THIS IS A WEEKLY COLUMN IN WHICH STUDENT UNION’S AUSTIN BROWN GIVES HIS TAKE ON THE BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMBLING LINES OF THE WEEK.
I did a terrible thing last week. I put my faith in Gary Patterson and TCU, and it came back to bite me. It was not a great weekend for me overall, but I have learned my lesson. If there’s one thing that dating (or at least attempting) in college has taught me, it’s that you have to take every loss in stride and keep it moving.
This weekend presents us with a much more interesting slate of games. There are four games between ranked teams, which is four more than last week. The Vegas lines for this weekend are also much more enticing. Here are the five games that jumped off the board at me.
1. Duke (+4) at Northwestern
How is a team that just lost 9-7 to an FCS team possibly giving points to anybody? Are we even sure Northwestern can score four points? I don’t know if I would give Northwestern four points if they were my old high school team. I know Duke isn’t exactly Alabama, but as long as their team shows up relatively sober and ready to play, they should be able to handle whatever abomination of an offense that Northwestern throws at them.
2. Houston (-7.5) at Cincinnati
My apologies to my Student Union colleague Seth Berland for this pick, but I think Greg Ward Jr. and Houston are just too good. I could see the Bearcats keeping it close for a half, but I don’t see how they can stop Houston’s offense for a full 60 minutes. I would be shocked if the Bearcats are still in this game in the fourth quarter.
3. Texas State (+31) at Arkansas
Arkansas has a combined winning margin of four points in their two wins this season. Texas State will certainly be the worst team they have faced thus far, but I haven’t seen anything from the Razorbacks that makes me think they’re capable of beating anybody by 31 points. They haven’t even scored 31 points in regulation this year. Take the Bobcats and the points here.
4. Auburn (-3.5) vs. Texas A&M
I know Ryan Plugge won’t be happy with me, but I’ve already accepted the fact that I’m not going to have any friends left at Student Union after this week. The only reason I need to justify this pick is Trevor Knight. I know he had a good game against perennial powerhouse Prarie View A&M last week, but I still don’t trust him in a crisis. The Aggies have to face a good Auburn team that pushed Clemson to the brink two weeks ago. I like the Tigers to win by at least a touchdown and Trevor Knight to be picked off at least twice.
5. Louisville (+3) vs. Florida State
This one is going to be an absolute barn burner. This game features two Heisman candidates in Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson Jr. and Florida State running back Dalvin Cook. Whenever two high-powered offenses face off, I tend to go with the better quarterback. Advantage Louisville. This game will come down to the wire, but in the end, I think the Cardinals will come out on top. The three points you’re getting are just an extra incentive to pick Louisville.