Big 12 Bets: An Underdog, Lock, and Bad Bet for Week 4
One of the beautiful things about college football is the parody and chaos that we see each and every week. There are, after all, 22 moving parts on the field every time that the ball is snapped, and just one player out of place can change the course of a game, hell even a season, in just one play.
While watching football and understanding the nuances of what is going takes a bit of experience, the real talent is in being able to put your money where your mouth is when it comes to betting on the world’s greatest sport.
Here are some betting trends you should pay attention to in Week 4 of Big 12 action, with an upset, a lock, and a bad bet to avoid on Saturday.
UNDERDOG TO WATCH: SMU (+2) vs. TCU
TCU comes off a bye week and will take a short bus trip to Gerald J. Ford Stadium, a place that Sonny Dykes is all too familiar with. For the first time, Dykes will stand opposite of his previous employer and will have a hostile SMU crowd against him. SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee knows how to put points on the board and I like SMU’s quarterback situation with Tanner Mordecai better than I do with TCU at this point. Give me the Mustangs and the points as the home underdog to cover and win outright.
LOCK OF THE WEEK: Kansas (-7) vs. Duke
I really like Kansas is this game. Jalon Daniels has been electric through three games this season and I like him to continue that trend. Plus, reports suggest that David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium will be at capacity, which means that nearly 50,000 screaming Kanas fans will be in attendance. Kansas opened up the week as a nine-point favorite and now the line is down to seven, which makes this an easy pick for me. I like Kansas to win this game outright and it could get ugly if Duke can’t match Kansas score for score.
BAD BET OF THE WEEK: Baylor (+2.5) at Iowa State
I want to be the first to admit that when I saw this line, I was taken aback. Then, the more that I looked at it, the more that I realized that this is about right. Iowa State finally got over the Iowa speedbump and looked impressive against Ohio last week, while Baylor lost on the road in a hostile environment and came back to Waco to beat Texas State 42-7, although the score was 21-7 at half. Iowa State is likely the best defense Baylor has played to this point and I haven’t been sold on what Baylor has at the skill positions just yet. Don’t look at the line and jump on Baylor because they are the ranked, that’s what Vegas wants you to do. Iowa State wins a close one here and just covers with a field goal.
