This week in Wolfpack Wager, we will look at the best bet from the NC State at Florida State game on Saturday night in Tallahassee, Florida and more great investments for this weekend’s college football games.
NC State at Florida State (-7)
The last two weeks have been disappointing for bettors taking the NC State spread. A West Virginia meltdown left NC State fans confused, and the team didn’t play sharp against Ball State last week. Florida State is the first ACC matchup of the year, and I don’t think the Pack offense is going to be ready enough to compete.
Florida State’s Cam Akers is one of the most explosive players in the country, going for 499 yards and six touchdowns in four games. Although run defense is the strength of the NC State team, when he’s able to break through the line — and he will — it will open up the rest of the field. Florida State will not be plagued with a lack of offense on Saturday night.
With redshirt sophomore Matthew McKay under center, the Pack offense hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm. Freshman running back Zonovan Knight had to sit out the second half against Ball State, leaving his availability a question for the conference opener, which would be a huge blow for the offense. Expect to see a little of Bailey Hockman in this game, but either way, it won’t be enough to outscore the Seminoles offense or even cover a touchdown in this case.
Pick: Florida State -7
Colorado State at Utah State (-24)
Utah State is a good team, and it’s at home, but this could be a potential upset game on a big spread. Utah State is 2-1 with a close loss to Wake Forest and a narrow 6-point victory over San Diego State. While Colorado State is a good team, it doesn’t show that it should be a 24-point favorite. It’s also a trap week because Utah State plays LSU next week, and looking forward to that could cause a closer game here than it should be. Utah State has been inconsistent this year, scoring 35 and 23 points in its more difficult games so far.
The biggest thing for Colorado State is the consistent points it scores. In four games, it has scored between 31-38 points against teams like Colorado, Arkansas and Toledo. Although it doesn’t matter much for this game, Colorado beat Nebraska, Arkansas played Ole Miss fairly close and Toledo only lost by two scores to Kentucky. This is one of the bigger games for Colorado State, and it could be unpopular to pick an underdog spread on the road, but Utah State isn’t thinking much about this game.
Pick: Colorado State (+24)
Duke at Virginia Tech (Total: 53)
This could be an interesting ACC matchup this weekend in Blacksburg, Virginia. Virginia Tech is a struggling team defensively, giving up 35 to Boston College and 17 to both Furman and Old Dominion. The Hokies are also averaging 28 points per game and 27.5 at home. A Friday night game will have the offense ready to go against a Duke defense that’s given up 13 to NC A&T and 18 to Middle Tennessee.
More importantly is Duke’s offense, which is scoring 43 points per game when it’s not playing Alabama. With Lane Stadium not quite as tough a place to play as it used to be, Duke should be able to move to the ball well enough to score. Both offenses are balanced, and both are facing mediocre defenses.
Pick: Over 53
Last week, Technician Assistant Social Media Editor Anderson Brewer went 0 for 3 because of a poor showing from NC State, a blowout between Syracuse and Western Michigan and a strong USC performance.
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