3 Underrated NCAA Games
There are a handful of very important games around college football in Week 11, and we will have you covered with individual previews on those. But here are three games a bit off the radar that could have tremendous betting value.
Toledo at Ohio
When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET
TV: ESPN2 (stream on WatchESPN)
College Football Betting Line: Toledo -4
The Rockets could be the second-best Group of 5 school out there after Central Florida as Toledo’s only loss is at unbeaten Miami (Fla.). This could also be a preview of the Mid-American Conference title game. Toledo is probably getting there as the West champion, while Ohio could with a loss but would still have to beat Akron in the East.
The Rockets (8-1, 5-0 MAC) are coming off a big 27-17 victory over West Division rival Northern Illinois at the Glass Bowl on Nov. 2. The win gave the Rockets sole possession of first place in the West and gives them control of their own destiny in the race for the division crown. Senior quarterback Logan Woodside threw for 361 yards. Woodside completed 23-of-31 passes on his way to setting the Toledo record for career passing yards.
Ohio (7-2, 4-1 MAC), winner of three straight games, is tied for first place with Akron in the MAC East Division. Most recently the Bobcats defeated arch-rival Miami, 45-28, on Oct. 31. Their only conference loss was a 26-23 home-field setback to Central Michigan on Oct. 7.
These are two of the better offensive teams in the country. Toledo leads the MAC in total offense (517.8) and passing offense (297.4). The Bobcats put up 41.2 points per game. Toledo leads this series, 31-20-1. Ohio won in Toledo last year, 31-26, snapping a 12-game Rocket winning streak in the series.
Florida at South Carolina
When: Saturday, noon ET
TV: CBS (stream CBSSports.com)
College Footbal Betting Line: USC -7.5
This is personal for South Carolina coach Will Muschamp as he was fired as Florida’s head coach a few years ago. The Gators will not make a bowl game with a loss as it would drop them to 3-6 with just two games to play. That would be a huge embarrassment for a team that was ranked to begin the season.
UF of course fired Coach Jim McElwain recently and played their first game without him this past Saturday, a really ugly 45-16 loss at a terrible Missouri team. “It’s sometimes disappointing when everybody doesn’t want to come together and just play for each other,” LB David Reese said after. “That’s sad to see. We’ve still got a lot to play for. Me personally and our defense, we want to play for those guys. We can’t have appearances like we just had today. That’s unacceptable.”
That loss probably ruined any chance that interim coach Randy Shannon had of keeping the job. He turned to Notre Dame graduate transfer Malik Zaire as the starting QB in place of Feleipe Franks at quarterback, but little changed for the Gators.
South Carolina (6-3) was beaten 24-10 last week by No. 1 Georgia. Certainly no shame there. South Carolina had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Gamecocks also lost hopes for winning the SEC East. Florida leads the all-time series vs. USC by a 26-8-3 count, including an 11-6-1 advantage in Columbia. Carolina has won four of the last seven contests after winning just four of the first 30 meetings between the two schools.
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech
When: Saturday, 12:20 PM ET
TV: ACC Extra
College Football Betting Line: Jackets -3
This one’s all about motivation. I think the Hokies will be flat after they were handled 28-10 this past Saturday at Miami – that all but ended Virginia Tech’s chances of playing in the ACC title game.
In addition, the travel home was terrible. It started with a delayed departure from Miami in the early hours Sunday and was made worse by a thick fog over Roanoke that required the chartered flight to turn around and land in Raleigh. After waiting three hours on the tarmac, the Hokies tried for Roanoke again only for the pilots to call off the landing after a couple more passes because of visibility and divert to Bristol. The team bussed back from there, a two-hour drive extended by another hour thanks to a ubiquitous backup after a wreck on I-81 that necessitated a detour on back roads. The Hokies didn’t arrive on campus until 3 p.m. Sunday. The team thus lost a practice on Sunday.
There’s a small element of stuff that we didn’t hit that we would’ve usually hit on that normal Sunday,” Coach Justin Fuente said.
Georgia Tech needs this one to get a bowl and usually plays the Hokies well with seven of the last nine games decided by a touchdown or less. Last year, Georgia Tech upset Virginia Tech 30-20 at Lane Stadium.
Expert Predictions & College Football Betting Picks for Week 11
Toledo will cover vs. Ohio in a shootout. Florida players have quit on the season. Take South Carolina. I like Georgia Tech to beat Virginia Tech outright – getting the points is gravy. So, be sure to give yourself a quick view of the latest NCAAF odds, provided by MyBookie, before placing and bets this weekend.