Takes on College Football: Against the Spread, Championship Week

It is Championship Saturday, Week Fifteen, and that’s it. After this, Bowl Season and the College Football Playoffs. We’re already in mourning. Let’s give it the last try in our final set of picks: here are our best guess at the best bets with the lowest stress. Here are our college football picks of the week!

2019 ATS Record
Blaine Duncan: 27-14-1 (Week Fourteen: 2-1)
TD Wood: 16-24-2 (Week Fourteen: 1-2)

Blaine Duncan
Well without opposing thumbs, my cat Piper dropped the ball and finally had her first loss of the season. She did go 8-1. I can’t blame her too much. I’m taking over the reigns this final week. And look, had you followed my ideas this year, you would be a pretty big winner. Send me a gift card to Krispy Kreme, won’t you? God bless. Let’s go.

LA-Lafayette at App State (-6): Beating a team twice in one season is a tough task for any team. One of the Mountaineers’ closest games this year was with the Ragin’ Cajuns back on October 9th. I still like App State to go and get the 7-point win this weekend, if not more, and furthering their claim as a highly ranked bowl opponent for some Power Five school. They’re on a roll, never mind the anomaly that was their loss to Georgia Southern. And if Mountaineer professor Caleb R. Johnson suits up, I say App State wins by fourteen!

Baylor (+9) at Oklahoma: Per my previous pick above, it’s hard as hell to beat the same team twice in one season. I like for the Bears to hang in there once again. They only lost by three in the initial season meeting with the Sooners getting the win less than a month ago. That loss has to be tasting bad in Matt Rhule’s mouth, and he’ll have the team within 9 points as Oklahoma are cutting a lot of their recent challenges close. (It wouldn’t surprise me if Baylor gets the outright here, either.)

UAB at FAU (-8): Both of these squads come in at 9-3, but the Owls have been on a more impressive run of late whereas sometimes the Blazers feel like they’re headed in the other direction, despite their wins. Sometimes, it comes down to coaching. Lane Kiffin would be a better bet here. Jump on that Lane Train, folks!

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TD Wood
Welp, here we are at championship weekend already. The season flies by too fast, doesn’t it? I really went into a tailspin with my picks in November, so screw it, let’s go for broke and try to pick all of Saturday’s championship games.

Big 12 Championship (Arlington, TX), Baylor vs. Oklahoma (-9): Rematches are rare in college football, and when they do occur the second game is a lot different than the first. Baylor jumped out big in the first matchup between these two, and then squandered a 28-3 lead in route to a loss. I don’t think Oklahoma spots them the points this time around. I see the Sooners jumping ahead early and pulling away as the game goes on.

Sun Belt Championship, Louisiana at Appalachian State (-6): These two met earlier in the season, and the Mountaineers won 17-7 in Lafayette. I expect App State to win a little more handily this time around, thanks to the home field advantage.

MAC Championship Game (Detroit), Miami (OH) vs. Central Michigan (-6.5): Umm, sure, Central Michigan sounds good.

Conference USA Championship, UAB (+8) at Florida Atlantic: I was all aboard the Lane Train, but word late Friday night is that he’s nearing a deal with Ole Miss, so I’m gonna take the points, assuming the news distracts the Owls and the coaching staff.

AAC Championship Game, Cincinnati (+9) at Memphis: These teams played just last week, a 34-24 Tigers win, and I still think Memphis is the better team, and they’re playing for a shot at a NY6 bowl. But this game will be closer, with the Tigers pulling it out late.

SEC Championship (Atlanta), Georgia vs. LSU (-7): Georgia might have the defense to slow down and disrupt the Tigers’ offense, but the Bulldogs just cannot make big plays down the field when they have the ball. This should be close for three quarters, but LSU will make the big plays when they need to and win by a couple of scores.

Mountain West Championship, Hawaii at Boise State (-14): These two played earlier in the season, a 22-point Broncos victory in Boise. The Broncos still have a shot at playing in a NY6 bowl, and I think they’re out to prove something in this one. Big time win for the home team on the blue turf.

ACC Championship (Charlotte), Virginia vs. Clemson (-29): Hahahahaha, like this one will be close after the first quarter.

Big 12 Championship (Indianapolis), Wisconsin vs. Ohio State (-16.5): Everything I’ve seen tells me the Buckeyes are the best team in college football, and I don’t see Wisconsin getting any closer than they did the first time these two teams tangled in Columbus. Sometimes the rematches do play out the same.

Note: All games are Against the Spread. Odds are taken from the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook.