Houston vs. Baylor: College Football Week 10 Odds & Picks (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 game: Houston vs. Baylor.

Top College Football Odds & Picks: Houston vs. Baylor

Houston (+4) at Baylor

ATL: Houston -2.0

My system believes the wrong team is favored.

If you'll recall, it said the same thing last week when Iowa State traveled to Baylor. In a game we had an ISU +2 ticket, the Cyclones led the entire way en route to a sweatless 30-18 win.

Houston is a very different kind of matchup for Baylor. Last week, Baylor got muscled by ISU. This week, they'll have to contend with Houston's myriad perimeter playmakers in space.

Baylor has decent cornerbacks, but the Bears' safeties have been mistake-riddled, leading to explosive opportunities for opponents.

Baylor's run defense is also one of the nation's worst. In six games against P5 opponents, the Bears have coughed up a minimum 188 yards and 5.3 YPC in every game. In three of the six, Baylor gave up more than 230. And against FCS Long Island, Baylor gave up 198 yards on 26 rushes.

Houston's defense is nothing to write home about, either. But the Cougars typically have good pass-rushes under Dana Holgorsen, and that's the case again this year. Houston ranks No. 38 in pressure rate.

That heat is going to be an issue for a roughshod Baylor offensive line that has been a sieve all season.

The pick: Houston +4 (play to +3)

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.