Gear up for another awesome weekend of college football action with BettingPros! We’ll have you covered with all of our top picks for the week along with our projected spreads and totals to help guide your college football bets. Below are our top picks and predictions for Saturday’s Week 2 game: Utah vs. Baylor.
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Top College Football Odds & Picks: Utah vs. Baylor
Utah (-6.5) at Baylor
On this week’s early-week line-lookahead show that we recorded on Sunday, I implored everyone to bet Utah early. At the time, the Utes were -5. I felt the line would quickly spike to over a TD, and that’s exactly what happened. I would still play this up to Utah -8.
Baylor got ambushed by Texas State last week in a 42-31 loss. The Bears also lost starting QB Blake Shapen to injury in the process. I’m less concerned about Shapen not playing €“ there’s no guarantee that QB2 Sawyer Robertson, a former top recruit handpicked by late Mississippi State HC Mike Leach, isn’t just as good €“ and more concerned about this Baylor team simply not being good.
Texas State, a 4-8 outfit last season that was playing in its first game under HC GJ Kinne, was in control the entire way, leading 28-13 at halftime. Despite benefiting from two Texas State lost fumbles, Baylor played from a double-digit deficit for most of the game. Whereas the Bobcats looked crisp in Kinne’s first game, Baylor acquitted itself as the opposite. Among the Bears’ nine penalties were a laughable six false starts by the offensive line €“ the two in the second half drew justifiable boos from the home crowd.
Utah’s defense is one of the toughest in the nation. The Utes’ salty front-seven figure to wreak havoc on Baylor’s offensive line. On the other side of the ball, Baylor has a little talent in the back-end, but the defensive front is going to be a problem all season. Utah’s offensive line and run game in general will bully it.
I don’t think Utah QB Cam Rising will play. But after Utah dominated Florida 24-11 without eight starters, the Utes figure to get at least a couple back in this game. Either way, the tough-as-nails Utes are just about the last team that Baylor, losers of five-straight dating back to last November, want to see.
The pick: Utah -6.5 (play to -8)
Best Ways to Bet College Football for Beginners
Game Total
Bettors new to the hobby can be confused by spreads, but game totals are simple. Every football game has a total posted for the combined final score between the two teams. Bettors have the option to choose the OVER or UNDER, generally at -110 odds (risk: $110; win: $100). So if the total is 42 and you take the OVER, you need 43 points to win the bet. If you put a bet down on the over to win $100 and it goes over, you get back the money you initially risked, plus $100. If it stayed under, you would have lost your $110 and that’s it. If by chance the game ended with 42 total points, it’s called a push; when a game pushes, you get the money you risked back but nothing more.
ie: California vs. Illinois, Over 42 or Under 42
tip: Over bets can be a really fun social event with your buddies. Have everyone throw in a few bucks, then take the over together. Instead of getting pumped when one side scores, everyone is pumped for ANY score, all game.
Moneyline
The moneyline is the easiest way to test your college football knowledge: who will win the game? That’s it. The moneyline doesn’t use favorites or underdogs, it’s totally straight up. That said, the risk-reward can be challenging because they’re weighted. Instead of every game being around -110, like game totals and spreads, moneylines vary depending on the matchup.
For our example, California was favored by seven points over Illinois, meaning oddsmakers think the Golden Bears are a touchdown better than the Fighting Illini. If you took Cal on the moneyline, points don’t matter, they just need to win the game. But because it’s safer to take them straight-up without points, you’ll have to risk more when you make the bet €” remember, they’re seven points better than Illinois in the eyes of the oddsmakers. In this case, Cal is -280 on the moneyline, so if you want to win $100, you have to risk $280. On the flip side, moneyline bets can be valuable when taking the underdog because it’s a riskier bet €” they’re seven points worse than their opponent. In this case, Illinois is the underdog €” +220 on the moneyline. You’d win $220 on a $100 bet if you picked Illinois on the moneyline and they pulled off the upset.
ie: California (ML -280) vs. Illinois (ML +220)
tip: Check their history against one another. Keep an eye on the injury report and the weather.
Player Props
Player props are some of the most exhilarating bets you can place during a college football game, but they’re also easy to understand. For major conferences, you’ll have a wide array of options to choose from. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and sometimes tight ends will have props to choose from. It’s simple, fun and easy to follow, and odds on player props don’t vary as much as moneylines. Generally, prop bets are in the -110 range like generic spread and total bets.
ie: How many passing yards will Brandon Peters have against California? Over 250 or Under 250
tip: Check how players have performed in the situation they’re going to be in. Use split stats on any reliable site to see their numbers at home, on a neutral-site, in December, etc.
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