College Football Top 25 Betting Cheat Sheet: Week 14
The college football season is almost through the regular schedule, which means bowl season is just around the bend. But not before an action-packed Week 14, boasting some of the biggest and best rivalries in sports. We break down all the games involving Top 25 teams and give you need-to-know notes for betting each and every one:
(15) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at (9) Georgia Bulldogs (-12.5)
*Georgia Tech’s 116 points off turnovers are the fourth-most in FBS this season. The Yellow Jackets are one of only five teams to score 110+ points off turnovers in 2014.
*Facing the triple-option attack of Georgia Tech, Georgia coach Mark Richt was preaching the basics to his young backend this week. “If one guy makes a mistake or one guys decides he’s not going to play good fundamentals this play or one guy decides he’s going to do his own thing, bam, big play. Because you’ll see a lot of three, four, three, two and a half, you know, and then bam, big play, pass or run.”
Kentucky Wildcats at (23) Louisville Cardinals (-12.5)
*Entering rivalry week, the extremely young Kentucky team (64 percent underclassman) needed to be taught what this game means. “We educated them today about the Governor’s Cup, what it means. Some of the coaches talked about their personal memories,” offensive coordinator Neal Brown said.
*Cardinals S Gerod Holliman – who leads the nation with 13 interceptions – has picked off five passes in his last three games and needs one more to equal the NCAA single-season record.
Michigan Wolverines at (7) Ohio State Buckeyes (-21)
*Running against the Wolverines has been easier said than done this season. Michigan has allowed a mere 2.94 yards per carry and has 55 tackles for a loss in Big Ten games this season.
*Though “The Game” is storied, it has been far from competitive in recent years. The Buckeyes have outscored the Wolverines 216-129 in the past seven meetings (12.5 average margin of victory). Ohio State is also 6-1 SU and ATS during that seven game span.
South Carolina Gamecocks at (24) Clemson Tigers
*The Gamecocks have a five-game winning streak over Clemson (since 2009) thanks to their defense. In those five games, South Carolina has 21 sacks and has created 15 turnovers.
*The question is who will be starting at QB for Clemson this week as Deshaun Watson re-injured himself last week. “He’s not going to be at 100 percent,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Very few players are at 100 percent when you’re in the 12th game of the season, but he’s got to be able to execute at a high level.”
Florida Gators at (2) FSU Seminoles (-7.5)
*The Gators know what playing FSU is all about and they will be practicing for a hostile environment this week. Florida will be blaring the Seminoles war chant throughout practices to get the players comfortable with communicating over the noise.
*No other player in football has been better at putting teams away than Jameis Winston. The redshirt sophomore has a 163.5 passer rating in the second half this year while completing 68.8 percent of his passes and has thrown for 10 touchdowns.
(4) Mississippi State Bulldogs at (19) Ole Miss Rebels (+2.5)
*Even though Ole Miss had a bad last game against Arkansas, coach Dan Mullen is not ready to accept that as the norm. “One of the things that can get you in danger is judge last week’s game as having any relevance toward this week,” the Bulldogs coach said. “I think they turned it over six times last week. That’s not going to happen.”
*Bo Wallace injured his ankle in last week’s loss to Arkansas, but the Bulldogs pivot won’t miss this game. “It would take a lot more than that to keep him out of this game. He’s hungry and wants to play in this game in a bad way,” coach Hugh Freeze said. “He’s going to try to go no matter what. He’s gotten better each day. Hopefully he’ll be close to 100 percent.”
(8) Michigan State Spartans at Penn State Nittany Lions (+13)
*Michigan State’s offense is on pace to become the most prolific in school history. The Spartans have already set school records for most points (483), total offense (5,660 yards), offensive touchdowns (61) and made point-after attempts (63).
*The Nittany Lions feature one of the best defenses in the nation. Penn State ranks first in rushing (81.7), third in total defense (267.2) and fourth in scoring defense (16.2) the FBS.
(22) Minnesota Golden Gophers at (14) Wisconsin Badgers (-14)
*Minnesota has rushed the ball 522 times this season, compared to throwing just 203. The team is also 6-1 when they rush for 200 or more yards as a team. However, the Golden Gophers will likely be without top RB David Cobb due to a hamstring injury.
*We all know how impressive Melvin Gordon has been this year, but has been stellar against the best teams. In the last seven against Top 25 teams, Gordon is averaging 172 rushing yards and 9.95 yards per carry.
(6) Baylor Bears at Texas Tech Red Raiders (+24.5)
*The state of Texas has been owned by Baylor for years now. Since 2011, the Bears are 39-11 SU and 33-17 ATS in games held in the Lone Star State.
*There is no doubt that Texas Tech is simply playing spoiler at this point and coach Kingsbury is fine with that. “It’s our last game. For some of these seniors, it’s the last game they’ll ever play and for some of these juniors it’s the last game they’ll play for eight months. So if you’re not motivated for that reason alone, you’re probably in the wrong sport.”
Kansas Jayhawks at (11) Kansas State Wildcats (-27.5)
*Kansas ranks first in the Big 12 and 14th nationally in red-zone defense, allowing 32 scores in 44 trips.
*The Wildcats are currently boasting one of the deadliest QB-WR combinations in college football. Since the beginning of 2013, Jake Waters and Tyler Lockett have hooked up for an average of seven times per game while averaging 112.9 yards per game.
(16) Auburn Tigers at (1) Alabama Crimson Tide (-8.5)
*With the offense sputtering, it was Auburn’s defense that ensured there was no Cinderella story against Samford last week. The Tigers’ defense recorded two sacks and hurried Samford’s quarterback a season-high 21 times, prompting Auburn coach Gus Malzahn to say, “The big factor was we put pressure on the quarterback. That was the key to our defensive performance.”
*There is no doubt that the Crimson Tide will be looking towards WR Amari Cooper come the Iron Bowl. In Cooper’s two games against Auburn, the receiver has 11 catches for 287 yards and three touchdowns.
(3) Oregon Ducks at Oregon State Beavers (+19.5)
*The Ducks are one of the most dominant teams over the past five seasons and they have routinely blown out opponents. In 50 of Oregon’s 57 victories since 2010, the Ducks won by 14 points or more.
*It will be Sean Mannion’s last chance to get a win over the rival Ducks. The senior QB has thrown for 924 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions in his starts against Oregon.
Utah State Aggies at (25) Boise State Broncos (-8.5)
*The Aggies are 6-1 in Mountain West road games under coach Matt Wells and have beaten 13 of their last 14 conference opponents on the road.
*Quietly, Boise State has the fourth longest home winning streak in college football, winning their past 12 SU (6-6 ATS). The Broncos are topping teams by an average of 26.7 ppg on the blue turf.
