1. #1
    Hman
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    Stanford Steve & The Bear: Week 1 College Football Picks

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    Stanford Steve and The Bear: College football picks and betting nuggets for Week 1

    ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)

    "Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris "The Bear" Fallica cover the college football season as only they can, offering their top picks, betting nuggets and totals worth wagering on.
    Note: All lines are from Caesars Sportsbook.

    The Plays


    No. 17 Indiana Hoosiers at No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes (-3, 46 O/U)
    Fallica: This number has come down some, and I'm happy it has. I've mentioned for a while how much I like the Hawkeyes in this spot. Indiana pretty much had everything go right last year, and its record was better than what their underlying numbers would have indicated. Can they repeat that without safety Jamar Johnson and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack? Iowa was very close to an undefeated 2020, and Kirk Ferentz's program is built on just replacing upperclassmen with a new round of upperclassmen. In addition, these are the typically the kinds of games Iowa wins. Since 2015 when it reached the Big Ten title game, Iowa has been favored by less than six points 16 times. The Hawkeyes have won 15 of them. While that doesn't guarantee anything, I'll take my chances with the Hawkeyes at Kinnick.
    Pick: Iowa -3


    Fresno State Bulldogs at No. 11 Oregon Ducks (-20.5, 64)
    Stanford Steve: A lot to look at with this game. Namely, the Bulldogs getting a win last week and the Ducks maybe having their attention on a trip to Columbus next week to play Ohio State.


    Gotta think Fresno QB Jake Haener will be plenty motivated to play a Pac-12 school as he transferred from Washington. With these schools getting only nine practices in full pads for camp, I think it was a huge advantage for the Bulldogs to get a game under their belt last week, whipping UConn. The game is also being played at 11 a.m. local time -- Autzen Stadium is a different place at that time as compared to a night game there.
    Pick: Fresno State +20.5 (Oregon 31, Fresno State 23)

    No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-7.5, 55.5) at Florida State Seminoles
    Fallica: I still think Mike Norvell is trying to get the FSU roster to his liking. Defensively the Noles have been a mess lately and now have to stop a dynamic back in Kyren Williams, a matchup challenge in Michael Mayer and a WR group that might just get more speed on the field for the Irish. Jack Coan was a big loss for Wisconsin last year and should be a very capable replacement for Ian Book. New DC Marcus Freeman might not have Marist Liufau but should still have a triumphant debut.
    Pick: Notre Dame -7.5

    San Jose State Spartans at No. 15 USC Trojans (-14, 59.5)


    Stanford Steve: This is about the situation. Love the idea of the Spartans having a game under their belt, pummeling Southern Utah 45-14. Loved seeing QB Nick Starkel get familiar with a new group of wide receivers, throwing for almost 400 yards and four TDs. Traveling to L.A. to play the Trojans in the Coliseum provides plenty of motivation for SJSU as they look at these opportunities to play in-state Pac-12 teams as their own Super Bowls. Love the experience the Spartans also bring on the defensive side of the ball.
    Pick: San Jose State +14 (USC 27, SJSU 18)

    Stanford Cardinal at Kansas State Wildcats (-3, 53)
    Stanford Steve: Stanford rebounded well last year when they had to play all road games to end the year, and in doing so they lost some vital parts of the offense to the NFL draft, including their best QB, WR and C. That QB Tanner McKee hasn't won the starting QB job over Jack West is a little worrisome, seeing how West has not been good when he has had to play. Cardinal WR Michael Wilson is also out for this game. I expect a well-balanced offensive game plan from the Wildcats as they welcome QB Skylar Thompson back, as he suffered a season-ending injury last year when the Wildcats were undefeated in Big 12 play.
    Picks: Kansas State -3, Under 53 (Kansas State 24, Stanford 17)

    Baylor Bears (-13.5, 53) at Texas State Bobcats
    Fallica: It's not often a school like Texas State gets one of the big in-state Power 5 teams on its home field, and that's the case here. I'm curious how the Baylor offense will look this year with a new QB and OC, and how that might help an offensive line that struggled mightily last year. Nobody is going to confuse good defense with Texas State, but Jake Spavital has a ton of transfers on his squad to go along with a lot of freshman and experienced sophomores. I'm not sure the Bobcats can score enough to win outright, but they sure won't stop trying, thus the backdoor should be wide open here. I'll be taking the points.
    Pick: Texas State +13.5

    Nevada Wolf Pack at California Golden Bears (-3, 52.5)
    Stanford Steve: Bears head coach Justin Wilcox is 10-1 in nonconference games in Berkeley. His QB, Chase Garbers, is 14-5 as a starter. People will make a big deal about what Cal did last year, but I look at it as a throwaway season with all they endured. Nevada comes in with a lot of hype surrounding QB Carson Strong, who has plenty of upside, but I like the Bears' defense to keep that offense in check.
    Pick: Cal -3 (Cal 23, Nevada 17)

    The Bear's Money-line Parlay

    $100 returns $91.40
    NC State Wolfpack -1000
    Ohio State Buckeyes -600
    Cincinnati Bearcats -2200
    Alabama Crimson Tide -1300
    USC Trojans -700
    Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets -1100
    Oregon Ducks -1600


    The Bear's Underdogs to play on ML

    Charlotte 49ers +200
    Rice Owls +800
    Maryland Terrapins +125
    Oregon State Beavers +220
    UTSA Roadrunners +190
    Utah State Aggies +550


    Bear Bytes

    Bowling Green Falcons at Tennessee Volunteers
    The Vols are a 34.5-point favorite in their season-opener. They were a 24.5-point favorite in their 2019 season-opener when they lost 38-30 to Georgia State.


