College Football Best Bets of the Week: Week 15

It’s conference championship week, and the expanded College Football Playoffs are right around the corner. We have games all day Friday and Saturday with multiple betting opportunities at our disposal. Let’s get right into it.

Ohio vs. Miami OH

(Miami OH -2.5, O/U 44.5, DraftKings Sportsbook)

The Bobcats will be taking on the RedHawks in the MAC championship in what is sure to be an entertaining matchup. In their first meeting, the RedHawks won 30-20 at home. Ohio’s star quarterback Parker Navarro was ineffective in that game and was ultimately benched. However, that was almost two months ago at this point, and the Bobcats are on a five-game winning streak since that loss.

A big reason for Ohio’s success is the fact that Navarro has been completely unstoppable during this stretch, and the average margin of victory has been 27.6 points. The talented dual threat has rushed for 868 yards and 13 TDs while also passing for nearly 2,000 yards/10 TDs.

His top wideout is Coleman Owen (62-1,032-7), and the offense is even more dynamic now that he is fully healthy. Anthony Tyus (960 yards) and Rickey Hunt (365 yards) are a formidable duo in the backfield.

Additionally, the Bobcats are one of the top rushing defenses in the country, allowing fewer than 100 YPG on the season. They’ve surrendered the second-fewest rushing touchdowns in the MAC and opposing RBs have generated only 3.13 yards per carry.

The RedHawks are led by RB Keyon Mozee (1,045 yards) and a trio of pass-catchers in Reggie Virgil (39-787-9), Javon Tracy (50-760-7) and Cade McDonald (47-589-3). Brett Gabbert has thrown for over 2,600 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season, but he has struggled with his efficiency at times. His completion rate is a meager 57.8% and he has been picked off 10 times, 3 of which have happened in their past two games.

An opportunistic defense will take advantage of any mistakes and Parker Navarro is going to have a signature performance that ultimately ends with the Bobcats as MAC champs.

The Pick

Ohio ML (+114)

Penn State vs. Oregon

(Oregon -3.5, O/U 49.5, DraftKings Sportsbook)

The Ducks are the last unbeaten team left in all of college football, but they’ll face their toughest test yet in the Big 10 championship against the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Ducks are a well-oiled machine led by quarterback Dillon Gabriel (3,275 passing yards). The skill position players are outstanding with Jordan James (1,1166 rushing yards) leading the way on the ground and a receiver room that includes four different pass-catchers above 450 yards.

The Nittany Lions defense has been stout, but they’ll have to find another gear in this matchup. They’ve given up less than 15 PPG to their opponents and less than 280 yards of total offense to their opponents.

Penn State has the best tight end in the country, and he is a matchup problem for just about every defense on the planet. Tyler Warren has caught 81 passes for 978 yards while also rushing for 189 and scoring 10 total touchdowns (4 rushing/6 receiving). They also feature the tandem of Nicholas Singleton (733 yards/11 TDs) and Kaytron Allen (698 yards/7 TDs).

Drew Allar (2,668 passing yards/18 TDs) will have to play the game of his life, but if the Penn State defense can hold Oregon’s potent offense to field goals instead of touchdowns it’ll take a tremendous amount of pressure off their signal caller. In the end, Penn State does just enough to bring home a conference championship in 2024.

The Pick

Penn State +3.5