Now that we’re getting further into conference play, college football tends to provide fewer and fewer sports betting surprises. As a result, betting on the top teams often stops making sense, as lines come into sharper focus. However, there are still some matchups that you can leverage because of a lack of awareness in setting the line, but these matchups are further down the page in terms of national exposure.
Let’s take a look at some college football picks that you can use straight up to stack some cash this weekend.
NCAA News: College Football Top Straight Up Picks for Week 6
Akron (+14) vs Bowling Green (Akron +520)
This MAC matchup features the two weakest teams in the conference. Since 2019, Akron has gone 2-21. Their two wins? One came against an FCS school — and the other came against Bowling Green last season. Bowling Green has gone 5-17 since 2019, so it’s not like they can be considered elite. However, Bowling Green did beat Minnesota last week — as a 31-point underdog. They are 5-0 against the spread this season: their losses to South Alabama and Kent State were also covers against huge point spreads.
Akron, in contrast, has not covered a spread yet this season. They were tied after three quarters against Ohio U. last week, but they ended up losing by 17. Quarterback D.J. Irons is an intriguing dual-threat quarterback, and he could lead the Zips to a surprising win over a Bowling Green that might be a bit overconfident after taking down a Big Ten team. Bowling Green is likely to look for redemption after losing to Akron a year ago, but if the Zips start like they did against Ohio, that mental hurdle might be too high for the Falcons to climb.
Connecticut (-2) vs Umass
This game marks the first opportunity for Connecticut residents to wager on their home team legally, with statewide sports gambling gaining legal status on October 6. Neither team played in 2020 due to COVID-19. Since 2018, Connecticut has gone 3-27. Two of their wins are against FCS schools, and the third was against UMass. Their head coach, Randy Edsall, retired after the second game of the season — and the team has improved somewhat (although they are still winless). They were 14 ½-point underdogs at Vanderbilt last week but lost by two. They were 31-point dogs against Wyoming — and only lost by two. UMass has been dreadful, and so while Connecticut is a smart pick straight up, if you wanted to take on some risk by taking the point spread (or even taking some of the alt-lines, such as -6.5, you still have an excellent shot at making some money.
Wyoming (+155) vs Air Force
Air Force comes in with a 4-1 record, impressive given that this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Falcons. In Mountain West Conference play, though, they are just 1-1. Wyoming comes in at 4-0, but this week’s matchup is their conference debut. Wyoming did blow out Ball State, but they only edged Montana State by three points, with a last-minute touchdown, despite coming in as 19-point favorites against the FCS school.
Air Force lost to Utah State despite being nine-point favorites, but they have beaten Navy, Florida Atlantic and New Mexico in convincing fashion. They rely on the triple-option offense, pounding the ball on the ground. Wyoming was able to shut down the running game against Connecticut, Ball State and Montana State. Wyoming has also had success against Air Force’s offense in the past under head coach Craig Bohl. Despite some scary outcomes this season, this is a well-coached team, and Wyoming is worth the value bet.
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