College Football Props of the Week: Week 4
Walter Waddell
For the majority of college football, it’s the start of conference play, with several nonconference matchups still sprinkled in. All of the focus will go on the power five and their large matchups on Saturday. I want to focus on the group of five and some of the under the radar contests we’ll see.
All odds from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Boise State @ San Diego State
10:30 p.m. ET Friday
Boise State -7, O/U 45
Before the season, this was supposed to be one of the best matchups in the Mountain West, but now it’s two teams that are trying to clean up poor nonconference efforts. The Broncos are 1-2 with those losses coming to both of their FBS opponents. It’s been issues on both sides of the ball with the offense regressing under new OC Bush Hamdan and a defense that has given up over 500 yards to Washington and Central Florida. The Aztecs are 2-2 and fresh off losses to UCLA and Oregon State. San Diego State’s two wins were not the most impressive either, beating Ohio by 7 and Idaho State by 8. Last year Boise was a six-point favorite at home in a game they won 35-13, and now they are seven-point favorites as a worse team on the road? I don’t trust either squad, but making the road team a touchdown favorite here seems a little excessive.
Tulsa @ Northern Illinois
Noon ET Saturday
Northern Illinois -3.5, O/U 53.5
NIU’s offense has been brutal so far this season, managing just 11 points apiece in their losses to Southern Illinois and Nebraska the last two weeks. Crazy to see the dropoff after they went into Chestnut Hill and put up 27 on BC in a victory. This is the team’s last opportunity to clean some things up before MAC play and a huge opener against Toledo. Tulsa’s defense is pretty bad, although a lot of teams would struggle against Washington and Oklahoma in back-to-back weeks. The offense was supposed to show promise as well with Kevin Wilson as the head coach, but injuries have forced them to play three different quarterbacks. As someone who played the NIU win total over, I’m really hoping they figure things out here and get the win.
Rice @ South Florida
4 p.m. ET Saturday
Rice -2.5, O/U 58.5
This certainly wasn’t on the radar in the preseason with the Owls joining the AAC for the first time, but I see a little intrigue in this one. Rice is 2-1 and has a win over Houston under its belt. The well-traveled JT Daniels has done some amazing things for this offense and the defense may not be putting up the best numbers, but it’s making key stops when it has to. Meanwhile, USF has to put last week’s 17-3 home loss to Alabama behind them. The Bulls have a nice energy surrounding the program with Alex Golesh as their head coach. The Owls have been a road favorite just three times in Mike Bloomgren’s six years at the school, but my question is if USF can get past the close loss to the Tide at home last week. If they can, they are live as an underdog, but if not, Rice will move to 3-1.
Eastern Michigan @ Jacksonville State
5 p.m. ET Saturday
Jacksonville State -6, O/U 52.5
Eastern Michigan is 2-1 on the year and coming off a 2-point win over UMass in relatively unimpressive fashion. The Eagles held their own in a 25-6 loss at Minnesota the week before and continue to be the team you want to back as an underdog, but not a favorite. The last two years EMU is 5-1 ATS as a road underdog. The Gamecocks are 2-1 and fresh off a bye week so they should be focused and ready for this one. JSU has taken teams by storm with their electric ground game and a defense that has played better than people thought before the season. Of course, we should have expected good things from a team coached by Rich Rodriguez. The bye week is so huge here as it gives an FCS level team a week off from an FBS battle.
G5 Teams to Watch in Matchups with the Power 5
Army @ Syracuse (-13.5)
Army looked very good last week against UTSA, and they are slowly picking up the new offense. Yes, they are almost two-touchdown underdogs and Syracuse has looked really good, but the Orange host Clemson next week and are coming off a tough Big 10 road win. Not saying Army is going to win, but this could be closer than people think in the noon window.
Virginia Tech @ Marshall (-5)
This line probably shocked people who aren’t in the know when it came out. Marshall is coming off a bye week, and their defense should hold up really well in this game. Watch the injury reports as the week goes along because Tech without Ali Jennings and Jaylin Lane is just not as good even with Baylor transfer Kyron Drones under center. By Vegas standards a win by the home team wouldn’t be an upset, but any win over the ACC is a good one.
SMU @ TCU (-6.5)
It’s the 102nd Battle for the Iron Skillet, and the Mustangs are 2-1 and feeling good about their offense. SMU’s defense held Oklahoma to 28 points in Week 2 and that’s definitely an accomplishment. This team has won two of their last three meetings with the Horned Frogs with last year’s loss being by eight points at home. TCU has bounced back from an opening week loss to Colorado, but victories over Nicholls State and Houston aren’t exactly earth shattering. Both teams are in the top 25 in pass attempts, so there could be a lot of fireworks.
