The new college football season finally gets underway this week and while 5Dimes has posted betting odds for all the games, I have zeroed-in on my top three picks that you can take to the bank.
Washington at Boise State (-12)
The Pac-12 Huskies come into Friday’s season opener with a 1-4 record against the spread in their last five nonconference games, while the Broncos are a perfect 4-0 ATS in their last four contests outside the Mountain West. Boise State is also 19-9 ATS in its last 28 games played on a Friday and 5-1 ATS in its last six games played in September.
Second-year head coach Bryan Harsin will look to pick-up where his team left off after the Broncos posted 12 straight-up win in his first season at the helm. These are the kind of games that Boise State needs to win convincingly to attract national attention and it gets it done by covering the 12 points.
Penn State at Temple (+7)
Penn State should finally be back on track after suffering through the effects from a slew of NCAA sanctions the past few seasons, but it could have its hands full on the road against Temple this Saturday. The Lions are just 0-3-1 ATS in their last four road games and they went 2-4 ATS in their last six games in 2014. The Owls were 6-6 both SU and ATS in the AAC last season, but they come into this year as +625 fourth-favorites to win the conference and +335 second-favorites after Cincinnati to win the AAC’s East Division.
This has always been a rivalry game for Temple, although its past track in this matchup is not encouraging SU with 10-straight losses, it has covered ATS in three of the last five meetings. The Owls finally have a team that can stand toe-to-toe with their Pennsylvania foes to the point where they throw a real scare into the Lions this time around.
Texas at Notre Dame (-9.5)
The Longhorns closed-out the 2014 season with two losses both SU and ATS and they start this season with a 2-5 record ATS in their last seven nonconference games. Notre Dame struggled down the stretch in 2014 as well, but it closed things out on a high note with a stunning 31-28 victory over LSU as an 8.5-point underdog in last season’s Music City Bowl.
The Irish could have their most talented team since their run at a national title a few years back and they come into the new season ranked No. 11 in the AP’s initial Top 25 poll. I like their chances to get off to a fast start with a SU win at home that covers the 9.5 points.
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