College Football Week 14 Odds, Picks & Predictions (Saturday)

by BettingPros Staff |
Dec 01, 2023

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 Saturday’s games.

Top College Football Odds & Picks: Saturday

Oklahoma State vs. Texas

The Texas Longhorns need help to reach the College Football Playoff. Yet, while they’re not in control of their own destiny, a dominant victory in the Big 12 Championship Game would remove any doubt from voter’s minds should enough break the Longhorns’ way this weekend. The Oklahoma State Cowboys have won seven of eight after starting the season 2-2. However, their recent performances have been far from convincing. They needed double overtime to defeat the BYU Cougars, they barely escaped Houston with a win, and three weeks ago they fell 45-3 to the UCF Knights. The Longhorns are without star running back Jonathon Brooks who tore his ACL three weeks ago. But they have gotten great production from their backfield by committee in his absence. Over the last two weeks, the Longhorns have run for 425 yards. At the quarterback position, the Longhorns have the clear advantage with Quinn Ewers under center. This advantage will negate any positive the Cowboys may have hoped to gain on the defensive side of the ball.

Pick: Texas -15.5 (-110)

-Phil Wood

Miami (OH) vs. Toledo

The Miami (OH) RedHawks only lost two games this year. The first loss was to the Miami Hurricanes, and the second was a 21-17 loss to Toledo on October 21. The RedHawks will seek revenge when it matters the most; in the MAC Championship. They'll take on a Toledo Rockets squad with only one loss this season. That loss came against Illinois, on the road, by just two points. So we're talking about two incredible teams in the MAC. Both defenses were tremendous this season. Miami (OH) allowed only 16.33 points per game while holding teams to 173.08 yards in the air. Meanwhile, Toledo allowed only 170.58 yards in the air and gave up under 21 points per game. Both offenses are led by quality quarterbacks. However, these defenses dominate coverage and are still very solid against the run. Neither Miami's Brett Gabbert nor Toledo's DeQuan Finn earned more than 180 yards passing in their previous game against one another. The defenses didn't even give up a point in a tight game in the fourth quarter. I'll ride the Under 44.5 in this one.

Pick: Under 44.5 (-110)

-Jason Radowitz

Georgia vs. Alabama

For the 3rd time in the past 6 seasons, Alabama and Georgia will square off in the SEC Championship game, with obvious College Football Playoff implications on the line. Georgia has once again run the table in the regular season, notching their 29th consecutive victory over Georgia Tech last weekend and hoping to become the first program in NCAA history to win 3 consecutive national titles. The Crimson Tide's only loss this season came at the hands of another CFP hopeful in Texas, though it did come on their home turf. The Bulldogs have not had a victory come by fewer than 7 points this season, which is an expected result from the SEC's top defense and 2nd-ranked offense behind only LSU. Alabama needed a miracle to escape Auburn with a victory last weekend and has struggled to win by margin as frequently as Georgia, but they rank directly behind the Bulldogs in scoring per game, both on the offensive and defensive side of the football. While these defenses are two of the best in the entire country, there are plenty of dynamic playmakers on both offensive sides of the ball and this game has historically featured a ton of points. 8 of the previous 11 SEC Championship games have blown past this total, including a perfect 3/3 to the over in games that were played between Alabama and Georgia. I think history repeats itself, and I see this game being a fairly high-scoring affair.

Pick: Over 54.5 (-110)

-Austin MacMillan

SMU vs. Tulane

The injury to SMU starting QB Preston Stone unfortunately takes some of the hype out of this matchup, but still features what should be a very good game between two teams that ran the table in AAC play. SMU's offense was the highest-scoring in the AAC with Stone at nearly 42 PPG, but redshirt freshman QB Kevin Jennings lacks experience at the collegiate level and introduces a huge question mark for the Mustangs offense. Tulane's offense was pretty middling for AAC standards, but veteran 4th-year QB Michael Pratt had another really good season with 21 TDs to just 4 INTs. Both squads are extremely stout on the defensive side of the ball, ranking at the top of the conference in yards and points allowed per game. While I do favor the Green Wave to win the ballgame, Tulane has really struggled to win games by margin this year, beating pretty poor teams in ECU, Rice and Tulsa by a combined 7 points. I expect SMU to play conservatively on offense to protect their backup QB, and I see this game playing out as a low-scoring affair between the two best defenses in the conference. I'll take the under in the AAC Championship game.

Pick: Under 47.5 (-115)

-Austin MacMillan

Appalachian State vs. Troy

The Sun Belt Championship Game features two teams that have steamrolled their opponents of late. Troy has won nine games in a row and eight by seven points or more. Their average winning margin this season is 18.7 points. Meanwhile, the Appalachian State Mountaineers have won five in a row, with four of those wins coming by double digits. Their only victory by less than seven points during that time was a 26-23 win over the then-undefeated James Madison Dukes. What this game is ultimately going to come down to is defense. The Trojans have the fifth-best defense in college football, allowing just 15.5 points per game. The Mountaineers are allowing 26.9. While the Mountaineers have the 15th-highest-scoring offense in the nation, they have struggled against some of the better defenses they’ve faced this year. The Trojans haven’t given up more than 24 points in a game since Week 4. And while the Mountaineers have the offensive advantage, the Trojans still average 28.0 points per game. Take the Trojans below the key number.

Pick: Troy -6 (-110)

-Phil Wood

Michigan vs. Iowa

Michigan is coming off the high of beating Ohio State again, but they need one more in order to get into the CFB Playoffs. They have the ability to dominate on both sides of the ball thanks to the top-scoring defense and the 13th-best offense. The last time Iowa and Michigan met in the Big Ten Championship, the Hawkeyes took a big loss 42-3. The Iowa offense is not remotely any good as they're 121st by averaging 18 points per game. Iowa's defense looks great on paper, but the Big Ten West is far from featuring offensive juggernauts, so don't be surprised when Michigan lights it up.

Pick: Michigan -22 (-110)

-John Supowitz

Louisville vs. Florida State

The whole world is rooting for Louisville to knock off Florida State. It's not because Florida State is hated. It's because the Seminoles lost starting quarterback Jordan Travis for the rest of the season. Now nobody wants to have to watch a shorthanded Florida State take on Georgia in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Florida State is currently undefeated with a 12-0 record. But they must add one more win to ensure a College Football Playoff berth. With a win, leaving Florida State out of the College Football Playoff with an undefeated record in a Power-5 conference is impossible. With that said Florida State has to rely on junior quarterback Tate Rodemaker. He's been on the team for four seasons but currently has a QBR of 43.9 on the season. He's kept turnovers down but also hasn't utilized his receivers, Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman enough. The Seminoles will want to run the ball a lot with Trey Benson. However, Louisville has allowed just 96.75 yards on the ground. Florida State, on the other hand, has allowed 140.17 yards per game on the ground. The Cardinals have a veteran quarterback in Jack Plummer, who doesn't always play like a veteran. But if the Cardinals run the ball with their dynamic duo at running back and rely on Plummer to make quality decisions in big spots, I like Louisville to come through and at least cover the spread at +2.5.

Pick: Louisville +2.5 (-110)

-Jason Radowitz

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.

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