"Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris "The Bear" Fallica preview Week 4 of the 2022 college football season as only they can, offering their top bets, nuggets and totals worth wagering on.
Odds and lines are from Caesars Sportsbook unless otherwise noted.
Records:
The Bear (Last week: 4-3. Season: 11-6-1)
Stanford Steve (Last week: 1-3. Season: 4-9)
The plays
Wisconsin Badgers at Ohio State Buckeyes (-18.5, 57)
The Bear: I have very little faith in Wisconsin's ability to score points here, and while I have a ton of respect for Jim Leonhard and his defensive track record, it will take a massive effort from the Badgers to hang in this one vs. a potent Buckeye offense.
Pick: Ohio State -18.5
Texas Longhorns (-6.5, 60) at Texas Tech Red Raiders
Stanford Steve: Last week, Texas showed its elite talent in the second half and gave me a dose, as I took UTSA plus the points and it wasn't enough. So, I'm just asking for trouble again going against a coach and a coaching staff I think the world of in Steve Sarkisian and his staff in Austin. But, I think the Red Raiders have the goods to hang around in this game in front of what should be a crazy crowd in Lubbock. Tech went to Raleigh last week and outgained the Wolfpack but it turned the ball over four times and whenever you do that you cannot expect to win and even worse not expect to cover. Big spot here for Joey McGuire and his group. I think they keep it close enough, so we'll take the home team plus the points.
Pick: Texas Tech +6.5 (Texas 31, Texas Tech 27)
The Bear: Tech playing in Lubbock is completely different than Texas Tech playing on the road. Give Texas a ton of credit for gutting out a nice win last week against UTSA, but going on the road here vs. a team coming off a loss in the favorite role might spell trouble against a very capable Tech team, whose defense has been playing better than many might expect.
Pick: Texas Tech +6.5
James Madison Dukes at Appalachian State Mountaineers (-7, 58.5)
Stanford Steve: The picks have not been up to standard this year and even worse now I feel bad going against America's team this week in Appalachian State. But, when I look at the other side, I see a team in the Dukes who have the best opportunity to get a big win in their first year in the Sun Belt that they could ask for. They have a very back-loaded schedule, as they face the likes of Louisville and Coastal Carolina when November gets here. So, this is the Dukes first shot at getting some attention and I think they are a very well-coached team by Curt Cignetti, so I expect a big effort from them in their first true road test as a Sun Belt team.
Pick: James Madison +7 (Appalachian State 27, James Madison 24)
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors at New Mexico State Aggies (-4.5, 53)
The Bear: This one looks ugly on paper but I think it's a good spot to play the Aggies, who have been blown out by Minnesota and Wisconsin and were done in vs. Nevada by turnovers. Hawai'i hasn't been competitive at all vs. FBS teams and you have to wonder if the bouncing around -- two weeks ago at Michigan, last week at home and now back to the mainland. Jerry Kill also has a big coaching edge here.
Pick: New Mexico State -4.5
Northern Illinois Huskies at Kentucky Wildcats (-26.5, 53)
The Bear: The Huskies should have enough offense to hang around in this one against a Kentucky team that might have its mind on next week's trip to Oxford. UK scored 37 on another MAC team -- Miami (Ohio) -- so if you assume NIU can score 14, that may be enough for the cover.
Pick: Northern Illinois +26.5
UConn Huskies at NC State Wolfpack (-38.5, 49.5)
The Bear: This is another hold your nose special as you've got to stomach backing one of the worst teams in the country, one that lost by 34 at home two weeks ago to Syracuse and 59-0 last week at Michigan. But this one is about the spot. NC State has been hearing about Clemson all offseason. That's who the Wolfpack face next week. I'd expect them to simply go through the motions this week and sit a lot of starters late in this one. Maybe they'll still cover, but I'm willing to take a chance that the Huskies can hang within 40.
Pick: Connecticut +38.5
Iowa Hawkeyes (-7.5, 34.5) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Bear: Iowa has received a lot of deserved criticism for its lack of offense, but against a Rutgers team that has failed to score 17 points in nine of its past 13 games vs. FBS opponents and struggled with Temple last week, the Hawkeyes should be able to win another one in comfortable fashion as they did last week vs. Nevada.
Pick: Iowa -7.5
Arkansas Razorbacks at Texas A&M Aggies (-2, 49.5)
Stanford Steve: Arkansas escaped last week in a win vs. Missouri State as Bobby Petrino returned to Fayetteville for the first time since his stint as head coach ended. The Hogs' defense against the pass has been, let's just say, not great this year. It is dead last in the country in passing yards allowed, giving up an average of 352 yards a game. And on the other side, Texas A&M got a much-needed win vs. Miami last week, as they inserted Max Johnson at quarterback. The offense wasn't great but it was effective enough to get the win. But, that's my point here, even if the Aggies are successful in the pass game, I still think Arkansas has the firepower on offense with KJ Jefferson to outscore the Aggies if it gets to a high-scoring game. Weird things always happen in this game, but we'll take the Razorbacks plus the points at the neutral site in Dallas.
