NCAAF best bets: Did you say Utes?

Fridays mean football prep, and we'll touch 'em both with our favorite looks from the college and professional gridirons. After that Packers dud, it sure would be nice if the next time we chat it's celebrating some winners. Enjoy the weekend of football! For more betting prep, be sure to check out our Sports Betting hub, where we have picks and previews for the biggest games, plus our favorite prop looks for the weekend.

We're digging the defense in this Pac-12 contest

One of the premier matchups of the weekend is between No. 10 Utah and No. 19 Oregon State. The 3-1 Beavers are hosting the Utes, and that's likely what is fueling the line we're getting here. Well, that and the fact that Oregon State is averaging 39.5 points per game.

That's all well and good for the Oregon State offense, but why don't we ask UCLA, who was averaging 40.3 points per game through three games prior to meeting Utah, how they fared? Yeah, they mustered only a single touchdown in a 14-7 defeat to the Utes last week.

Utah arguably has the best defense in college football, allowing just 9.5 points per contest during their 4-0 start. We're pouncing on the underdogs with the defensive chops to shut down the Beavers on Saturday.

Betting: Utah +4.5 (-112 DraftKings)

Betting Chase means cha-CHING come Sunday

Our regular readers likely now know how wonderful this Tennessee defense has been. We've been targeting the Titans secondary each week, and the results have been just wonderful. Not only are the Titans getting gashed through the air, but there's a very clear archetype that has broken off big games against them: top wide receivers.

In Week 1, it was Chris Olave piling up 112 yards. Keenan Allen finished with 111 in Week 2, and Amari Cooper logged 116 this past Sunday.

Now it's the most talented WR yet, Ja'Marr Chase and the Bengals. Yes, we did bet his over at 82.5 receiving yards, but why stop there? 

Fresh off a 141-yard outing, we're confident he can do it again.

Betting: Ja'Marr Chase 100+ receiving yards (+150 DraftKings)

In the news ...

Lions dominate Packers and take control of NFC North — Detroit certainly looks the part of a division winner four games in. The Lions dominated Green Bay on both sides of the ball en route to a 34-20 win on Thursday. Prior to the game, Detroit was -105 to win the division and the Packers were +155. Now the Lions sit at -205 with the Packers down at +330.

Baltimore Orioles win first AL East title since 2014 — Congrats to the Orioles, who won their 100th game on Thursday, clinching the American League East. It's Baltimore's first division crown in nine seasons, and it's always exciting to get some fresh blood in the postseason. At one point this year, Baltimore was sitting at +5000 to win the division, but a surging summer and a brief slip from the Rays was enough to vault them to the top spot. Now, it's all about the pennant. The Orioles are the favorites to come out of the AL at +280, tied with Texas. 

Andrei Vasilevskiy to miss first eight to 10 weeks — Tampa Bay's star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy underwent back surgery this week and is expected to be out of commission for two months at minimum. This is certainly a blow to the Lightning to start their year, and the news has dipped Tampa's futures odds. The Lightning are currently +950 to win the East, seventh in the conference. Carolina (+450) is the favorite, and out west, Colorado (+500) is favored to get back to the Stanley Cup Final. The NHL regular season begins on Oct. 10.

Europe dominates U.S. in opening Ryder Cup round — The European side built up a quick lead in Rome this morning, getting off to a 4-0 start in Round 1. It's the first time that Europe has ever swept the opening session of the Ryder Cup, and the start has flipped the odds, as you would assume. Europe is now -550 to win the Ryder Cup. If you'd like to bet on the Americans mounting a big comeback, you can grab that price at +600.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll, the guy who won $8K on a $20 NFL parlay. For more content to help fuel your betting picks, follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.