Chris Fallica
FOX Sports Wagering Expert
College football Week 8 is here, and I couldn’t be more pumped.
This means the next few days will be exciting for fans who love football and for bettors looking for fun ways to wager a few bucks.
I’ve already given you my best bets for Week 8 games, but now it’s time to have a little fun with my “Bear Bytes.”
These little “bytes,” as I call them, are just nuggets that give you some entertaining talking points to pull from as you watch the football festivities with friends and family or banter with your coworkers at the water cooler. Here are the biggest nuggets that stuck out to me while doing my research.
(All times ET)
No. 5 Georgia @ No. 1 Texas
Home teams have won eight of the last nine regular-season, top-five matchups, with the lone loss being Ohio State’s loss to Michigan in 2022.
No. 6 Miami @ Louisville
Miami has failed to cover the week prior to Florida State each of the last three years. The Canes were favored in each game, losing to North Carolina State last year and winning by two and three against Virginia and Georgia Tech, respectively, the previous two seasons.
No. 7 Alabama @ No. 11 Tennessee
This is the first time since 2008 that Alabama is not favored by at least a touchdonw against Tennessee. That year, the Tide beat Tennessee 29-9 as a 5.5-point favorite.
Tennessee has been a home underdog six times under Josh Heupel. The Vols have pulled one upset, that being the 52-49 win over the Tide in 2022.
Kalen DeBoer has been involved in 12 games as a Power Four head coach with a spread within +7/-7. His teams are 10-2 in those games (8-1 in the regular season).
Ball State @ Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt hasn’t been this big of a favorite against an FBS team since 2013 against Massachusetts (-30).
No. 12 Notre Dame @ Georgia Tech
Under Brent Key, Georgia Tech has been an underdog 17 times. The Yellow Jackets have won 10 outright and are 13-4 ATS. Half of the ten wins have come when Tech was a double-digit dog.
No. 17 Kansas State @ West Virginia
In its last 26 games as an underdog against a ranked opponent, West Virginia has pulled one upset, that coming in 2021 when it beat No. 22 Iowa State in Morgantown as a 7.5-point dog. The Mountaineers lost 28-16 last week to Iowa State in this role.
USC @ Maryland
Since 2021, Lincoln Riley has been a favorite away from home 15 times. His teams have won 10 of the 15 games, but are just 3-12 ATS (2-9 at USC).
Nebraska @ No. 16 Indiana
Matt Rhule’s teams have been an underdog against a ranked opponent 20 times. They have won twice outright, both instances coming at Temple. Since, his teams are 0-13 as an underdog taking on a ranked opponent.
Chris “The Bear” Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an “occasional” wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He’s a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!” Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.
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