Under-the-Radar College Football Bets: Week 13 (2019)
We got back on track with a winning week last Saturday, going 2-1 with our picks. Let’s see if we can keep momentum on our side as we take a look at the Week 13 card and aim to stay on the winning track.
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North Carolina State at Georgia Tech
Odds: Georgia Tech -2 at PointsBet
This is a battle for the dishonor of being the worst team in the ACC. It looked like Georgia Tech was going to be that team a month ago, but the Yellow Jackets won at Miami, almost won at Virginia, and had been improving in recent weeks. Then, however, they lost 45-0 to Virginia Tech. North Carolina State has been on a steady downward trajectory, losing its last four games and five of its last six. The Wolfpack simply have no answers at quarterback and doesn’t have a defense that can sufficiently counterbalance their offensive limitations. Georgia Tech isn’t a good team, but it has been better over the past month. Playing at home should give the Yellow Jackets just enough of an edge to pull this one out.
UCF at Tulane
Odds: UCF -6 at PointsBet
The UCF Knights have become ignored because that’s what happens when a team loses three games after having lost zero regular-season games in each of the previous two seasons. UCF did not lose a regular-season game in either 2017 or 2018 and played in prestigious January bowl games. This season, the absence of McKenzie Milton and Darriel Mack Jr. at quarterback has harmed the Knights. Dillon Gabriel is a talented quarterback who has certainly had his moments, but he has not been as consistent as his two predecessors, and that has caught up with the Knights this year.
Tulane has suffered a number of tough losses this season, but the Green Wave have been competitive against good teams. They almost beat Navy (losing on a field goal at the final gun), they limited Auburn to 24 points, and they played Temple tough on the road before losing.
Given that UCF lost at Tulsa a few weeks ago – and that Tulsa is not nearly as good as Tulane (Tulane beat Tulsa by 12 points earlier this season) – it seems like a lot of points to be giving Tulane here. Even if UCF wins, Tulane should be able to stay close and lose by no more than a field goal or four points.
California at Stanford
Odds: Stanford -3 at PointsBet
The California Golden Bears have been torn apart by injuries this season. They were on track to have an upper-division finish in the Pac-12 North, but then quarterback Chase Garbers got knocked out with an injury and their offense hasn’t been the same since. Garbers returned to the lineup this past Saturday against USC but then got re-injured. Devon Modster has gained plenty of snaps as a backup this season, but he did not do well against USC when thrown into relief duty, and he was awful before Garbers came back, too.
Stanford has not lost this matchup with its rival since 2009. Cal is capable of winning, but the Bears have had to fight against injuries and overall instability, and with this game approaching, it doesn’t seem California is in the best position to play a strong game. It is true that Stanford has struggled and endured many injuries of its own, but that reinforces the point that these teams are on relatively equal footing. Cal needs to be on superior footing in this game to be expected to win. Cal’s attrition and limitations make it hard to say the Bears have the advantage going into this weekend, so Stanford is the better pick.
Overall 13-17 record on the season
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Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.