Hello friends, and welcome to the month of November! I sincerely hope you’re not dealing with too much of a Halloween hangover this morning — whether it be because of too many drinks or too many bite-size Snickers, which is what got me last night — but if you are, fear not, because we’ve got one heck of a slate of college football to dive into.
So if today is a lay around in bed or on the couch all day kind of day, just quickly pull up your preferred betting app, take my advice with these picks, and then spend the rest of the day dozing off with the games on in the background, knowing when the hangover subsides, you’ll have some extra money in your account.
As always, all betting lines are provided by BetMGM.
Leg 1: Texas -3 (-115) over Vanderbilt
Not that this is the best way to handicap a game, but I just keep thinking about how at the beginning of the year, it would’ve seemed downright nuts if someone told you that the Texas Longhorns would be favored by only 3 points at home against the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Again, this is admittedly not the best way to handicap a game. The preferred way would be to look at these 2 teams for who they are right now and then settle on the better team. Frankly, the better team might be Vandy. The better quarterback — at least right now — is definitely Diego Pavia. But I’ve just got a weird feeling that this is going to be the game that gets Texas right back into the thick of the College Football Playoff race, and it may also end up being the game that gets Arch Manning back on track.
Leg 2: Georgia -7 (-115) over Florida
I get that it’s a risky proposition to bet on a neutral site rivalry game. But here’s a trend for ya that might convince you to back the Bulldogs today… in the last five meetings between these 2 teams when Georgia is ranked and Florida is unranked, the Bulldogs have defeated the Gators by an average of 24 points per game.
What am I missing here?
Leg 3: Tennessee -3 (-105) over Oklahoma
As I detailed in my Week 9 awards column earlier this week, this is a Loser Leaves Town Game for the College Football Playoff. If this game were in Norman, and Oklahoma was a 3 point favorite, I’d probably be rolling with John Mateer, his recovering broken right hand, and the Sooners. But with it being played in Knoxville, I’m giving the edge to the Vols, who keep their CFP hopes alive and depending on how things break across the rest of the nation today, maybe get a boost back into the top 10.
Leg 4: Ohio State -17.5 (-110) over Penn State
Apologies for venturing outside of the SEC, friends, but this is my best bet of the week, and although it’s only the first day of November, I wouldn’t be surprised if this ended up being my best bet of the month. Can someone explain to me why the Ohio State Buckeyes — undefeated, playing at home and allowing just 6 points per game so far this season — are favored by under 3 touchdowns against the Penn State Nittany Lions, losers of 4 straight, playing with a backup quarterback and an interim head coach?
This makes absolutely no sense to me. Aside from their opening week 7-point win over the Texas Longhorns, the Buckeyes have beaten every other team they’ve played this year by at least 18 points. That includes somewhat tricky road tests against Washington and Illinois.
Again, I ask why this is only a 17.5-point line? If the Buckeyes don’t win by at least 3 touchdowns I will be absolutely stunned.
Total: +1230
