College Football Handicapping Articles

2011 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Darin Zank - 7/25/2011

Coming off an 11-win season in 2009, which included an Orange Bowl upset victory over Georgia Tech, and with 14 starters back, many “experts” thought Iowa had a good chance to win the Big Ten last year. They had a senior at quarterback, a good running game, a very good defense, and most of their tough games were at home.

2011 Arizona State Sun Devils Football Predictions and Betting Odds
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 7/25/2011

During the offseason the Arizona State Sun Devils have lost more players than most teams lose during an entire season. The once presumed favorites of the Pac-12 South have been decimated by early retirements, both forced and not forced. If the season does not get here quick, Coach Dennis Erickson might have trouble fielding a team.

College Football Predictions: High-Value Betting Teams
by T.O. Whenham - 7/20/2011

As we count the seconds until the start of the college football season we need to find ways to make the time pass. The way we are going to do that today is to offer some college football predictions for teams that have a chance to exceed expectations. By this point people have a pretty solid sense of how they expect teams to perform. Every year, though, there are some teams that end up performing significantly better than those expectations. Bettors that have a sense of who those teams could be are positioned to make some nice money. Here are three teams that are candidates:

2011 UCLA Bruins Football Predictions and Pac-12 Futures Odds
by Alan Matthews - 7/20/2011

One would think that if UCLA is ever going to catch, much less pass, USC in the Los Angeles football sports landscape, that is almost has to happen in 2011. Why? The fallout from the Reggie Bush mess should be over for USC after this season, their second in a row where the Trojans can’t play in a bowl or be eligible to compete for a conference title (or, thus, play in the first Pac-12 Championship Game). But after a 4-8 record last season (2-7 in the Pac-10), the Bruins still seem miles behind their private school neighbors.

2011 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/19/2011

Everything…but. Everything…but; that’s the best way to describe the 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide. Right now they have everything they need to win the national championship, their second title in three years. That is they have everything…but a quarterback.

2011 Georgia Bulldogs Football Predictions and SEC Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/19/2011

The Georgia Bulldogs have an eight-day season. Not eight games: eight days. Because in the eight days between Sept. 3 and Sept. 10 we’re going to find out just about everything we need to know about how the Georgia season is going to go.

College Football Season Win Totals Odds and Predictions
by David Schwab - 7/19/2011

Sportsbooks like Bodog, BetOnline, and WagerWeb are getting ready to release their college football season win totals odds for some of the top teams in the nation, but to get an early jump on your college football handicapping efforts to project how many games teams such as Oklahoma and Alabama might win this season, we will take a look at the regular season schedules for four of the programs at the top of most of the 2011 preseason polls and offer some season win totals predictions for each.

2011 West Virginia Mountaineers Predictions and College Football Futures Odds
by Darin Zank - 7/19/2011

West Virginia has been home to one of the premier football programs in the country for quite awhile. But over the course of the last few years the Mountaineers have moved in the direction of disarray, at least at the management level. Coach Rich Rodriguez skipped town in favor of Michigan four years ago as he was just ahead of NCAA investigators, but he didn’t last long with the Wolverines. Coach Bill Stewart followed with some success, but when he got word he had to take on an heir apparent, he reacted by allegedly asked reporters to dig up dirt on the new guy, and he was later forced to resign. So new Head Coach Dana Holgorsen takes over a turbulent situation in Morgantown.

2011 Ohio State Buckeyes Predictions and College Football Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/18/2011

From Willie Lyles to Dana Holgorsen to Jim Donnan, it has been a banner year for college football’s scumbags. Top programs from across the country – USC, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Auburn, and West Virginia, among others – had to brace themselves amidst accusations, sensationalism, investigations, NCAA sabre rattling, and worse. But Tressel and the mess at Ohio State set the tone and was by far the biggest story of the college football offseason.

2011 Arizona Wildcats Football Predictions and Pac-12 Futures Odds
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 7/15/2011

The Arizona Wildcats have the unenviable task of opening their 2011 season by trying to snap a five-game losing skid. But that is exactly the challenge that has saddled Arizona ever since it’s November and December meltdown last season when it lost its final four regular season games plus its bowl game.

