Taking Bets | Fire Every Coach! | Week Seven

Each Friday evening, the “Taking Bets” column readies all sports fans for their football weekend with keen ideas on the bets to make or those with potential to avoid. It’s host of The Staredown Mallory McCormack, host of Takin’ On Sports TD Wood, editor-in-chief Blaine Duncan, and co-host of Takin’ On Sports Greg Bosworth! Find the bets, which includes one NFL game per week, on the site each Friday evening at 6:30!

2024 ATS Record
Blaine Duncan: 12-11 (Week Six: 1-3) 
TD Wood: 7-15-1 (Week Six: 1-3)
Mallory McCormack: 10-13 (Week Six: 1-3)
Greg Bosworth: 9-14 (Week Six: 2-2)

Blaine Duncan 
Look at us. Almost all 1-3 last weekend. It was wild! Who knows what’ll happen next!

Missouri at UMass (OVER: 54.5) - Why the hell are the Tigers a visiting team to the Minutemen? We’ll never know. Just like we’ll never know why the hell I would bet on this game. 

Washington at Iowa (-2.5) - First year coaches, huh. Never put faith in them. Did y’all know that Jedd Fisch never played football? True story. 

Texas versus Oklahoma (+14.5) - It’s tempting to take the over in the Red River Shootout Rivalry. These former-Big-12-now-SEC teams tend to go back and forth when they play. I’m not saying the Sooners get the upset over the Longhorns here but I’m not not saying that, either. 

NFL Game of the Week: Steelers (-3) at Raiders - Aren’t things falling apart in Las Vegas? That’s what I’m counting on. They don’t even have a QB! Give me the Steelers despite going on the road and not necessarily being a great team themselves.   

TD Wood
OK, so I just need two 4-0 weeks to get back to even on the year… cool. As for this week’s slate, has there ever been a matchup between two top-5 teams with less hype than Ohio State at Oregon? This is what we get with conference realignment -- a top-5 showdown that no one is too invested in, because there’s no history behind the conference matchup and it isn’t special because we might see it again in the Big Ten title game (and maybe even a third time in the CFP). 

Clemson (-20.5) at Wake Forest – After their embarrassment at the hands of Georgia in the opener, Clemson has looked more like the team that made them one of college football’s premier programs in the mid-to-late 2010s. The Demon Deacons, on the other hand, are struggling mightily to stop opposing offenses. If Dabo’s Tigers are for real, this is the kind of game they need to put out of reach by the end of the third quarter.

Cal at Pitt (-3.5) – Poor Cal, things are trending down for them. They were 3-0 before falling to a completely inept Florida State squad; and then last week, with Gameday in town for the first time, they blew a 20-point 4th quarter lead to Miami. Now they have to travel back across the country to play undefeated Pitt, and their electric duo of Eli Holstein and Desmond Reid. I like the Panthers to pull away in the second half.

Arizona at BYU (-3.5) – The Cougars’ unbeaten start has been one of the bigger surprises of the season, so far. Picked near the bottom, if not last, in the Big 12 by most outlets, BYU followed up their shocking blowout of Kansas State with a tough road victory at Baylor. By contrast, Arizona has been a slight disappointment. QB Noah Fifita has struggled to start the season, and the BYU defense specializes in getting pressure on the QB. The Cougs should take care of business here.

NFL Game of the Week: Falcons (-6) at Panthers – Pretty simple one here, Atlanta is riding high off of Kirk Cousins’ massive game last week, and Carolina… well, they still suck. Hashtag Free Bryce Young.

Mallory McCormack 
Well good grief. What an insane weekend. But while the anchors were dropping and the Hogs were calling, I was yelling Hotty Toddy and falling asleep before the end of the Cal screwing. But thank goodness for the NFL. And on that note, here we go as I enter Death Valley for the first time ever…(send bail money!)

South Carolina at Alabama (-21.5) - Sorry SC fans. Bama gonna be mad. Y’all gonna get killed. 

Arizona at BYU (-3.5) - Honestly I just feel like BYU at home is different. And I need to stop picking SEC games. 

Florida at Tennessee (-14.5) - I know I said I gotta stop picking SEC games but Tennessee is doing the checkerboard stadium and my boss is going to be there with his family. So yeah, TN.

NFL Game of the Week: Jaguars @ Bears (-1) - Honestly this week’s NFL games are weird. But the Bears at home.  

Greg Bosworth 
Welp, despite the happenings in Nashville, last weekend was an absolutely great football weekend. Crazy enough, this weekend has potential to be an even better one.

Utah at Arizona State (+5.5) – It should be a great atmosphere in Tempe and the Sun Devils are one of the most improved teams in America. As always you can’t have a Utah game without knowing whether Cam Rising is playing or not. It sounds like he is but he hasn’t played in over a month. The Utes might bounce back after their bye week, but I expect it to be a very close one late Friday night.

Texas versus Oklahoma (+14.5) @ the Cotton Bowl – Always an epic atmosphere with the splitting of the crowd right down the middle during the best state fair in the country. Get all the fried foods you want before heading into this heated rivalry. On paper the Longhorns look like they should run through the Sooners, but the history of this game says otherwise. I don’t think the Sooners have enough offense to win, but maybe we’ll see a little Sooner Magic like we did in Auburn a couple weeks ago to keep it close. Oh by the way Quinn Ewers returns and I’m glad this game is no longer an 11 AM game.

Florida (+14.5) at Tennessee – This has been one of the most lopsided rivalries in the last 20 years, but there is always a little drama and craziness despite the Gator dominance. Billy Napier made it through September and a win here could help him make it through October as well. The Vols after a strong September got a rude awakening to start October in Fayetteville, and it will be interesting to see how they rebound. Josh Heupel’s team is a completely different team at Neyland, so I would be shocked if they lose but by more than two touchdowns seems crazy based on the history of this game.

NFL Game of the Week: Commanders @ Ravens (Over 51.5) – Jayden Daniels is running away with Rookie of the Year in the NFL and going head to head against Lamar Jackson is must see TV on a less than great Sunday schedule. It should be high scoring and could be a back and forth October classic. 

Note: All games are against the spread. Odds are taken from MGM Grand Sportsbook.