Ten Best College Teams Against Spread
Can you believe it’s Week 10 in college football already? Now that teams are two months into their seasons, here are the 10 best teams against the spread.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Yellow Jackets were a 14-point underdog Saturday night in Clemson. That was the first game that Georgia Tech failed to cover all season, although the Yellow Jackets still left Clemson with a push. Paul Johnson’s team is now 6-0-1 against the spread in 2017, covering games at an 8.5 margin.
Texas
Remember when the Longhorns lost to Maryland at home as a heavy favorite in Week 1? Well, that was the last time Tom Herman’s team failed to cover a point spread. Texas is now 7-1 at the betting window this season and is currently on a seven-game ATS tear after covering easily against Baylor in Waco as a 10-point road favorite on Saturday. Best yet? The Longhorns are a perfect 3-0 against the number as an underdog this season.
Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish are back in the playoff mix after destroying underrated N.C. State as a 7-point home favorite over the weekend. With that successful cover, Notre Dame is now 7-1 against the number and is covering the spread by an average margin of 13.4 points. Their lone loss and failed cover this season came all the way back in Week 2 when they fell to Georgia 20-19 as a 5.5-pooint home favorite. Since then, they’re 6-0 against the spread.
Iowa State
Matt Campbell’s Cyclones have burst onto the national stage thanks to yet another outright upset. After upsetting Oklahoma 38-31 as a 31-point road favorite earlier this month, ISU has broke off four straight victories, including a 14-7 win over TCU as a 7.5-point underdog. The Cyclones have covered the spread in four straight games and are 7-1 ATS on the season. Their lone failed cover came against another team on our list: Texas, which won in Ames on September 28, 17-7. That was the last game former starter Jacob Parks played in for ISU, which has won four in a row since Kyle Kempt took over under center. Up next: A date with West Virginia, which is a 2.5-point favorite.
Arkansas State
The Red Wolves are one of the best non-Power 5 programs against the spread this year. They’re 6-1 against the number and have covered games by a 15.1 margin. After routing New Mexico State 37-21 as a 3.5-point favorite this weekend, Arkansas State has covered in four straight weeks.
Penn State
The Nittany Lions blew several leads in Columbus over the weekend, but still covered easily as a 7-point underdog against Ohio State. That ATS win improved Penn State’s record to 6-1-1 on the year. They’re winning games by an average margin of 26.5 and covering at a 9.9 clip, making them a big public team this season.
Fresno State
The Bulldogs have probably flown under the betting radar this year but they’ve been a fantastic play all season, even after failing to cover as a 22-point favorite versus UNLV on Saturday. (Fresno State shockingly lost the game outright, 26-16.) Fresno State is 6-1-1 at the betting window this easo.
Central Florida
The Knights failed to cover as a 43.5-point home favorite versus Austin Peay but they’ve been solid at the window all season. They’re 5-1-1 against the spread, although they’ve failed to cover in their last two weeks. (They pushed versus Navy two weeks ago as a 10-point favorite.)
Buffalo
The Bulls are just 3-6 straight up this season but they’ve been a covering machine, earning wins at the betting window in seven of their nine games this season. That said, they failed to cover as a 3-point underdog two weeks ago versus Miami Ohio (24-14), and lost 21-20 to Akron as a 3-point favorite on Saturday. So perhaps fading Buffalo is the play moving forward.
Georgia
There’s actually a host of teams that are 6-2 against the spread, but we’ll list the Bulldogs because a lot of the other teams are non-Power 5 programs (i.e. Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Southern Miss, Marshall, UAB and Florida Atlantic, as well as Power-5 schools Mississippi State and Rutgers). The Bulldogs win with a simple formula: Run the ball down opponents throats and play good defense. That formula has led to them covering at a 12.5-point margin. Even though oddsmakers hiked up the number in Saturday’s “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” the Dawgs still covered easily as a 13.5-point favorite versus Florida. UGA is a legitimate national title contender.