2011 Wisconsin Badgers Football Predictions and Big Ten Futures Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 7/14/2011

College football teams don’t usually improve themselves in the offseason via free agency. However, the Wisconsin Badgers have solidified their position as Team To Beat in the new-look Big Ten over the summer because of the unlikely addition of one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, Russell Wilson.

2011 Michigan Wolverines Predictions and College Football Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/14/2011

I live and breathe Michigan football. There is very little that is more important to me than this team. Needless to say, then, I haven’t enjoyed the last three years much. There have been some bright spots — like the incredible emergence of Denard Robinson — but it generally has been a frustrating, depressing, horrifying era for the Maize and Blue.

2011 Boise State Broncos Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Aaron Smith - 7/14/2011

The Boise State Broncos almost crashed the BCS party last year, but a narrow loss to Nevada relegated them to the Las Vegas Bowl. The Broncos dominated Utah in their bowl game to finish off an extremely successful 13-1 season. Despite the success, there is little doubt that many in and around the program were quite disappointed that they missed a real chance to get to the BCS Championship Game.

2011 Penn State Nittany Lions Predictions and College Football Futures Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/13/2011

It was a very frustrating year for the Penn State Nittany Lions last year. They started the season ranked 14th in the country, and expectations were high. By the end of the year, however, they were just 7-6, including an ugly bowl loss to Florida. Along the way there was drama surrounding their coaching staff, a total mess at the quarterback spot, and all sorts of other issues that got in the way of progress and success.

2011 Texas A&M Aggies Football Predictions and Big 12 Futures Odds
by Darin Zank - 7/13/2011

There was some doubt among Texas A&M faithful when the school hired former Green Bay Packers Coach Mike Sherman to take over the Aggie football program a few years back. A&M had fallen on some comparatively hard times, considering they'd recently gone 20 years without a losing season, and while Sherman had had some success at Green Bay, he wasn't exactly high on anyone's list.

2011 Illinois Fighting Illini Predictions and College Football Futures Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/12/2011

It has to be very frustrating to be an Illinois fan. After the Rose Bowl berth of 2007 things seemed like they were definitely on the right track, and the school has been recruiting well. The results just haven’t been there, though.

2011 TCU Horned Frogs Predictions and College Football Futures Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/12/2011

Last season went about as well as it possibly could for TCU. The Horned Frogs went undefeated, beat up on the two ranked teams they played in the regular season, snuck into the Rose Bowl, and impressed the sporting world with a win over Wisconsin. The only thing that would have been better for them is if they hadn’t wound up ranked just second in the two polls.

2011 Oklahoma State Cowboys Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by Darin Zank - 7/12/2011

The Oklahoma State Cowboys were probably the most pleasant surprise in the Big 12 last year. This year we'll get to see if they can play with the heightened expectations that come with being among the favorites to win the conference.

2011 USC Trojans Predictions and College Football Futures Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/9/2011

There should be a whole lot of optimism at USC right now. They have a highly-regarded quarterback with a fair bit of experience under his belt right now. They have a Top 5 recruiting class coming in. Despite an 8-5 season last year there should be lots of cause for optimism. There isn’t, though. Or there might be, but it doesn’t matter at all — this is totally a lost season.

2011 BYU Cougars Football Predictions and BCS Futures Odds
by T.O. Whenham - 7/8/2011

There are four non-BCS football programs that consistently shine but have been consistently held back by ‘the system’. This year was the time to take action and do something about that, it seems. TCU and Utah couldn’t beat them, so they joined them. Boise State made a mostly pointless lateral move. BYU took the most radical and aggressive steps of all, though. While playing as an independent won’t do anything to secure them an easier road to the BCS, it will get them on national TV far more, and it gives them the freedom to schedule aggressively to catch the eye of the national media. It’s a huge risk, and this is our first chance to get a sense of whether it can possibly pay off.