Normally, there is no “Week 14” in the college football schedule. In a regular year, this would be the weekend of the conference championships, followed by the College Football Playoff selections and the announcement of bowl game pairings. Due to the delay to the start of the season for many conferences as well as the rescheduling of many games throughout the regular season, though, there is a full slate of games for this weekend.
Let’s take a look at your best College Football betting picks.
NCAA News: Top ATS Picks for Week 14
Houston (-1) at SMU
SMU comes in at 7-3; Houston comes in a 3-3 thanks to a host of COVID-19 cancellations. SMU was an 11 ½-point favorite at East Carolina last week and found themselves down 45-7 at halftime to a Pirates team that had won two games to that point. Why? Look at the last two years of SMU under Sonny Dykes. They start the season really well, and then when they hit a setback, they spend the rest of the season pouting, and Dykes’ staff hasn’t shown that they can coach through adversity or make in-game adjustments. Houston has a new coach this year in Dana Holgorsen, who for some reason left a Power 5 program to take over a Cougars team that boosted Tom Herman to visibility but has yet to maintain consistency on its own. Then, quarterback D’Eriq King promptly transferred to Miami, where he’s put up numbers that Holgorsen wishes his program could put up. Given that SMU has sunk into petulance, expect the Cougars to come in and have their way with an SMU defense that has not been seen on a field since the first half against Tulsa. Houston to win and cover.
Clemson (-21.5) at Virginia Tech
After a five-week hiatus, due to scheduled byes and a COVID-19 recovery period, Trevor Lawrence came back and delivered big-time. Also, the Clemson defense made a statement against Pitt. Virginia Tech has lost to Liberty, Miami (FL) and Pitt. This is a huge line, but Clemson has the personnel to put the hammer down in ways that they did not until the second half against Notre Dame, and they need statements the rest of the way to stay in that College Football Playoff. Clemson to win and cover.
Florida (-16.5) at Tennessee
Tennessee is in the midst of a five-game losing streak, while Florida is on the road toward the SEC Championship, with quarterback Kyle Trask emerging as one of the top candidates for the Heisman Trophy. Seeing Florida as a high-octane offensive program is still a difficult adjustment for those of us who are used to seeing the Gators grind opponents down with an ironclad defense and pounding the ball on the ground when they’re on offense, but this is a fun team to watch. Gators to win and cover.
West Virginia (+7) at Iowa State
The Cyclones went to Texas and picked up a big win, pushing one step closer to a Big 12 Championship berth. Next up is a West Virginia team that had an unexpected week off, as their game with Oklahoma was canceled because of COVID-19 cases. The Mountaineers have been a sneaky-tough team this year, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them creep up on the Cyclones. Iowa State should win, but it might take until the last drive to do it. West Virginia to cover.
Oklahoma State (-1.5) at TCU
What happened to that terrific defense that Mike Gundy had at Oklahoma State? They have permitted 85 points in the two games since their November 14 bye. They lost the first game, getting shut down by Oklahoma, but they hung 50 on Texas Tech in a Stillwater track meet last week. Next up is an enigmatic TCU team that beat Texas but lost to Oklahoma. They then beat Baylor and Texas Tech but could only muster six points against West Virginia. They came out of the bye and put up 59 points at Kansas (yes, that’s where Les Miles is coaching these days). Now that Oklahoma State has fallen out of the top two in the conference, I see them hanging their heads in Fort Worth. TCU to cover.
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