WNBA Best Bets (Wednesday 9/25)
Josh Gross
Unfortunately we bricked our featured college football props last week, as Abu Sama got way less work than expected in what became a massive blowout win and Kyle Monangai ended up sharing carries with his backup.
This is bounceback week, and we have two props on tap that are very favorable. Let’s get into it.
Will Pauling (Wisconsin) Over 57.5 Receiving Yards
(-114, FanDuel Sportsbook)
The Badgers offense hasn’t been particularly good this season, and starting QB Tyler Van Dyke suffered a torn ACL in the first quarter of their loss to Alabama. Braedyn Locke took over, and while Wisconsin still only managed 10 points, it was clear their new signal caller is going to rely on Will Pauling heavily. He was targeted 11 times and reeled in 9 of those passes for 83 yards/1 TD.
The matchup with USC is actually quite favorable, as the much-hyped Trojans secondary hasn’t been anything special. Pauling has been targeted 29 times so far which has resulted in a stat line of 19-191-1. He has at least 60 receiving yards in two of his first three games.
Dante Dowdell (Nebraska) 80+ Rushing Yards
(+100, FanDuel Sportsbook)
Nebraska is off to a 3-1 start off the back of their improved defense and consistent play of true freshman QB Dylan Raiola. The running game has also been making things happen and it may appear to be a bit crowded but when you dig deeper you will see that Dowdell is separating himself from the group.
He toted the rock 20 times in their close loss to Illinois last week and played over 50% of the snaps at the RB position. We can reasonably expect 15-18 carries this week against a very soft Purdue defense. The Boilermakers are giving up an unbelievable 269 YPG on the ground to their opponents.
Oregon State’s Jam Griffin (137 yards) and Anthony Hankerson (89 yards) had no trouble against them last week. Prior to that, they suffered an embarrassing loss to Notre Dame in which lead back Jeremiyah Love (109 yards) and mobile QB Riley Leonard (100 yards) hit the century mark. If that wasn’t enough to convince you, backup RB Jadarian Price eclipsed 80 rushing yards on just 8 carries.
Dowdell is primed for his first 100-yard rushing game of the season, and he may have it before the third quarter thanks to his increased workload.
