Robert feringo
SATURDAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL SELECTIONS
1-Unit Play. Take #128 Indiana (+13) over Michigan (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
If at first you don't succeed! Indiana couldn't pull the upset against Iowa last week. But I will come back on them here. Michigan has two monster games coming up: at Penn State and then at home against Ohio State. They are also coming off a blowout win in a game where they had two weeks to prepare for. That makes this one a letdown/look ahead situation. Indiana can score some points. And they aren't the type of team that will be distracted by playing in their final home game. If anything, they will use that emotion as motivation. I can see them sliding in the back door in this one.
2-Unit Play. Take #129 Florida International (+12) over Marshall (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
Marshall is a team that I wanted to fade this year. They lost a ton of talent from last season and were overrated after all they accomplished last season. They started off hot again this season but have started to slow down, going 1-3 ATS in their last four games. Florida International has been very good on the road this season, starting from their opening week win over UCF as a double-digit underdog. This line jumped out at me that it wasn't over 14 - especially considering how good Marshall has been at home the past three years - and I will take the points in this one.
1-Unit Play. Take #131 Akron (-7) over Miami, OH (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #139 Tulane (+2.5) over Army (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #151 Kansas State (+6) over Texas Tech (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
Bill Snyder is a goddamn national treasure. The Wildcats have been the best moneymaker - that no one talks about - in college football over the past five years. And they are an automatic play as an underdog. Especially against a Texas Tech team that really has no business being a favorite over anyone. Tech doesn't play anyone. And they only beat bad teams. That has been their M.O. over the last three seasons. Part of this is a makeup for not jumping on K-State last week at home against Baylor. But the bigger reason for this play is that if a Snyder team is getting points we should automatically get our money down on them.
2-Unit Play. Take #153 Kentucky (+3.5) over Vanderbilt (4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
NOTE: This play is from the KING System.
2-Unit Play. Take #157 N.C. State (+10) over Florida State (12:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
N.C. State is a team I've been riding all season long. I think this team is more talented than they have played and thought they were one of the best three or best teams in this conference. They have played FSU tough and they really have a shot to spring the upset here. Florida State is in a letdown spot after their big game at Clemson last week. That game was really for the ACC title and they came up short. I don't know how much they will have in the emotional reserves for this one and I think that they are laying too many points. I had this spread around 7.0 and I think there is a lot of value on the Wolfpack, who have an offense that can do some damage here.
2-Unit Play. Take #159 Utah State (-1) over Air Force (2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #168 West Virginia (-8.5) over Texas (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
At some point WVU is going to come through for us. They just have to. Dana Holgerson is going to lose his job if he can't put together a little winning streak here to close out the season. Morgantown is still a wild and weird place, and teams that aren't prepared for it can get run off the field. Texas is still a young team and I don't think that they care about this game at all. Also, the noon start time is 10 a.m. Texas time, and that will mess with the body clock of the Longhorn players. I think WVU has a chance to jump on them early and put this one to bed by the third quarter. I'll back the motivated Mountaineers and their explosive offense.
2-Unit Play. Take #172 Mississippi State (+8) over Alabama (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
Here we have another letdown spot. Alabama is coming off that big game with LSU last week. They had a lot of time to prepare and focus on that game and now they have to go on the road as a healthy favorite the following week. That's trouble. I don't think that Mississippi State is very good. But they have a lot of upperclassmen and this is the biggest game of their season, as well as one of their last home games. The Bulldogs won't be rattled by the physical nature of the Crimson Tide. Alabama may be a little beat up after banging heads with LSU last week and I expect them to get off to a slow start. I think this will be a low-scoring game that Alabama will find a way to win. But this one reminds me of their game against Arkansas last season, in which neither team topped 20 points and the underdog came through. The points are the play.
2-Unit Play. Take #174 North Carolina (-12.5) over Miami (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
North Carolina is on a roll. We won with them over Duke last week and I'm still pissed off that I didn't go much bigger in that game; it went exactly as I thought it would. The Heels are lighting people up - especially at home - and have won on their home turf by an average of 30 points per game this season. Miami has won back-to-back games. But they were against weak teams (Duke and Virginia) and they very easily could've lost both of them. Miami has played well since firing Al Golden midseason. But I think that momentum is coming to an end. This is a young Canes team whose record doesn't reflect its talent, and I think that they are due to get buried in a game. North Carolina looks like it making a beeline toward the ACC Championship game and after a couple seasons of underachieving they are finally starting to reach their potential. This game will be close for a half and UNC will pull away in the second half to get ahead of this number.
