We hope you cashed during the Noon slate.
And we hope you're ready for more college football action in the afternoon window.
In our Week 7 college football best bets, we're covering the Red River Rivalry, a Big 12 showdown between Colorado and Iowa State, and — in arguably the biggest matchup on the board — Kent State hosting UMass as a 2.5-point favorite.
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College Football Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college football betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
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 | Afternoon | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Collin's Card: Afternoon Best Bet
The clearest side to handicap is the Texas offense against the Oklahoma defense, as outside zone and counter concepts have had middling success for the Longhorns this season.
Oklahoma ranks as the nation's top defense in rush efficiency, particularly against the inside zone.
If there's an avenue that's in favor of Texas on the ground, the Sooners have seen minimal counter and misdirection this season.
The Longhorns have played into passing downs frequently this season, as Arch Manning has mid-FBS ranks against Cover 2. Although Oklahoma doesn't play many snaps in Cover 1, the tendency has troubled the Texas quarterback all season.
Steve Sarkisian has been unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities, as 32 drives beyond the opponent's 40-yard line have averaged 3.7 points.
John Mateer's role is unclear heading into the Red River Rivalry. The status of his surgically repaired throwing hand may lead to limited passing attempts.
The Texas defense has a mid-FBS Success Rate against zone read and counter concepts, both of which are expected to be part of the Sooners' offense, led by running back Tory Blaylock.
Oklahoma hasn't been able to produce any consistent rush explosives behind an offensive line that ranks 89th nationally in Line Yards. The Sooners rank 95th in tackles for loss allowed and have dropped the ball on the carpet six times this season.
Texas can win this ball game in many different ways, as Oklahoma's offense has coughed up the ball and will now have Mateer with a repaired throwing hand. The Havoc allowed factor favors Texas, as the Oklahoma offense ranks 88th in that area.
The Sooners' defense has been elite in Success Rate allowed, but missed tackles are a concern. Auburn and Michigan combined to force 26 missed tackles against the Sooners.
Action Network's Betting Power Ratings projects Oklahoma to be favored by a single point, giving the Sooners a slight market edge. Texas would need mistakes and field position — combined with stellar red-zone play calling from Sarkisian — to beat Oklahoma.
Oklahoma may have just enough with Mateer's legs, just as Florida's offense was revived at seven yards per play in a Week 6 victory over the Longhorns.
Check out Collin's full Red River breakdown and more wagers in his full Week 7 card:
Pick: Oklahoma ML (+100, bet365)
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Stuckey's Spots: Afternoon Best Bet
By Stuckey
It's a national travesty that this game will not be on national television — only if you bet actual dollars on it.
If you don't wager on it, yes, this will be completely unwatchable.
Sadly, I'm a masochist and did click submit on Kent State.
If you told me before the season that I would've bet the Golden Flashes as a favorite, I would have assumed I ended up doing so from a psychiatric ward.
Yet, I somehow found myself still in my own home doing so with a clear head (although that's also what an insane person would say).
So, why am I betting a Kent State team that has gone 1-25 over its past 26 contests and hasn't been favored against an FBS opponent since 2022?
Well, I actually have the Golden Flashes power rated ahead of the Minutemen as of this moment for three primary reasons:
- Kent State has looked much more functional than I had assumed going into the season. Keep in mind this team lost its head coach in the offseason due to a scandal and saw its defensive coordinator leave for an FCS assistant role in the summer.
- The emergence of true freshman quarterback Dru DeShields. He looks like the real deal for a team I thought would have completely incompetent quarterback play all season long. Kent State even held him out last week at Oklahoma to prevent an injury ahead of league play, especially with its most winnable FBS game on deck. This is a big deal for the Golden Flashes, who have lost 26 straight against FBS opponents since beating Buffalo back in 2022. Yes, it's been almost three years.
- UMass is in complete disarray from top to bottom and in much worse shape injury-wise.
Keep in mind, Kent State has also played a much more difficult schedule. In fact, the Golden Flashes have played one of the five toughest in the country with a trio of road games against ranked opponents in Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Florida State.
They almost upset Buffalo in their MAC home opener and at least took care of business against their FCS opponent. That's more than UMass can say after getting blown out in their MAC home opener vs. Western Michigan and losing to an even worse FCS school in Bryant.
The Minutemen opened the season with a 75-yard touchdown drive against Temple. Since that score, against their four FBS foes, they have scored a total of two touchdowns, both of which came on 21-yard drives following a blocked punt and a fluke interception.
Kent State has found its answer at quarterback with DeShields, who went 22-for-32 passing for 279 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against Buffalo. He even fared well against Florida State and Texas Tech, considering the enormous talent disparities.
Conversely, UMass continues to search for answers under center with an ongoing rotation.
Deshields has thrown five touchdowns to just one interception, while averaging 8.2 yards per attempt. In comparison, three UMass quarterbacks have combined to throw for only one touchdown and four interceptions (four BTTs to eight TWPs) against a significantly easier schedule of opposing defenses.
These are undoubtedly two of the worst teams in the country. Neither will have much success running the ball, and the special teams for both are a calamity.
In my opinion, the difference will be Kent State's superior quarterback play.
