College football Week 7: What we learned from a super wild weekend
What a weekend for college football. I was expecting to watch just a healthy, "normal" amount of action on Saturday, but have to admit I could not get away from the TV screen once the 3:30 window started. Alabama-Tennessee, Oklahoma State-TCU, USC-Utah, no matter where you looked there was ... money to be made.
Hopefully, you read the Top 25 Betting Guide last week because I had Tennessee winning outright. Now nobody could have predicted what we saw on Saturday but I was confident they would cover (and win) and I have the tickets to prove it.
There was a slew of other winners too so hopefully you are checking it out (yes, there were losers too. USC covered in their loss to Utah though — nobody is perfect).
Now let's take a closer look at what we learned last week.
What We Learned from Week 7
Heat Checks for Tennessee, TCU, and even Michigan
These are the three undefeated teams who showed us the most this past week. Tennessee finally got the Alabama "elephant" off their back with an exciting win. They look like they could be a real threat to Georgia this season too.
TCU needed a couple of overtimes, but they beat Oklahoma State and are now in the leadership spot in the Big 12. Michigan was already a Top 5 team but I needed to see more from Big Blue. They knocked off Penn State with ease and I am now more convinced they can hang with Ohio State again this season.
Betting Takeaway: These are 3 teams that are going to be hard to fade no matter who they are playing.
What is Alabama?
The Crimson Tide nearly lost at Texas last month, showing a lot of vulnerability in the process. Now they have an actual loss, showing that much more. It is not just that they lost in a big spot (where they usually win), but how they lost. The Alabama defense is loaded with 5-star talent but they could not do anything to really stop Tennessee. Sure the Vols are a very good offensive team, but they made the Bama defense look like a MAC level squad. I don't know what we make of that going forward.
Betting Takeaway: Mississippi State looked bad last week against Kentucky and I would not want to be them for their trip to Tuscaloosa this week.
Sun Belt is Fun Belt
Heading into the weekend the Sun Belt had two undefeated teams, Coastal Carolina and newcomer James Madison. Now they have none as both lost on Saturday, even though both were double-digit favorites. That just doesn't happen often and rarely on the same day, in the same conference. This league is setting up for a killer second half where anything can happen.
Betting Takeaways: App State has not delivered on early success which is disappointing but it might be time to take a chance on some teams you don't know as well.
NC State Is Done
This is as much about losing QB Devin Leary to injury for the rest of the season, as it is about losing to Syracuse last week. A year that started with so much promise has gone up in flames quickly and it might have lasting consequences (just ask a program like Iowa State that did not deliver a year ago). NC State is going to find it hard to answer the bell the rest of the way.
Betting Takeaway: Look to fade the Wolfpack in every game except against rival UNC.
Don't forget about ... Northern Illinois
The Huskies were a team I thought might rise up and win 10 games this season. At 2-5 that is not going to happen, but they went on the road and dominated at Eastern Michigan last week. They have already lost to Toledo this season with that out of the way they are a threat against anyone else in the league this season. Especially if they are an underdog.
Betting Takeaway: Take advantage of a rough start from a solid program.
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