It was bound to happen sooner or later, but boy did it happen in spectacular fashion. For the first time in 11 weeks, our FCS football betting picks finished below .500 last week, and both selections ended up looking pretty bad in terms of the box score.
Samford did jump on The Citadel early, getting out to a 21-0 lead and taking a 24-7 lead into the half, but everything fell apart in the second half. The Citadel started getting traction in the ground game, and Samford collapsed on offense, leading to The Citadel outscoring Samford 35-3 in the second half.
The other pick fell apart in the second half too. UC Davis was up on Eastern Washington 10-7 at the end of the first quarter, and the Aggies trailed 21-17 going into halftime, but they were blown out in the second half. The Eagles outscored them 38-3 in the second half en route to a 59-20 victory.
Let’s get back on the horse, here are this week’s FCS football betting odds and picks.
Week 1 Record: 3-1 ATS
Week 2 Record: 3-0 ATS
Week 3 Record: 1-1 ATS
Week 4 Record: 1-1-1 ATS
Week 5 Record: 3-0 ATS
Week 6 Record: 3-0 ATS
Week 7 Record: 1-1 ATS
Week 8 Record: 1-1 ATS
Week 9 Record: 2-0 ATS
Week 10 Record: 2-0 ATS
Week 11 Record: 0-2 ATS
FCS Week 12 Betting Odds (Courtesy of BetDSI)
James Madison -3 at Towson
It’s been a strange last month or so for James Madison. The Dukes were considered the one team that could challenge North Dakota State outside of the MVFC this season, but they have now lost twice in FCS play.
Realted: College Football Betting Guide | College Football Parlay Betting
Still, this is one of the best defenses in the country. James Madison ranks fourth in the nation in total defense, and the Dukes secondary is one of the top units around. They have allowed just 6.3 yards per pass this season, and they should be able to have success against Tom Flacco and Towson.
Towson has been able to move the ball against some good defenses, but this will be the toughest unit the Tigers have faced. Additionally, James Madison should be able to move the ball pretty easily against this defense as long as they limit the turnovers that have killed them in recent weeks.
East Tennessee State vs. Samford Over 56
This is one of our favorite plays of the year. Samford has no realistic chance of making it to the FCS playoffs at 5-5, so the Bulldogs are going to go for broke in an effort to make sure that Devlin Hodges leaves campus as the FCS’ all-time passing leader. Hodges needs a little more than 300 yards to pass Steve McNair as the all-time leading passer at this level, and Samford knows what that record would mean to him, the program, and recruiting.
East Tennessee State has showed us that they aren’t afraid to get in shootouts over the course of their magical run to the top of the Southern Conference. The Buccaneers are set to get to the postseason for the first time in a while under first-year head coach Randy Sanders, and they should be able to put up points on a Bulldogs’ defense that will be worn out after seeing the option so many times last week.
