No. 1 Ohio State and No. 9 Texas Tech remained unbeaten against the spread as The Associated Press Top 25 favorites rewarded the betting public by going 11-7 against the spread in our CFB Week 7 betting recap.
On the flip side, Penn State, which fell out of the Top 25 last week, fell to 0-6 ATS, the worst spread record in the country. Continuing their slide from last week, they dropped their third straight game in a 22-21 home loss to Northwestern as a 20.5-point favorite.
Wildcats running back Caleb Komolafe rushed for a 9-yard go-ahead touchdown with 4:51 left, and Northwestern held on as the Nittany Lions lost quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending leg injury on a third-down play on the ensuing drive. Backup Ethan Grunkemeyer replaced him and was stopped on a fourth-down run, and Northwestern then ran out the clock.
Raiding the Books
The Red Raiders ran the best spread record in college football to 6-0 as they crushed Kansas 42-17 as 13.5-point favorites. Texas Tech took a 21-17 lead into halftime before outscoring the Jayhawks 21-0 in the second half.
The Buckeyes improved to 5-0-1 ATS after covering as 14.5-point favorites in a 34-16 win at No. 17 Illinois. Ohio State was up 20-3 at halftime but gave its backers a bit of a sweat down the stretch. The Fighting Illini cut their deficit to 18 points with 4:25 left and then forced the Buckeyes to go three-and-out. Illinois then drove 55 yards to the Ohio State 25 and was threatening to sneak in the back door for a cover, which also would’ve pushed the game over the total, before turning the ball over on downs after two straight incompletions.
That kept the game under the total of 51.5, which was a theme in our CFB Week 7 betting recap, as unders went 12-6 in Top 25 games.
A Few Favorite Things
Notre Dame outscored N.C. State 26-0 in the second half en route to a 36-7 win and cover as 24-point favorites at South Bend, Indiana.
Georgia outscored Auburn 17-0 in the second half to erase a 10-3 halftime deficit and cover the 4.5-point spread in a 20-10 triumph on the road.
Unranked Chalk vs. Ranked Dogs
Several unranked teams were favored over ranked teams, and for good reason.
Unranked USC covered as a 2.5-point home favorite over No. 15 Michigan in a 31-13 win at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Unranked Utah crushed No. 21 Arizona State 42-10 to cruise to a cover as an 8.5-point home favorite.
Texas, which fell out of the Top 25 rankings last week, was favored by 2.5 points over No. 6 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Longhorns won 23-6 as quarterback Arch Manning threw for 166 yards and a go-ahead touchdown pass on the opening drive of the second half. Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards for a score to seal it.
Not every unranked team favored over a ranked team delivered. North Texas was a 2.5-point favorite over No. 24 South Florida on Friday night, but the Bulls exploded for four touchdowns in a span of 3 1/2 minutes en route to a 63-36 rout of the Mean Green.
Upsets Abound
No. 7 Indiana stunned No. 3 Oregon 30-20 as a 7-point underdog to snap the Ducks’ 18-game winning streak at Autzen Stadium. Oregon quarterback and Heisman Trophy contender Dante Moore threw two interceptions and was sacked six times. Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw a pick-6 that enabled the Ducks to tie it 20-20 with 12:42 left, but he recovered to throw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt with 6:23 left to put Indiana ahead for good.
Unranked Pittsburgh pulled off an outright upset of No. 25 Florida State in a 34-31 victory as a 10.5-point underdog. The Seminoles led 21-14 at halftime, but the Panthers tied it at 21-all in the second half. Florida State went ahead 24-21 but fumbled at midfield on its next possession, then went three and out. Pitt put it away on Ja’Kyrian Turner’s 3-yard touchdown run that made it 34-24 with 2:28 left.
Unranked Colorado, a 3-point home underdog, dealt No. 22 Iowa State a 24-17 upset loss.
Close Covers
No. 14 Missouri salvaged a backdoor cover in a 27-24 loss to No. 8 Alabama as a 3.5-point home underdog. The Crimson Tide went ahead 27-17 with 3:16 left on Ty Simpson’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Hill on fourth-and-goal. But the Tigers answered with a 75-yard drive capped by Beau Pribula’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Olugbode with 1:40 remaining.
Georgia Tech covered as a 14-point favorite over Virginia Tech. Barely. The Yellow Jackets led 35-20 after the Hokies scored a touchdown with 4:58 left, but didn’t convert a 2-point conversion attempt. Virginia Tech then drove to the Georgia Tech 10 in the final minutes before turning it over on downs when Hokies’ quarterback Kryon Drones was stopped for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1.
BYU stayed unbeaten and covered as a 2.5-point favorite after erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit on its way to a 33-27 win over Arizona in double overtime.