College Football Handicapping Articles

College Football Predictions: Teams That Are Better Than Week 1 Effort
by T.O. Whenham - 9/8/2010

We’re only one week into the college football season, but already we have been reminded why this is such a brilliant sport. I mean, did you see that freaking Boise State game? We’ve also been reminded of just how hard it is to get a real sense of how good teams are going to be before they hit the field. Some teams - Michigan chief among them - were surprisingly good. Others were far worse than they were supposed to be. Here are five teams that didn’t look great in their opener - in some cases they looked absolutely terrible.

College Football Predictions and Picks: Boise State vs. Virginia Tech Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 9/6/2010

Ten years ago Boise State was a novelty act. They were that random team that dozens of stoned or drunken bettors would either chase or double down on at the end of another hazy college football Saturday. They were a sideshow, and they would have been considered an urban myth if the money people had won on them hadn’t been so real.

College Football Predictions Picks: SMU at Texas Tech Betting Odds
by Alan Matthews - 9/5/2010

If you like offense, you will want to check out Sunday afternoon’s Southern Methodist at Texas Tech game (3:30 p.m., ESPN). These are easily the two most pass-happy offenses in the nation. It’s also the debut of new Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville, who says he will keep some of former coach Mike Leach’s ‘Air Raid’ spread offense, but certainly will integrate more of a running game to get more balance.

College Football Predictions: Wisconsin at UNLV Betting Odds and NCAA Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/4/2010

The Bobby Hauck era begins in Saturday night’s final NCAA game (11 p.m. ET, Versus TV) as Hauck, who went 80-17 over the previous seven seasons at Montana and appeared in three FCS national title games, leads UNLV in an upset attempt against visiting No. 12 Wisconsin.

Michigan Vs. UConn: College Football Predictions with Betting Odds and NCAA Picks
by T.O. Whenham - 9/4/2010

This game terrifies me. It keeps me up at night. I bleed Maize and Blue, and I want a win. I need a win. I can’t handle another loss. Not in a season opener. Not at all, really. I, like every Michigan fan in the world, am feeling very fragile right now. And I’m hiding all the sharp knives just in case. More than any team on the planet, we need a win. So, will we get one?

LSU Vs. North Carolina: College Football Predictions with Betting Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 9/3/2010

Breaking News as of 9/3 (11 a.m.) - Several news outlets are reporting that North Carolina will be without 12 players due to suspension or other measures when they face LSU this Saturday. Marvin Austen, Robert Quinn, Michael McAdoo, Kendric Burney, Charles Brown and Greg Little were all suspended. Shaun Draughn, Ryan Houston, Brian Gupton, Norris Searcy, Jon Smith and Linwan Euwell are being held out. These are key players and all of this severely hinders North Carolina’s chances to get a win in this game with LSU. The line has adjusted to this news and the new odds on this game are LSU -7.5 with a total of 43.5.

College Football Predictions: Arizona vs. Toledo Betting Odds and Football Picks
by Aaron Smith - 9/3/2010

The nationally televised college football game on ESPN this Friday night will feature the Arizona Wildcats traveling to Toledo’s Glass Bowl to take on the Rockets. Mike Stoops has a talented team this year in Arizona, but they haven’t fared well on the road in the last couple of years. Toledo has quite a bit of talent in place, but they did lose some major contributors from a year ago. These two met to open the season in 2008, and the Wildcats won, 41-16. This time Toledo gets the home field advantage, but will it be enough? Let’s take a closer look at this Friday night college football showdown.

Thursday College Football Predictions: Pitt at Utah Betting Odds and Football Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/2/2010

The college football season finally kicks off on Thursday night – will anyone bother watching or betting on those completely meaningless final NFL Preseason games that are all Thursday as well? – with the best matchup on paper looking like when Big East preseason favorite and 15th-ranked Pitt travels to Utah.

