College Football Best Bets of the Week: Week 8

After a solid run of 6-2 for our last eight college football bets, we unfortunately ran into a brick wall for Week 7 and missed both of our featured picks. That happens and until I have my own copy of the Gray’s Sport Almanac, variance is going to backhand us in the face once in a while. I am very confident in our process, and we are going to win more than lose long term. With that said, let’s turn the page to Week 8 and highlight two bets fully capable of taking us to the window.

Iowa vs. Michigan State

(Iowa -5.5, O/U 40.5, FanDuel Sportsbook)

A lot of people backed the Washington Huskies last week, which is my favorite team, but even I couldn’t trust them against a tough Hawkeyes defense. The result was a dismantling of the Dawgs. and the team actually put up 40 points thanks to another ridiculous performance from brand-favorite RB Kaleb Johnson.

This week they’re road favorites against the Michigan State Spartans. To me, this is a great spot to back Iowa, and it’s very likely they’re going to force mobile QB Aidan Chiles into a plethora of mistakes. Defensively, they’re allowing only 17.7 PPG and under 100 rushing YPG to their opponents.

The Spartans defense has struggled, surrendering over 100 YPG on the ground and almost 30 PPG. This is a matchup that Kaleb Johnson will thrive in yet again and we can expect another 25+ touches for Iowa’s star back. 

In the end, Iowa will do what Iowa does best. Run the football and limit big plays on defense, which will equate to another victory for the Hawkeyes. They will win by 7+ this week.

The Pick

Iowa -5.5

UCLA vs. Rutgers

(Rutgers -4.5, O/U 41, DraftKings Sportsbook)

We are all over the Big 10 this week, but the spots are way too favorable to ignore. Rutgers gets the benefit of a home matchup with the lowly UCLA Bruins. Traveling across the country is tough and this is something we have been able to take advantage of several times this season since conference realignment hit. As usual, I’m much more worried about West Coast teams traveling east than I am East Coast teams traveling west. 

In addition to the tough traveling schedule, the Bruins just aren’t a very good football team. The offense is generating just 14.5 PPG while giving up nearly 30 PPG to their opponents. Lead back Kyle Monangai will be the focal point of the offense for Rutgers and his physical running style will inevitably be a problem for the Bruins.

At this point, the Bruins listless performances are stacking up and it would be truly shocking if they were able to keep this road matchup competitive whatsoever. This pick aligns with FTN Model as well, which gives us a 6.90% edge on Rutgers to cover the spread.

The Pick

Rutgers -4.5