Look, I wouldn't blame you for completely passing on this game. Losing money betting on Kent State as a favorite won't faze me in the least after decades of betting on bad teams. But if that sounds potentially tilting to you, there are so many other games on the board to choose from.
However, if you do decide to come along for the ride, we'll at least have some fun on X during the game. While everybody else tweets about the Red River Rivalry and Oregon-Indiana, I will make sure the world stays up to date on this mess, which hopefully ends with Kent State ending its long FBS win drought (by at least 3 points).
Read Stuckey's full UMass-Kent State breakdown and more in his Week 7 situational spots piece:
Pick: Kent State -2.5 (-115, bet365)
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Ianniello's G5 Picks: Afternoon Best Bet
You’ll have to hold your nose a bit here, but we're going to the Group of 5 (6?) adopted orphan in Oregon State.
This is as buy-low as you can possibly get. The Beavers are 0-6 on the season and have covered just one spread.
But let’s pump the brakes on Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons are 3-2, but their wins have come against a horrible Kennesaw State team by one point, FCS Western Carolina and the corpse of Virginia Tech with an interim coach.
Wake Forest ranks 126th nationally in Success Rate and sits outside of the top 100 in both Rushing Success Rate and Passing Success Rate.
Quarterback Robby Ashford has just two touchdown passes all season with four interceptions for the Deacs.
Maalik Murphy has had issues with turnovers for Oregon State, but he's still the better quarterback in this matchup with a lot more upside.
Oregon State has done a solid job stopping the run this season and should be able to contain Ashford’s legs, keep him in the pocket and force him to throw.
Despite the 0-6 start, Oregon State has gotten super unlucky. Obviously, bad turnovers have been part of that.
But the Beavers actually had the higher net Success Rate in the game in four of their six losses. They've outgained their opponent in each of the last two games.
Oregon State is way overdue for some positive regression and turnover luck, and Saturday is a great situational spot for the Beavers.
Wake Forest is traveling across the country from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Corvallis, Oregon, for a meaningless nonconference game with a bye week on deck.
Star Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne has been dealing with injuries all season, and Ashford is banged up as well. Injuries are piling up in other spots for Wake Forest as well, and this is a spot where it just wants to get in and get out healthy for conference play.
We could see both Claiborne and Ashford limited in what they're asked to do here.
Meanwhile, the Beavers are at least still playing hard for Trent Bray and should come out desperate here for a win. I’ll take the three points with the home team.
Check out all of Ianniello's Week 7 G5 picks in his weekly Group of 5 column:
Pick: Oregon State +3 (-115, bet365)
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Ziefel's Top Player Prop
By Doug Ziefel
In this matchup, we're targeting running back Dierre Hill Jr, who has shown he can be explosive out of the backfield and make the most of limited opportunities.
However, Hill's limited opportunities are likely to shrink even more in this matchup. There are plenty of mouths to feed in the Oregon backfield, as five different players have had 20 carries on the season.
Now, Hill is second on that list, 13 behind starter Jayden Limar, but only three ahead of Jordan Davidson and five ahead of Noah Whittington. Whittington is set to reclaim a bigger role in the rushing attack as he returned from injury against Penn State and looked good.
His ascension moves Hill to the third or fourth option in the backfield, which means he would need to create a huge play to exceed this total. That is unlikely against an Indiana defense that ranks 17th nationally in rushing yards allowed per game.
Pick: Dierre Hill Under 45.5 Rush Yards (-115, bet365)
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Our Featured Bet Labs System
This game triggered one of our Action Labs PRO betting systems, powered by Evan Abrams.
In early-season college football, nationally ranked opponents often face intense public interest, especially in high-profile matchups during September, August, or October.
When a team is playing a ranked foe in the No. 4 to No. 25 range and the full game spread shows a modest advantage, the betting market’s attention often drives early pressure on the favorite.
In the first half, however, these games tend to be more competitive than expected, as underdogs enter with heightened energy and game plans tailored for a fast start before talent and depth gaps emerge later.
This creates value in taking the team against the spread early, capitalizing on crowd influence and inflated perception before halftime adjustments shift the momentum.
For what it's worth, this system is an incredible 13-3 this season, an 81% win rate that's generated a 53% ROI. The last six teams to fit this system have covered the first-half spread.
While I'm not particularly high on the Buffaloes, I admit they were super unlucky not to cover against TCU last week, losing by 14 on an insane front-door-covering touchdown pass from Josh Hoover to Eric McAlister.
I suspect the Buffs are a tad undervalued ATS and due for some positive regression.
Meanwhile, I'm all the way out on Iowa State. The Cyclones were exposed last week against Cincinnati, and the quality of their resume is decreasing as the season progresses.
I think Deion Sanders and Co. can put up a fight in this game, at least for 30 minutes.
Want more PRO betting systems? Click below to get a sweet deal on an Action PRO account:
Pick: Colorado 1H +0.5 (-105, bet365)
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Duck's Full Action App Card
Need more picks for Saturday? It's always wise to see what our guy Duck is betting on!
Additionally, if you haven't already, make sure you download the free award-winning Action Network App to track all your bets and tail all of your favorite experts:
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