Pick: Arkansas +2 (Arkansas 27, Texas A&M 20)
Duke Blue Devils at Kansas Jayhawks (-7, 66)
Stanford Steve: No one has come off the radar at the quarterback position and impressed me more this year than Jalon Daniels from Kansas. He's completing 67% of his passes and thrown 7 TDs to just one interception, plus he's No. 1 in the country in QBR (97.5). The Jayhawks are the best story in the sport in this young season in my opinion and Daniels is the major reason why. Their wins are more impressive to me than their opponent this week and this is why I give them the advantage in this game. They've gone on the road and scored 103 points in two games, at West Virginia and at Houston. We'll take the home team and give the points.
Pick: Kansas -7 (Kansas 31, Duke 20)
The Bear's money-line parlay
$139 wins $100
Last Week: +128
Season: +$128
Air Force Falcons -2800
Mississippi State Bulldogs -10000
Penn State Nittany Lions -6000
Miami Hurricanes -4500
Cincinnati Bearcats -730
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers -15000
Ole Miss Rebels -1500
Liberty Flames -12500
Kentucky Wildcats -3500
Ohio State Buckeyes -975
Purdue Boilermakers -1150
BYU Cougars -21000
The Bear's underdogs to play on the money line
Last Week: 1-3
Season: -.85 units
Stanford Cardinal +375
Texas Tech Red Raiders +210
Rice Owls +600
Missouri Tigers +250
Virginia Cavaliers +260
Georgia State Panthers +110
Bear bytes
Virginia Cavaliers at Syracuse Orange
Syracuse hasn't been a double-digit favorite often -- just 30 times since the start of the 2000 season. However, the Orange have won every one of those games, last losing as a double-digit favorite in 1999 to Terry Shea's Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
No. 17 Baylor Bears at Iowa State Cyclones
Under Matt Campbell, Iowa State has been involved in 17 games in which the spread was within -3.5/+3.5. Iowa State is 5-12 (.417) in those 17 games. In that span -- since 2016 -- only four coaches have a worse winning percentage in "close spread" games, minimum of 10 games:
Kliff Kingsbury 1-9, .111
Rick Stockstill 5-14, .357
Tom Allen 3-8, .375
Scott Frost 4-10, .400
On the flip side is Campbell's conference mate Mike Gundy, who leads the way at 13-3. It's just the third time the Cyclones will enter a game in this mold as the favorite.
Looking for an angle in those games? Fourteen of the past 15 have gone under the total.
Duke Blue Devils at Kansas Jayhawks
This is the first time since Oct. 17, 2009, that Kansas is favored by more than seven points vs. a Power 5 opponent. KU was a 9.5 point favorite at Colorado that day and lost 34-30.
Kent State Golden Flashes at No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia is currently a 45-point favorite over Kent State. In the past two years, there have been seven FBS vs. FBS games where there was a 45-point favorite. Six of the seven covered the number. That's a stark contrast over the previous 12 years where those 45-point favorites were 8-14 ATS.
Wisconsin Badgers at No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes
This snaps Wisconsin's run of 24 straight games as a favorite. If you take Ohio State out of the equation, Wisconsin has been favored in 37 straight games. Wisconsin hasn't been a dog vs someone other than Ohio State since the 2018 Bowl game vs Miami, a game the Badgers cruised in, winning 35-3.
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors at New Mexico State Aggies
This is just the 5th time in the past 31 games New Mexico State has been favored. The Aggies have covered all four previous games as a favorite in that run and all four of those games went over the total.
No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks at No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies
Arkansas has been an underdog 15 times under Sam Pittman. The Razorbacks are 11-4 ATS in those 15 games with five outright wins, including a win last year over Texas A&M as a 4.5-point dog.
Toledo Rockets at San Diego State Aztecs
This is the first time since 2008 San Diego State is an underdog vs another Group of 5 team in a regular season nonconference game since 2008 when the Aztecs lost 35-10 to San Jose State as a 6.5-point dog.
No. 15 Oregon Ducks at Washington State Cougars
The Cougars had covered 10 straight vs the Ducks prior to dropping each of the past two games by 14 points. However, Oregon has lost four of its past six games outright as a road favorite. Each of those losses came with the Ducks favored by greater than eight points.
Iowa Hawkeyes at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers has failed to score 17 points in 9 of its past 13 games vs. FBS opposition.
No. 7 USC Trojans at Oregon State Beavers
Since 2019, Oregon State is 16-6 ATS as an underdog with 10 outright wins. Since 2019, no coach has more outright wins as an underdog than Jonathan Smith. The Beavers have won five of their past seven games as a home dog.
Kansas State Wildcats at No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners
In 2020 K-State lost to Arkansas State, then won in Norman the following week. In 2019, the Wildcats struggled with a 5-7 TCU team, then beat OU the following week. K-State lost to Tulane last week ... is another upset in store?
No. 20 Florida Gators at No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers
The Vols have lost 16 of 17 to the Gators. This is the first time the Vols have been a double-digit favorite over Florida.
Looking ahead?
No. 8 Kentucky has a road game at No. 16 Ole Miss next week and is laying 26.5 to Northern Illinois. The Rebels are laying 21.5 vs. Tulsa. No. 12 NC State is laying 39 vs. UConn with a road game vs. No. 5 Clemson next week.
No. 5 Clemson Tigers at No. 21 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Clemson has scored three first-half TDs in two games vs. FBS opponents this season. One of the Clemson TDs came on a five-yard drive after a blocked punt.