Taking Bets | Saban Still Hates Penalties | Week Three

2024 ATS Record
Blaine Duncan: 5-2 (Week Two: 2-2) 
TD Wood: 1-6 (Week Two: 0-4)
Mallory McCormack: 3-4 (Week Two: 1-3)
Greg Bosworth: 1-6 (Week Two: 1-3)

Each Friday evening, “Taking Bets” gets you ready for the glorious football weekend with some ideas on the bets worth making or the games in need of avoiding. 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 their bets, which includes one NFL game per week, on the site each Friday evening!

Blaine Duncan 
John Prine said it’s a big, ol’ goofy world, and just like that, I go from Week One’s 3-0 to to Week Two’s 2-2. This week I like home teams perhaps too much; which of these will break me? Let’s find out. (As a bonus on what to bet, I nearly took South Carolina+7, but that movement from 7.5 to a flat 7 scared me off. You know it'll hit now.)

Alabama at Wisconsin (+16.5) – Bama has some issues to work out, which they began doing in the late 3rd and 4th quarters last week at home. Still, a Big Ten home team that isn’t, say, Illinois, Rutgers, or Indiana getting that many points has to be a wise bet. Alabama wins, but it will be by 14 at best. Roll Tide. 

Tulane at Oklahoma (-13.5) – We may be in the world where teams want to show off with big numbers against smaller teams in order to achieve playoff status. Were the Sooners to win by 17 or more, I would not be surprised. They made a mess of Temple – not quite a comparable team – and had some issues with Houston. It boils down to if they’re looking ahead to their first SEC game against Tennessee next week. With them at home, I’ll take my chances. 

Texas A&M at Florida (+3) – Home dogs, baby! The Gators are at this point with Billy Nappier: it’s going to get better or it’s about to crumble. I don’t have a lot of faith in Jimbo in general, and Florida had a game to fix issues against Samford last week, including the crucial quarterback position. Chomp, chomp. The Gators get the outright. 

NFL Game of the Week: Giants at Commanders (-1.5) – Jayden Daniels threw for 184 yards and ran for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns last week in a loss. Despite losing, that still has to give him some confidence as a rookie. Pair it with the Giants’ performance last week, and you have to like an NFL home team winning by a field goal at least. Right? 

TD Wood
Look, let’s just not talk about last week, OK? 

West Virginia at Pitt (+1.5) – Let’s start with a little home dog action in the Backyard Brawl. Pitt has had a good start to the season, with a blowout win over Kent State in Week 1 and a comeback victory at Cincinnati last week. Panther tailback Desmond Reid has been a revelation, and could be key to a Pitt victory against a shaky Mountaineer run defense.

Ole Miss (-22.5) at Wake Forest – There’s nothing I’ve seen from the Demon Deacons that tells me they’re gonna keep pace with Lane Kiffin’s Rebel offense. Ole Miss will continue to put up video game numbers until they face a top tier defense.

Georgia (-23.5) at Kentucky – The Wildcats’ performance last week versus South Carolina was abysmal, and now the Dawgs are coming to town. Mark Stoops is good coach and has done wonders for the program, but this ain’t the year they’re gonna get Georgia. 

Chargers (-5.5) at Panthers – The Panthers are… not good. Like, not even a little bit. I feel terrible for Bryce Young, because he has no help on or off the field in Charlotte. Jim Harbaugh’s team will get like 300 rushing yards in this one because they’ll jump out to a lead early and then just lean on Carolina while the hapless Panthers go 3-and-out all day and the Chargers just run the ball at will. 

Mallory McCormack
So it hasn’t been the greatest of two weeks to start but third time is the charm. Supposedly. And that’s all I have to say about that. 

LSU (-7.0) at South Carolina - I’m going with Kentucky isn’t as good as we thought. And South Carolina hasn’t become that good. LSU players don’t want another table slapping incident either. 

Arkansas State at Michigan (-23.5) - Michigan rebounds. Sorry Red Wolves. Also I love Davis Warren and his story. Especially since it’s childhood cancer awareness month and well leukemia survivors are pretty dang awesome. 

Texas A&M (-3.0) at Florida - The Napier farewell tour hits another snag this week. It won’t be pretty for either team but that’s what happens when you have a new coach on one side with nothing to lose (yet) and one on the other with everything to lose. 

NFL Game of the Week: Giants at Commanders (-1.5) - Is this thing on?  Can anyone in the Giants front office hear me?  Danny Dimes is not the answer.  So again, Giants! Giants! Help us god… 

Greg Bosworth
Wow, two rough weeks in a row! Thanks for nothing Colorado, and I guess that is what I get for betting against my Cowboys, lol. Welp, it can only go up from here right?

Colorado at Colorado St (+7) -- This Rocky Mountain rivalry runs deep, and if Saturday’s game is anything like last year, we are in for a treat. The Buffaloes are looking to rebound after being taken to the woodshed by the Huskers, but even if they do win, they will know they were in a battle when they wake up Sunday morning. I’m almost tempted to take the home dog on the money line, but this seems like the safer route.

Alabama (-16.5) at Wisconsin -- This is an interesting matchup because rarely will you see the Tide going to Big Ten Country. Unlike last week, there won’t be the same drama late in the game. The Badgers just don’t have the players to keep it close for four quarters. I’d be shocked if there is any doubt on going into the fourth quarter. The Tide offense should have a field day, as well as the defense since Tyer Van Dyke isn’t mobile.

Oregon at Oregon State (+16.5) -- So weird that the Civil War game is in September, and that this is now a non-conference game for both teams. The Ducks have struggled mightily against the state of Idaho in Eugene, so I have serious doubts they are going into a hostile environment and win big. Nothing the Beavers would like to do more than to get the big win before this long storied rivalry comes to an end. I expect Oregon will find a way to win Saturday afternoon, but feel like Vegas hasn’t learned their lesson having so much faith in this Oregon team. 

NFL Game of the Week: Bengals at Chiefs (- 6) -- Nobody had a rougher start to the season than the Bengals who took an L against one of the worst teams in the NFL. Now to make things worse they are going to Arrowhead to face the Chiefs. Things change quickly in the NFL from week to week, but just like at the start of last season, something really seems off in Cincinnati, especially with an injured Tee Higgins. Burrow is one of the few QBs in the NFL who has had a solid amount of success against Mahomes, but Sunday won’t be one of these times. 

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