By @Vegas_Matty
After the first month of the college football season it’s no surprise to see the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide atop the polls and the national championship favorite. Alabama absolutely annihilated Vanderbilt in their conference opener 59-0 keeping the Commodores to just 78 yards of offense.
Alabama hosts Ole Miss this Saturday hoping to improve to 5-0 but it’s the Rebels that have covered the spread in the past three meetings, winning two of them outright. Alabama opened as a 27.5-point home favorite at BetOnline.AG and quickly moved up to -28.
Two other SEC games worth monitoring this week include the Georgia Bulldogs visiting the Tennessee Volunteers as 7-point road chalk and the Auburn Tigers hosting the Mississippi State Bulldogs as 9.5-point home faves. While Auburn dropped from -10 since BetOnline released the odds, Georgia has been one of the biggest movers on the betting board after opening at -3.5 climbing as high as -8 before settling at -7. The Bulldogs jumped four spots in the polls after beating Mississippi St and look every bit the part of playoff contender.
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The nation’s second-ranked team, Clemson Tigers, got more than a brief scare from Boston College last week before scoring 27 unanswered points in the fourth quarter en route to a 34-7 victory. The Tigers may have been suffering from a bit of a hangover failing to cover the mammoth 33 point spread following their 47-21 rout of the Louisville Cardinals. Clemson again finds themselves in a similar prime time situation visiting Blacksburg this Saturday night to take on Virginia Tech as 6.5 point favorites.
The ACC Championship Game rematch will be a great test for each of the schools as they attempt to solidify their status as the team to beat in the conference this year. Virginia Tech has lost the previous four meetings, covering the last one in Orlando last December in a 42-35 loss. Clemson opened -7 at BetOnline and then dropped as low as -4.5 before backers pushed them back to the current number.
The third-ranked Oklahoma Sooners are off this week and their national championship aspirations will be determined by a three-week stretch at the end of October and the beginning of November. The Sooners visit the Kansas State Wildcats on October 21, host the Texas Tech Red Raiders on October 28, and then hit the road again for their annual Bedlam rivalry game versus the Oklahoma State Cowboys on November 4. Big XII contenders Oklahoma State and Kansas State are each back in action this Saturday, with the former opening as a 10.5-point road fave against Texas Tech before moving as high as -15, and the latter getting bet down to -13.5 at home versus the Baylor Bears from -14.
In Week 4 of the NFL, two AFC North favorites coming off losses will square off in Baltimore where the Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s hard to figure out which team had a more surprising week 3 result with Baltimore getting blown out 44-7 by the Jacksonville Jaguars in London and Pittsburgh dropping a 23-17 overtime decision to the Chicago Bears. The Ravens have won four of the past five meetings, going 4-0-1 against the spread, but have opened as 1.5-point home underdogs at BetOnline for next Sunday’s key divisional game.
The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots needed a last-minute comeback to avoid being upset by the Houston Texans in a 36-33 home win, and they’ll play host to the Carolina Panthers next Sunday as 8-point chalk. The Panthers are coming off a 34-13 home loss of the New Orleans Saints, with quarterback Cam Newton throwing three interceptions desperately missing his top targets Greg Olsen (foot) and Kelvin Benjamin (knee) due to injuries. Carolina’s defense must play much better to have any shot against the Patriots.
Week 4 NFL Lines – Monday’s Bet the Board Podcast will discuss NFL opening NFL odds!
Green Bay -7 vs. Chicago
New Orleans -1½ vs Miami (London)
New England -8½ vs. Carolina
Dallas -8½ vs. L.A. Rams
Detroit at Minnesota – N/A (Bradford)
Tennessee -1 at Houston
Jacksonville -3½ at New York Jets
Cincinnati -3 at Cleveland
Baltimore -2½ vs. Pittsburgh
Atlanta -8 vs Buffalo
Tampa Bay -4 vs. New York Giants
Philadelphia -1 at L.A. Chargers
Arizona -7 vs. San Francisco
Denver -1½ vs. Oakland
Seattle -13½ vs. Indianapolis
Kansas City -7 vs. Washington
Week 5 College Football Lines
Texas -4 at Iowa State
Miami Florida -5½ at Duke
Nebraska -6½ at Illinois
BYU -6 at Utah State
USC -4½ at Washington State
FIU -11 vs. Charlotte
Pittsburgh -22 vs. Rice
South Florida -26 at East Carolina
N.C. State -12½ vs. Eastern Michigan
Kentucky -14 vs. Eastern Michigan
Ball State -5 at Western Michigan
Boston College -7½ vs. Central Michigan
Bowling Green -1½ vs. Akron
Ohio – at Massachusetts
Buffalo U -7½ Kent State
Houston -13½ at Temple
Cincinnati -3 vs. Marshall
Kansas State -13½ vs. Baylor
Ohio State -29 at Rutgers
Michigan State -3½ vs. Iowa
Florida State -10 at Wake Forest
Wisconsin -14½ vs. Northwestern
Penn State -18 vs. Indiana
Navy -3 at Tulane
SMU -21½ vs. Connecticut
Wyoming -18½ vs. Texas State
UCLA -5 vs. Colorado
Oregon -16½ vs. California
Washington -25½ at Oregon State
UL Monroe -11 vs. Coastal Carolina
Texas A&M -10 vs. South Carolina
LSU -21 vs. Troy
Arkansas -17 New Mexico State
UNLV -10½ vs. San Jose State
Army -24 vs. UTEP
Florida -7 vs. Vanderbilt
Georgia -7 at Tennessee
So. Mississippi -7½ vs. North Texas
Louisiana Tech -13½ vs. South Alabama
Notre Dame -20 vs. Miami Ohio
Middle Tennessee State – at Florida Atlantic
Auburn -10 vs. Mississippi State
Georgia Tech -10 vs. North Carolina
Clemson -7 at Virginia Tech
New Mexico PK vs. Air Force
Alabama -28½ vs. Mississippi
Oklahoma State -14 at Texas Tech
Stanford -16½ vs. Arizona State
Fresno State -10½ vs. Nevada
San Diego State -13½ vs. No. Illinois
Colorado State -7½ at Hawaii
Central Florida -3 vs. Memphis
Louisville vs. Murray State
