Ten Bold College Football Betting Predictions for the 2019 Season

We are less than three weeks away from the first games in the 2019 college football season. There is a lot of intrigue in the sport — how will Ohio State do without Urban Meyer at the helm? Will Florida push Georgia in the SEC East this year? Can Texas knock off Oklahoma off the top of the Big 12? Will Dana Holgorsen’s decision to leave West Virginia for an AAC program in Houston end up paying dividends? For sports betting enthusiasts, here are ten things we think are likely to make a huge difference in college football betting this year.

Ten Bold College Football Betting Predictions for the 2019 Season

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Clemson will develop some overconfidence

Their rings from last year say “Best Ever 15-0 4X CFP” on them. They did go 15-0 last year, the first time a team had ever pulled that off. This season, they have a fairly soft schedule, although Texas A&M does pay a visit. Their hardest road games are NC State, Syracuse and South Carolina. Last year, Clemson won all of their ACC contests except their win over Syracuse by at least 20 points, and this year should be no different. The question is, can Alabama, or anyone else, make them pay in the College Football Playoff?

Nebraska will win the Big Ten West

The Big Ten West is a wide-open division, especially with Wisconsin in rebuilding mode. Northwestern filled the gap last year, riding an 8-1 record to the Big Ten Championship, where they lost to Ohio State. Nebraska went 4-8 last year, but quarterback Adrian Martinez might have the best arm in the conference, and the Cornhuskers finished 4-2 last year, and those losses to Ohio State and Iowa were close.

Boise State will represent the Group of 5 in the New Year’s Six

UCF has made the last two New Year’s Six. Two years ago, they upset Auburn, but last year they fell to LSU. Boise State faces Florida State and BYU, and they could face a tough Fresno State team in the MWC Championship. Houston has designs on this bowl slot as well, but Dana Holgorsen doesn’t believe in defense, so the Cougars will score a lot — but give up a lot as well.

Texas will knock off Oklahoma this year once, and maybe twice

The Longhorns did beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, finishing a 10-4 season. They went 7-3 in games decided by seven or fewer points. They are unafraid to schedule quality opponents, with LSU coming to town on September 7. If Texas can beat the Tigers, they will roll into their game with OU with a ton of confidence. If Texas and Oklahoma meet again in the Big 12 Championship, and if Oklahoma still has defensive issues, this could be the Longhorns’ year.

Tennessee and Florida will both push Georgia in the SEC East

Tennessee has a talented quarterback in Jarrett Guarantano and a solid offensive coordinator in Jim Chaney. They face Florida down in Gainesville, which will be a stout test, but Florida’s offense has some holes in it. Florida can score more than they have in years past, and they have the defense to make Georgia work hard. If both of these teams can push the Bulldogs, then the SEC East could get interesting.

Utah will make the Pac-12 title game

The Pac-12 South is a real mess, but Utah came out of it to make the Pac-12 Championship a year ago, losing to Washington in a defensive struggle. If Tyler Huntley can stay healthy, though, the Utes’ offense should show improvement, and they still have that monster defensive front.

Notre Dame will lose at least two games in 2019

Notre Dame has road games against Georgia, Michigan, Duke and Stanford, teams that won 38 combined games in 2018. They also face Virginia Tech and USC, who are looking to improve from their 2018 campaigns. They do still have Ian Book, but they will end up on the wrong end of enough close games to see their College Football Playoff chances fizzle.

Ohio State will finally fall to Michigan

Jim Harbaugh has never beaten Ohio State, and he has never beaten a team that would then advance to the College Football Playoff. They have a second year out of quarterback Shea Patterson. They do play at Wisconsin and Penn State, but they get Ohio State at home, and the Buckeyes are finally having to work in a new quarterback.

Chris Ash will be the first coach who is shown the door

Rutgers gave Ash an extension despite finishing 7-29 in his first three years — and he responded last year with a 1-11 season. It is likely that the Big Ten is regretting extending the invitation to the Scarlet Knights — and that the school is regretting extending Ash. If the season starts poorly, expect him to get the boot.

Justin Herbert will win the Heisman Trophy

Herbert returns to Oregon as a senior after a terrific 2018 campaign, and he is one of 10 starters returning on offense — a unit that has averaged more than 40 points per game in his two seasons running the offense. Last year, he threw for 3,151 yards and 29 touchdowns, completing 59.4 percent of his passes. He needs to complete more of his passes, and he needs some big plays — putting up a few SportsCenter moments against Auburn in the opener will make a great first impression.