    No. 10 North Carolina Tar Heels at Virginia Tech Hokies
    Virginia Tech has won its past three home games as an underdog vs. teams not named Clemson. Prior to that, it had lost five straight games at Lane Stadium as a home underdog and covered only one of them.
    Michigan State Spartans at Northwestern Wildcats
    The underdog has won this matchup outright in four of the past five, and in five of the past seven years.
    Western Michigan Broncos at Michigan Wolverines
    Michigan failed to cover any of its final five games of 2020 -- three coming as an underdog -- and dating back to 2019 the Wolverines are 1-7 ATS in their past eight games. Michigan is 3-7 ATS in its past 10 games as greater than a 10-point favorite, including a loss to Michigan State as a 21.5-point favorite and a triple-OT win at Rutgers as a 12.5-point favorite in the past two instances.
    Stanford Cardinal at Kansas State Wildcats
    Under David Shaw, Stanford has been in 23 games in which the spread was within a FG either way. The Cardinal have won 15 of the 23 and 11 of the past 14 dating back to 2016.
    No. 19 Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers
    Wisconsin has been a difficult team to beat when Paul Chryst and his staff have been given time to prepare. In season-openers and bowl games, the Badgers are 10-2 outright and 8-3-1 ATS in those 12 games. The only two outright losses came against Alabama in a season-opener and by a point in the 2020 Rose Bowl vs. Oregon.
    Fresno State Bulldogs at No. 11 Oregon Ducks
    Under Mario Cristobal, the Ducks have been a 20-point favorite nine times. While they have not been upset as this heavy of a favorite, they have covered only twice in this position.
    No. 14 Miami Hurricanes at No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide
    Under Nick Saban, the Tide are 14-0 outright and 11-2 ATS in season-openers (there was no line in one of the games). Against ranked opponents in season-openers, Saban's Crimson Tide are 6-0 ATS with an average margin of victory of 23.7 PPG. Every win came by double-digits.
    No. 23 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns at No. 21 Texas Longhorns
    Texas has lost just once in its past 17 games as at least a seven-point favorite -- a 33-31 loss to TCU last year. They have been far from a good bet, however, going just 7-9-1 ATS in those games. In its past 12 games as an underdog, Louisiana is 9-3 ATS with five outright wins.
    San Jose State Spartans at No. 15 USC Trojans
    Under Clay Helton, USC is 24-0 outright as a double-digit favorite. Seven of those wins have come by five points or fewer, and the Trojans are just 10-13-1 ATS in those games. Since winning the Rose Bowl following the 2016 season, USC is 0-4 ATS in nonconference games as a double-digit favorite.
    No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Florida State Seminoles
    Florida State is 5-14-1 ATS as an underdog since the start of the 2017 season. FSU has pulled three outright upsets in that span, including last year vs. North Carolina as a 13.5-point home 'dog. The Irish have won 31 straight games as a favorite. Notre Dame hasn't lost a game as a favorite since 2017 at Stanford as a 3-point favorite. Notre Dame has won 34 straight games as a seven-point favorite, with the last loss coming to Navy in 2016.
    No. 16 LSU Tigers at UCLA Bruins
    UCLA is 7-3 ATS with five outright wins in its past 10 games as an underdog. Three of the five losses have come by 3, 3 and 5 points.
    No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs at No. 3 Clemson Tigers
    Since 2015, Clemson has been favored by less than seven points in a regular-season game six times. Outside of a blowout win at Louisville in 2017, the other five games were all one-possession games, including the OT loss at Notre Dame last year.
    SEASON OPPONENT SPREAD RESULT
    2020 at Notre Dame -5 Lost 47-40
    2017 at Louisville -3.5 Won 47-21
    2017 Auburn -6 Won 14-6
    2016 at Florida State -4 Won 37-34
    2015 Notre Dame -2 Won 24-22
    2015 at Louisville -6 Won 20-17
    BYU Cougars at Arizona Wildcats
    Dating to 2019, Arizona has lost 12 straight games by an average of 21.4 PPG -- just one by fewer than 10 points -- and covered only two of them.
    No. 17 Indiana Hoosiers at No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes
    Since 2015, Iowa is 15-1 in games in which it was a favorite of fewer than six points. Its 13-game win streak in such games ended last year vs. Purdue. In 12 of those 15 wins, the Hawkeyes were favored by 3.5 or less.
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    Mr. Teaser
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