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.
Today I must issue a mea culpa. I led you astray in Week 7 and, to be honest, I have no one to blame but myself (and Illinois’s defense.) After a hot start, Best Bets has now been a loser two out of the last three weeks and that is simply unacceptable. We take pride in doing things the right way around here and we’ve fallen short of those expectations. As the man at the top, it’s my job make sure that doesn’t happen so that responsibility falls on me. We’ll get back on the practice field this week and make sure to fix the problems we saw last week so we never see those things on tape again.
Just for the record, Best Bets went 1-2, with our overall picks going 2-4. So not a disaster, but also not acceptable. We’re 12-9 in Best Bets on the year, 22-20 overall, so still in the black, but the margin for error is gone. We’re going to get it right and that starts this week. Let’s get to it.
Best Bets
Purdue @ Northwestern (-3.5)
Don’t look now, but Northwestern, once thought to be the worst P4 team in the country, is 4-2 and just got James Franklin fired by beating him in Beaver Stadium. Purdue might be on the right track to rebuild under Barry Odom, but they have a long way to go. I’ll take the Wildcats to stay hot and win by at least a touchdown here.
Penn State @ Iowa (-2.5)
Penn State has basically thrown in the towel in a season that started seeing them as a favorite to win the national championship. Now at 3-3 without a head coach, they head to Iowa where they are about to get Iowa’d. This won’t be a high-scoring game, but Iowa doesn’t need it to be. Penn State is without Drew Allar for the season and Iowa City is not the place to have to break in a new starter. This will be ugly, because of course it will be, but give me the Hawkeyes to win fairly easily.
Texas (-12.5) @ Kentucky
Texas seems like it might have finally figured something out, while Kentucky is far and away the worst team in the SEC. Whether or not Arch is able to throw for a bunch of yards, Texas’s defense should have a pretty easy time shutting down the sad sack Wildcat offense. I think this one might be fairly close through the first half, but the the Longhorns will ultimately pull away and win by a few touchdowns when it’s all said and done.
Worth a look
SMU (+9.5) @ Clemson
In an ACC Championship revenge game from last season, this spread looks suspiciously high to me. Clemson does seem to be figuring it out a bit, with back-to-back road blowouts. However, those were against really bad teams in North Carolina and Boston College. SMU is a good team and is looking to exact some payback. I do think the Tigers will win, but I think the Mustangs will be able to hang around and keep it close enough to cover on the road.
Ohio State (-25.5) @ Wisconsin
I don’t think there is any doubt that Ohio State is, once again, the best team in the country. Concurrently, Wisconsin is a giant dumpster fire who may fire Luke Fickell at any moment. Yes, 25.5 points is a lot for a road team going into Camp Randall Stadium, but this Buckeye team is that good and this Badger team is that bad. I don’t think this one is going to be particularly close and might just end Fickell’s tenure in Madison as well.
Texas A&M (-7.5) @ Arkansas
I’m going to keep picking against Arkansas because eventually the continual close losses will lead to them just throwing in the towel. That didn’t happen last week as they lost by one score yet again. Hosting a top 5 Aggie team might finally be the week. Texas A&M is really good and Arkansas can’t ever beat them even when the Aggies are not good. I’ll take Texas A&M to finally make the Hogs say “uncle“ on the season.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See sportsbook.fanduel.com for details.