8-Unit Play. Take #177 SMU (+21.5) over Navy (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
Note: This is my College Football Underdog of the Year.
I can guarantee you there isn't another handicapper on the planet that has a big play on this game. In fact, I'm willing to bet there aren't too many SMU tickets floating around out there, period. I'm not taking this one to be counterintuitive, though. I really like this spot and I think that this is too many points for the Middies to lay out. The fact that 79 percent of the public betting in this game is coming down on the Midshipmen and the fact that this one is so-crazy-it-has-to-work just makes it that much sweeter.
First off, Navy finds itself in a completely foreign situation right here. They are fighting for first place in the American Athletic in their first year ever in a conference. They've never been down a stretch run before and have never competed for a conference title. For all the talk about Temple, Houston and Memphis, Navy has been just as good. The Middies are in the Top 25 right now and they are off a monster upset over Memphis (in a game we cashed a ticket on the underdog Middies, by the way) last week. This is as good as it gets for Navy.
However, that tells me it is time to jump off the bandwagon. First, they are in a killer letdown spot. They win their biggest game of the season to date last week and now they are laying out three touchdowns to a lowly SMU team? That's Letdown City. Next, Navy is just 1-17 ATS at home off a win as an underdog. That's 1-17! They have failed to cover in that role 14 straight times. And if you go back and look at Navy's track record over the last eight years this play makes a lot more sense. They are just 3-11 ATS as a favorite of 16.5 or more since 2007. It just isn't a role they play often. And if you go back and look at their schedule it seems like every year it is the same thing: they play a huge game or win a huge game and then find themselves as a monster November favorite and don't cover. Navy's average win this year is by just 16 points. SMU's average loss is by just 15. Navy didn't cover against North Texas this year as a 25.5-point favorite and they only beat Tulane and South Florida by 17 and 12, respectively.
SMU has probably played the toughest schedule of any non-Power 5 team in the country. They have faced Baylor, TCU, East Carolina, Houston and Temple. Their average loss to those teams is just 26.2 points. And you have to ask: is Navy as good as those teams? As consistently good? SMU was only down seven points at the half against Baylor. They lost by just 19 against TCU. They were beating East Carolina at the half and lost by 21 at Houston. Their 20-point loss to Temple was completely misleading as well. So this team has shown an ability to at the very list stick around with teams.
If Navy wins and cover it won't be pretty (think: 45-17). But I feel like this is too many points for Navy to lay in a letdown spot. The Middies don't have the pure athleticism to just run SMU off the field; they aren't going to physically dominate them like LSU would to North Texas or something like that. So I think Navy does enough to win but SMU does enough to cover. I'll call this one as a 38-25 game for Navy and we tuck inside the spread.
2-Unit Play. Take #181 Arkansas (+8) over LSU (7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
You could basically take my writeup from the Mississippi State game and put it here for Arkansas. This is a big, physical team that is playing a beat-up LSU squad in a letdown situation after their disappointing game at Alabama last week. I don't think Arkansas has the goods to get the win but I don't see a blowout here. These points will be gold by the time the fourth quarter starts to wind down.
2-Unit Play. Take #184 Auburn (-1.5) over Georgia (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
Auburn has really started to turn things around and play well. And they are facing a Georgia team that is all over the map. The Bulldogs are still terrible at the quarterback position, the defense is not trustworthy at all, and the running game is not as strong as it was with Nick Chubb toting the rock. I think that the West is so much better than the East in the SEC this year and I would essentially take just about any team from the West blindly over a team from the East. I just think there are too many question marks for the Bulldogs right now and if you look at the way these two teams are trending then the Tigers are the play.
2-Unit Play. Take #192 Troy (+6.5) over Georgia Southern (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
1-Unit Play. Take #196 California (-21.5) over Oregon State (10:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #198 Idaho (+19.5) over Appalachian State (5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #203 Utah (-6) over Arizona (10 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
1-Unit Play. Take #208 South Carolina (+8) over Florida (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
NOTE: This play is from the KING System.
Florida's offense has come back to earth since they lost their quarterback. They were lucky to escape against Vanderbilt last week and that is a bad Commodores team. Florida had a nice little momentum rush there at the end of September and early October. But they are starting to come down, and I don't think they are consistent enough with the ball to warrant laying this many points. South Carolina has really been playing hard and playing well since Steve Spurrier quit. (Maybe he was part of the problem.) And I think that they are focused on ending this season strong. This one is a potential upset waiting to happen and I'll take the points.
