We’re heading into the final weekend of September, and it’s the first official weekend of fall. Below, we look at the best bets for three small-school winners in Week 4 and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
Every week we’ll target three smaller schools that are good bets to cover the spread and win big money. It doesn’t really matter the size of the school, it’s winners that matter.
Three small-school best bets of Week 4
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 7:40 a.m. ET.
Miami (Ohio) at Army (-8.5, -108) (Saturday at 12 p.m. ET)
The Redhawks have certainly been around. They have losses at Cincinnati and at Minnesota, while they earned a victory at home last week against FCS Long Island. Miami has had some decent production on offense, but their Achilles’ heel might be against the run as they have allowed 153.3 yards per game on the ground.
Army has registered 331.3 rushing yards per game, ranking third in the nation. So if you’re struggling to stop the run, they’re not exactly the team you want to see pop up on the schedule.
Defensively, the Black Knights have been rock solid, too, allowing just 293.0 total yards per game and just 68.7 rushing yards per outing. This isn’t going to end well for Miami.
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Akron (+49.5, -115) at Ohio State (Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET)
The Zips opened the season with a 60-10 beatdown from Auburn on the Plains, failing to cover a 37-point number. They also lost to a very poor Temple side, 45-24, before topping FCS Bryant last weekend by a 35-14 score.
The Buckeyes were sluggish against Minnesota in the opener on the road. They lost to Oregon at home Sept. 11, and they were sluggish against Tulsa for most of the game last week before pulling away late, 41-20.
Ohio State’s offense has had a difficult time getting on track, and freshman QB C.J. Stroud is making freshman mistakes, while showing glimpses of brilliance at times. The defense has been a mess, too, allowing 471.3 total yards per outing, 289.7 passing yards per game and 181.7 rushing yards per contest. It’s not your grandfather’s Ohio State defense.
Akron won’t put a scare in Ohio State, but they also won’t lose by more than seven touchdowns.
Troy (-24.5, +100) at UL Monroe (Saturday at 8 p.m. ET)
The Trojans hit the road for their Sun Belt Conference opener, and it should be a layup against the Warhawks.
ULM is a bad team. They were buried in the opener at Kentucky by a 45-10 count, and then they had a week off. With two weeks to prepare for Deion Sanders’ FCS Jackson State team, the Warhawks trailed 7-3 at halftime and 7-6 after three quarters. They were able to manage a couple of field goals of 42-plus yards to scratch out a 12-7 win, but ULM looked bad. Really bad.
Look for Troy to invade Monroe and roll to a big win.
Last Week’s Recap
Let’s first accentuate the positive from last week. Utah State (+8.5) won outright at Air Force, 49-45. But the other two picks didn’t go as well. It happens.
Charlotte (+4.5) held its own at Georgia State last week, tied 7-7 at half, before taking a 9-7 lead early in the third period on a safety. They were still covering with less than two minutes to go, down just 13-9, but a 13-yard touchdown run with 1:38 left in regulation was a bit of a bad beat.
Delaware (+21.5) was catching more than three touchdowns at Rutgers, but this one wasn’t really close. The Scarlet Knights led 35-10 at halftime, and they ended up winning by 32. I haven’t given Rutgers enough credit, but they’re for real.
Last Week: 1-2 (-120)
Season Total: 5-4 (+60)
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Joe Williams on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:
Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Florida / Georgia / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / USC / Wisconsin / College Football News
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage. This information is for entertainment purposes only. We make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any content.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]