Week 1 of the Underdogs Against the Spread got off to a good start on Thursday night. Unfortunately, Saturday was not so kind to us.
I was right when I said UCF will do their part to hit the over as long as UConn gave us a few scores. It was a late touchdown by the Huskies that gave us our first winner of the 2018 season. That’s the kind of start you want.
Then Saturday came along and it was a wave of emotions.
Houston trailed for nearly three quarters before pulling away against Rice. It was too late as there was little chance they would cover that 25-point spread. That was the first loss of the season, but hey, can’t win them all.
Marshall jumped out to a 28-7 lead midway through the third and while Miami tried to make it interesting in the fourth, the one-point spread seemed secure for most of the game. That’s when the embarrassment started for last week’s picks.
I could not have been more wrong about Old Dominion and Liberty. Here’s what I said last week:
“I’m not going to act like I know a whole lot about Liberty football so this pick is more of me questioning whether the Flames are ready to make that jump to the FBS.”
Boy, were they ready. Liberty absolutely blasted ODU, scoring 38 unanswered points to close out the game. Two losses.
The Old Dominion play was a kick to the gut until SMU took the field. Mason Fine and North Texas did what we expected: scored points in bunches. What wasn’t in the cards was SMU failing to score until the fourth quarter. All we needed from them was another score earlier in the game to get the points we needed. And you’ll see in a second that we are going down that road again.
With all that said, you can’t be scared away after one week. We’ll get it back and then some in Week 2. Here are this week’s picks:
Record: 2-3
*All lines are according to Bovada and are accurate at the time posted
TCU Horned Frogs vs. SMU Mustangs (Over 59)
SMU let us down last week, but can’t do it again, right? The over has hit in four of the last five meetings between the two schools, and will do so again. TCU packs plenty of offensive firepower and with how awful the Mustangs have been on defense, they could reach the number alone. SMU will score a few before the fourth quarter to help us out.
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (-5)
After losing to Nicholls State as a nine-point home favorite, there is little reason to believe they’ll go on the road to beat a Central Michigan team that clobbered them last season, 45-27, in Lawrence. Kansas is just bad and we’ll jump at any opportunity to take a G5 favorite over a P5 program.
Air Force Falcons vs. Florida Atlantic Owls (-9.5)
Air Force’s weakness is their rush defense and that has Devin Singletary licking his chops. FAU is 6-1 ATS in their last seven games at home, and with Lane Kiffin’s bunch being embarrassed their last time out against Oklahoma, Air Force is going to take a beating to get the Owls back on track.
ULM Warhawks vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles (-5)
Both teams are coming off wins over FCS opponents, but Southern Miss looked much more impressive in doing so. Add in that ULM is 1-8 ATS against Conference USA opponents and Southern Miss are 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games, it’s easy to back the home team in this one.
Rice Owls vs. Hawaii Warriors (-17)
No one is going to say that Hawaii is the best team in college football, but you can make a case that they’ve been the most impressive. Rice cost us last week, but that was a rivalry game at home. This time, they are on the road and won’t have an answer to slow down Cole McDonald.
Check back with us next week for more and let me know what you think in the comments below or via Twitter. Until next week, SHOW ME THE MONEY!!