2-Unit Play. Take #209 Oregon (+10) over Stanford (7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
NOTE: This play is from the KING System.
Oregon has been great in the underdog role over the past decade and this is a boatload of points. Everyone wrote this team off after they lost to Michigan State and Utah. But they have steadily improved and they still have a fantastic system that they are working. This is a lot of points for a rivalry game. I think that
2-Unit Play. Take #211 New Mexico (+30.5) over Boise State (10 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
New Mexico is a vastly improved squad and - don't look now - they are fighting for bowl eligibility. Could they possibly pull an upset here against Boise State? Hell no! But that doesn't mean that this isn't too many points. The public loves Boise State; it is almost just muscle memory. But the Lobos are a well-coached, experienced team that has closed the talent gap from a couple seasons ago. Boise has bigger fish to fry further down the schedule. I think they will get up big and then let off the gas. And unlike past years New Mexico actually has the talent to play with them and make a few plays in the second half to keep this one respectable.
2-Unit Play. Take #213 Minnesota (+12) over Iowa (8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
The Golden Gophers are easily one of the best teams in the country with a 1-4 record in conference play. This is a tough, physical team that plays the exact same style that the Hawkeyes do. Iowa has been riding the wave this year. But there is no way in hell they are one of the 10 best teams in the country and I think that they are going to start tightening up late in the season. Honestly, this is a game that I think Minnesota has a better chance of winning than getting blown out in. The Gophers will be patient, play the field position game, and look for opportunities to turn Iowa over. If this game is close in the second half then all the pressure shifts to the home team. Iowa may be able to pull a rabbit out and get another last-second win. But I don't expect them to come out and roll a very disciplined, experienced Minnesota team that is much better than its record suggests. Minnesota has actually played people this year. Iowa has not. I think it comes back to haunt the Hawkeyes here.
This Week's College Totals (I do not do write-ups on totals since they are based on proprietary
3-Unit Play. Take 'Over' 57.5 Clemson at Syracuse (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take 'Over' 54.0 N.C. State at Florida State (12:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
SATURDAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL SELECTIONS
1-Unit Play. Take #128 Indiana (+13) over Michigan (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
If at first you don't succeed! Indiana couldn't pull the upset against Iowa last week. But I will come back on them here. Michigan has two monster games coming up: at Penn State and then at home against Ohio State. They are also coming off a blowout win in a game where they had two weeks to prepare for. That makes this one a letdown/look ahead situation. Indiana can score some points. And they aren't the type of team that will be distracted by playing in their final home game. If anything, they will use that emotion as motivation. I can see them sliding in the back door in this one.
2-Unit Play. Take #129 Florida International (+12) over Marshall (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
Marshall is a team that I wanted to fade this year. They lost a ton of talent from last season and were overrated after all they accomplished last season. They started off hot again this season but have started to slow down, going 1-3 ATS in their last four games. Florida International has been very good on the road this season, starting from their opening week win over UCF as a double-digit underdog. This line jumped out at me that it wasn't over 14 - especially considering how good Marshall has been at home the past three years - and I will take the points in this one.
1-Unit Play. Take #131 Akron (-7) over Miami, OH (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #139 Tulane (+2.5) over Army (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #151 Kansas State (+6) over Texas Tech (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
Bill Snyder is a goddamn national treasure. The Wildcats have been the best moneymaker - that no one talks about - in college football over the past five years. And they are an automatic play as an underdog. Especially against a Texas Tech team that really has no business being a favorite over anyone. Tech doesn't play anyone. And they only beat bad teams. That has been their M.O. over the last three seasons. Part of this is a makeup for not jumping on K-State last week at home against Baylor. But the bigger reason for this play is that if a Snyder team is getting points we should automatically get our money down on them.
2-Unit Play. Take #153 Kentucky (+3.5) over Vanderbilt (4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
NOTE: This play is from the KING System.
2-Unit Play. Take #157 N.C. State (+10) over Florida State (12:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
N.C. State is a team I've been riding all season long. I think this team is more talented than they have played and thought they were one of the best three or best teams in this conference. They have played FSU tough and they really have a shot to spring the upset here. Florida State is in a letdown spot after their big game at Clemson last week. That game was really for the ACC title and they came up short. I don't know how much they will have in the emotional reserves for this one and I think that they are laying too many points. I had this spread around 7.0 and I think there is a lot of value on the Wolfpack, who have an offense that can do some damage here.
