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Arizona, Missouri Buck NCAAF Odds; Clemson, TCU Buckle Under Odds
The normal suspects are in contention for the four College Football Playoff spots. Defending national champion Georgia joins SEC rival Alabama as well as Big Ten powers Michigan and Ohio State among the teams vying for the CFP bids. With just two regular-season games left to play, what better time is there to take a look at the teams that exceeded the expectations set by the college football betting lines – as well as those falling short of their lofty goals?
By this time next week, many of the conference races will either be decided or most of the pretenders will no longer be in contention heading into the final week of the regular season.
When it comes to NCAA football predictions, Arizona leads all teams from the Power-5 conferences with an 8-2 record against the college football spread. It is followed by Kansas State and Oregon with 7-2-1 ATS marks.
Georgia and Michigan have the best odds of winning the national championship. Georgia has already clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
The Overachievers
Arizona Wildcats: When the Pac-12 season was being discussed, the Arizona Wildcats were rarely in the conversation.
However, with games remaining against two-time defending Pac-12 champion Utah and Arizona State, the Wildcats are sitting at 7-3. It’s not bad considering that Arizona was priced at -120 to go over five wins and -110 to finish under that total. Arizona owns wins over UCLA and Oregon State and threw scares into both Southern California and undefeated Washington.
NOAH FIFITA, folks.
Five career starts, all against ranked teams, the last three victories:
➡️ Passing: 140 of 185 (75.7%)
➡️ Yards: 1,463
➡️ TDs: 14
➡️ INTs: 4#ArizonaWildcats pic.twitter.com/WfIIbotCtx— Anthony Gimino (@AGWildcatReport) November 5, 2023
Missouri Tigers: Even when Missouri headed into a showdown with Georgia with a 7-1 record, there were plenty of naysayers when it came to the Tigers.
It took two later interceptions for the Georgia Bulldogs to hold off the Tigers. Even with that loss, the Tigers are 8-3 with two games left after beginning the season with -125 odds to finish under 6½ wins.
Northwestern Wildcats: Nobody knew what to expect when longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald was cast aside before the season after accusations of hazing ended his affiliation with the school where he played linebacker. A win over Wisconsin pushed the Wildcats’ record to 5-5 after the line was set at -105 to go over three wins and -125 to finish under that total.
Winnable games remain against Purdue and Illinois for Northwestern to continue to defy the college football odds.
The Underachievers
Arkansas Razorbacks: With the return of quarterback KJ Jefferson and running back Raheim Sanders, big things were expected from the Razorbacks.
However, Arkansas fell to 3-7 after being blown out 48-10 by Auburn as Arkansas has struggled to get its two best offensive players on the field.
The struggles were seen by some with -140 odds to go under seven wins heading into the season.
Clemson Tigers: The defending ACC champions are sitting ninth in the ACC standings with one conference game remaining against North Carolina.
The Tigers have some work to do moving forward to move back to its typical perch at the top of the ACC. Not even winning the last two games can ease the disappointment from a team that had -120 odds to go over 10 regular-season wins when the season began.
Pittsburgh Panthers: Just two seasons ago, Pittsburgh won the ACC title. Now the Panthers will not be among the ACC teams heading to a bowl game.
Pittsburgh is one of four ACC teams with just one conference win and the only ACC squad yet to win on the road.
The lone win was an impressive 38-21 effort against Louisville but Pittsburgh managed a total of 44 points in the next four contests.
Pittsburgh came into the season with a -120 moneyline to go over seven wins but it is sitting at 2-8 with games remaining versus Boston College and Duke.
Texas Christian Horned Frogs: Beginning with a humbling loss to a Deion Sanders-coached Colorado team, it has been quite the fall for a TCU team that topped Michigan to reach the national title game last season.
With even odds to go under 7½ wins, expectations were a little lower this year. Still, more was expected than a 4-6 record with two games left as TCU might go from reaching the College Football Playoffs to not becoming bowl-eligible.
Wisconsin Badgers: Coaching changes can be challenging and that has certainly been the case in Madison.
A perennial Big Ten title contender, Wisconsin was priced at -105 to go over nine regular-season wins.
After falling to Northwestern, the Badgers are 5-5 and need to win at least one of its last two games to secure a bowl berth.
Questions of the Day
Which teams had the highest expectations coming into the 2023 college football season?
Georgia was priced at +220 to win the national title followed by Alabama at +600, Ohio State at +700, and Michigan at +850.
What teams are the biggest disappointments?
USC and Clemson were both given +1600 odds to win the national title by our sportsbook and a combined 13-8 this season.
