Articles by Cappers Picks related to online NCAA Football betting, and handicapping live CFB matchups.
With the recent news of Gators QB John Brantley’s injury – he will be out for at least the LSU game, and maybe longer – some of the shine has been rubbed off this apple of the SEC regular season schedule. But, it is still a huge game that the entire conference and country will be tuned in for.
The University of Colorado Buffaloes (1-3, 0-1) are going to need a lot of luck if they want to knock of the #7 Stanford Cardinal (4-0, 2-0) in Palo Alto on Saturday. Unfortunately, they’re going to be seeing a lot of luck, Andrew Luck that is.
Ouch, Florida State. Wasn’t this the fifth-ranked team in the nation entering the start of 2011? Instead, the disappointing Seminoles find themselves 2-2 entering a Week-6 battle with Wake Forest. Hard to believe the Demon Deacons have a superior record.
Will the Cal Bears (3-1, 0-1) be ready for the high speed offensive moves of the #9 Oregon Ducks (3-1, 1-0) when the two PAC 12 foes meet up tonight?
The venerated Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program seems to be finding its footing, at just the right time with Southern Cal on the schedule next week. But the Irish must deal with Air Force first, which means the Irish must thwart a whole bunch of running game.
The Iowa State Cyclones have been flying below the radar in the Big 12 this season. Sure they got hammered against Texas last week but a home win over rival Iowa and road win at UConn are pretty good for a squad nobody thought much of coming into the season.
I was surprised to open the paper Monday and see the Michigan Wolverines sitting at #12 in the most recent rankings. Sure they did a number on Minnesota but that was just Minnesota right…although there was San Diego State and Eastern Michigan before that.
Memorial Stadium in Lincoln will be rocking this Saturday night as the Cornhuskers host their first Big Ten Conference game. Last year this looked like it would be a matchup of two top ten teams, but Ohio State’s miserable offseason and poor play this year has diminished the expectations for this game to some degree.
Nebraska was smashed by Wisconsin last week, while Ohio State was terrible in a loss to Michigan State. Which team gets back on track this week?
Memorial Stadium
Saturday October 8, 8:00 PM EST
NCAA Football Odds from BetOnline
Moneyline: Nebraska (-425) Ohio State (+350)
College Football Spread: Nebraska -11 (-110) Ohio State +11 (-110)
Over/Under: 43.5
Ohio State was thoroughly dominated by Michigan State last weekend, despite the fact that the scoreboard read 10-7 at the end of the game. Ohio State scored with just a few seconds left in the game, and Michigan State blew several chances at busting the game wide open. Ohio State picked up just 178 total yards of offense, and 62 of those yards came on the final drive when Michigan State was playing a soft prevent defense. Ohio State has had two horribly ugly losses already this year, and the fans in Columbus are quickly losing patience with Luke Fickell.
Braxton Miller will start again in this one. Miller is a talented freshman quarterback, but he needs to work on his passing quite a bit. He is a dual-threat quarterback, but right now he relies too heavily on his legs. Boom Herron and DeVier Posey are out for this game after another one-game suspension, and that is a big blow to the offense. This team must start getting Jake Stoneburner involved in the offense. Defensively, Ohio State hasn’t been terrific, but they are pretty good. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
This is a unit that is allowing just 14.6 points per game so far this year.
Nebraska jumped out to a 14-7 lead last week against Wisconsin, but the Badgers proceeded to score 34 straight points and blow out the Huskers in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Taylor Martinez threw for 176 yards, but he also threw three critical interceptions. Nebraska has one of the best running games in the nation with Martinez and Rex Burkhead. Expect them to try to run it down Ohio State’s throat in this one. If Martinez can become a more consistent passer, it would certainly help this team stay balanced and keep the defense honest.
The Nebraska defense has been a major disappointment so far this year. This was a unit that was supposed to be one of the best in the nation, but they have struggled mightily. Nebraska ranks in the lower half in every single defensive category. The defensive front should be great, but they have allowed a lot of teams to run the ball well. As a whole, this defense is allowing 27.2 points per game.
Nebraska’s defense may have struggled to this point, but Ohio State’s offense is terrible and it should help make the Huskers defense look good. The Buckeyes defense isn’t bad, and they should make the Huskers work hard on offense.
Free College Football Pick: Under 43.5
Score Prediction: Nebraska 27 Ohio State 10
CHECK OUT OUR College football betting forums today! Join us today and make College football picks against the spread for all Division 1 NCAA Football matchups!
Iowa has owned Penn State over the last few years. The Hawkeyes have won eight of the last nine meetings with the Nittany Lions. Glenn Carson, a linebacker at Penn State, managed to give Iowa a little bit of extra fuel for this one with his comments earlier this week.
Carson said, “Iowa is a wrestling school and Penn State is a football school, so we’ve got to take it to them.” Both of these teams are down quite a bit from where they were a couple years ago, but we should still expect a hard fought battle in Happy Valley on Saturday.
Beaver Stadium
Saturday October 8, 3:30 PM EST
NCAA Football Odds from Bookmaker
Moneyline: Penn State (-165) Iowa (+145)
College Football Spread: Iowa +3.5 (-110) Penn State -3.5 (-110)
Over/Under: 46.5
The Hawkeyes dropped a triple overtime game at Iowa State earlier this year, but they did bounce back with wins over Pittsburgh and Louisiana-Monroe. James Vandenburg has been terrific for the Hawkeyes at quarterback this year. Vandenburg has thrown 10 touchdowns and just one interception, while completing 62.8% of his passes. Marvin McNutt is his favorite target on the outside, and he already has four touchdown receptions this season. The Iowa running game hasn’t gotten going very well. Marcus Coker is a solid runner, but Iowa is 69th out of 120 teams in rushing yards per game. The offensive line needs to do a better job opening up holes.
