Every week, Rock M Nation will post the SEC betting lines for that week’s slate of games. DISCLAIMER: Rock M Nation is not an online gambling operator, nor a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only. None of the staff will be using this information for gambling purposes and are not liable for any losses incurred due to the analysis contained within.
We continued our winning ways last week, going 2-1 (4-2 overall once
again.) El Assico played out exactly how it always plays out, but we were on the right side of the coin with the Cyclones winning by a field goal. Jamal Roberts’ late touchdown to cover the spread helped push us over the top on Saturday and we enter Week 3 at 4-2 in our Best Bets and 8-4 in our overall picks. Not a bad place to be early in the season. I’m feeling this week as our first perfect week of the season, so let’s get to it!
Best Bets
Louisiana @ Mizzou (-27.5)
The Ragin’ Cajuns are off to a pretty slow start, made worse by the fact their starting quarterback entering the season, the LSU transfer Walker Howard, was injured in their first game against Rice and is out for the season. Louisiana lost that game to Rice, which is not a great sign for their long-term viability, and then beat FCS McNeese State by 24 points last week. The Cajuns’ defense looks to be pretty decent, albeit only against undermatched opponents so far, but their offense minus Howard shouldn’t cause the Tigers much angst defensively. I think Mizzou wins by at least four touchdowns and covers the spread.
Florida @ LSU (-8.5)
Florida… your girlfriend. Woof. Even though I picked USF to cover the spread in last week’s Best Bets, I didn’t think the Bulls would win outright. Well, they did, and they made the Gators’ offense look incredibly anemic in the process. LSU’s defense is much better than USF’s and this game is in Baton Rouge. I’ll take the Bayou Bengals to hasten Billy Napier’s demise by winning this underrated rivalry game by at least two scores.
USC (-21.5) @ Purdue
The Trojans have put up a whopping 132 points in two games this season, while the Boilermakers have scored 65 total points. Purdue might have a slightly improved defense in Barry Odom’s first season in West Lafayette, but even if they don’t let USC score their average of 66 points, I don’t think the Boilermakers will be able to score enough points to cover the 21.5 point spread. Give me USC in a blowout.
Worth a look
Clemson @ Georgia Tech (+3.5)
The Tigers have looked lackluster on offense early in the season, struggling mightily against Troy just last week. They take a step up in competition when they travel to Atlanta to face a fired up Yellow Jackets team that is looking to make a mark on the ACC early in the season. I’m liking the hook on this line, giving Georgia Tech +3.5 points to cover. I think I would take GT straight up to win at home anyway so I’ll take those points.
Minnesota (-2.5) @ Cal
Minnesota is hardly ever exciting under the PJ Fleck regime, but they are usually pretty competent. Cal, on the other hand, also is hardly ever exciting but they are also rarely competent. This will be a boring, close game throughout and despite it being played in Berkeley, I think I like the Golden Gophers to do enough offensively to win by at least a field goal.
Duke @ Tulane (-1.5)
Tulane gets a big opportunity to exact some revenge on Duke for stealing their quarterback and paying him an absurd amount of money. The Green Wave are going to be motivated and their coach, John Sumrall, is going to get the most out of his team. The fact that this game is in New Orleans only bolsters my confidence, especially after Duke gave up 45 points to an Illinois team that isn’t historically high scoring. This line actually dropped from Tulane -2.5 to -1.5, which works for me because I was going to take the Green Wave up to 4 or 5 points anyway.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See sportsbook.fanduel.com for details.