2010 College Football Predictions: Big 12 Conference Odds and Betting Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 9/1/2010

The Big 12 was at the center of the college football storm this summer as talk of restructured conferences, defections, realignment and general all-hell’s-breaking-loosed-ness overwhelmed the sport. Now, with Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska all ranked in the Top 10 and entering the regular season as legit National Championship contenders, the Big 12 is back front and center, with the focus now on the field and one simple question:

2010-11 College Football Predictions
by T.O. Whenham - 9/1/2010

We are, as I write this, within 24 hours of kickoff of the first game of the college football season. I can’t begin to tell you how excited that makes me. Though I would be far more accurate with my college football predictions if I waited until the season started - or ended - before making them, but that’s not sporting. Here, then, are 10 predictions I feel reasonably good about heading into this season:

Handicapping Nuetral Site College Football Games
by T.O. Whenham - 9/1/2010

Neutral site games - one of the unique challenges of handicapping college football. Neutral site games are rare enough that we have to take special note of them, but common enough that we can’t just ignore them entirely. As you try to tackle the challenge of figuring out how to deal with these games, here are six questions to ask:

College Football Predictions: First-Year Coaches
by T.O. Whenham - 8/31/2010

There are 120 teams in the FBS in college football. Given that number it’s truly remarkable to think that there are 23 coaches making their debut with a new team this year. That’s over a fifth of all teams. College football coaches are supposed to have much more stability and a much longer time frame to work with than their peers in the NFL, but that kind of turnover is truly NFL-like.

2010 College Football Predictions: Michigan Wolverines Odds and Betting Picks
by T.O. Whenham - 8/25/2010

Let me say this up front - I am obsessed with Michigan. Proof: my newborn son was wearing a Michigan hat within minutes of his birth. It was the first thing he wore other than a diaper. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

College Football Predictions: Under-the-Radar Quarterbacks That Could Provide Betting Value
by T.O. Whenham - 8/20/2010

An effective quarterback can have a very big impact on a college football team - far more of one in the NFL. Because college football players are less experienced and more errors are made there is a lot more room for a standout player to lift his team and have a positive impact on the way things turn out. By now even casual college football fans have heard a lot about the guys who are expected to be big-name, potentially award-winning quarterbacks this year.

College Football Predictions for Betting: Teams that Could Surprise
by T.O. Whenham - 8/16/2010

Every year in college football there are a few lousy teams that put together surprisingly good seasons - or at least teams that have long been easy to completely ignore that finally do something to capture your attention. Needless to say, spotting those teams in advance can be useful for bettors. Here are three teams that have this chance to be significantly better than we have come to expect them to be:

2010 College Football Predictions: Oklahoma Sooners Odds and Betting Picks
by Aaron Smith - 8/11/2010

The Oklahoma Sooners would like to forget about the 2009 season. Oklahoma came into the year as one of the favorites to win it all, but after numerous key injuries they sputtered to an 8-5 record and weren’t even ranked at the end of the season. Three of the first four picks in the NFL Draft were Oklahoma Sooners players from last year, so they clearly lost a great deal of talent.

College Football Predictions: Ole Miss with Jeremiah Masoli at QB
by T.O. Whenham - 8/11/2010

Never have we seen a situation quite like this one. In January QB Jeremiah Masoli led the Oregon Ducks to the Rose Bowl. Neither he nor his team had a good day in Pasadena, but he showed enough last year that he was a logical, strong Heisman Trophy contender heading into his senior season. But then things really went to hell.

2010 College Football Predictions: TCU Horned Frogs Odds and Betting Picks
by Aaron Smith - 8/11/2010

The 2009 TCU Horned Frogs had a perfect regular season, before falling by a touchdown to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Gary Patterson has built up quite a football team that can clearly compete with anyone in the country at this point. Patterson has this team believing it can do anything, and they are a very dangerous bunch right now.

Preseason College Football Polls: My Issues With the Rankings
by T.O. Whenham - 8/10/2010

The preseason Coaches’ Poll has been released - the clearest sign yet that the college football season is finally almost here. Polls are subjective at the best of times, but especially so at this point. Teams haven’t even practiced officially for months, so we have no way of really knowing what they have, what they are planning, and how it all may work out. It’s always the case, then, that everyone who pays attention to college football is bound to have some issues with the early polls. Some teams will be getting more respect than you think they deserve, while others are being disrespected or downright ignored.

2010 College Football Predictions: Ohio State Buckeyes Odds and Betting Picks
by Aaron Smith - 8/9/2010

The Buckeyes of Ohio State have received quite a bit of negative media in the past few years after losing the BCS Championship Game twice in a row. Some of the same people that were on Jim Tressel’s bandwagon after their 2002 title run hopped off quickly after their setbacks in the title game against Florida and LSU in consecutive years. Even though the Buckeyes have only one title to show for their winning tradition under Jim Tressel, this team is consistently one of the best in country. Last year’s Rose Bowl win over the Oregon Ducks was huge for the morale of this club. Time will tell, but that win could propel them to even bigger things in 2010.