Iowa’s defense lost a ton of talent at the end of last season. This year’s unit doesn’t have near as many stars. The secondary should be one of the best in the league with Prater and Hyde at the corners, but Iowa has allowed 253 yards per game through the air. The defensive front has done a good job stopping the run, but they need to do better pressuring the quarterback.
Joe Paterno still can’t decide on a quarterback. Matt McGloin and Robert Bolden continue to share time under center. McGloin’s numbers are a little bit better, but neither quarterback has been particularly impressive. Derek Moye is one of the Big Ten’s best receivers, and the team needs to get him the football as often as possible. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Moye has 26 receptions and three touchdowns so far this year. Silas Redd has been the primary runner for Penn State this year. Redd is averaging a respectable 4.7 yards per carry. Stephfon Green, a talented runner, is expected to make his season debut this Saturday. The Nittany Lions offensive line has struggled quite a bit this year.
Penn State’s defense has been excellent so far this season. The Nittany Lions rank fifth in the nation in total defense and seventh in the nation in pass defense. Penn State does have a couple key injuries that are likely to hurt them quite a bit on this side of the ball this week. D’Anton Lynn, one of their best corners, will miss this game with a neck injury. Michael Mauti, the heart and soul of the defense, tore ligaments in his knee two weeks ago and he will miss the rest of the season.
Penn State’s offense just hasn’t gotten going this year. Iowa’s defense will stack the box and force the Nittany Lions to throw. Penn State has a very solid defense, and despite the injuries I expect them to play well here.
Free College Football Pick: Under 46.5
Score Prediction: Penn State 20 Iowa 17
CHECK OUT OUR College football betting forums today! Join us today and make College football picks against the spread for all Division 1 NCAA Football matchups!
Ron Zook seems to be on the hot seat every year, but his Fighting Illini are off to a very impressive start in 2011. Illinois is unbeaten, and they certainly have been one of the bigger surprises in college football so far this year.
Indiana has a new coach in Kevin Wilson, but it has been the same problems so far this year for the Hoosiers football team. Can Indiana get off the mat at home against Illinois?
Memorial Stadium
Saturday October 8, 2:30 PM EST
NCAA Football Odds from JustBet
Moneyline: Off
College Football Spread: Illinois -14.5 (-110) Indiana +14.5 (-110)
Over/Under: 53
Nathan Scheelhaase is one of the more underrated starting quarterbacks in college football right now. Scheelhaase is just a sophomore, but he has really raised his level of play this season. He is completing 69% of his passes compared to just 59% last year. Each game Scheelhaase is becoming more comfortable throwing the football, which makes him even more dangerous because of his dual-threat skills. Troy Pollard has emerged as a major threat in the backfield for Illinois. He is averaging 9.6 yards per carry in limited action this year. A.J. Jenkins is a star at the wide receiver spot, but Illinois lacks depth on the outside.
The Fighting Illini defense has been the real standout so far this year. After losing Martez Wilson and Cory Liuget most people thought this defense would suffer quite a bit this year. So far this year the Fighting Illini have been terrific against the run and solid against the pass. This is a defense that is allowing just 17.4 points per game. The defense will be without its second-leading tackler, Jonathan Brown, in this game. He is suspended for the game. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Indiana has a real controversy at the quarterback position. Edward Wright-Baker and Dusty Kiel are locked in a battle to be the team’s signal caller. The biggest problem is that neither of them has been very good this year. This Hoosiers offense is much weaker than it was last year. In fact, they are averaging just 24 points per game this year. They need to find a way to get the ball to Demarlo Belcher more often.
The Indiana defense was a real problem last year, and that continues to be the case this season. The defense did play much better last week at home against Penn State, and they’ll look to build on that momentum in this one. The run defense has been the biggest issue for Indiana, as evidenced by the fact that they gave up 226 rushing yards against lowly North Texas. Can Indiana keep Illinois from running the ball down their throat?
Indiana’s defense has been significantly better at home, and Illinois has a very stout defense right now. I don’t expect either team to put up too many points in this one. Illinois should win this one, but I think the best play here is the under.
Free College Football Pick: Under 53
Score Prediction: Illinois 27 Indiana 14
CHECK OUT OUR College football betting forums today! Join us today and make College football picks against the spread for all Division 1 NCAA Football matchups!
Both Minnesota and Purdue have had a forgettable season to this point. Purdue is 2-2, but they were thrashed by Notre Dame at home last week, and they lost at Rice earlier this year.
It appears no one’s sleeping on Georgia Tech anymore. Last week’s 45-35 win over N.C. State vaulted the Yellow Jackets to the No. 13 national ranking. This week, they’ll try to break into the top 10 against a Maryland team desperate for a big conference-game win.
To this point in the regular season, neither of these SEC combatants have been flawless, but South Carolina has been an SEC East division power while Kentucky has been an SEC East pretender.
The Boston College Eagles will be looking for their first conference win of the season when they take on the Clemson Tigers in an ACC-Atlantic Division matchup this upcoming Saturday afternoon. The game is slated to kick-off at 3 p.m. and it will be available on ESPN3.com.
The Connecticut Huskies open-up their conference play in the Big East against the West Virginia Mountaineers this upcoming Saturday afternoon at Mountaineers Field in Morgantown. Kick-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will be available on ESPN3.com.
Arkansas (3-1) suffered their first loss of the season last week to an Alabama team that has one of the best defenses in the nation and this Saturday in a non conference match up they must shift gears to face a Texas A&M (2-1) team that ranks 25th in the nation in scoring and has the nation’s 19th ranked passing offense.
