Geoff Johnson
- College football Rivalry Week is upon us. Get ready for the sport’s most fun weekend
- Syracuse isn’t as bad as Notre Dame made them look
- and LSU isn’t as bad as Alabama made them look
We went 1-1 last week, which brings us to a healthy 21-15-0 for the season. With the last week of the regular season, let’s see if we can’t get that win percentage above 60.
College Football Rivalry Week Betting Picks
The odds below are from Bovada.
Syracuse (#20) at Boston College
| Team | Spread at Bovada |
|---|---|
| Syracuse (#20) | +7.0 (-115) |
| Boston College | -7.0 (-105) |
I broadly think Syracuse is the better team, and this is a huge spread. It might be easy to discard Syracuse after their huge loss to Notre Dame last week, but Notre Dame is an elite team and Boston College isn’t. I’m not sure Boston College will be able to take advantage of the same weaknesses Notre Dame exposed.
Syracuse vs Boston College Statistical Comparison
| 2018 Stat | Syracuse | Boston College |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 8-3 | 7-4 |
| S&P+ Defensive Rank | 68th | 28th |
| S&P+ Offensive Rank | 51st | 94th |
| S&P+ Overall Rank | 48th | 60th |
I don’t think Boston College will be able to close up the Syracuse offense the way Notre Dame did, because I think you just need a level of talent that Boston College doesn’t have access to.
Boston College is a great team, but I think Syracuse is getting punished for losing to one of the best teams in the country in weird circumstances.
Betting Advice: I’ll take the points!
LSU (#7) at Texas A&M (#22)
| Team | Spread at Bovada |
|---|---|
| LSU (#7) | +3.0 (-105) |
| Texas A&M (#22) | -3.0 (-115) |
Again, the last time you saw the underdog they were getting worked by a top team. In this case, it was Alabama, and it couldn’t have been uglier.
LSU vs Texas A&M Statistical Comparison
| 2018 Stat | LSU | Texas A&M |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 9-2 | 7-4 |
| S&P+ Defensive Rank | 11th | 33rd |
| S&P+ Offensive Rank | 72nd | 22nd |
| S&P+ Overall Rank | 16th | 21st |
Fortunately Texas A&M isn’t Alabama, and aren’t liable to become Alabama for at least a few more years. In the meantime, LSU is still measurably the better team (although narrowly) and they’re getting points.
I particularly like LSU’s defense here. They’ve had some injuries this year, but they’ve recovered from them nicely and showcased their top-level depth.
Betting Advice: Take LSU and the points.
