College Football Best Bets of the Week: Week 4

We went 1-1 on our featured article picks (non props) last week, which brings our overall college football record to 5-3. South Florida controlled the game against Southern Miss from start to finish, but FIU ultimately let us down against FAU despite their late comeback efforts.

Week 4 presents some interesting matchups to target, and I will be highlighting my favorite games to bet on while also directing you to the site with the best odds. Let’s get into it.

Miami FL vs. South Florida

(Miami -16.5, O/U 65, DraftKings Sportsbook)

South Florida has started the season 2-1 and was very competitive against Alabama in Week 2 before eventually giving up an offensive flurry in the second half that buried them. That 42-16 score doesn’t even come close to telling the full story.

The Bulls are led by dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown, and he has a solid group of weapons in the war chest as well. Brown has thrown for 448 yards/2 TDs and has rushed for 254 yards/2 TDs. He is definitely a menace for opposing defenses to have to deal with.

They have more than just Brown as a rushing threat as RBs Nay’Quan Wright, Taron Keith and Kelley Joiner have all eclipsed 100 yards on the ground. Sean Atkins (13-164-0) and Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen (9-117-0) have been the best options in the receiving room.

While I do think the Bulls offense is good enough to stay with Miami for a while, I’m envisioning a similar result that happened in the Bama game. The ‘Canes opportunistic defense is going to make a play and when they do, it’s going to take the wind out of South Florida’s sails.

The Miami offense is on another level right now and Heisman candidate Cam Ward has been surgical so far, throwing for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. Four different players have rushed for over 100 yards for the ‘Canes and Ward has an embarrassment of riches to throw the ball too.

Xavier Restrepo (14-263-4), Jacolby George (11-162-2), Isaiah Horton (11-170-0), Elijah Arroyo (7-159-2) and Samuel Brown (12-98-0) are just too much as a collective group for most defenses to deal with. Look for Cam Ward and his stable of weapons to wear down the Bulls on their way to a cover.

The Pick

Miami FL -16.5 (-110)

Buffalo vs. Northern Illinois

(NIU -14, O/U 43.5, Caesars)

The NIU Huskies were riding high after upsetting Notre Dame 16-14 but were off last week and got extra time to prepare for a conference game against fellow MAC opponent, the Buffalo Bulls. They are led by QB Ethan Hampton, a player that we expect to have a strong season in MAC play. He has thrown for 526 yards/6 TDs so far and has shown some mobility as well.

The running game is spearheaded by the electric Antario Brown and Iowa transfer Gavin Williams. Brown had a fantastic game in the upset win over Notre Dame, rushing for 99 yards and catching 2 passes for 126 yards while also scoring. Williams has 100 yards across 2 games and appears set to share backfield duties with Brown for now. A now healthy Trayvon Rudolph (4-104-1) is a legitimate game breaker and combo TE Grayson Barnes (6-108-1) is tailor-made for this program.

The Buffalo offense is far less potent and were unable to get anything going in a 48-0 loss to Missouri a few weeks back. They rebounded with a 34-3 victory over UMass last week, but the offense wasn’t exactly dynamic by any means. QB CJ Ogbanna has struggled with accuracy issues during his time with Buffalo and they utilize a committee approach at RB which hasn’t produced much in terms of results.

Some folks may be worried about a “hangover” for NIU after their big win over Notre Dame, but since they’ve been off for a week I’m confident the coaching staff will have them ready. NIU is a top-three team in the MAC and are legitimate contenders to win the conference. I have to believe they can beat a middling intraconference foe by multiple scores.

The Pick

NIU -14 (-110)