IOWA +4.5 – 4 stars and sprinkle
Rutgers vs Syracuse +2 O/U 51.5
Here is a game where both teams really took care of their business. Rutgers beat Temple by 47 points and Syracuse beat Ohio by a solid 20. I think that the reason this line is so close is because of the Orangeman’s big win here but looking at the Box score, Cuse only out-gained the Bobcat’s by 37 yards or so which tells me that I still can’t trust them. Looking at this line, I have Rutgers by a solid 3 points but looking at the direction of these 2 programs, I think that Rutgers going up and Cuse is dropping down. Let’s not kid ourselves, both of these programs have their issues but I think that Rutgers has been getting better transfers into their school over the past 2 seasons than Syracuse has and I think that I can trust Greg Schiano more than Dino Babers up to this point. Cuse is playing with a new Offensive line and even though that they should be better than what they were last year, Rutgers is now a defensive oriented team with Schiano running the program and I expect them to win in the Trenches. I am going to grab Rutgers under the 3 and I think that it will kickstart their season after a win at Syracuse.
Rutgers -2 – 2 stars
Washington vs Michigan -6.5 O/U 49
- This is an interesting non-conference game where both of these schools used to be more respected
- The Wolverines actually started the season well by beating Western Michigan 47-14. They played well in all 3 phases of football
- The Huskies on the other hand played like crap vs Montana and lost their game outright. QB Dylan Morris through for 3 interceptions and could not get anything going.
- Washington hasn’t been the same team since their great Coach Chris Peterson left in 2019 and I do not think that Jimmy Lake compares. As much crap as Jim Harbaugh gets from the media, he is the better coach here and has his team looking ok so far this season.
- Looking at their performances, it feels like an over-reaction to bet on Michigan this week especially since the look ahead line was 1, but the truth of the matter, is that my Power ratings have Michigan 4 points better than Washington and I need to give Michigan at least 3.5 points for their home field. I gave this out at 6 but I like this all the way to 7.Michigan -6.5 – 2 stars