There aren’t exactly a ton of marquee matchups on the college football card but those who betonline know that we have a great slate coming up this weekend. We’ve zeroed in on three games that should be mismatches, so let’s see if these college football picks can pay off for us.
Clemson Tigers at North Carolina State Wolfpack
Odds: Clemson -10
It’s become quite clear that Clemson simply isn’t a dominant team. Sure, we’ve gotten used to the Tigers reloading instead of rebuilding, but they’re in a rebuild right now – especially on offense. This team really misses quarterback Trevor Lawrence, as D.J. Uiagalelei has been a mess. Clemson has played Georgia, South Carolina State and Georgia Tech, yet Uiagalelei hasn’t passed for more than 175 yards in any game. He has a total of 475. The good news is the Clemson defense is delivering. That being the case, under makes a lot of sense here. It’s just tough to see any significant points being scored here given how Clemson is playing on both sides of the ball.
Pick: Under 47½
Arizona Wildcats at Oregon Ducks
Odds: Oregon -28½
On paper and in reality, this is a complete mismatch. Oregon is the No. 3 team in the country and has already picked up a signature win, beating the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Horseshoe. Meanwhile, Arizona is an embarrassment these days. They lost at home outright as a 26-point favorite to Northern Arizona last weekend. It doesn’t get much worse than that.
At the same time, this feels like a spot where Arizona can get a back-door cover. It’s a lot of points and Oregon might be looking ahead to a visit to Stanford next weekend. Oregon should cruise to a win but Arizona will hang on for a cover.
Pick: Arizona +28½
North Carolina Tar Heels at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Odds: North Carolina -13½
The Tar Heels have fallen under the radar after starting the season with an embarrassing loss to Virginia Tech. However, they have rebounded in a big way, winning their last two contests while scoring 59 points in each game. Now they’re up against a shaky Yellow Jackets squad that is just 1-2. This line feels low because Georgia Tech put a scare into Clemson last weekend but that’s more of the Tigers being bad than the Yellow Jackets being good.
The bottom line here is that the Tar Heels are going to hang a crazy number in this game and Georgia Tech simply won’t keep pace. Georgia Tech scored just eight points on Clemson last week and 22 on Northern Illinois in Week 1. The Yellow Jackets’ 45-point “explosion” was against Kennesaw State. They’ll again probably be in the teens or 20s while North Carolina should easily get to 40-plus points.
