College Football: Against The Spread

Week two of the college football season is upon us, and we have some great match-ups this week.

The Georgia Bulldogs head out on the road to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Missouri Tigers.  The Florida Gators begin SEC play as they head out to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies.  In a huge non-conference tilt, the LSU Tigers host the Washington Huskies.  The Tigers will be without starting tackle Chris Faulk, who was lost for the year with a knee injury.

As we look back on week one, we had a big winner with our College Football:  Against the Spread picks, as Iowa State got the outright victory over Tulsa.  As we jump toward week two with our picks, there’s a few games I really like but only one I want to roll the dice on.  So, lets get right to it, against the spread.

2*  Arizona +11.5

We’re riding with my guy Rich Rodriguez on Saturday night as the Arizona Wildcats host the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Cowboys roll into Tucson riding high, after they completely destroyed Savannah State in the opener to the tune of 84-0.  If there’s one thing stuck in bettors minds this week, it’s that score for the Cowboys.  Their offense was in high gear.

Wes Lunt, the true freshman quarterback, makes his first road start for the Cowboys.  And although Lunt was an early enrollee, I’m not ready to hand over my trust to him quite yet.  The Cowboys do return running back Joseph Randle, who rushed six times for 107 yards and two scores in limited action last week.

On defense, the Cowboys return eight starter from a defense that finished 107 in the country in total defense.  As bad as that may sound, they did lead the nation with 44 takeaways and a plus 21 turnover margin.

The Cowboys secondary is one of the best in the country, with corners Justin Gilbert and Broderick Brown both back.  These two combined for 10 interceptions, 25 passes defended and 127 tackles.  Also back is junior safety Daytawion Lowe, who led the Cowboys in tackles with 97 in 2011.

Arizona started the Rich Rodriguez era in style, as they pulled out a 24-17 win over the Toledo Rockets.  The Wildcats put up over 600 yards of total offense with quarterback Matt Scott throwing for 387 yards.  Sophomore running back Ka’Deem Carey carried the ball 20 times for 147 yards and a score, and it was Carey who gave the Wildcats the lead in the third quarter with his 74 yard scamper.

* 3 reasons I’m backing the Wildcats

1.  Home field – Tucson is a tough out for anyone.  The crowd should be out of control

2.  Rich Rodriguez – Most teams show the most improvement from week one to week two, and I expect the Wildcats to really kick Rodriguez’s spread into high gear.  Even with the Cowboy defense, which is stout, I think Arizona can score enough to keep it close.

3.  Chase game –  Every week, there’s a late game that bettors will chase their days losses with, and this just happens to be it.  This is a 10:30 pm eastern kick, and I expect a ton of money to come rolling in on the Cowboys right before kickoff.  I wouldn’t even be surprised to see this line go to 12 or 13.

Let’s keep this train rolling with our second straight winner to start off the year.

BEAR DOWN

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Freddie Vickers covers the SEC for Rant Sports

Follow Freddie on Twitter:  @fredvic9

 

 

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