With another great week of games on the college football schedule of the season to cover, Adam Burke and Kyle Hunter were excited and in top form on this week’s edition of the BangTheBook.com College Football Podcast. With two huge SEC matchups and key games from the Pac-12 and Big 12 covered in depth, along with the informative “Quick-Hitters” segment, and market analysis in the “Inside the Lines” segment, listeners were armed with all the knowledge they need to bang the books this weekend.
The guys from the College Football Podcast were excited to discuss the return of Handicapping the Hardwood, the tremendous college basketball podcast that got rave reviews last season. They started after college football last season, but they started this season from the first week so that listeners will get all the best information each week throughout the season. The first show was recorded on November 10 and will air every Monday during the college basketball season.
The Quick-Hitters segment is a good way to kick off the show because injuries and personnel changes often explain some of the line moves that have happened this week. Working in conjunction with the Inside the Lines segment, things that bettors need to know that can be easily overlooked are laid out with top-notch analysis. Basically, think of it like cause and effect. The Quick-Hitter points are the cause and the effects explained by two guys with over 25 years of handicapping experience.
Under the radar games are something that Adam and Kyle push on both the College Football Podcast and Handicapping the Hardwood, their college basketball podcast, and the line moves segment features a lot of these because those are the games that move the most from week-to-week.
This week, four games were put under the microscope, beginning with the SEC West. The top-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs lead both Top 25 polls and the College Football Playoff Rankings, but they face their biggest test to date. The line certainly tells a story in this game, as the Tide are now more than a touchdown favorite. Adam has some concerns about Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott in this hostile environment. Kyle has a strong opinion on a play in this game. The only way to get it is by listening to this week’s College Football Podcast. Click ‘Play’ on the embedded player to find out.
In another interesting SEC West matchup, LSU travels to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks. The Razorbacks have lost 17 straight conference games (author’s note: more than the 13 cited on the podcast), yet Arkansas is a favorite in this game of 2.5 points. The big topic of conversation was about how LSU can bounce back from another heart-wrenching loss to Alabama to dust themselves off and play well in this game. This game isn’t as simple as it seems and the line certainly adds to the intrigue. The guys did a great job of breaking it down and you should hear what they had to say.
Moving away from the SEC, there’s a big game with major Big Ten championship game implications on Saturday between Nebraska and Wisconsin. The Badgers are a 6.5-point favorite over the Cornhuskers, which seems like a big line. So, too, does the total, which piqued Kyle’s interest given that both teams really don’t do much in the passing game. Is that a possible sneak peek at a premium play? You’ll have to listen to the show to find out. Adam thinks that there’s a key to this game that could lead to a surprising outcome.
The final game that was covered in-depth was Saturday night’s primetime showdown in the Sunshine State between Florida State and Miami. This is the most surprising line of the week, with the Seminoles less than a field goal favorite for the first time since their Champs Sports Bowl appearance against Notre Dame. There’s something different about this game for Florida State and Adam and Kyle discuss why it could be a hard game for them.
In this week’s pick-six segment, free picks were given out on six of this week’s more compelling games, including a couple of under-the-radar contests including an outright upset call from Adam. The show ended with Kyle’s exclusive free pick for podcast listeners, which has now won four straight weeks.
