Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica’s 2024 College Football Week 10 ‘Bear Bytes’

College football Week 10 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 10 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)

SATURDAY, NOV. 2

No. 4 Ohio State @ No. 3 Penn State

Penn State has lost 12 straight regular-season games against top-10 opponents since an upset win over Ohio State in 2016 as a 19-point underdog. The Nittany Lions were ranked in all 11 of those games and ranked in the top 10 in seven of them. 

Penn State has lost 14 of its last 16 games as an underdog. The two wins came against Wisconsin at Camp Randall. 

Under James Franklin, Penn State is 3-17 vs. Michigan (2-8) and Ohio State (1-9).

Ryan Day is 2-6 against top-five teams. However, three of those losses came against teams which won the National Championship that season (2020 Alabama, 2022 Georgia and 2023 Michigan). The last three losses came by a combined eight points, with two being one-point losses. 

Florida @ No. 2 Georgia

Georgia has won the last three meetings with Florida by a combined score of 119-47, each coming by at least 22 points. 

Minnesota @ No. 24 Illinois

Since 2021, there have been six instances of an unranked team being favored on the road over a ranked team. Five of the six home ‘dogs won outright, while the lone loser lost by just a TD. 

USC @ Washington

Since 2021, Lincoln Riley has been a favorite away from home 16 times. His team has won 10 of those 16 games, but are just 3-13 ATS (2-10 at USC).

No. 1 Oregon @ Michigan 

This is just the second time since 1978 that Michigan is a two-TD ‘dog at home. The other instance came in 2013 when the Wolverines lost 42-41 to No. 3 Ohio State as a 16.5-point ’dog. 

North Carolina @ Florida State

Since the start of 2022, Mike Norvell went 21-3 with Jordan Travis as his QB, winning his final 17 starts. Without Travis at QB, Norvell and FSU’s mark falls to 3-8 in that span, including 1-7 this year.

Duke @ No. 5 Miami 

Duke has lost 21 straight games vs. top-five opponents dating back to a 1960 win over Navy. None of the losses came by fewer than 12 points and 17 came by at least 21 points. 

No. 18 Pitt @ No. 20 SMU

Pitt has lost six straight road games vs. ranked opponents by an average of 25.1 PPG dating back to a win at No. 23 Virginia in 2018. 

Going back to 1978, there have been 21 regular-season games in which a team that was 7-0 or better was an underdog of more than seven points against a team which had a loss. The undefeated teams have gone 4-17 in those 21 games. However, many have been close. The undefeated team has covered six of the last seven, winning twice. And four of the five losses came by six points or fewer. 

Air Force @ No. 21 Army

Since 1978, only once has an Air Force team with a losing record taken on an Army team with a winning record. That came in 2018, when 3-5 Air Force lost to 6-2 Army 17-14. Also relevant is 2013, when 1-7 Air Force beat Army, which was 3-5 42-28. 

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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