College football bettors don’t have to wait until Saturday in Week 4 to wager on games involving ranked teams as there’s a solid three-game Friday schedule featuring a pair of Top 25 programs.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
A very underrated matchup is Florida Atlantic at No. 16 Central Florida, with the Knights as 14-point favorites. They were champions of the American Athletic Conference last year and ran the table. UCF brings a nation-best 15-game winning streak into this one and will be well-rested after their Week 3 game at North Carolina was canceled due to the hurricane. FAU was an 11-win team last year and won Conference USA. This could have ramifications for the Group of 5’s spot in a New Year’s Six bowl. FAU is 1-4 ATS in its past five non-conference games.
Also Friday, it could be a bit of a trap game for No. 10 Penn State as it heads to Illinois in Big Ten action. The Nittany Lions are -28.5, but might they be looking ahead to next week’s mammoth showdown with No. 4 Ohio State? The underdog has covered five of the past six in this series.
The game of Saturday is likely No. 7 Stanford at No. 20 Oregon on prime-time national television. The winner figures to be the top challenger to Washington in the Pac-12 North Division. The Cardinal are 2-point favorites but are 2-6 in their past eight at the Ducks.
Remember when Florida-Tennessee used to be the best rivalry in the SEC East Division? Both schools are rebuilding now under first-year head coaches. The Gators are -4.5 in Knoxville on Saturday. Florida is 0-5 ATS in its past five SEC games, while Tennessee is 1-6 ATS in its previous seven in the conference.
The biggest Week 4 game in the SEC is No. 22 Texas A&M at No. 1 Alabama. It’s student against teacher as new Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher was a former assistant under Nick Saban at LSU. Saban still has yet to lose in his career against a former assistant and the Tide are 27.5-point favorites. A&M has covered just two of its past 12 on the road against teams with winning records.
Finally, the big one in the Big Ten on Saturday is No. 18 Wisconsin at Iowa, with the winner in the early driver’s seat in the West Division. The Badgers perhaps were caught looking ahead to this one in Week 3 as they were stunned at home by BYU. UW is a 3.5-point favorite at Iowa and has covered 11 of its past 12 on the road overall.
