College Football Handicapping Articles

NCAA Football Handicapping: Outlook for USC after Sarkisian Firing
by Trevor Whenham - 10/14/2015

Imagine if you are a junior or senior on the USC Trojans. In 2013 you got off to an 0-2 start in the conference, and then head coach Lane Kiffin was fired at the airport. Ed Orgeron took over as interim coach, performed miracles to go 6-2 the rest of the way, but was given no chance to take over the team permanently.

College Football Handicapping: Florida Gators QB Situation
by Trevor Whenham - 10/14/2015

It was a crazy Monday in the world of college football - two high-profile coaches gone for different reasons, and the quarterback of an unbeaten team suspended for a year after testing positive for PEDs. It's the last of those - Florida's Will Grier - that we will focus on for now.

NCAA Football Predictions: Week 7 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/12/2015

While certainly not unprecedented, it's somewhat rare for a major college football team to fire its head coach during the season. You see it in the NFL every year, but those guys are professionals and they adjust easier. These college coaches are usually why a recruit chooses a school. But Maryland apparently didn't want to wait until after the season as Coach Randy Edsall has been canned. The Terps were routed by Ohio State on Saturday, 49-28, their third straight loss by at least three touchdowns.

College Football Expert Picks Against the Spread: Northwestern at Michigan
by Trevor Whenham - 10/9/2015

It's funny how quickly things can change in college football. Heading into this season this was a game that barely deserved any consideration at all. After all, neither team was coming off a very good year, and last year they played a game so bad that it may have set the whole game of football back. That game was scoreless until well into the third quarter, and in the end Michigan won it 10-9 when Northwestern scored in the closing seconds but went for a two-point conversion and failed. Totally unwatchable.

NCAA Football Odds: Line Movements & Last-Minute News for Week 6
by Alan Matthews - 10/9/2015

We might see an NCAA record broken this weekend in South Bend. Navy senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds has 73 career rushing touchdowns, five shy of breaking former Wisconsin star Montee Ball's FBS record of 77, which means there is an outside chance Reynolds could tie or set the record against Notre Dame on Saturday. Obviously Reynolds will break that eventually as well as Ball's record of 83 total touchdowns.

NCAA Football Handicapping: Big Ten Exceeding Expectations
by Trevor Whenham - 10/9/2015

This conference is not playing out like the preseason narrative told us it was supposed to. This was supposed to be a story of two teams. Ohio State was the best team in the country by a wide margin - the defending National Champions with almost unprecedented strength at QB and a soft schedule. Michigan State was going to be very good - clearly the second-best team in the country and a playoff contender.

NCAA Football Mid-Major Betting Report: Temple Owls Week 6
by Aaron Smith - 10/7/2015

Time for the Week 6 edition of the college football mid-major betting report. This is the fourth year Doc's Sports has done this article. The goal of this weekly piece is to attempt to show that specialization is a profitable betting strategy. For the mid-major betting report, we follow one team throughout the season and make selections on their games on a weekly basis. Temple was picked this year because of the intrigue surrounding the conference as well as their ability to have a breakout season. So far, it has been a breakout season for the Owls.

NCAA Football Betting: Fading the Top 25 Weekly Free Picks Week 6
by Aaron Smith - 10/6/2015

The Top 25 as a whole covered only 10 of their 23 games (USC and Utah were on a bye week) last weekend. There were three Fade the Top 25 Selections in last week's report, and those three plays went a perfect 3-0! Clemson managed to hang on to get to beat Notre Dame. Getting the mid-week line helped us get the win in that game.

NCAA Football Predictions: Week 6 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 10/5/2015

OK, I'll admit it: I thought the Florida Gators could have done better in hiring a head coach than Colorado State's Jim McElwain. But sometimes you have to give those smaller-school guys a chance, and it certainly worked out at UF with Urban Meyer previously. In my mind, the most surprising result of Week 5 in college football was the Gators' 38-10 win over then-No. 3 Ole Miss. Redshirt freshman QB Will Grier was spectacular, going 24-for-29 for 271 yards and four touchdowns despite playing through the flu.

NCAA Football Odds: Line Movements & Last-Minute News for Week 5
by Alan Matthews - 10/2/2015

Keep an eye on Hurricane Joaquin and the effect that could have on the upper half of the Eastern Seaboard. Any games on the East Coast on Saturday are likely to have inclement weather, so that should be affecting your totals betting. In fact, the matchup between No. 22 Michigan at Maryland has already been moved from 8 p.m. to noon because of the impeding storm. Thus, alter your TV plans accordingly.

