6/20/2011

Depending on your perspective, the beauty or aggravation of being a college football fan and bettor is rather encapsulated in the Florida Gators. About this time two years ago, the Gators were being looked at as a potential dynasty. They were coming off their second national title under Urban Meyer and had practically their entire team coming back for 2009, including Gator legend Tim Tebow, who was among the favorites to win a second Heisman Trophy.