College Football Best Bets Today: Can Mateer Keep Rolling Against Auburn?

While several teams from power conferences have begun or will start conference play this week, there are still plenty of intriguing nonconference matchups to break down with my college football best bets for Week 4. 

My best college football picks combine two ranked favorites in a moneyline parlay. The in-state rivalry between Florida and Miami in the nonconference slate also presents great value with the fast-rising Heisman candidate Carson Beck as part of our college football predictions for Week 4.

College football best bets & expert picks: Week 4

College football best based on odds that are subject to change.

• Utah/Oklahoma ML parlay (+134 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Notre Dame team total Over 40.5 (-114 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Kansas first half spread -7 (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Carson Beck Under 1.5 passing touchdowns (+120 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐
• Junior Sherrill or Diego Pavia to score 2+ touchdowns (+210 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐

Best college football predictions: ATS, ML, O/U

Track the latest college football scores for line movement and matchup info.

Utah/Oklahoma ML parlay (+134) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a parlay on two home favorites of less than a touchdown playing in ranked vs. ranked matchups.

Utah quarterback Devon Dampier has completed 73% of his pass attempts, good for second in the Big 12 and 12th nationally. The Utes have been consistent on both sides of the ball, with an eighth-ranked scoring defense (8.3 points per game) and 14th-ranked scoring offense (45.7 PPG). 

I love the familiarity on the coaching staff, especially with Morgan Scalley in his 10th year as the defensive coordinator. I expect the Utes' crowd will make a huge difference, even with the early noon E.T. kickoff. 

Oklahoma's No. 11 ranking in the AP poll is its highest since joining the SEC. It held Temple to just three first-half points in another solid defensive effort last week, which came after not allowing a point in the first half of consecutive games for the first time since 2009. And John Mateer’s dual-threat ability while scoring a passing and rushing touchdown in nine straight games makes the Sooners' offense difficult to defend.

BetMGM is the easy choice among the best sports betting sites when looking where to lay this parlay down, as it features some of the best moneyline odds for each team involved. If both teams win, a $10 wager at the +134 price would net $13.40 in profit.

Notre Dame team total Over 40.5 (-114) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sitting at 0-2 after losses to two top-10 teams by a combined four points, Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes are on life support. The Fighting Irish know that from here on out they don’t just need to win, but win convincingly. I expect them to take out their frustrations on in-state rival Purdue.

Notre Dame scored 42 first-half points en route to a 66-7 win at Purdue last season. It was the Fighting Irish’s highest point total since also scoring 66 during a victory over New Mexico in 2019. And perhaps unsurprisingly, the dominant effort came following an embarrassing home defeat to Northern Illinois.

FanDuel features the best price by a hair (DraftKings is at -115, carrying a 53.49% implied probability). At -114 odds, a $10 winning wager would return $8.70 in profit. 

Kansas first half spread -7 (-110) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kansas has been a fast starter this season, outscoring opponents by 39 points in the first half. Even in its 42-31 loss to Missouri in the school's last game, the Jayhawks played to a draw in the first half despite scoring 21 points in the first quarter.

The Jayhawks enjoyed a week off to correct what went wrong in last week’s loss. And Kansas has covered five of its six games off a bye since 2022 under head coach Lance Leipold. 

Kansas ranks in the top 15 in Stuff Rate and pass efficiency while playing a much more difficult schedule (33rd-ranked strength of schedule) than West Virginia (89th). But I prefer to take any late backdoor covers out of the equation while limiting this play to the first 30 minutes. 

There's a big difference between the -7 at the standard -110 juice with a 52.38% implied probability and the -7.5s found at some of the other best sports betting apps. I'm taking advantage of the best number and price at Caesars while hoping to net $9.09 in profits with my $10 wager.

Best college football player prop bets for Week 4

Our college football player prop odds tool shows the best odds for every market across legal sportsbooks in your area.

Carson Beck Under 1.5 passing touchdowns (+120) ⭐⭐⭐

After Virginia Tech and UCLA parted ways with the head coaches on those sidelines last week, Florida head coach Billy Napier’s seat is now arguably the hottest of any in the country. But his Gators' defense has still held two straight teams that spent time in the AP top 25 (South Florida and LSU) to 38 combined points, and neither squad's quarterback threw for two scores.

Carson Beck, who's a Heisman Trophy odds front-runner, is rising up NFL draft boards after recording 812 passing yards and eight total touchdowns, and two of his three games have come against ranked opponents. 

While Beck has posted the fourth-best QBR among FBS quarterbacks, this is worth a play at plus-money odds against a Florida defense that ranks a respectable seventh in the conference in Passing Play Success Rate given its tough schedule. 

The implied probability for this Under to cash is as high as 45.87% through FanDuel’s +118 odds. I'm taking advantage of a slightly better price at BetMGM, where a winning $10 wager would return $12 in profit.

Junior Sherrill or Diego Pavia to score 2+ touchdowns (+210) ⭐⭐⭐

Vanderbilt is coming off a huge 31-7 upset victory over then-No. 11 South Carolina to vault it into the top 20 of the AP poll. But Clark Lea should have his group focused this week after it embarrassingly suffered the team's first loss of the season last year to this same Georgia State outfit.

Quarterback Diego Pavia carried the ball a team-high 15 times during that game, while wide receiver Junior Sherrill cashed in on one of his two receptions for a touchdown. 

The Over is 10-0 in Vanderbilt’s last 10 September games against non-ranked teams. And with the Commodores' team total being set at 40.5 points, there should be plenty of opportunities for either of these players to cash this wager while scoring twice. This bet can be found at DraftKings under its “either player props” menu.

Only one Commodores player has scored multiple touchdowns in a game this season, but there's value in this 32.26% implied probability with the game being against a weaker opponent in a revenge spot. If either Sherrill or Pavia score twice, we would net $21 in profit on a $10 wager. 

College football expert picks

• College football picks against the spread
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• College football anytime touchdown scorer predictions
• College football upset picks
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College football betting FAQs

What are the best bets for college football Week 4?

My best bets for college football Week 4 include a moneyline parlay on Utah and Oklahoma to win outright, Notre Dame to go Over its projected team total, Kansas to cover the first-half spread, Carson Beck to go Under 1.5 passing touchdowns, and either Junior Sherrill or Diego Pavia to score two-plus touchdowns.

How do college football odds work?

When betting on college football odds, the point spread shows how many points the favorite needs to win by in order to cash the bet. For example, a favorite of -3 must win by more than 3 points to cover the spread, while an underdog at +3 must win outright or lose by fewer than 3 points to cover the spread.

Moneyline odds represent the payout for picking the outright winner (+200 means a $100 bet wins $200, while -200 means a $200 bet wins $100). Over/Unders let you wager on whether the combined total will be higher or lower than the set number.

You can determine the payouts and implied probabilities for any wager - or convert odds to different formats - with our odds converter.

Are college player props legal?

College player props are a legal and regulated betting market in most states with sports betting. See our guide to college player prop betting by state to see what's available in your region.

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