College Football Week 12 Odds, Picks & Predictions (Friday)

Gear up for another awesome weekend of college football action with BettingPros! We’ll have you covered with all of our top picks for the week along with our projected spreads and totals to help guide your college football bets. Below are our top picks and predictions for Friday’s games.

Top College Football Odds & Picks: Friday

South Florida vs. UTSA

An injury marred start to the season saw the Roadrunners of UTSA get off to a 1-3 start. Since AAC play started they’ve been on a roll, sitting 6-0 along with Tulane and SMU. There is a big game down the road next week against Tulane, but USF stands in their way Friday night. The Bulls have been all over the place from week to week, but they’ve played some of their best football the last few weeks with wins over Temple and UConn. USF doesn’t pose much of a threat on defense, ranking 119th in EPA. UTSA QB Frank Harris should be able to go off in what will be his last game in front of the Alamodome crowd after a historic career at UTSA. The Roadrunner defense struggled early in the season but has been better as of late, however they still struggle to stop the run which is one of USF’s strengths. The line in this game is pretty wide. I expect Harris to have a phenomenal game on his Senior night, but I could see the defense get a little complacent looking ahead to next week’s must-win matchup with Tulane. This all lends itself to an over play.

Pick: Over 66.5 (-118)

-Ryan Rodeman

Colorado vs. Washington State

After hot starts, both of these teams have fallen off of a cliff. This game has all of the makings of a shootout. Neither team is adept at running the ball. Colorado ranks 105th in rush EPA while Washington State sits at 127th. Similarly neither team is strong defensively. Statistically this is a matchup between two of the strongest volume passers in the country in Shadeur Sanders and Cam Ward. Both of these guys took the leap from FCS standouts to FBS and have succeeded with flying colors. Both are over 3100 yards in the air and 20+ TDs. Expect both of these offenses to come out throwing. With neither of these teams trending towards being bowl eligible, this is likely the last chance for both of these passers to show that what they can do on a national stage on Friday primetime. A heavy passing gameplan with two atrocious defenses, it’s impossible not love the over.

Pick: Over 62.5 (-110)

-Ryan Rodeman

Best Ways to Bet College Football for Beginners

Game Total

Bettors new to the hobby can be confused by spreads, but game totals are simple. Every football game has a total posted for the combined final score between the two teams. Bettors have the option to choose the OVER or UNDER, generally at -110 odds (risk: $110; win: $100). So if the total is 42 and you take the OVER, you need 43 points to win the bet. If you put a bet down on the over to win $100 and it goes over, you get back the money you initially risked, plus $100. If it stayed under, you would have lost your $110 and that's it. If by chance the game ended with 42 total points, it's called a push; when a game pushes, you get the money you risked back but nothing more.

ie: California vs. Illinois, Over 42 or Under 42

tip: Over bets can be a really fun social event with your buddies. Have everyone throw in a few bucks, then take the over together. Instead of getting pumped when one side scores, everyone is pumped for ANY score, all game.

Moneyline

The moneyline is the easiest way to test your college football knowledge: who will win the game? That's it. The moneyline doesn't use favorites or underdogs, it's totally straight up. That said, the risk-reward can be challenging because they're weighted. Instead of every game being around -110, like game totals and spreads, moneylines vary depending on the matchup.

For our example, California was favored by seven points over Illinois, meaning oddsmakers think the Golden Bears are a touchdown better than the Fighting Illini. If you took Cal on the moneyline, points don't matter, they just need to win the game. But because it's safer to take them straight-up without points, you'll have to risk more when you make the bet - remember, they're seven points better than Illinois in the eyes of the oddsmakers. In this case, Cal is -280 on the moneyline, so if you want to win $100, you have to risk $280. On the flip side, moneyline bets can be valuable when taking the underdog because it's a riskier bet - they're seven points worse than their opponent. In this case, Illinois is the underdog - +220 on the moneyline. You'd win $220 on a $100 bet if you picked Illinois on the moneyline and they pulled off the upset.

ie: California (ML -280) vs. Illinois (ML +220)

tip: Check their history against one another. Keep an eye on the injury report and the weather.

Player Props

Player props are some of the most exhilarating bets you can place during a college football game, but they're also easy to understand. For major conferences, you'll have a wide array of options to choose from. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and sometimes tight ends will have props to choose from. It's simple, fun and easy to follow, and odds on player props don't vary as much as moneylines. Generally, prop bets are in the -110 range like generic spread and total bets.

ie: How many passing yards will Brandon Peters have against California? Over 250 or Under 250

tip: Check how players have performed in the situation they're going to be in. Use split stats on any reliable site to see their numbers at home, on a neutral-site, in December, etc.