Nonconference play has always been an uphill climb for teams outside the power conferences. There are a lot of money games involved against the power-conference teams, and they aren’t paying money to lose (although that happens sometimes).
This season, Group of Five teams, plus UConn and UMass, are a combined 8-74 against teams in the power conferences and Notre Dame. The most noteworthy of those was Northern Illinois’ stunning upset of the Fighting Irish. The American Athletic Conference only has one such win, which was Memphis’ victory at Florida State. Conference USA has been shut out in nine tries.
The gap between the major conferences and the rest may get worse instead of better as the power leagues work to separate themselves even further from the rest of college football.
Each week, I will use this space to tell you what I think are a few of the best bets heading into the weekend. I will also throw in an upset of the week, which will be a team that is at least a touchdown underdog that I am picking to win outright.
I will also give you picks on other games involving potential College Football Playoff teams. Since many teams are still a “CFP candidate,” I’ll go with the current top 12 teams in the AP Top 25. With the expanded playoff this season, I’ll go deeper into the rankings once we get a few games under our belts.
Games against FCS opponents are not considered.
Odds via SportsLine consensus
Week 6 picks
Auburn at No. 5 Georgia (-24.5): This may not be the best time to play Georgia. The Bulldogs are coming off a couple of subpar performances — or, at least until they were down 28-0 to Alabama — and a loss. The Tigers have not been good at much this season except finding ways to lose. They will not have to look…
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Author : Jerry Palm
Publish date : 2024-10-02 16:10:24
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