Three Underrated CFB Games to Bet
It’s arguably the best college football Saturday of the 2017 regular season this week with a handful of matchups featuring Top 25 teams.
The first Saturday of November is always that because it’s when Alabama and LSU play each year. Mybookie.ag will have you covered with those games, but here’s a quick look at three somewhat underrated matchups you should also wager on.
Wake Forest at No. 5 Notre Dame
When: Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
TV: NBC
Line: Irish -13
Could Notre Dame be overlooking Wake Forest a bit? After all, the Irish are off back-to-back big wins over ranked teams USC and NC State and could find themselves in the Top 4 of the College Football Playoff rankings when those are released for the first time this season on Tuesday.
Notre Dame (7-1) deserves a playoff spot right now as it had played a very tough schedule and only has a 1-point loss to No. 2 Georgia. And running back Josh Adams has emerged as a Heisman candidate. In this past Saturday’s 35-14 rout of NC State, Adams Adams rushed for 202 yards on a career-high 27 carries, including a 77-yard TD run as the Irish rumbled for 318 yards on the ground against the against the nation’s sixth-ranked rushing defense. Notre Dame bested NC State’s average coming into the game (91.3) by nearly 230 yards.
Adams surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season on his 110th carry of the year. He’s the fastest Notre Dame running back in program history in terms of carries to surpass the 1,000-yard mark. Adams recorded his nation’s best seventh run of at least 60 yards and fourth run of at least 70 yards.
Wake Forest (5-3) is improving under Coach Dave Clawson. It just upset Louisville 42-32 last week. WR Greg Dortch caught a school-record four of John Wolford’s five touchdown passes. Wolford became the first Wake Forest player in 19 years to throw for more than 400 yards, passing for 461 and completing 28 of 34 passes and adding a short scoring run.
Minnesota at Michigan
When: Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
TV: Fox
Line: Wolverines -15
It has been a bit of a struggle for Gophers first-year coach P.J. Fleck with his team 1-4 in the Big Ten. It lost 17-10 to Iowa on Saturday. It was a low-scoring struggle between two bad offenses and two good defenses, and ultimately the Hawkeyes’ offense proved to be less terrible than the Gophers’ offense. Minnesota has been good on defense, ranking 21st in the country in scoring defense (18.8 points allowed per game), 36th in rushing defense (132.8 rushing yards allowed per game), 23rd in passing defense (184 passing yards allowed per game), and tied for 14th in turnovers.
Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks are both capable backs — if they’re given room — and Minnesota seems to have made the switch to sophomore Demry Croft at quarterback. Though that’s not a guarantee, as Minnesota’s passing game has been a mess all season long.
Michigan still has an outside shot at playing in the Big Ten title game and will turn to redshirt freshman Brandon Peters as the starting QB for this game. Peters replaced fifth-year senior John O’Korn during the second quarter of a 35-14 victory against Rutgers over the weekend. Peters led the Wolverines to touchdowns on his first three drives in what amounted to his first significant playing time as a college quarterback. He finished the game 10-of-14 passing for 124 yards and 1 touchdown.
Peters had taken just three snaps in a game since leading Avon High to the Indiana state championship semi-finals as a senior in 2015, when he threw for 3,103 yards with 37 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
The Wolverines hold a 74-25-3 advantage in the all-time series and have won 23 of the last 25 games played between the two schools. U-M has a 39-13-1 mark against Minnesota in games played in Ann Arbor, including a 33-11-1 record in games at Michigan Stadium.
Florida at Missouri
When: Saturday, noon ET
TV: ESPN2
Line: Missouri -3.5
What’s interesting about this game is trying to figure out how the Florida players will react to Coach Jim McElwain being fired on Sunday. Obviously he recruited most of those kids to Gainesville. His departure qualifies as the most high profile, one that figures to set into motion a wild coaching carousel that could dramatically reshape college football and the SEC in particular. In fact, Missouri is likely to fire its coach too.
A 42-7 loss to rival Georgia on Saturday was the final straw for UF school officials. McElwain, who was hired in December 2014, has a 22-12 record and won the SEC Eastern Division in back-to-back seasons, becoming the first SEC coach to make it to the SEC championship game in each of his first two seasons. But Florida’s offense struggled mightily in each of the past three seasons. The Gators rank 113th in the FBS in scoring, with 21.3 points per game, and 111th in passing, with 165.7 yards. Plus, Florida has struggled to develop a quarterback.
Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon will serve as interim head coach. Shannon, who was Miami’s head coach from 2007 to ’10, was promoted to defensive coordinator in January. The Gators are 3-4 and must win three of its last four games to become bowl-eligible. The Gators will be without running back Malik Davis, who is out for the year because of a knee injury sustained against Georgia and linebacker Kylan Johnson, who injured his hamstring.
Missouri (3-5) has won back-to-back games but all three wins – Idaho, UConn and Missouri State – this season are against lousy teams. With four games left, Missouri doesn’t play a team that currently has a winning a record. Two of those opponents, Arkansas and Tennessee, both 3-5, have coaches on the hot seat and wins over both would cool Barry Odom’s.
I frankly can’t believe the Tigers are favored. Last year, they lost 40-14 at Florida. In 2016, LSU fired coach Les Miles the week before its game against Missouri and still won 42-7.
Expert Predictions for Week 10
Notre Dame won’t overlook Wake, Michigan will destroy Minnesota, and I have little doubt that Florida wins at Missouri – that you get points is a gift. The Gators are still way more talented.
And remember, be sure to keep checking for the latest NCAAF odds before placing your bets!