College Football Expert Picks Against the Spread: Notre Dame at Clemson
by Trevor Whenham - 10/1/2015

The National Championship is not going to be decided on Saturday at Clemson by any means. This game will have a big impact on things, though. Both teams are eyeing a spot in the playoff. The winner will have a signature win to their credit - one that will make them much more attractive to the selection committee if they remain unbeaten or close to it.

NCAA Football Mid-Major Betting Report: Temple Owls Week 5
by Aaron Smith - 9/30/2015

After a week off last week as the Temple Owls had their bye, the mid-major report betting report is back for the Week 5 edition. Doc's Sports has now been doing this article for four years. The goal of this weekly article is to attempt to show that specialization is a profitable betting strategy. For the mid-major betting report, we follow one team throughout the season and make selections on their games on a weekly basis. Temple was picked this year because of the intrigue surrounding the conference as well as their ability to have a breakout season.

NCAA Football Betting: Fading the Top 25 Weekly Free Picks Week 5
by Aaron Smith - 9/29/2015

For the second week in a row, if you faded the Top 25 last week, you did very well. The Top 25 as a whole went 9-13 against the spread. Nos. 1-4 all failed to cover the spread, and that's a trend we've been seeing in recent weeks. It seems that the perception of these top-rated teams is too high, at least for the time being.

NCAA Football Handicapping and Betting: Utah Makes it Look Easy against Oregon
by Trevor Whenham - 9/29/2015

The Utah Utes are the toast of the college football world. That's something you haven't been able to say since the 2008 season when they beat up on Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to finish 13-0. They earned their place in the hearts and minds of college football fans this time around with a shockingly ruthless massacre of the Oregon Ducks. In Eugene, no less. For years now we have thought of Oregon as a behemoth - an offensive superpower that couldn't be tamed. We expected them to beat teams - ones like Utah - by scores of 62-20. We never expected that they would fall from grace so fast and would be losing by such a score. Truly bizarre.

NCAA Football Predictions: Week 5 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/28/2015

I'm not saying that the 2015 Heisman Trophy race is over because there are always the possibility of injuries, but it sure feels like it's over. LSU sophomore running back Leonard Fournette is clearly the best player in the country and is now your heavy +150 Bovada favorite to win the Heisman.

NCAA Football Odds: Line Movements & Last-Minute News for Week 4
by Alan Matthews - 9/25/2015

Thank goodness for the Pac-12, or this would be the worst college football weekend of the season. Seriously, have you seen the schedule? Just about every powerhouse is playing a nonconference cupcake before full-on conference play begins: No. 1 Ohio State vs. Western Michigan; No. 2 Michigan State vs. Central Michigan, No. 5 Baylor vs. Rice, No. 6 Notre Dame vs. UMass, No. 7 Georgia vs. Southern, No. 12 Alabama vs. Louisiana-Monroe. And so on.

Free College Football Picks: UCLA Bruins at Arizona Wildcats Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 9/24/2015

I have a good friend who is a lifelong Bruins fan. Poor bastard. After hearing that Myles Jack had been lost for the year this week - the third defensive star to go down for the season - I texted to ask him if losing three starters was a bad thing. I can't print his response. This team just seems cursed. Every time they seem to have turned a corner, they run into another wall. I fully expect Josh Rosen to have an arm fall off this week - it's the next logical step in the torture of UCLA fans.

NCAA Football Betting: Fading the Top 25 Weekly Free Picks Week 4
by Aaron Smith - 9/22/2015

If you faded the Top 25 in general last week, you did really well. Top 25 teams went 10-14 against the spread last week. No team ranked in the top six of last week's rankings covered the spread. Baylor had the week off, but the other five all lost against the number. Ohio State won by a touchdown as a 35-point favorite. Alabama lost outright to Ole Miss. Michigan State won by only 14 against Air Force. TCU gave up 37 points against SMU and didn't get even close to covering the spread. USC lost outright 41-31 to Stanford on their home field.

NCAA Football Predictions: Week 4 Opening Line Report and Picks
by Alan Matthews - 9/21/2015

Do we have a quarterback controversy at Ohio State? You almost knew this was going to happen with two such talented guys in Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett. Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer decided not to commit to either of those guys on Monday. Really, neither has been fantastic yet.

NCAA Football Odds: Line Movements & Last-Minute News for Week 3
by Alan Matthews - 9/18/2015

I live in the South, but I am not an SEC fan. I think SEC coaches and fans are incredibly arrogant -- often with good reason, sadly, because it's the best conference in college football. But sometimes it's overrated. I believe that was the case last season -- just look at the SEC West's bowl results -- and is again in 2015. Last week was not a good one for the SEC.