College Football Betting Picks- January 2nd-3rd

Hoff had a hot weekend going 4-for-5 and improved his Lock of the Week to 14-3 this year. Can he finish the year strong?

Last Week: 4-1

Overall: 44-40-1

Lock of the Week: 14-3

Sugar Bowl

Auburn (+3) vs. Oklahoma

It’s not exactly rocket science but one angle which has worked really well for me this year is when an awesome rushing attack goes against a suspect rushing defense. Auburn has one of the best rushing offenses in the nation averaging 278 yards per game on the ground and 5.58 yards per carry. Oklahoma defense allows 160 yards per game on the ground and an unusually high 4.6 yards per carry. Also, I think Oklahoma could be in for a rude awakening going against a solid defense like Auburn when it has been going against the joke defenses in the Big Ten this year.

National Championship

Clemson (+7) vs. Alabama

At this point in the year there are a million different stats that I could throw out to support either side, especially Alabama. Here’s how I break down the game without over thinking it.  I think Alabama has the better defense but not by as much as the media would let you believe. The Tigers allow 5.7 points per game more but against much more talented offenses in the ACC compared to what Bama faces in the SEC. Also, I’ll give Saban the nod over Dabo. On the flip side I think Clemson has the better offense, including the best playmaking combo in the game with Deshaun Watson and Mike Williams.  Call me crazy but I think ‘Bama is like 3 or 4 points better than Clemson, not a full touchdown.

Lock of the Week

Rose Bowl

USC (-7) vs. Penn State

My first pick of the season was Alabama over USC in weekend opener and ‘Bama promptly pounded the Trojans 52-6.  Just 3 games later USC inserted Sam Donald in as the starting quarterback and went 8-1 since then averaging 37 points per game over that span. If the Trojans averaged that point total throughout the season they would be the 21^st ranked scoring offense in the country to go along with the 23^rd ranked scoring defense.

Penn State pulled off a big upset against Ohio State thanks to some timely special teams plays and scoring plays. Since that game, the Penn State offense has been doing a lot of damage through the air.  Against Indiana the Nittany Lions passed for 332 yards and against Wisconsin passed for 384 yards. I don’t see Penn State being able to do that against a talented USC secondary. The Trojans win this one by 10+ and the USC Song Girls win the Cheerleaders of the day award.