College football Week 14 has arrived. Rivalry Week.
That means it's time to dive into a couple of underdogs to bet on the moneyline.
Our Group of Five experts from the "Big Bets on Campus" podcast, Mike Calabrese and Joshua Nunn, came through with picks for Kent State vs. Northern Illinois and Utah State vs. Boise State on Friday night.
When parlayed together, these two Group of 5 'dogs pay out at over 5-1.
Let's take a look at our NCAAF picks and college football predictions in our Group of 5 moneyline underdog parlay for Week 14.
NCAAF Picks, ML Underdog Parlay
- Kent State ML +165 vs. Northern Illinois
- Utah State ML +135 vs. Boise State
Parlay Odds: +528 (bet365)
Kent State +165 vs. Northern Illinois
| Kent State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5 -110 | 45 -110o / -110u | +165 |
| Northern Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5 -110 | 45 -110o / -110u | -200 |
If you take out Kent State’s blowout loss to Toledo, the Golden Flashes have been competitive in six of the past seven games.
They dominated UMass, nipped Bowling Green in a close win, won the Wagon Wheel in overtime, lost by four against Ball State and left some points on the board in a 12-point loss against Central Michigan.
We wrote off Kent State in the preseason for a multitude of reasons, but the Golden Flashes have proven us wrong.
This week, they’ll face NIU as a favorite. Underneath head coach Thomas Hammock’s leadership, the Huskies are 11-25-1 ATS when laying points, a sample that includes 18 outright upsets.
Dru DeShields has been an up-and-coming freshman quarterback for Kent State. He can run around and make big plays happen.
If Northern Illinois gets behind in this game, it might be curtains because the Huskies’ offense is brutal. If they can’t break a long run, they’re cooked.
They're one of the least consistent offenses in the nation. They don���t get a big push in the run game, and the quarterback play is dreadful — they rank dead last nationally in Passing Success Rate.
I also think that Northern Illinois has mailed it in this season as the Huskies prepare to move to the Mountain West next season. Meanwhile, the Golden Flashes have some wind in their sails, and I think they win this game as an underdog.
Utah State +135 vs. Boise State
| Boise State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -110 | 55.5 -110o / -110u | -160 |
| Utah State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -110 | 55.5 -110o / -110u | +135 |
By Joshua Nunn
The Aggies have been lights out at home this season, going 5-0 straight up and against the spread.
Their defense has been excellent. They put the clamps on Fresno State and did reasonably well against UNLV’s rushing attack.
They’ve been solid at keeping everything in front of them, ranking 51st nationally in explosiveness allowed. The secondary has also looked good against the pass.
While Boise State put up a significant number last week against a lifeless Colorado State team, that was a good spot.
Meanwhile, things looked really bad for the Broncos offense in the prior two games. The ground attack has been average. Boise ranks 127th nationally in explosiveness.
The front seven is significantly weaker than last year, so Utah State should be able to protect Bryson Barnes and throw the ball around.
The Aggies offense has been explosive, and chunk plays have been a problem for Boise’s defense.
I also don’t trust Max Cutforth to step up on the road.
I think Utah State will be motivated in the home finale and pull off the upset.
