We are officially entering the stretch run for college football. Every game is important now. Last week’s college football bets finished out a rocky October, but it’s a new month, we’ve got a clean slate and five more great bets for this Saturday’s Week 10 college football slate. All lines come via Draft Kings as of Friday morning.
Kentucky at Missouri: Kentucky Moneyline (-105)
Nobody had a worse October than Kentucky. In the span of a month, the Wildcats have gone from a top-ten ranking to being one point dogs to Mizzou while they fight for bowl eligibility. Life comes at you fast. Luckily this Missouri team is wildly mediocre.
Don’t let the two-game winning streak fool you into thinking the Tigers are surging. South Carolina is a total enigma, and Vandy is, well, Vandy. Look for Kentucky to get back on track and for Will Levis to solidify his NFL draft stock. Watch the lines on this carefully because they are a bit wonky.
Kentucky is only getting a point, plus they should win this one outright anyway. Don’t bother with the spread and just take the moneyline.
#4 Clemson at Notre Dame: Notre Dame Moneyline (+150)
I can’t believe I’m doing this. Especially after picking against the Irish last week. The thing is this pick isn’t about them, it’s about Clemson. The Tigers have been eking out wins all season. Half of their games have been decided by one score. When you play with fire that often, you eventually get burned.
Notre Dame is just as good as, if not better than, the likes of Syracuse, Florida State, NC State, and Wake Forest. While the Irish have been inconsistent this year, they have the talent to match up with Clemson. That win over Syracuse last week was probably a big confidence boost, as well. That is what you need going into a big primetime matchup. A paper tiger (no pun intended) Clemson squad playing a talented team with nothing to lose on a cold evening in South Bend could be the perfect recipe for a top-five upset.
The spread (Clemson -3.5) isn’t wide enough to be worth shying away from solid value on the moneyline. This may be one of the tightest, and most surprising, bets we have for Week 10 — if not the rest of the college football season.
James Madison at Louisville: L’Ville -7.5 (-105)
I think folks have become a bit too enamored with JMU. The Dukes have been a funs story as they seamlessly transition from FCS juggernaut to Sun Belt contender. However, the past two weeks have shown that they still have a long way to go. It is hard to see how they can stay within a score against a power-five opponent.
The Cardinals aren’t slouches either. They just hammered a good Wake Forest team by 27. Louisville is coming off three straight ACC victories and is now hosting an FBS infant. So why are they only a one-score favorite? I guess there is the idea that they will sleepwalk through this one before a brutal three-game stretch featuring Clemson, NC State, and Kentucky.
That is a possibility, but at the end of the day, this JMU team is simply not talented enough to contain Malik Cunningham. For that reason, this should be a comfortable cover.
Minnesota at Nebraska: UNDER 45 (-110)
I really like the under in this one for a litany of reasons. For starters, you have heavy favorite in Minnesota, that likes to run the ball. They also play good defense, and lack an explosive passing attack. All that has led more than half their games to come in under 45 total points. Looking deeper, their only win that went over that total came against FCS Western Illinois.
On Nebraska’s side, their already average offense could be hampered by a banged up quarterback. The ‘Huskers have a pretty awful run defense as well, so they should struggle to get off the fie
This game should be fairly straightforward. Minnesota’s inconsistent play is the main reason why I’m apprehensive about the 16-point spread. Even if they don’t cover, we’re still looking at low-scoring affair. Even if junk-time points cause them to only win around 28-14, the under still hits.
#1 Tennessee at #3 Georgia: OVER 66.5 (-115)
We end our look at the top bets for Week 10 with the biggest game in college football this season. Picking who comes out on top in this one feels next to impossible. This Tennessee team feels special. Could this be the year the Vols get back to title contention?
Standing in their way are the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs. The Dawgs somehow look even more dominant than they did last year — outside of that scare with Mizzou, of course.
One thing is certain: we’re going to see a ton of points in this one. Both teams have explosive offenses, and defenses that haven’t always dominated. I think that 35 points is the minimum for either team to even have a shot at winning. Hammer the over in the biggest game of the week.