NCAA Football Week 7 Odds, Overview & Top Picks

The Big 12 just got a lot more interesting this Saturday, as Texas followed up a home win over TCU with a three-point shocker over Oklahoma in the teams’ rivalry game played next to the midway at the State Fair of Texas. They shot up to #9 in the Top 25 rankings released ahead of Monday’s press deadline. We also may have seen some cracks open in West Virginia, who got four touchdown passes from Will Grier on Saturday — but also got three red-zone interceptions. He needs to fix that before West Virginia starts playing the elite in the Big 12. Elsewhere, we also saw that Tua Tagovailoa is the very best player in the nation. Against Arkansas on Saturday, he went 10 for 11 for 334 yards and four touchdowns. Oh, and that was in the first half. He now has 18 touchdown passes — without a single pick. Let’s take a NCAA Football Week 7 betting look ahead at this week’s action. As always, home teams are in all caps.

NCAA Football Week 7 Odds, Overview & Top Picks

After a dominant win over Virginia Tech, Notre Dame moves up to No. 3 in our Week 6 power rankings. pic.twitter.com/z4epdOw1dr

— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) October 7, 2018

Thursday, October 11

Texas Tech (+8.5) over TCU (7:30pm ET, ESPN)

Both of these teams come in with 3-2 records, as TCU has lost to Ohio State and Texas, while Texas Tech has lost to Ole Miss and West Virginia. The loss to West Virginia was impressive as the Red Raiders were able to stay within a score of the best offense in the Big 12, losing by just eight points. Now they head south to Fort Worth to take on the Frogs, still confident in their offense. If quarterbacks Jett Duffey and Alan Bowman had not combined for three interceptions against West Virginia, then the outcome might have been much different. Duffey also does a lot of damage with his feet, as he ran for 86 yards and a touchdown, while also combining with Bowman for two touchdown passes. TCU righted the ship last week against Iowa State, as quarterback Shawn Robinson threw for 182 yards but had an interception to go along with his touchdown. Sewo Olonilua led the running game for the Frogs with 66 yards on the night. The problem for TCU is that their defense fell apart against Texas. They did show some improvement against Iowa State, but Texas Tech can move the ball in a hurry. They went to Oklahoma State and laid down a 24-point rout. I’m not sure that TCU is ready for this kind of opponent. NCAA Football Prediction: Texas Tech 41, TCU 37

Saturday, October 13

Georgia (-7) over LSU (3:30pm ET)

LSU’s SEC hopes took a big left turn when they went down to Florida last week and found themselves on the wrong end of a 27-19 score. Now they prepare to welcome a Georgia team that has a 4-0 SEC record, with their closest game a 14-point win at Missouri. LSU has one of the most treacherous home fields in the SEC, but their performance out of quarterback Joe Burrow last week was disappointing, as he could not move the offense against the Gators. The Tigers are averaging over 31 points per game this season, but that total has dropped significantly since running into tougher SEC West opposition. Georgia comes in having covered the spread in six of their last seven games against an opponent with a winning record and in 19 of their last 26 road games. The road team in this series has covered in three of the last four meetings. Georgia has gotten consistent excellence from quarterback Jake Fromm, as he has a dozen touchdowns against just two picks, while Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Swift have combined for seven rushing touchdowns. LSU will put up a physical fight for much of this game, but Georgia will win and cover. NCAA Football Week 7 Prediction: Georgia 27, LSU 16 Wisconsin (+7) over MICHIGAN (7:30pm ET, ABC) Both Wisconsin and Michigan face their first real Big Ten tests this weekend when they meet at Michigan Stadium. Both teams come in with one loss, as Wisconsin got shocked at home by BYU and Michigan lost by a touchdown in their opener at Notre Dame. Wisconsin comes in riding a 10-game road winning streak — but their last road loss came against these same Wolverines, in this same stadium. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook has improved his ball security so far this year, with just two picks along with seven touchdown passes. Jonathan Taylor leads a salty running game with 849 yards in just five games and eight touchdowns. Michigan’s offense has steadily improved as transfer quarterback Shea Patterson has acclimated. He has 10 touchdown passes against just three picks, and Karan Higdon has run for 582 yards in six games to lead the ground game. Wisconsin has covered the spread in 13 of their last 16 games away from home, but Michigan has broken the 40-point barrier in four of their last five contests and has a stronger defense than they’ve had in seasons past. I see them covering against the Badgers. NCAA Football Week 7 Prediction: Michigan 31, Wisconsin 20