Buffalo Bulls vs Miami-Ohio Redhawks NCAA Free Pick

no banners

Buffalo Bulls (-1.5) @ Miami-Ohio Redhawks NCAA Free Pick: At this point you have to realize that anything can happen in College Football. And that it gets even crazier when you start playing games in the middle of the week at night on National Television. Neither of these teams are headed to a Bowl Game. Neither is winning anything in their conference, both have had disappointing seasons. But this one shouldn’t be difficult.

The Bulls are a much better team. They have lost their last three games by 3 points or less. They have 5 total losses this season by a touchdown or less. They’ve played some tough teams close. Miami-Ohio has one win, one close loss to the Temple Owls, and a bunch of tomato can performances.

This is being played on the road, where Buffalo is 1-3 on the season, but it’s not like Miami has been awesome at home either, they are just 1-3 there. Buffalo has a more efficient passing attack, a much better rushing attack and defensively they have played much better than the Redhawks.

The difference in Buffalo’s average points scored and points against is under 3. The difference in Miami’s average points for and points against is 18. Those numbers don’t always mean a lot, but without an offensive area to gang up on (the Bulls are too diverse) I don’t see Miami stopping Buffalo at all. Buffalo’s bad luck has to turn around, and I think it does against the Redhawks on Wednesday Night.

Oregon State Beavers vs California Golden Bears Pick

no banners

Oregon State Beavers (+7) @ California Golden Bears Pick: This one is a little weird to me, because when you break down these two teams, I think it’s overwhelming that the best team between the two is Oregon State. I know the Beavers are on the road in this one, but they’ve played well away from Beaver-town this season, losing by a score to USC and beating up ASU outright. They’ve only lost to pretty good teams like USC, Cincinnati, and Arizona. They are impressive, and the Rodgers brothers are special, while running back Jacquizz gets most of the publicity, both are great college players. I’d say James is very underrated. Quizz had over 200 yards rushing and receiving last week, but James also tallied 120 yards of total offense against UCLA. The two are key players in the Beavers’ success.

Cal’s wins are unimpressive, that’s the bottom line. The best team they’ve beaten is either Arizona State or Minnesota – maybe UCLA? And they’ve been obliterated by good competition as Oregon and USC combined to smoke the Bears 72-6 in back to back weeks.

The Beavers have been playing their best football of the season over the last two weeks, winning 3 of their last 4 including a 10 point W over Stanford. Sean Canfield has been awesome as the team’s quarterback, already throwing for over 2000 yards with 11 touchdowns while completing 69% of his passes. His ability to stretch the field with his arm has opened up a lot for the Beavers rushing attack, the strongest aspect of their offense. The Beavers have beaten Cal 8 of the last 10 games, winning at Cal in each of the last 4 visits to California.

LSU Tigers vs Alabama Crimson Tide Football Pick

no banners

LSU Tigers @ Alabama Crimson Tide (-8.5) Football Pick: A larger percent of the public likes LSU in this one, so much so that the line has dropped to 7.5 from the 9.5 opening. When I made my pick, it was an 8.5 point spread. The public bet is starting to even out, but I can see why most of the bettors like LSU and the points in this one. They’ve lost just one game all year, and that was too one of the Nation’s best teams, Florida, in a very close game, 13-3.

The problem I have with LSU is their ability to score. They’ve struggled offensively against good teams, and Alabama’s swarming defense is one of the best in the nation. The Tide have a fantastic rushing game, and a young quarterback that doesn’t make big mistakes, just 3 interceptions so far this season. Alabama plays the right way, using their run game to out-physical opponents, and the play action pass to stick daggers.

Flat out, I just think LSU is not as good as Alabama. Their rushing attack isn’t as efficient, their offensive line isn’t as good, and as a team their defense isn’t as dominant as the Crimson Tide. I think Alabama has a big performance in this one, beating LSU easily, basically looking a lot better than Florida did when the Gators beat the Tigers earlier this season.

Last season’s win over LSU was Alabama’s first since 2002. The Tigers have beaten the Gators in 7 of their last 8 meetings. The Tigers have finished under the total in each of their last 4 games. The Crimson Tide have finished under the total in each of their last three. Alabama hasn’t lost at home since 2007.

Nevada Wolf Pack vs San Jose State Spartans NCAA Pick

no banners

Nevada Wolf Pack (-12.5) @ San Jose State Spartans NCAA Pick: This has gone the other way since I made the pick and sent the newsletter out on Tuesday morning, on Tuesday I got the Wolf Pack at -12.5 and it’s 14 points here on Thursday Night. I think it’s pretty clear whom the better team is, and it’s not like San Jose State is a juggernaut at home.

The Wolfpack have one of the more dynamic offensive players in the conference with quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick has scored 10 touchdowns (9 rushing, 1 receiving), rushed for 805 yards, and passed for 1471 yards with 13 more touchdowns through the air. He truly does it all for the Wolf Pack. But this team can run the ball, with Colin, 2 other players have rushed for at least 600 yards. Running backs Via Taua and Luke Lippincott have rushed 198 times for 1341 yards and 7 touchdowns.

As a team, the Wolf Pack lead the conference in rushing and have 26 rushing touchdowns already this season. Nevada has won 5 straight after starting the season in a disappointing 3 straight loss fashion. As favorites, Nevada is 5-1 so far this season, 3-3 ATS.

San Jose State has just one win, and that’s against sub division opponent Cal. Poly. 5 of their 6 losses were by double digits. They’ve had a tough schedule, no doubt about it, losses to Boise State, Fresno State, Stanford, USC, and Utah are no joke – those are tough teams in College Football – but the rushing attack in Nevada looks like too much for San Jose State to handle. I’ll take the Wolf Pack to win by at least two touchdowns.