2-Unit Play. Take #159 Utah State (-1) over Air Force (2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #168 West Virginia (-8.5) over Texas (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
At some point WVU is going to come through for us. They just have to. Dana Holgerson is going to lose his job if he can't put together a little winning streak here to close out the season. Morgantown is still a wild and weird place, and teams that aren't prepared for it can get run off the field. Texas is still a young team and I don't think that they care about this game at all. Also, the noon start time is 10 a.m. Texas time, and that will mess with the body clock of the Longhorn players. I think WVU has a chance to jump on them early and put this one to bed by the third quarter. I'll back the motivated Mountaineers and their explosive offense.
2-Unit Play. Take #172 Mississippi State (+8) over Alabama (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
Here we have another letdown spot. Alabama is coming off that big game with LSU last week. They had a lot of time to prepare and focus on that game and now they have to go on the road as a healthy favorite the following week. That's trouble. I don't think that Mississippi State is very good. But they have a lot of upperclassmen and this is the biggest game of their season, as well as one of their last home games. The Bulldogs won't be rattled by the physical nature of the Crimson Tide. Alabama may be a little beat up after banging heads with LSU last week and I expect them to get off to a slow start. I think this will be a low-scoring game that Alabama will find a way to win. But this one reminds me of their game against Arkansas last season, in which neither team topped 20 points and the underdog came through. The points are the play.
2-Unit Play. Take #174 North Carolina (-12.5) over Miami (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
North Carolina is on a roll. We won with them over Duke last week and I'm still pissed off that I didn't go much bigger in that game; it went exactly as I thought it would. The Heels are lighting people up - especially at home - and have won on their home turf by an average of 30 points per game this season. Miami has won back-to-back games. But they were against weak teams (Duke and Virginia) and they very easily could've lost both of them. Miami has played well since firing Al Golden midseason. But I think that momentum is coming to an end. This is a young Canes team whose record doesn't reflect its talent, and I think that they are due to get buried in a game. North Carolina looks like it making a beeline toward the ACC Championship game and after a couple seasons of underachieving they are finally starting to reach their potential. This game will be close for a half and UNC will pull away in the second half to get ahead of this number.
8-Unit Play. Take #177 SMU (+21.5) over Navy (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
Note: This is my College Football Underdog of the Year.
I can guarantee you there isn't another handicapper on the planet that has a big play on this game. In fact, I'm willing to bet there aren't too many SMU tickets floating around out there, period. I'm not taking this one to be counterintuitive, though. I really like this spot and I think that this is too many points for the Middies to lay out. The fact that 79 percent of the public betting in this game is coming down on the Midshipmen and the fact that this one is so-crazy-it-has-to-work just makes it that much sweeter.
First off, Navy finds itself in a completely foreign situation right here. They are fighting for first place in the American Athletic in their first year ever in a conference. They've never been down a stretch run before and have never competed for a conference title. For all the talk about Temple, Houston and Memphis, Navy has been just as good. The Middies are in the Top 25 right now and they are off a monster upset over Memphis (in a game we cashed a ticket on the underdog Middies, by the way) last week. This is as good as it gets for Navy.
However, that tells me it is time to jump off the bandwagon. First, they are in a killer letdown spot. They win their biggest game of the season to date last week and now they are laying out three touchdowns to a lowly SMU team? That's Letdown City. Next, Navy is just 1-17 ATS at home off a win as an underdog. That's 1-17! They have failed to cover in that role 14 straight times. And if you go back and look at Navy's track record over the last eight years this play makes a lot more sense. They are just 3-11 ATS as a favorite of 16.5 or more since 2007. It just isn't a role they play often. And if you go back and look at their schedule it seems like every year it is the same thing: they play a huge game or win a huge game and then find themselves as a monster November favorite and don't cover. Navy's average win this year is by just 16 points. SMU's average loss is by just 15. Navy didn't cover against North Texas this year as a 25.5-point favorite and they only beat Tulane and South Florida by 17 and 12, respectively.
SMU has probably played the toughest schedule of any non-Power 5 team in the country. They have faced Baylor, TCU, East Carolina, Houston and Temple. Their average loss to those teams is just 26.2 points. And you have to ask: is Navy as good as those teams? As consistently good? SMU was only down seven points at the half against Baylor. They lost by just 19 against TCU. They were beating East Carolina at the half and lost by 21 at Houston. Their 20-point loss to Temple was completely misleading as well. So this team has shown an ability to at the very list stick around with teams.
