Must Bet College Football Week 6 Matchups

If you read our Georgia-Tennessee college football betting preview, you know that we thought Georgia would go on the road and win. However, we didn’t know that the Bulldogs would up up a 41-0 shutout on Tennessee — the worst loss by the Volunteers in this series in 36 years, since that 1981 Georgia team featured Herschel Walker at tailback. Which college football Week 6 matchup will bring the biggest surprises? We’ve looked at the matchups for this week and put together a list of games that you should consider betting on. Take a look at the NCAAF odds before you lock in those wagers. As always, the home teams are in all caps.

Must Bet College Football Week 6 Matchups

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Thursday, October 5

NORTH CAROLINA STATE (+2.5) over Louisville (8:00pm ET, ESPN)

The Louisville Cardinals have faced a pair of cupcakes since their 47-21 shellacking by the Clemson Tigers back in Week Three. They’ve beaten Kent State and Murray State by a combined score of 97-17, but it is their earlier results (a seven-point win at Purdue and a 12-point win at North Carolina) that provides more helpful context. The Cardinals don’t have the same elite defense that they have had in years past, which means that it is possible for other contenders to keep up with Lamar Jackson and that video-game offense. In comes North Carolina State, who lost to South Carolina in their season opener but have since taken down Marshall and Furman in non-conference play, and then gone on the road to win at Florida State and then take down Syracuse at home. I’m concerned by those 25 points that Syracuse was able to put up — the Orange are not a strong ACC football team. Also, Florida State was able to hang 21 points on the Wolfpack using their backup quarterback. However, I don’t see Louisville coming in with as much momentum, as their wins have been much easier, and I definitely see the Wolfpack getting up for this game. Give me N.C. State to win outright in a barnburner.

Saturday, October 7

MICHIGAN (-14) over Michigan State (7:30pm ET, ABC)

Michigan State and Michigan have played many memorable games in their storied rivalry, and there have been many occasions when the Spartans played the spoiler and brought misery to the Wolverines. This year, though, the Wolverines simply have too much going on offense not to run away from Michigan State in this contest. Michigan comes in off their bye week; in Week Four, they took down a tough Purdue team on the road, 28-10, despite the loss of starting quarterback Wilton Speight. Fifth-year senior John O’Korn came on and led the Wolverines on multiple scoring drives to secure the win. The Wolverines have only given up 54 points in four games, despite facing the vaunted triple option of the Air Force Academy in Week Three. Michigan State is still looking for some offense after losing Connor Cook to graduation and the NFL two seasons ago. Two weeks ago, Michigan State took a 38-18 beating at the hands of Notre Dame. They returned home and picked up a 17-10 win over Iowa, but the real story was the mistakes that Iowa made, more than any dominance that Michigan State showed on either side of the ball. The Spartans don’t have the speed on offense to get much done against the Wolverines, but the Wolverines definitely have the talent (with Speight set to come back and start at quarterback) to win this one going away.

Miami (-2) over FLORIDA STATE (3:30pm ET, ESPN)

Miami has already had their bye week and then an extra off week, as their trip to Arkansas State in Week Two was a casualty of Hurricane Irma. This means that they don’t have quite as much of a body of work to compare, but their 31-6 win at Duke was quite instructive. Their defense shut down a Blue Devils squad that moved the ball at will against Baylor the week before, and they beat Bethune-Cookman and Toledo by a combined score of 93-43. The 30 points they surrendered to Toledo might have been a warning, but then they shut Duke down to six points. Florida State comes in off a pair of unconvincing games, as they lost at home to North Carolina State in Week Four and then went to Wake Forest and snuck out with a 26-19 win over a Demon Deacon team that will not contend in the ACC this year. The loss of Deondre Francois has definitely shaken this team, as they struggle to put together the sort of offense that they will need to beat a ranked opponent. I see Miami winning and covering in Tallahassee.