Best Bets for the Weekend
Paul_beezy
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With NCAA week 6, and NFL week 5 approaching, we have finally seen enough tape to give worthy judgements on teams concerning gambling opportunities. Anything earlier than that was somewhat of a toss-up. There are a few lines in the upcoming weekend that caught my eye. Let’s go over my “best bets.”
We will start with the Saturday college slate of games. With college football, a lot of the games that I choose to wager on end up being the super favorites. The elite of the elite teams. That has not changed much this year.
The first line that I like this weekend is Oklahoma (-33) over Kansas. Oklahoma has not skipped a beat after losing their back to back Heisman quarterback Kyler Murray. Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts has been unleashed in the Lincoln Riley offense. Transferring to OU was the smartest move that Hurts could have done. He went from a late round prospect, to getting mentioned as one of the most complete quarterbacks in the nation.
With the talent that Oklahoma has at wideout and tight end, not to mention the protection up front, Hurts is set up to succeed. He has done nothing but succeed in every game this year. They have been huge favorites each week and continue to light up the score board with ease.
I am taking Oklahoma against the spread, against a Kansas team who just got beat by 36 by TCU last weekend.
Ohio State was set to take a step back this year after losing hall of fame coach Urban Meyer. No one would have blamed them if that had happened. This has not been the case. The Buckeyes brought in another transfer quarterback, Justin Fields, the former number one high school prospect in the nation just two years ago, and they are rolling.
I am taking Ohio State (-20.5) at home against Michigan State. Their offense is filled with playmakers, and it will be hard for them to step on the field and not be the most athletic team there, no matter what team you match them up against. Don’t forget their freakish talent on defense. Junior defensive end Chase Young is already in the conversation for the top pick in next year’s draft, while Jeffrey Okudah is building a resume as the top cornerback in the nation. They are averaging an insane 52.4 points per game, just behind our first bet, Oklahoma at 55.5 points per game.
My next, and final college wager this weekend will be on Georgia (-26) at Tennessee. Georgia has filled themselves with so much talent over the past few years, two of the top 5 quarterbacks in the nation were on their bench last season before transferring this summer (Justin Fields/Ohio State, Jacob Eason/Washington).
The talent that they have recruited as of late, has translated to the field as well. Georgia is coming off their first test of the year, a 23-17 win over #9 Notre Dame. Every other game that Georgia has played this year has been a blowout.
Jake Fromm has been as good as advertised. So has their stable of running backs, led by DeAndre Swift. After losing three wideouts to the NFL in the spring, Georgia has retooled quite well so far this year.
Not only do I trust in the Bulldogs, but more so do I trust in how inadequate Tennessee is. To open the year, most college teams schedule a layup. Tennessee thought they had done so to open 2019. Until Georgia Southern came into their house and gave them their first loss. The only win Tennessee has this season, is against Chattanooga. This should be an easy win for the Bulldogs.
This weekend’s NFL lineup has some tricky games, which is not out of the normal. No matter if the worst team in the league is playing the best team in the league, these are all still professional players. Wagering in the NFL is where I like to take advantage of things like “teasers.”
This weekend in the NFL, I am going to “tease” the following games down 7 points:
New England (-16) becomes -9 at Washington Redskins
~paired with~
Cleveland (+4) becomes +11 at San Francisco 49ers
The teaser allows me more cushion on my bets, but you do have to pair at least two games together to be able to use it.
If you wanted Washington the last few weeks, it looks like the Case Keenum experiment is over. Even with his benching last week, their first-round pick Dwayne Haskins did not look any better. The Patriot defense has looked great lately. With Keenum sporting a walking boot during practice this week, it looks like the vaunted Belichick defense will be facing a rookie quarterback.
The Browns come into this game on the road as slight underdogs to an undefeated 49er team. Although they are undefeated, the 49ers have not shown me much to trust them in a game in which the opposing team has so much talent at their skill positions.
The Browns seemed to catch their stride last weekend against division rival Baltimore. I would not go as far as saying the Browns are a lock to win, but in a teaser, they are being allotted 11 points, and I will go as far as saying the 49ers should not beat them by a 12-point margin.
These are my “Best Bets” this week.