After hitting last week’s teaser so easily, I received a reprieve and was allowed to put in one more college football teaser pick with the aim of finishing in the black on the year. I have gone 7-6 on my teaser plays over the course of the season, but most of those were teasers at -130 odds, so finishing with a winning record hasn’t been profitable.
Still, I’m only down a little bit of cold hard cash after both of my college football betting plays hit last weekend. Houston could not stop Memphis’ ground game in the second half without Ed Oliver in the lineup, and that led to the Tigers cruising to a victory and a spot in the AAC Championship Game. Meanwhile, Nebraska continued its strong finish over the second half of the season, and the Cornhuskers nearly upset Iowa on the road to close out the year. They didn’t quite pull it off, but they did cover the spread.
Week 1 Teaser: Loser
Week 2 Teaser: Winner
Week 3 Teaser: Winner
Week 4 Teaser: Winner
Week 5 Teaser: Loser
Week 6 Teaser: Loser
Week 7 Teaser: Loser
Week 8 Teaser: Winner
Week 9 Teaser: Loser
Week 10 Teaser: Winner
Week 11 Teaser: Winner
Week 12 Teaser: Loser
Week 13 Teaser: Winner
College Football Teaser Betting Odds (Courtesy of BetDSI)
Seven-point teaser option at -130 betting odds
Memphis +10.5 at UCF
Ohio State -7 vs. Northwestern
I’m riding with Memphis again this week after they treated me right last week. The Tigers nearly knocked off UCF earlier this season, giving the Knights their toughest challenge so far during their 24-game winning streak. Now, they get another crack at the Knights, who won’t have sensational quarterback McKenzie Milton to bail them out.
Milton suffered a particularly gruesome injury against USF last weekend, and hopefully he makes a full recovery from it. However, without him in the lineup, they will have to use the relatively untested Darriel Mack Jr.
Mack is a great athlete, and he has seen some action this year. He isn’t a great passer though. Mack has completed just 48.8 percent of his passes on the season, and is averaging a little over four yards per throw. He is a dynamic runner, and he has done well when he has been on the run, but there are serious questions about his ability to move the chains through the air.
Memphis has no such concerns. Brady White hasn’t been as productive as Riley Ferguson this season, but the running game has stepped up in a big way. Darrell Henderson just became the AAC’s single-season rushing leader last week against Houston, and he has averaged almost nine yards per carry in each of the last two seasons. UCF has had issues stopping the run at times, and that will be the Knights’ downfall here.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes are simply a much better team than Northwestern. Ohio State lit up the scoreboard against Michigan last week in the Big Game, putting 62 points up on the defense that had been seen as the best in the country according to most metrics.
Dwayne Haskins and Ohio State will put up points on Northwestern. The question is whether the Wildcats can keep up. My bet is no. Northwestern has the 108th ranked offense in the nation according to S&P+, and that should mean a maligned Ohio State defense finally gets some stops. Ohio State must impress the College Football Playoff Committee with a big win after coming in behind Oklahoma in Tuesday’s rankings, and that means the Buckeyes will need to run it up.
