Five Bold College Football Betting Predictions for the 2018 Season

Five Bold College Football Betting Predictions for the 2018 Season

Sure, it’s one thing to predict that Alabama will win the national championship again. It seems like even when Alabama is down at some point that there is nothing that can stop them — as we saw when Wisconsin and Auburn lost in the Big Ten and SEC championship games last year, to open up a spot for the Tide, and then when they came back in the second half to beat Georgia in overtime in the national championship. However, the Tide aren’t the only game in town, and there are many other story lines that have to play out during the season. Take a look at five predictions that we have for College Football betting enthusiasts for the coming 2018 season.

Five Bold College Football Betting Predictions for the 2018 Season

Texas will beat Oklahoma and win the Big 12

Texas developed one of the better defenses over the course of 2017, after that ugly loss to Maryland in the early going. They do need to pick a quarterback, as both Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele can throw the ball, but one needs to emerge. Oklahoma is transitioning from Baker Mayfield to Kyler Murray at quarterback, and the Texas-OU game takes place around the midpoint of the regular season. Tom Herman did great things at Houston and has Texas transitioning into a contender. With Baylor still down and with TCU and Oklahoma State going through quarterback changes as well (and with West Virginia perennially unable to win on the road), this is the year for Texas to emerge.

Clemson returns to the College Football Playoff

The Tigers have a choice that just about any program would like — do they start the true freshman quarterback who is a blue-chip, five-star recruit? Or do they start the quarterback who led them to the playoff last year? Kelly Bryant did lead them to the national semifinal but could not move the ball much against Alabama, which led to a big loss. It looks like Clemson is planning for a two-quarterback system, at least from some reports, but teams that have two leaders generally don’t have a leader at all, which is why those systems are quite rare. However, with their stacked defense and their talent at tailback and wide receiver, either quarterback should be able to get them through the regular season with no more than one loss.

Mississippi State will make noise in the SEC West

Are the Sooners a safe bet for the 2018 season? The Bulldogs have Nick Fitzgerald, one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, coming back from an ankle injury, and he says he is ready to play. Tailback Aeris Williams broke the 1,000-yard barrier in one of the most physically challenging divisions in the nation. Joe Moorhead replaces Dan Mullen as head coach, but in addition to that stacked offense he has a defense led by Gerri Green, Mark McLaurin, Montez Sweat and Jeffery Simmons, each with all-SEC talent. If Auburn, Alabama and LSU aren’t careful, this could be a team that slips past them.

South Carolina will pull off upsets in the SEC East

With quarterback Jake Bentley and wide receivers Bryan Edwards and Deebo Samuel, this will be one of the better offenses that the Gamecocks have had in recent years. The defense doesn’t have any blue-chip recruits but with Will Muschamp running the team, the defense will work well together as a unit. Florida and Georgia are seen as the top two teams in the SEC East this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see South Carolina beat one of them.

Jimbo Fisher will struggle at Texas A&M

Yes, he has $75 million in fully guaranteed money coming, and he has star tailback Trayveon Williams, but he doesn’t have a clear quarterback and wideout Christian Kirk has left the program. The Aggies also need to rebuild their defense. Oh, and they’re in the SEC West. With the exception of that glorious year behind Johnny Manziel, you have to wonder how glad the Aggies are that they moved to the SEC. Sure, it’s one thing to predict that Alabama will win the national championship again. It seems like even when Alabama is down at some point that there is nothing that can stop them — as we saw when Wisconsin and Auburn lost in the Big Ten and SEC championship games last year, to open up a spot for the Tide, and then when they came back in the second half to beat Georgia in overtime in the national championship. However, the Tide aren’t the only game in town, and there are many other story lines that have to play out during the season. Take a look at five predictions that we have for sports betting enthusiasts for the coming NCAA football season.