College Football

Friday, October 12, 2018

Good teams win, great teams cover: Part III

By Joe Smeltzer
Hello, all. The boys are back. We're doing something a little different this year.  Instead of the old NFL previews, we are picking four games of our choosing from both the college and pro ranks and picking against the spread rather than simply who wins and loses. Week three of our bets are here, so let's get into it.

Ryan
College
#14 Florida: -7.5 over Vanderbilt
Vandy's defense seems to have taken a step back in the last two weeks, and the offense continues to struggle despite a great number of playmakers.

Pitt: +21.5 against #5  Notre Dame 
I don't expect Pitt to win, but ND is not as good as their record or ranking and Pitt usually has an impact on the college football playoff.

#7 Washington: -3.5 over #17 Oregon
Oregon is never going to recover from giving that game away to Stanford

#2 Georgia: -7.5 over #13 LSU 
Not many teams can go into Death Valley and win by more than a touchdown, but Georgia is really good on both sides of the ball.

NFL
Atlanta: -3 over Tampa Bay
The Falcons are reeling, but so are the Bucs. Atlanta has the offense to get a win Sunday

Steelers-Bengals: Push 
I'm surprised Cincy isn't the odds-on favorite in this one, but the Steelers will own Andy Dalton per usual.

Carolina-Washington: Push

Kansas City: +3 over New England 
The Chiefs are the best team in football, while New England's best win was against Miami.

Jeff
College
South Carolina: +2.5 over #22 Texas A&M
I'll take the 2.5 and the win for the Gamecocks.

Miami (OH): +11 over Kent State
Redhawks by three TD's

Georgia: -7 over LSU 
I'll side with the Bulldogs  in this one mostly because LSU is vastly overrated

Wisconsin: +10 over Michigan 
I'll take Bucky in this one. I think it will be a very close game and I'll gladly take 10 points on top of it

NFL 
Jags: -3 over Cowboys
I'll take Jacksonville and it won't be close. The Cowboys won't be able to handle the Jags D. 

Panthers: -1 over Redskins
Carolina is simply the better overall team

Bengals: -1.5 over Steelers 
I'll take the Bengals in this one because Pittsburgh is currently in shambles.

Texans: -10 over Bills
Josh Allen will struggle mightily vs. a tough Texans defense.

Brad 
College 
Alabama: -28.5 over Missouri 
Alabama is fresh off a defensive letdown, giving up 31 to Arkansas, so the defense should be in for a big game. 'Bama by 38.

Notre Dame: -21 over Pitt
Huge fan of Notre Dame after their quarterback switch. I expect a big performance against a lowly Pitt team.

Virginia Tech: -6 over North Carolina
UNC stinks.

UL Lafayette : -8.5 over New Mexico State. 
I had the opportunity to watch Lafayette in person and they were very good. I don't expect New Mexico State to be a problem.

NFL
Chargers vs. Browns (push) 
I see the Chargers pulling out a close victory over the Browns. Cleveland is good, but I see Melvin Gordon being too good for the Browns front seven.

Jacksonville: -3 over Dallas
I am not a big fan of the Cowboys this year. Expect a big Jacksonville win.

Pittsburgh: +1.5 over Cincy
I just don't see Cincy beating the Steelers. James Conner will have a huge game and propel the Steelers to victory.

Oakland: +2.5 over Seattle
This should be a close game, but I think Marshawn Lynch will play well in a revenge game and carry the Raiders to victory

Joe 
Pitt: +21.5 vs. ND
Notre Dame is clearly the better team, but Pitt is just mediocre enough to cover, much like it did in Happy Valley last year. Notre Dame by 20.

Ohio State: -29.5 over Minnesota
I love PJ Fleck, but the Gophers have lost their first two Big 10 games by an average of 23 points to Maryland and Iowa. I don't think they keep it within 30 in Columbus.

Vandy: +7.5 over Florida
The Gators are coming off a big win. Vanderbilt almost (and probably should have) beat Notre Dame in South Bend, so the Commodores can hang with the big boys. I'm expecting a letdown from Florida leading to a scare in Nashville. Kyle Shurmer's father can't coach, but the younger Shurmer is a reasonable SEC quarterback. He and Kalija Lipscomb will make enough plays to keep the game close, but Florida will squeak one out in the end. Gators by five.

Colorado: +7 over USC
Colorado is undefeated, while USC is barely above .500 with a freshman quarterback. Take the Buffs straight up. I don't care where the game is at.

NFL
Texans: -10.0 over Bills
Buffalo likes to alternate between good and bad weeks. This will be one of those bad weeks.

Packers: -9.5 over 49ers
Green Bay had a bad day last Sunday. Rodgers doesn't have two bad weeks in a row often. He ain't losing to a clown like CJ Bethard. Packers by three TD's.

Steelers: +1.5 over Bengals
It will be difficult for Pittsburgh to win the AFC North if they don't win this game, and Cincy will be in the divisional driver's seat with a win. So I guess it's fair to call this a big game for the Bengals. Which means Cincy probably won't get it done. Big Ben owns the AFC North, and Sunday won't be an exception.

Rams: -7 vs. Broncos 
Cooper Kupp and Brandin Cooks are back, which means Denver is in big trouble. LA is the best team in the NFL and will bounce back from a near slip-up at Seattle last week.

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