For those that don’t know me, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Walter Waddell and I will be covering college football, college basketball and various other niche sports going forward. I have been covering college sports since the early 2010’s and have been one of the most active DFS CBB streamers/podcasters over the last decade. I’m extremely excited to be part of the FTN team and bring a wealth of experience with me from years of grinding niche sports. In this weekly piece, I will be highlighting some of my favorite college football games to bet, which site has the softest line, and my reasoning for picking said game.
Let’s take a look below at my favorite spots to attack for week 6.
Oklahoma Sooners vs Texas Longhorns odds and picks this week
(Oklahoma -3.5, 63.5 O/U, DraftKings Sportsbook)
This will be the 117th edition of the infamous Red River Showdown, the annual battle between the Sooners and the Longhorns. Texas leads the series 62-49-5 but Oklahoma has dominated the series lately, having won three of the last four showdowns.You can rest assured this will be a high-scoring, down-to-the-wire type of game.
I’m personally favoring the Longhorns in this one and like them to cover the spread for two reasons. First and foremost is Bijan Robinson. He’s a cyborg of a tailback and is looking like an early Heisman candidate. Robinson has already put up more than 800 yards from scrimmage and 9 total touchdowns through just 5 games. Secondly, the Sooners have struggled to put away their opponents. Their 76-0 blowout win over lowly Western Carolina is their only authoritative win. The Sooners’ average margin of victory in their other games is just under 5.5 points. Oklahoma simply can’t keep letting their opponents hang around like this or they will eventually get burned. The Longhorns offense is simply too dynamic to bet against in a potential shootout.
Betting Trends
Texas has covered the spread in 5 of the last 7 meetings in this showdown.
Oklahoma has covered the spread just once in 5 games this season.
Best Bet: Texas +3.5
UTSA Roadrunners vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers odds and picks this week
(WKU -3.5, 69 O/U, DraftKings Sportsbook)
Western Kentucky’s offense is fun for DFS because they rack up points at a frenetic pace while their defense gets throttled by opposing teams.That means they’re typically engaged in shootouts, which is exciting for everyone from fans of the game to bettors and fantasy players.
If only the Hilltopper defense was as explosive as the offense. WKU is giving up over 216 yards on the ground per game, and around 460 total yards of offense overall. This means stud San Antonio running back Sincere McCormick should put on a show against the Hilltoppers’ defensive front. He spearheads a Roadrunners rushing attack that is averaging over 160 rushing yards per game so far this season.
While WKU is averaging over 500 yards of total offense per game, the Roadrunners are holding their opponents to an average of just 298.2 yards, good for 25th in the nation. UTSA also has the 6th-best rush defense in the country and are giving up just 71.2 yards per game on the ground. WKU’s ground game has been miserable, averaging just 78.0 yards per contest. The matchups favor UTSA here.
Betting Trends
UTSA is 4-1 against the spread this season, which includes winning both of their games played as underdogs.
This is the first time all season WKU has been a moneyline favorite.
Best Bet: UTSA +3.5
Memphis Tigers vs Tulsa Golden Hurricane odds and picks this week
(Tulsa -3.5, 61 O/U, Draftkings Sportsbook)
Memphis is coming off a bad loss against Temple, but they have some legit weapons on offense that should give them a good chance of bouncing back strong on Saturday. Tulsa is a team that is struggling. They were somehow the favorites against Houston last Friday and got blown out by 35 points. I was all over Houston as underdogs for that game and will be all over Memphis as well.
Memphis is averaging 37.4 points per game, which is the 21st-best in the nation. Meanwhile the Tulsa defense is giving up 33.4 points per game, a number that puts their defensive ranking at 111th. The Tigers have a plethora of talent in their backfield with Brandon Thomas, Rodrigues Clark and Kylan Watkins. Tulsa will not have an easy time slowing them down.
I’m riding with 3 underdogs this week. The lines just look far too advantageous to me.
Betting Trends
Tulsa has twice been favored by 3.5 points or more this season. They haven’t covered in either instance, and I feel they’ll fail a third time this Saturday.
Memphis has covered the spread when listed as a 3.5 point or more underdog in their only opportunity this season.
Best Bet: Memphis +3.5