If Navy wins and cover it won't be pretty (think: 45-17). But I feel like this is too many points for Navy to lay in a letdown spot. The Middies don't have the pure athleticism to just run SMU off the field; they aren't going to physically dominate them like LSU would to North Texas or something like that. So I think Navy does enough to win but SMU does enough to cover. I'll call this one as a 38-25 game for Navy and we tuck inside the spread.
2-Unit Play. Take #181 Arkansas (+8) over LSU (7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
You could basically take my writeup from the Mississippi State game and put it here for Arkansas. This is a big, physical team that is playing a beat-up LSU squad in a letdown situation after their disappointing game at Alabama last week. I don't think Arkansas has the goods to get the win but I don't see a blowout here. These points will be gold by the time the fourth quarter starts to wind down.
2-Unit Play. Take #184 Auburn (-1.5) over Georgia (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
Auburn has really started to turn things around and play well. And they are facing a Georgia team that is all over the map. The Bulldogs are still terrible at the quarterback position, the defense is not trustworthy at all, and the running game is not as strong as it was with Nick Chubb toting the rock. I think that the West is so much better than the East in the SEC this year and I would essentially take just about any team from the West blindly over a team from the East. I just think there are too many question marks for the Bulldogs right now and if you look at the way these two teams are trending then the Tigers are the play.
2-Unit Play. Take #192 Troy (+6.5) over Georgia Southern (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
1-Unit Play. Take #196 California (-21.5) over Oregon State (10:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #198 Idaho (+19.5) over Appalachian State (5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take #203 Utah (-6) over Arizona (10 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
1-Unit Play. Take #208 South Carolina (+8) over Florida (Noon, Saturday, Nov. 14)
NOTE: This play is from the KING System.
Florida's offense has come back to earth since they lost their quarterback. They were lucky to escape against Vanderbilt last week and that is a bad Commodores team. Florida had a nice little momentum rush there at the end of September and early October. But they are starting to come down, and I don't think they are consistent enough with the ball to warrant laying this many points. South Carolina has really been playing hard and playing well since Steve Spurrier quit. (Maybe he was part of the problem.) And I think that they are focused on ending this season strong. This one is a potential upset waiting to happen and I'll take the points.
2-Unit Play. Take #209 Oregon (+10) over Stanford (7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
NOTE: This play is from the KING System.
Oregon has been great in the underdog role over the past decade and this is a boatload of points. Everyone wrote this team off after they lost to Michigan State and Utah. But they have steadily improved and they still have a fantastic system that they are working. This is a lot of points for a rivalry game. I think that
2-Unit Play. Take #211 New Mexico (+30.5) over Boise State (10 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
New Mexico is a vastly improved squad and - don't look now - they are fighting for bowl eligibility. Could they possibly pull an upset here against Boise State? Hell no! But that doesn't mean that this isn't too many points. The public loves Boise State; it is almost just muscle memory. But the Lobos are a well-coached, experienced team that has closed the talent gap from a couple seasons ago. Boise has bigger fish to fry further down the schedule. I think they will get up big and then let off the gas. And unlike past years New Mexico actually has the talent to play with them and make a few plays in the second half to keep this one respectable.
2-Unit Play. Take #213 Minnesota (+12) over Iowa (8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
The Golden Gophers are easily one of the best teams in the country with a 1-4 record in conference play. This is a tough, physical team that plays the exact same style that the Hawkeyes do. Iowa has been riding the wave this year. But there is no way in hell they are one of the 10 best teams in the country and I think that they are going to start tightening up late in the season. Honestly, this is a game that I think Minnesota has a better chance of winning than getting blown out in. The Gophers will be patient, play the field position game, and look for opportunities to turn Iowa over. If this game is close in the second half then all the pressure shifts to the home team. Iowa may be able to pull a rabbit out and get another last-second win. But I don't expect them to come out and roll a very disciplined, experienced Minnesota team that is much better than its record suggests. Minnesota has actually played people this year. Iowa has not. I think it comes back to haunt the Hawkeyes here.
This Week's College Totals (I do not do write-ups on totals since they are based on proprietary
3-Unit Play. Take 'Over' 57.5 Clemson at Syracuse (3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)
2-Unit Play. Take 'Over' 54.0 N.C. State at Florida State (12:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14)

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